Symposium on “Roles of Water Management Organisations and creation of New Water Culture in Rural Area”

IFAP at the 3rd World Water Forum
Presentation by Mr. Jack Wilkinson, IFAP President
Shiga, Japan, 20 March 2003


It is with great pleasure that I accept your invitation to voice the opinions and views of farmers of the World, in my role as the President of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP). Before beginning my presentation, I would like to thank the Japanese government for giving us farmers this chance to express our concerns and expectations on such an important and crucial issue as water in rural areas. The roles of water management organisations and the creation of new water culture in rural areas is a relevant issue, which needs to be looked at using a participative approach.

Indeed, we believe that water management organisations have an important role to play in changing the way water is managed and used in rural areas. Even if we believe that the Government should remain the principal provider of the water resource, the management of this scarce resource should be decentralised, giving a certain leeway to water management organisations, including those bringing together water users and more specifically farmers and rural communities. Decentralisation is a key policy and it is achieved when national policy meets community needs. This doesn’t mean that the Government should abandon its role as the guardian and main provider of natural resources; rather, the Government has to create opportunities and enable other stakeholders to get organised and to plan their operations.

M. Chairman, let us look at what should be the different roles of these water management organisations, especially those run by civil society representatives including farmers in rural areas.

Let’s first look at the World situation of water resource availability and the needs for agriculture.

The fresh water needs of agriculture keep on increasing. FAO predicts that it will be necessary to double world food production over the next 25 years, using essentially the same land area. By 2025, more than 3 billion people will face water scarcity. The world water situation is thus alarming, and we must react to reverse this trend. A good way to achieve this is to involve farmers and rural communities in the actual management of the water resources, and in helping them to get organised and create water management associations promoting demand driven water management schemes.

This alarming global picture shows the pressure that exists on global water resources. Currently, about 70% of the world’s freshwater supplies are used for agriculture, 85% of which are used by developed countries and the remaining 15% are used by the developing world where most of the population is rural and lives from family agriculture. It is clear that in the future, sustainable agriculture will be called upon to increase the efficiency of water use – that is, “more crop per drop”. Consequently, sustainable agriculture must be made even more intensive and productive than it is now, despite the substantial productivity gains achieved over the last 30 years (which apply to developed countries).

Water access problems in rural areas

In poor countries, most of the population is located in rural areas and engaged in agriculture, livestock raising, fishing or forestry. The struggle against poverty must therefore be addressed through agriculture and rural development, and a key element in winning this struggle is the access to water resources.


Currently, rural people have to rely on their own means to access this vital resource. They must walk long distances to collect water for domestic use, and they rely on the weather for water for their crops and farm activities. The rural poor face considerable risks, as their production is subject to weather and climatic variations.


Particular attention should be given to the rural poor since they are the first victims of water shortages. Rural areas are often remote and the access to water services is severely lacking. Therefore, the priority for water management policy is to ensure that the needs and interests of the poor come first. Special development programs related to access and management of water are needed, and resources have to be oriented towards Southern countries where much of the population lives in extreme poverty


Types of water management organisations:

Water management systems and organisations must meet the capacity and the needs of each river basin and catchment area to obtain good water quality and quantity. There should be a link between sustainable water and farming policies. This should not prevent the transfer of water from areas where it is in excess to those where there are water shortages. Although sharing water too often leads to competition, we must reverse this trend. For this reason, it is important that all water organisations recognise and respect all the uses - and users - of water for a better sharing of water resources. Without this, measures to increase the “efficiency” of its use can cut off some uses, thereby reducing the overall value of water uses. Sharing water must involve cooperation even if dealing with all uses and users of water may make it more complicated to manage. It also opens more opportunities to revitalise the ways in which, the systems are managed.


It is important that water management organisations enhance consultation and participation through consultation frameworks.

In order to be equitable and sustainable, water management and development has to be conducted on a participatory basis, with decision making occurring at the lowest appropriate level. Indeed, all water users and stakeholders especially farmers, men and women, young and old, both in developed and developing countries, whose actions affect the quantity or quality of water should have a say in water management. The different needs of each party should be identified, and the optimum solution found for everyone with the participation of each stakeholder.

A participatory management strategy contributes to increase the effectiveness of river basin organisations because it increases the motivation of local communities.

Indeed, the ultimate motivation of rural communities to become involved in the management process is to find opportunities in protecting water resources to develop new and innovative means of agricultural production that will enhance their living conditions. However, generally speaking, farmers often feel their uses are inadequately considered in comparison to the urban community’s increasing demands.

Therefore, farmers including women in agriculture, need to get organised and build up their capacity to participate in decision-making processes. Community based participation through the creation of consultation frameworks have to become a prerequisite for water management. National governments have the responsibility to set up national programs to strengthen technical, financial and education capacities of these local associations to enable them to participate and create their own water management associations for maintenance and running of water sources.

