El mes de octubre ha reunido dos eventos de referencia en cuanto a gestión y gobernanza del regadío se refiere. En primer lugar, el 1st International Conference on Water Governance que tuvo lugar en Lisboa los días 8 y 9 de octubre. Organizado por el Instituto Superior Técnico de Lisboa (IST), dicho congreso se estructuró en 4 paneles y 9 sesiones paralelas, reuniendo a más de un centenar de asistentes de Europa y Asia. Las temáticas a debate se centraron en aspectos tales como la calidad de los servicios públicos del agua, los principios que rigen la buena gobernanza, los instrumentos legales e institucionales, y las buenas prácticas. A su vez, dichos paneles incorporaron temáticas tales como la regulación; la gobernanza urbana; la participación pública; la eficiencia; el papel del sector privado; los cambios y reformas institucionales; la gestión integrada de los recursos hídricos; el coste de acceso al agua; y las preocupaciones sociales que genera la disponibilidad de recursos hídricos.
En palabras de los organizadores:
Over the last decades, there has been a growing concern regarding the possibility of a water crisis that would surely affect a large share of the population at a worldwide scale, preventing the access to services that are essential to the fulfilment of all human rights. Such prevention would affect billions of people, mostly harming those that still do not enjoy an adequate access to these services of general interest. Indeed, several scholars and practitioners suggest that the so called potential crisis would be mostly driven by water mismanagement, particularly, by poor water governance.
Indeed, the lack of clarity of roles and responsibilities, faulty resource allocation and defective financial management, lack of accountability of politicians, policy-makers and regulators, and the failure in providing a stable environment for private sector participation threaten the provision of water and wastewater services. Therefore, to counter current problems and avoid widespread predicaments, there is a requirement to address both technical and governance issues in order to assure the fulfilment of those obligations connected with the general interest of water services. Thus, there is a demand for an appropriate conduct from all the stakeholders in order to improve the outcomes in a consistent manner, suggesting that improved governance is essential for a sustainable development. In other words, the adoption of current alternatives seems too old-fashioned and no longer able to deal with the complexity and the human dimension of the water sector, suggesting a radical paradigm shift towards integrated water management at all appropriate levels.
The mentioned revolution must promote good governance principles, throughout the ‘players of the game’ in order to impose a tendency to reach improved outcomes. The disclosure of those principles, namely related to:
- the independence and accountability of the stakeholders;
- the relationship between policymakers, operators, customers and regulators or other entities with related responsibilities;
- the transparency and predictability of decision making;
- clear and efficient organizational structures and resource availability;
- good governance principles impact on performance and the role of innovative solutions;
- will certainly contribute to devise increasingly sustainable environments.
Podéis acceder al contenido de las conferencias y trabajos técnicos en el siguiente link: http://elainegregorio.wix.com/h2ogovernance
El segundo congreso tuvo lugar del 11 al 16 de octubre en Montpellier bajo el título Innovate to improve irrigation performance, organizado por la French Association for Water, Irrigation and Drainage (AFEID) y la colaboración del International Commission of Irrigation and Drainage (ICID). La cita reunió a más de 600 participantes de 60 países quienes analizaron el futuro del regadío ante los retos que supone la gestión integrada y la buena gobernanza de los bienes comunes. Organizado en 3 sesiones principales y 10 sesiones paralelas, el evento incorporó temáticas tales como la multifuncionalidad de los recursos hídricos; los impactos del cambio climático y el margen de maniobra del regadío ante la necesidad de adaptarse a los mismos; los servicios ambientales vinculados a las prácticas de regadío; o la gestión de las "crisis del agua" ante usos y demandas en competencia.
En palabras de los organizadores:
With growing water needs, resources becoming scarcer, and the threat of potential conflicts on water sharing issues between the various uses, agriculture is at the forefront of the uses which have to enhance the performances of its water use. New irrigation techniques -claimed as water saving- and alternative or non-conventional water resources come into the irrigation landscape. They are promoted but the government but are also implemented, often informally, by farmers, in order to secure their production. But are the feedbacks we have on these alternatives?
Presentations and discussions between a large number of irrigation experts will mainly focus on the following questions:
- 1) Drip irrigation for water saving: the winning formula?
- 2) What potential for wastewater use in agriculture?
- 3) What governance for goundwater and surface water use in agriculture?
We will try to understand the innovation driving forces, its processes of dissemination and its performances for these three main issues.
Podéis acceder al contenido de las conferencias y trabajos técnicos en el siguiente link: http://icid2015.sciencesconf.org/
