Is there a difference between “Water Governance” and “water management”?
Water “governance” and “management” appear to be used interchangeably. For example, The Asian Development Bank views water governance “as the means for sound management and involvement of stakeholder participation, transparency and accountability”. It claims that the “global water crisis is in fact a crisis of governance,” when many experts have previously condemned the crisis to be one of water management. So, what is the difference? It is very subtle, and can be summarised as follows. Water Governance refers to the set of administrative systems operating in the water field, while water management is the carrying out of activities in the water sector to meet specific targets or objectives. Thus, whilst transparency and accountability are part of (good) water governance, delivering water or installing improved water resources are a part of water management. It could be argued that water management, is a more technical and operational term.