Here are two examples of participation schemes in terms of water management:

- The use of water user associations (WUA) is proven to be an interesting approach to decentralize and privatise water management. It offers an institutional mechanism that can improve both water allocation efficiency as well as ensuring equity of distribution. More over, the creation of WUA can also be seen as a management alternative that will guarantee sustainability of the irrigation systems by providing the necessary funding for O&M (Operating and Maintenance) of the systems as well as ensuring transparency in the use of the water participation fees collected from farmers. WUA can also incorporate integrated pest management with irrigation. It is important to note that WUA should be established under legislation that protects the organisations’ rights and also provides tax exemption, because the organisation is not a profit making association.

- There is an interesting approach developed in the Netherlands, where public Water District Boards have been created. Water boards are not elected by the public; rather, they are elected by members of the interested parties. A major characteristic of these district water boards is that interested parties manage and finance these boards and are legally authorized to levy taxes and to carry out their tasks with regard to water management. Other activities are related to land use planning, nature conservation and environment protection, and recreation.

- It is interesting to note that water boards balance the different and sometimes conflicting interests of water management in cooperation with the central government, the provincial and municipal authorities and other interested parties. It would be interesting to apply this model to other regions in the world, adjusting them to the local culture.


Role of water organisations in protecting the quality of water

One of the major roles of water management organisations in rural areas is to protect the quality of water because it represents a prerequisite for sustainable development. This responsibility cannot only be put on farmers. It has to be shared by all interested parties and stakeholders. Therefore, establishing voluntary agreements between local/regional authorities or water stations and farmers are important for the protection of the water resources and water quality. With such agreements, farmers would be able to supply services, which are in the interest of the general public.

Developing incentives for a more efficient and rational use of the water resources through

Stewardship programs

IFAP is in favour of water management strategies that put emphasis on stewardship programs to promote a more sustainable use of freshwater resources in combination with new agriculture methods. These strategies would include incentives for the adoption of new, more environmentally-friendly techniques, as they become available. Rewarding those farmers and communities that work for the conservation, quality and efficient use of water without putting prejudice on their income is a good incentive. Farmers need, as much as possible, to adapt their farm management practices to meet the required environmental outcomes.

Sustainable demand driven systems, involving farmers, such as rationing, water storage, water harvesting, water conservation through rain-fed and irrigated agriculture, water auditing systems, monitoring of water uses.

The use of appropriate technologies adapted to local conditions and made accessible to producers (use of indigenous and traditional knowledge) should be encouraged by water management organisations.

Partnerships between water organisations and the scientific community

Water associations and organisations should be called upon in order to collaborate with the scientific community. This latter could benefit from the traditional and indigenous knowledge of farmers and rural communities who know better than anyone their environment.

Besides, research on irrigation represents an important part of research and development related to water management. Research has an important role to play in improving drainage and irrigation systems. For example, it is necessary to develop - perhaps through biotechnology - the drought tolerance characteristics of plants as well as measures to promote soil moisture conservation measures.

Risk management tools for farmers hit by natural disasters (prevention of disasters, establishing crop insurance programs, water damage insurance) are of high importance to guarantee them a decent income. Some countries already practice full reimbursement of farmers hit by natural disasters. There is thus an urgent need to acknowledge compensation for the most vulnerable farmers where it doesn’t already exist.

TO UPGRADE EFFICIENCY IN ALL WATER USES, it is important to combine both technical and managerial means

Funding through innovative partnerships

Organisations and water users often do not have the finances, knowledge, right institutions, or incentives to use the new technology. The private sector has the means but often does not have the experience to ensure efficient and equitable water management policies that national authorities are able to bring. Instead of separate government agencies for irrigation, water supply, sanitation and environment, effective water management organizations will have to include new combinations of public sector, private sector, and civil society to seek fitting solutions. For instance, management of river basins and irrigation areas should be in the hands of local and regional governments as well as farmers’ irrigation organisations.

Partnerships among farmers and other water users could prove to be a useful approach to water management. The New Zealand experience shows that bringing together the interests of land users in a waterway has enabled every interest to be recognised and addressed equitably. There are a number of such partnerships in place that protect the water supply rights of land users as well as the community and social benefits of non-agricultural users/stakeholders.

In conclusion, the roles of water management organisations are multi-faceted as they have to be well organised and financially sustainable in order to provide their members with needed services.

It is true that Water organisations run by water users groups need autonomy to serve their members’ interests; however, government support at the financial level for the recognition of their work is also needed. It is the only way these organisations can fulfil their role properly in order to create a new culture in rural areas.

Thank you for your attention