WATER GOVERNANCE :AN OECD PERSPECTIVE

Hakan Tropp, OECDHead of Water Governance Programme

23 January, Dialogues for a Water Secure Mexico

• Setting the scene• OECD Principles on Water Governance• OECD Indicator framework on water

governance• Multi-level Water Governance Framework:

The example of Mexico

Outline

SETTING THE SCENE

OECD Water Governance Initiative: From vision and action to implementation!

OECD Principles on Water Governance

Indicator Framework

50+ Water Stories

2013-2015 Vision

2016-2018 Action

2019-2021 Implementation

Promoting the use of existing indicators and developingimpact indicators

Promoting capacity development and developing modules and activities

Implementation of the Principles and

indicators

Operational activities OECD

Secretariat

Working group

Indicators

Working group

Capacity building

Strategic guidanceChair & Steering Committee

[Suez, ASTEE, INBO/OIEau, AEAS, WIN, SIWI, Transparency

International]

100+ Network Members

Communication & outreach

Structure of the WGI (2019-2021)

Better Governance in the Water Sector

Provide a Technical Platform

Advise Governments on Reform

Raise Profile of Governance in SDGs,

COP, Habitat III,

Implement Policy Standards and

PracticesFoster Governance

Continuity

Global Water Agenda[SDGs, 9th World Water Forum, Habitat III,

COP]

Water crises are often governance crises

ü Coping with water security, requires more than financing & hydrologyü Technical, financial & institutional solutions exist, but implementation

is laggingü Governance : a means to an end : manage too much, too little and too

polluted water

ü Local and global issue, with multiple actors at different levels ü Capital –intensive, monopolistic intensity, market failuresü Interdependencies across multiple stakeholders are poorly managed

No one-size-fits-all but a need to “mind” and “bridge” the gaps ü Beyond the question of WHAT to do to meet the water challenge,

there is a need to think about WHO DOES WHAT, WHY, ATWHICH LEVEL and HOW

Water, a fragmented sector that is sensitive to multilevel governance

OECD PRINCIPLES ON WATER GOVERNANCE

OECD Principles on Water Governance

www.oecd.org/governance/oecd-principles-on-water-governance.htm

https://www.oecd.org/environment/resources/Council-Recommendation-on-water.pdf

1. Clearly allocate and distinguish roles and responsibilities for water policymaking, policy implementation, operational management and regulation, and foster co-ordination across these responsible authorities.

2. Manage water at the appropriate scale(s) within integrated basin governance systems to reflect local conditions, and foster co-ordination between the different scales.

3. Encourage policy coherence through effective cross-sectoral co-ordination, especially between policies for water and the environment, health, energy, agriculture, industry, spatial planning and land use.

4. Adapt the level of capacity of responsible authorities to the complexity of water challenges to be met, and to the set of competencies required to carry out their duties.

The effectiveness of water governance

5. Produce, update, and share timely, consistent, comparable and policy-relevant water and water-related data and information, and use it to guide, assess and improve water policy.

6. Ensure that governance arrangements help mobilise water finance and allocate financial resources in an efficient, transparent and timely manner.

7. Ensure that sound water management regulatory frameworks are effectively implemented and enforced in pursuit of the public interest.

8. Promote the adoption and implementation of innovative water governance practices across responsible authorities, levels of government and relevant stakeholders.

The efficiency of water governance

9. Mainstream integrity and transparency practices across water policies, water institutions and water governance frameworks for greater accountability and trust in decision-making.

10. Promote stakeholder engagement for informed and outcome-oriented contributions to water policy design and implementation.

11. Encourage water governance frameworks that help manage trade-offs across water users, rural and urban areas, and generations.

12. Promote regular monitoring and evaluation of water policy and governance where appropriate, share the results with the public and make adjustments when needed.

Trust and engagement in water governance

OECD WATER GOVERNANCE INDICATORS

The Water Governance Indicator Framework

Traffic light

What Who How

Checklist

Yes No In development

Action plan Medium term Long termShort term

The Water Governance Indicator Framework

WHA

T Existence and level of implementation of a water law

WHO Existence and functioning of

ministry, line ministry, central agency with core water-related responsibilities for policy making

HOW Existence and implementation

of mechanisms to review roles and responsibilities, to diagnose gaps and adjust when need be

DescriptionThis indicator seeks to appraise the existence and level of implementation of a waterlaw, which can be at national level or subnational level depending on the institutionalfeature of the country (unitary or federal). The law should clearly assign and distinguishwater-related roles and responsibilities for policy making (especially priority setting andstrategic planning).

DescriptionThis indicator seeks to appraise the existence and functioning of institutions in chargeof setting water-related policy goals and strategies and delivering them; these can be atnational or subnational level depending on the scale of the self-assessment and theinstitutional feature of the country (unitary, federal).

DescriptionThis indicator seeks to appraise the existence and level of implementation ofmechanisms that can help identify areas of water management where there is no clarityon who does what; areas with incoherent and/or contradictory objectives; areas withdeficient implementation and/or limited enforcement; and/or areas with overlaps/duplication of responsibilities. They can take the form of analytical reports, regulatoryimpact assessments or regulatory reviews; open stakeholder consultations.

