Lessons learned: Participative Local Planning for the Development and Organization of Water Management
LESSON 1
Water is an element to be considered holistically: being it a multipurpose
resource (drinking water potable, agricultural water, pasture water) its
management involves several actors (institutional, socio-professional,
users) in territories with variable community sizes (municipalities, circles,
regions); its management needs to lie within a wider framework of development
planning or even land use regulation.
LESSON 2
Territorial collectivities are autonomous entities without any hierarchical
relationship. As a corollary to Lesson 1, the need of a cooperation, strategy
coordination, and synergy creation among the various levels of community
(Regional Assembly, Circle Councils and Municipalities) has been made
visible.
LESSON 3
Territorial communities suffer from sluggishness in know-how transfer
about natural resources in general and water resources in particular.
Even tough numerous developments are currently realized based on their
initiatives, know-how transfer acquiring legal status (decrees on know-how
transfer and concomitant resource allocation) will contribute to the strengthening
of contracting authorities for the water sector (drinking water, agricultural
and pasture water) by territorial communities.
LESSON 4
Municipal institutions are still young: this is their second governance
exercise. Hence elected municipal officers have yet to acquire the needed
capacities in terms of dissemination, planning, resource mobilization
(budgetary weakness) and implementation of development plans. The aid
of the support partners has played an important role in the growth of
the actors’ capacities, specifically territorial and local communities,
and in the strengthening of their cooperation relationship. This support
effort needs to be pursued.
Topic introduction
