Performance Assessment of Water Sectors

Methods and considerations for application

More Info
expand_more

Published Date

02-03-2011

Reuse Rights

Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.

Faculty

Technology, Policy and Management

Department

Multi Actor Systems

Abstract

With the rise of principles for water management in the 1990’s such as concepts as Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM), many countries have come to review their water policy and sectors. But how does one start in the assessment of a water sector with so many different variables and differences between countries? The objective of this paper is twofold. On the one hand it aims to highlight five different approaches and methods that are commonly used in the assessment of water sectors. On the other hand it aims demonstrate how these methods differ in terms of institutional levels. It is critical to understand that water sectors constitute of different institutional layers that are interconnected and all have different levels of focus where different types of water management decisions are made. Ignoring the existence and relations between these layers would be a critical mistake; without a holistic assessment of a water sector the true factors that influence its performance may never be found.