Integrated river basin management: A case for collaboration

Integrated river basin management: A case for collaboration

If integrated river basin management (IRBM) is understood to mean co-ordinated planning, development, management and use of land, water and related natural resources within hydrologic boundaries, then clearly it is not a new idea. However, it is only in the last few years that international support for an integrated man- agement approach has gathered momentum (Born and Sonzogni, 1995). A key turning point was reached in 1992 when the so- called Dublin Principles for water management were developed and Agenda 21 was published following the United Nations Con- ference on Environment and Development (the Earth Summit) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Young et al., 1994). A decade later, the Plan for Implementation arising from the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) called for the development of national and regional strategies for IRBM founded on a partner- ship approach and use of the full range of regulatory, economic and voluntary instruments (United Nations Department of Eco- nomic and Social Affairs, 2002; Salman, 2004). Also during this period, new organisations such as the World Water Council (WWC) and the Global Water Partnership (GWP) urged govern- ments to pursue a more integrated approach to the management of land, water and related resources.