A comparative assessment of institutional and legal arrangements for integrated water resources assessment.

摘要: Traditionally legislatives have not been interested in granting rights to the use of resources such as water that are plentiful enough not to have any economic value. But water is now increasingly seen as a scarce resource. This paper is based on the review of several systems of national water law and on experiences from various countries. The findings are presented around three main tenets: (i) water is a finite and vulnerable resource; (ii) water development and management should be based on a participatory approach; (iii) water is an economic good. The paper relates each principle to actual laws according to three main themes: environment, participation and economics.