Rethinking Integrated Water Resources Management: Towards water and food security through adaptive management

Highlights

• Integrated Water Resources Management increasingly means looking at the anthropohydrogeological cycle, thus considering a range of conventional and non-conventional resources which are part of water resources management, such as conjunctive use, the potential of rainwater harvesting, water reuse and virtual water trade.
• Virtual water is an important component of integrated strategies in redistributing
water resources. On the whole, in terms of agricultural products, the Latin America
and Caribbean (LAC) region was a net exporter of green virtual water (141.5km3/
yr) especially from Argentina and Brazil, and a net importer of blue virtual water
(16.1km3/yr) especially Mexico, during the period 1996–2005.
• There are many opportunities for LAC to achieve more sustainable, equitable, and
efficient use of their resources thus facilitating a transition towards a green economy,
already present in numerous successful cases. Although many challenges still need
to be faced; in many cases economic growth in LAC has been achieved through
intensive use of natural resources like land and water – coupled with an increase in
the levels of pollution and the loss of ecosystems and biodiversity. Collectively, these
represent a serious challenge to water-security.
• In the LAC countries water governance occurs at very different levels – from the
international political sphere down to the irrigation district level. Despite the progress
made during the past decade, coordination of all these levels, i.e. achieving 
integrated water resources management, and strengthening stakeholders’ involvement
are fundamental to ensuring the legitimacy of the process and thus achieving clearly
stated policy goals.
• The LAC region is in active pursuit of water security through IWRM with a clear focus
on social equity and environmental quality and the way forward is clear, with a well defined pathway. However, it will require institutional communication, political will
and a strong dose of civil-society engagement in the planning process; the building
blocks required for a resilient, robust future.

Abstract

Integrated Water Resources Management increasingly means looking at the anthropo-hydrogeological cycle, thus considering a range of conventional and non-conventional resources which are part of water resources management, such as conjunctive use, the potential of rainwater harvesting, water reuse and virtual water trade. The LAC region is in active pursuit of water security through IWRM with a clear focus on social equity and environmental quality and the way forward is clear, with a well defined pathway. However, it will require institutional communication, political will and a strong dose of civil-society engagement in the planning process the building blocks required for a resilient, robust future.