UN&amp;#8211;Water and its Role in Global Water Governance

Baumgärtner, Thomas; Pahl‐Wostl, Claudia

doi:10.5751/es-05564-180303

Cited by 43 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…However, their ability to strengthen coherence is limited: UN-Water and UN-Energy have outputs (coordinated responses or common positions published in policy briefs, in information material, or presented at conferences) that are not institutionally linked to policy processes. They are not responses to formal demands, and do not feed into existing processes, but are like freefloating advice; for more details on UN-Water see Baumgartner (2010). UN-Energy's coordination efforts in the clusters further reflect missing linkages inside its work field and between the clusters and missing support from team members who are not cluster leaders (UN-Energy 2009).…”

Section: Comparative Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing Global Coordination Mechanisms on Energy, Environment, and Water

Schubert¹,

Gupta²

2013

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Increasingly, coordination mechanisms are being created at the United Nations (UN) level to enhance systemwide synergies; however, there is relatively little scientific research on these bodies. Against this background, we compare the mandates, structures, and outputs of three UN coordination mechanisms, the UN Environment Management Group, UN-Energy, and UN-Water, to understand what features enhance their ability to coordinate. We conclude that there are three key design elements that possibly enhance the ability of such mechanisms to coordinate. However, although coordination mechanisms are the easiest to set up, because they create the least political upheaval and are relatively cheap, these very characteristics hinder their ability to actually steer the bodies in their sector in such a way that synergy is optimized, duplications and contradictions are reduced, and a common strategy is adopted. Such coordination bodies can contribute to agenda setting, knowledge sharing, providing a discussion forum, and bringing together stakeholders and experts.

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Section: Comparative Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing Global Coordination Mechanisms on Energy, Environment, and Water

Schubert¹,

Gupta²

2013

E&S

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“…Indeed, whereas the size of the industrial exhibition is growing from year to year, the final declaration of the Forum's informal ministerial process has remained quite inconsequential in policy terms. Despite strong leadership in the scientific community in the initial stage, water and climate change is lacking leadership in the formal policy process, which is required for effective rule-making (e.g., Baumgartner and Pahl-Wostl 2013). A comprehensive approach is strongly promoted by emphasizing water security and the water-foodenergy nexus.…”

Section: Link Type I: Missing or Weak Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Missing Links in Global Water Governance: a Processes-Oriented Analysis

Pahl‐Wostl¹,

Conca²,

Kramer³

et al. 2013

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ABSTRACT. Over the past decade, the policy and scholarly communities have increasingly recognized the need for governance of water-related issues at the global level. There has been major progress in the achievement of international goals related to the provision of basic water and some progress on sanitation services. However, the water challenge is much broader than securing supply. Doubts have been raised about the effectiveness of some of the existing governance processes, in the face of trends such as the unsustainable use of water resources, the increasing pressure imposed by climate change, or the implications of population growth for water use in food and energy production. Conflicts between different water uses and users are increasing, and the state of the aquatic environment is further declining. Inequity in access to basic water and sanitation services is still an issue. We argue that missing links in the trajectories of policy development are one major reason for the relative ineffectiveness of global water governance. To identify these critical links, a framework is used to examine how core governance processes are performed and linked. Special attention is given to the role of leadership, representativeness, legitimacy, and comprehensiveness, which we take to be critical characteristics of the processes that underpin effective trajectories of policy development and implementation. The relevance of the identified categories is illustrated with examples from three important policy arenas in global water governance: the effort to address access to water and sanitation, currently through the Millennium Development Goals; the controversy over large dams; and the links between climate change and water resources management. Exploratory analyses of successes and failures in each domain are used to identify implications and propose improvements for more effective and legitimate action.

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“…UN-Water is perhaps more than the sum of its individual members and, in fact, is often said to represent a significant improvement over the UN Administrative Committee on Coordination Subcommittee on Water Resources, its predecessor. Under its current "light" set-up, however, it will be unlikely to transform the water policies of its individual members to have an overarching global water agenda (Baumgartner 2010, UN-Water 2010, Schubert and Gupta 2013. UN-Water operates in the background and influences the procedures of global water governance, rather than the substance (Baumgartner and PahlWostl 2013).…”

Section: A Coordination Agencymentioning

confidence: 99%

Thinking about the Future of Global Water Governance

Dellapenna¹,

Gupta²,

Li³

et al. 2013

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ABSTRACT. Global water problems are likely to increase in severity, rendering existing governance approaches unable to cope with the resulting problems. We inquire into the relationship between global water governance structures, particularly those involving the United Nations, and look at how those structures are likely to respond to and shape projected water futures. Building on story lines of possible water futures taken from existing scenarios, we discuss the functions to be performed by global water governance.We aim to open a discussion about four global water governance options and to introduce the constraints and possibilities for each option. We argue that the nature of the water problem calls for structural changes. However unfeasible these may appear today, such transitions do occur, and, if the narrative is sufficiently sound, it can be used by social movements and networks to mobilize policy entrepreneurs and directional leaders to work for such changes.

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UN–Water and its Role in Global Water Governance

Cited by 43 publications

References 5 publications

Comparing Global Coordination Mechanisms on Energy, Environment, and Water

Comparing Global Coordination Mechanisms on Energy, Environment, and Water

Missing Links in Global Water Governance: a Processes-Oriented Analysis

Thinking about the Future of Global Water Governance

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