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Francisco Pérez-Trejo Senior Adviser, FAO

A Living Labs-based Methodological Framework for Sustainable Water Resources Management

Berlin, 9 September 2009

Outline

● The challenges facing Integrated Sustainable Water Resources Management

● Strategic and operational implications

● Living Labs● The methodological

framework● The policy challenges

IWRM is a process, which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources, in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems.*

The IWRM process

*Technical Advisory Committee of Global Water Partnership (GWP-TEC, 2000)

Strategic and operational implications for effective IWRM:

Driving Forces of Development - Structural Change

Regional Disparities Urban vs. Rural

Socio-economic disparities between rich and poor

Sustainability of Natural Resources Use in Agriculture

Impacts of land-use changes

Impacts of land-use changes

Decline of rural communities

The Challenges facing successful Integrated Sustainable Water Resources Management

• The complex nature of the development process,

the role of innovation

• The complex policy landscape

• Uncertainty associated with changing water consumption patterns in all sectors (e.g. diets and agricultural practices)

• Increased uncertainty associated with the effects of climate change on water supply and expected outcomes of IWRM

Social Spaces for Research and Innovation (SSRI)

The Policy Challenges

Scale considerations• Macro (global)• Meso (regional)• Micro (community, household)

Iner-sectorial linkages

Time-lag and cultural complexity

Spatial disparities

Methodological challenge:Integrated assessment

The Policy Challenges (2)

• Diagnosing the scope and issues in order to define options,

alternatives, political decisions, possible impacts, responses

• Mapping the policy process

These challenges can be addressed by:

• A complexity-based methodological framework

• A Living Labs innovationapproach to sustainable

development

• Effective Research-Policy dialogue

• A strategic approach for impact assessment

Impact Assessment Methodological Framework

The objective of the impact assessment methodological framework is to integrate the dynamics of social agents with future development scenarios in order to identify mechanisms for scaling-up results and formulate policy recommendations.

3. Evaluating impact by means of the Livelihoods Approach to assess the different needs regarding the assets of wellbeing of communities (human, natural, physical, economic and financial, social)

5. Social Networks Mapping

• Future development scenarios for scaling-up the results of Living Labs

Future scenarios development

Scenarios for exploring

possible futures of

complex systems, and

systematically

assessing the possible

impacts of key driving

forces on water

development policies

and programmes.

Expected contribution of our research group

• Strengthening Living Labs networks for collaboration

• Impact evaluation guidelines and methods• Indicators of impact (livelihoods, wellbeing)• Scaling up Living-labs results at regional level• Policy assessment methodologies• Partnerships in other regions of the world• Communication and dissemination strategy

Thank you

Francisco.PerezTrejo@fao.org