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As scarce water supplies in urban environments come under increasing pressure, water managers are forced to widen technical analyses to incorporate issues related to water governance. The concept of integrated water management has been developed to highlight that social, institutional and economic issues, in addition to technical and ecological considerations, need to be considered concurrently. In this paper, the integrated water management framework is used to highlight some of the social and institutional issues of concern to water management in the South Pacific. A case study of Suva, the rapidly growing capital of Fiji, is used to illustrate the complexity of the management issues facing Pacific Island countries. It is argued that the trend toward more systemic management of water resources is a positive one, but in the case of the Pacific Island countries much better accounts of inter-agency communication, community education, public engagement, institutional coordination, water pricing and water monitoring are needed.

A strategic approach to local sustainability assessment requires that sustainability implications of proposed policies, plans and programmes are evaluated. These evaluations need to critically consider organizational structures, processes and outcomes. The establishment of 'communities of practice', groups or networks of practitioners with shared interests, is a helpful mechanism for facilitating change in a wide range of organizations. This paper analyses the potential for communities of practice to contribute to the implementation of sustainability assessments by local government. Focusing on Sutherland Shire Council in Sydney, Australia, this paper presents the findings of a project that engaged practitioners in the design of a sustainability assessment system. The establishment of communities of practice helped

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