2.5 Principles of IWRM and their Gender Implications

Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) offers an opportunity to create a paradigm shift in water resources management. The global environmental crisis, growing poverty in urban and rural areas, and continued gender inequalities all point to the need for a different governance approach to water use and management.

Applying this approach requires cohesion among the different institutions, policy, and regulatory frameworks and deliberate measures that take account of environmental sustainability and an intersectional analysis. Gender in this context is not a sufficient point of analysis without also considering intersecting identities of race, class, caste, ethnicity, age, ability, and geographical location.

• Water should be treated as an economic, social, and environmental good.
  • Freshwater is valuable and limited. Water supply services and infrastructure are economic activities, while at the same time, access to basic water supply is a fundamental human right. Water use for sanitation and domestic purposes, which tends to be the responsibility of women, should be incorporated into the assessments of economic values of the use of water. Women often have no rights to land and water, and development efforts may negatively affect their livelihoods.
  • While it is desirable for water supply to be paid for, it is also important to take into account people’s ability to pay. Women’s interests and gender relations are often overlooked. If charges for domestic water supply have to be paid, both men and women should be involved in determining the rates. Even though women often do not have control over cash, they are still expected to pay for water and sanitation, more than men, because they are the main users and it is considered their responsibility A gender and social equity analysis of demands is required.
  • Access to basic amounts of water supply as a social good and human right needs to be included in policies and planning. Increased charges for water should not apply to meeting basic human needs and should not reduce water minimum consumption for cooking and hygiene.

• Water policies should focus on the management of water and not just on the provision of water.
  • Governments and local stakeholders should be key actors in water management.
  • The private sector can play a role in providing water supply services for greater efficiency. National governments need to retain responsibility for oversight of water quality and for regulating and monitoring private providers. The government is also responsible for ensuring that the water supply needs of the whole population are met. Companies solely interested in making a profit will not be concerned about low-income households, domestic water users and those who use water sources and water catchments for their basic necessities of life. Women are heavily represented in these categories.
  • With increased privatisation, capacity building of local communities becomes more important, and it should be ensured that women and men benefit equally from capacity building initiatives.

• Governments should facilitate and enable the sustainable development of water resources through the provision of integrated water resources policies and regulatory frameworks.
  • Holistic water management is needed because actions taken in one water sector have an impact on water availability, quantity and quality in another. Such impact is different for men and women, between and even within households, and according to sex, age and status.
  • At higher levels coordination within countries and ministries is necessary, including coordination at sub-national levels, and women’s interests and rights need to be taken into account.

• Water resources should be managed at the lowest appropriate level.
  • Participation by all stakeholders leads to better water management. Because of women’s traditional roles in water resources management, they have knowledge which should be included in planning and practice.
  • The lowest level is most important to ensure that decisions are supported by those who implement water projects on the ground. These are often women. Female-headed households tend to have less bargaining power in communities than male-headed households. A specific effort to include them is needed.

• Both women and men should be recognised as central to the provision, management and safeguarding of water.
  • Campaigns to reduce water wastage should target men and women and especially industries and institutions that waste water.
  • Women’s skills and knowledge are crucial for the effective and efficient management of water.
  • More attention is needed to control pollution and to improve water quality and sanitation for the benefit of women who collect domestic water and to improve health.