Wednesday, December 7th, 5:30 PM-6:30 PM
Session coordinators: UNDP - SIWI, IWRA, UNESCO, GEF IW-LEARN, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia
Groundwater governance is about the decision-making processes, law and policy, conditions and enabling environment that determine who gets what water, how, where, and when. Governance sets critical frames for groundwater management, planning, and policy implementation, and takes aim at the decision-making practices and outcomes at multiple levels of the administration.
Governance takes place at different, partially overlapping levels. It is concerned with the regulatory framework of formal rules, principles for decision-making, instrumental steering of the relationship between government and line ministries, incentives for cross-sectoral collaboration, the conditions for financing, data collection and sharing, and the link and nexus with other sectoral policies that govern utilisation of groundwater. At the regional and local level, groundwater governance comprises specific arrangements that are devised, usually between the different users and local authorities, at the aquifer or basin scale, including social norms and local practices.
The rule of law and other governance principles are, alongside institutional arrangements, the cornerstones that support and create opportunities for steering, action, and transformation. Groundwater governance is challenging due to several interlinked and somewhat overlapping factors. It is partially because of the open access-nature and direct use of most underground resources.
The session will explore gains, gaps and challenges from a groundwater governance perspective on acceleration of SDG 6. How can improved cross-sectoral governance – at multiple levels including the very local – better value groundwater resources and aquifers? What coordination measures are necessary; how can better alignment be-tween formal governance arrangements and informal elements be fostered? How can regulatory frameworks be improved?
Speakers
- Karen Grothe Villholth(Moderator)Water Cycle Innovation, Director
- Jenny Grönwall(Rapporteur)Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), Advisor Water Policy & Rights
- Sabina Khatri(Rapporteur)UNU-FLORES, MoEWRI, RWSN, GWYN, Visiting Scholar, Hydrogeologist
- Tanja Miškova(Opening Address)Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Slovenia, Ambassador-at-Large for Water Diplomacy
- Raya Stephan(Overview Presentation)Water law expert/Deputy Editor in Chief Water International, Consultant
- Eric Tardieu(Panelists)International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO), Secretary General
- Joanna Doummar(Panelists)American University of Beirut- International Association of Hydrogeologists, Associate Professor of Groundwater Hydrology- Vice president MENA (IAH)
- Olcay Unver(Panelists)Arizona State University, Professor of Practice
- Yuanyuan LI(Panelists)International Water Resources Association, President
- Callist Tindimugaya(Reflections by practitioner)Ministry of Water and Environment Uganda, Uganda Commissioner for Water Resources Planning and Regulation
- Barbara Pompili(Statements by invited speakers)Former French Minister for Ecological Transition, Chair of the OECD Water Governance Initiative, Member of the National Assembly of France
- Nigel Crawhall(Statements by invited speakers)UNESCO, Chief of Section
- Marianne Kjellen(Conclusion)United Nations Development Programme, Senior Water Advisor