Public Participation in the Governance of International Freshwater Resources

Contents: Note on measurements. Acknowledgements. Introduction. 1. From theory to practice: an overview of approaches to involving the public in international watershed management/Carl Bruch, Libor Jansky, Mikiyasu Nakayama, Kazimierz A. Salewicz, and Angela Cassar. I. Theoretical frameworks: 2. Evolution of public involvement in international watercourse management/Carl Bruch. 3. Transboundary ecosystem governance: beyond sovereignty?/Bradley C. Karkkainen. 4. Implications of the information society on participatory governance/Hans van Ginkel. II. Experiences from international watersheds: 5. Public participation in the management of the Danube river: necessary but neglected/Ruth Greenspan Bell and Libor Jansky. 6. Citizens working across national borders: the experience in the North American great lakes/John Jackson. 7. Public participation in watershed management in theory and practice: a Mekong River Basin perspective/Prachoom Chomchai. 8. Public participation in Southern African watercourses/Michael Kidd and Nevil W. Quinn. 9. Public involvement in water resource management within the Okavango River Basin/Peter Ashton and Marian Neal. III. International institutions: 10. Access to information, public participation, and conflict resolution at the world bank/Charles E. Di Leva. 11. Improving governance and public participation in international watercourse management: experience of the African development bank in the Senegal River Basin/Aboubacar Fall and Angela Cassar. 12. A North American toolbox for public involvement in international watershed issues/Geoffrey Garver. IV. Lessons from domestic watercourses: 13. Improving sustainable management of Kenyan fisheries resources through public participation/Nancy Gitonga. 14. Public participation in a multijurisdictional resource recovery: lessons from the Chesapeake Bay program/Roy A. Hoagland. 15. Chesapeake Bay protection: business in the open/Rebecca Hanmer. 16. A cooperative process for PCB TMDL development in the Delaware Estuary/Tomlinson Fort III. 17. Public participation in the resettlement process of dam-construction projects: a post-project survey of the Saguling and Cirata dams in Indonesia/Mikiyasu Nakayama. V. Emerging tools: 18. Internet-based tools for disseminating information and promoting public participation in international watercourse management/Carl Bruch. 19. Capabilities and limitations of decision support systems in facilitating access to information/Kazimierz A. Salewicz. 20. Sketches from life: adaptive ecosystem management and public learning/John Volkman. 21. The Colorado river through the Grand Canyon: applying alternative dispute resolution methods to public participation/Mary Orton. 22. Public participation in the development of guidelines for regional environmental impact assessment of transboundary aquatic ecosystems of East Africa/George Michael Sikoyo. 23. Access to justice through the central American water tribunal/Juan Miguel Picolotti and Kristin L. Crane. Conclusion: 24. Strategies for advancing public involvement in international watershed management/Carl Bruch, Libor Jansky, Mikiyasu Nakayama, and Kazimierz. A. Salewicz. Index.

"Clean water is essential to human survival, yet it is increasingly scarce. Despite pressures on this crucial resource, people often have little or no opportunity to participate in watershed decision that affect them, particularly when they live along international watercourses. The United Nations has identifies the rising demand for water as one of four major factors that will threaten human and ecological health for at least a generation.

Over the coming decade, governments throughout the world will struggle to manage water in ways that are efficient equitable and environmentally sound. Whether these efforts succeed may turn, in large part, on providing the public with a voice in watershed management decisions that directly affect them. Public involvement holds the promise of improving the management international watercourses and reducing the potential for conflict over water issues.

This volume examines the experiences in many watercourses around the world, lessons learned and areas for further development. Drawing upon papers presented at a symposium on "Improving Public Participation and Governance in International Watershed Management" co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute, United Nations University, and other institutions, the chapters identify innovative approaches, as well as some of the considerations--linguistic, political, legal, traditional and cultural, geographic and institutional--that should be considered when extending and adapting the approaches to other watersheds."