Integrated Water Resources Management in Practice: Better Water Management for Development

Better water management will be crucial if we are to meet many of the key challenges of this century. The approach known as Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is widely recognized as the best way forward, but is poorly understood, even within the water sector. Through case studies, from both developed and developing countries on five continents, this book illustrates how better water management, guided by the IWRM approach, has helped to meet a wide range of sustainable development goals. It does this by considering practical examples, looking at how IWRM has contributed, at different scales, from very local, village level experiences to reforms at national level and beyond to cases involving trans-boundary river basins. Using these on-the-ground experiences, the book provides candid and practical lessons for policy makers, donors, and water and development practitioners worldwide looking at how IWRM principles were applied, what worked, and, equally important, what didn't work, and why.

Published with the Global Water Partnership

Roberto Lenton is Chair of the Technical Committee of the Global Water Partnership. He is former Director of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Division of the UNDP in New York and former Director General of the International Water Management Institute, Sri Lanka.

Mike Muller was Director General of South Africa's Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and is currently visiting professor at the University of the Witwatersrand's Graduate School of Public and Development Management in South Africa.