IUCN, Water and Nature Initiative (WANI)

Climate change and the over exploitation of water resources is challenging the sustainability of the Pangani River Basin to deliver water services. Competition for diminishing water resources has led to tensions between the various stakeholders within the basin. Together with the government of Tanzania and donor partners, WANI has responded to this crisis by supporting the implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). This sought to bring together a variety of stakeholders by creating platforms for dialogue and encouraged collaboration towards a common goal.

Inappropriate water management practices in the Komadugu Yobe Basin, upstream of Lake Chad in northern Nigeria, changed the seasonal river flow and caused widespread environmental degradation. Coupled with this were fragmented regulation and conflicting responsibilities among institutions, a lack of coordination for hydro-agricultural developments, inequitable access to water resources and growing tensions and risk of conflicts among water users.

Drawing on a cross-section of 43 case studies prepared specially for this book, WaterWealth explains the challenges to improving water governance and management across Asia and the Pacific region. It illustrates many examples of new approaches and practices already being applied by basin managers to secure water for all. The solutions it presents are local ones—homegrown measures that build on international experience rather than transplants from elsewhere.