1.a

1.b

1.c

Indicators for Principle 1:

Base

line Framework

conditions

Ever

y thr

ee ye

ars Expected

changes

Long

-term Impacts

Not applicable

Not in place

Framework underdevelopment

In place, not implemented

In place, partly implemented

In place, functioning

Distance from the baseline situation

Water governance impacts (effectiveness, efficacy, inclusiveness)

Water sector performance

Socio-economic impacts

OECD Principles on Water Governance

Impr

ovem

ent

Assessment

IndicatorsThe evaluation framework

What is the current situation?Are changes expected in three years’ time?

0123456

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Current status

Expected progress( 3 years)

Notes: 0) Not applicable; 1) Not in place; 2) Framework under development; 3)In place, not implemented; 4) In place, partly implemented; 5) In place, functioning; 6) Expected to function better compared to the baseline assessment.

A 10 step assessment methodology

Diagnosis

Action

Preparation

5

1

6

4

3

2

7

109

8

Check the roles and responsibilities of the lead institution

Understand the principles and indicators framework

Set objectives and scope

Map stakeholders andtheir core motivations

Appoint a facilitator

Agree on the rules of the procedure

Organise the multi-stakeholder workshops to assess the water governance system

Link actions to existing policy frameworks, strategies and plans

Set up an accountability process

Consider repeating the assessment in three years’ time

• Make sure that the process is transparent and open. go beyond the “usual suspects” and involve emerging actors and unheard categories, such as women, youth and civil society organisations.

• Be aware of various methodological challenges, such as Complexity of process, data availability, stakeholder perceptions, comparability

• Make sure stakeholders buy-in to the process and trust the lead institution. If the assessment is not fully owned by the leading institution it will be very difficult to take actions based on the results. It is important to establish ownership for the self-assessment by explaining Principles and indicators.

• Make sure the process is forward-looking and action oriented.

Framework conditions: some lessons learned

OECD Water Governance Indicator Framework:

• 36 input and process indicators within a traffic light system

• 100+ guiding questions within the Checklist

• Action Plan

Evolving practices on water governance:

• Around 5 continents • Across water functions • National, regional, basin

and local scale• Across all types of

stakeholders from central governments to indigenous groups

Check the on line map!11 pilot test results of the water governance indicator framework

54 water governance practices

Wide geographical coverage

Range of water functions At different

scales

All types of stakeholders

involved

http://www.oecd.org/cfe/regional-policy/oecd-principles-on-water-governance.htm

MULTI-LEVEL GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK

Based on:OECD, 2013, “Making Water Reform Happen in Mexico”

OECD’s Evidence Base

National Policy dialogues

Thematic work

Benchmarks

OECD Multi-level Governance Framework :“Mind the Gaps, Bridge the Gaps”

OECD 2011 : Water Governance in OECD Countries : a Multi-Level Approach

A complex water institutional landscape in Mexico

OECD (2013) Making Water Reform Happen in Mexico

Multi-level governance gaps in Mexico’s water sector

Type Description and examples Administrative gap Mismatch between administrative and functional units (water bodies,

municipalities, metropolitan areas, regions, states) and hydrological boundaries and imperatives.

Information gap Asymmetry of information across stakeholders, limited standardisation, incomplete REDPA and metering system => public disclosure and harmonisation are key concerns

Policy gap Misaligned policies across water, energy, agricultural and territorial development policies Scattered planning tasks and capacity

Capacity gap High turnover among water professionals, limited training programs for technical, administrative and management staff

Funding gap Very limited own-source revenues at sub-national level; Huge reliance on federal programmes and CONAGUA resources.

Objective gap Lack of continuity of public policy at local level because of limited political mandates (3-year term of Mayors); Contradictory motivations of RBO and RBC leadership

Accountability gap Limited stakeholder engagement in WRM (farmers and indigenous communities) and WSS (users and consumers); Limited official mechanisms to channel’ demands Source

(OECD 2013a)

• Mexico needs to bring more flexibility into its water policies to ensure they are well-placed to meet future challenges. Governance responses, economic instruments, green and smart infrastructures can help address current challenges.

• Set up mechanisms and incentives for enhancing water policy outcomes in the current decentralisation framework. They should leave sufficient flexibility to adjust to the features of each state and basin institutional structure. This will require capacity building at all levels.

• Fully exploit the benefits of existing economic instruments in line with four principles the OECD has identified as necessary to underpin the effective financing of water resources management: PolluterPays, Beneficiary-Pays, Equity and Policy Coherence.

• Clarify the regulatory framework for water services to address overlaps and gaps in regulatory functions, clearly assign responsibilities at each level of government, strengthen enforcement and compliance, and increase the focus on the quality and efficiency of service provision.

• Strengthen the role and autonomy of river basin councils so that they can design context-tailored policies, develop real basin plans, identify and prioritise projects and generate the resources needed to carry out their duties. Again, a tailored approach may be required as basins are faced with specific challenges and are endowed with distinctive capacities.

• Establish platforms to share the good practices at basin, state and municipal levels

• Foster transparency, information sharing and public participation for more inclusive decisionmaking processes, better evaluation, monitoring, integrity and accountability in the water sector.

Examples of policy suggestions in Mexico based on OECD report, 2013.

• What does water security mean for Mexico?

• What governance related actions are seen as prioritised to achieve water security?

• What are the respective roles of government, private sector and civil society? Who should do what?

• What are the major information and knowledge gaps to achieve water security?

Some questions for your consideration

THANK YOU