stakeholder participation and gender equity in...
TRANSCRIPT
STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION AND GENDER EQUITY IN IWRM
August 2014
Stakeholder Participation: Learning Objectives
▪Understanding who a stakeholder is and how to categorize stakeholders
▪Learn how to engage stakeholders effectively
▪Get guidance on how to sustain stakeholder participation
Stakeholder Participation & IWRM
▪ The Dublin Principles for IWRM:
Water is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life, development and the environment
Water development and management should be based on a participatory approach involving users, technocrats and policy-makers at all levels
Women play a central part in the provision, management and safeguarding of water
Water has an economic value in all its competing uses and should be recognized as an economic good
Why do we need stakeholder participation in IWRM?
▪Water is everybody’s business
▪Technocrats don’t always know stakeholders’ preferences
▪To inculcate sense of ownership amongst stakeholders
▪To get commitment to make implementation possible
Why do we need stakeholder participation?
▪ Broadens awareness of water resources issues▪ Provides windows of communication for new ideas and
feedback▪ Promotes equity in relationships between stakeholders▪ Promotes recognition and knowledge of social and cultural
value systems▪ Facilitates capacity building in water resources management
Who is a stakeholder?
▪People who want to or should be involved in a decision or action because they have some interest or stake in the outcome
What makes someone a stakeholder?
▪Have real or perceived interest in the resource or its users
▪ Believe management decisions will affect them
▪ Are located in or near areas about which decisions are being made
▪Have an interest in the decision-making process
▪ Pay for the decisions
▪ Are in a position of authority to review decisions
Stakeholder Inventory
▪Who are the potential beneficiaries?
▪Who might be adversely impacted?
▪Have vulnerable groups who may be impacted been identified?
▪Are gender interests adequately identified and represented?
Stakeholder inventory: categorization
▪Water users
▪Governmental institutions (including River Basin Organizations)
▪Civil society and NGO’s
▪Cooperating Partners
Stakeholder Categories
Stakeholder mobilization
▪It is important to recognize that not all stakeholders want to be involved and they may have very different reasons for participating
▪Focus on factual information
▪Decentralize to a local level
Stakeholder mobilization
Components of participation
▪Intensity – degree of participation
▪Instruments – mechanisms for engaging stakeholders
▪Incentives – what makes people participate
Intensity
▪The 4 levels of participation range from:
Passive information sharing
Consultation/seeking feedback
Collaboration/joint decision making
Empowerment/shared control
Information sharing
▪At the lower end of the participation scale
▪May involve disseminating information about an intended program
▪Communication is one-way rather than interactive
Consultation
▪ Involves asking people for their opinion about something
▪ Many consultative processes focus solely on obtaining ‘buy-in’ for an already planned activity
▪ People involved may have little to no responsibility in formulating plans or the decisions for water management, no obligation to incorporate their view
▪ Consultation can however be more or less participatory and can evolve into collaboration or shared control, and in the best scenarios can lead to greater networking and a sense of ownership
Collaboration
▪Active engagement of stakeholders
▪Formation of groups and networks to improve structures or practices
▪Stakeholder perspectives are taken seriously and acted upon
▪Stakeholders significantly influence actions, whether or not they initiated the collaboration
Empowerment and shared control
▪More stakeholder engagement than just collaboration
▪ Stakeholders assume control and ownership of water resources and make decisions accordingly
▪ Stakeholders accept responsibility for developing and implementing action plans
▪ Local participation is most sustainable at this level because the people concerned have a stake in maintaining structures or practices
Instruments for participation
▪Forums for communication
Meetings/workshops/conferences
Interviews/surveys
▪Institutions
Basin/sub-basin committees
Water user associations
Incentives for participation
▪Location – decisions that are being debated or made affect your backyard
▪Job – you are being paid to participate
▪Personal interest – you support a cause or a particular position and want to make sure that voice is heard
Where and how should stakeholders be involved?
Maintaining participation
▪Information dissemination
▪Capacity building of the stakeholders
▪Giving responsibility and clear roles
▪Initiating practical IWRM projects on the ground
▪Providing adequate and reliable services
Maintaining participation
▪Information dissemination
▪Capacity building of the stakeholders
▪Giving responsibility and clear roles
▪Initiating practical IWRM projects on the ground
▪Providing adequate and reliable service
Stakeholder organization and structure
▪ Purpose:To promote more equitable access to water
To promote better management of water and associated resources
To provide information on water and associated resources
To build awareness and capacity of basin community
To assist with conflict management
To facilitate participation of stakeholders
Stakeholder organization and structure
▪Forms:
River Basin Committee/ Catchment Council
Sub-basin committee/sub-catchment council
Water User Association
Issues and challenges
▪ To ensure that stakeholder structures are truly representative so that group interests are not compromised
▪ Tyranny of the powerful and eloquent/further marginalization of vulnerable groups
▪ To clearly articulate the benefits to be derived from participating
▪ Confidence and trust building amongst various stakeholder groups
▪ Stakeholder participation must not be a façade. Stakeholders’ views must be taken seriously
▪ Sustained involvement of stakeholders in the process comes at a substantial cost
Conclusions
▪Stakeholder participation
Is a very difficult process to implement
Needs much resources and skills
Is an on-going process
Needs action at different levels of society
Gender Equity
Definition of Gender▪ Gender is not only about Women or sex
as it is always perceived ▪ Sex is biological and cannot be changed ▪ Gender is defined as “socially determined
attributes, roles, activities and responsibilities connected to being male or female in a society”
▪ Gender attribute vary form society to society
▪ Influenced by factors such as class, religion, ethnicity etc.
▪ Gender is a social construct , therefore it can be changed.
What is Gender Mainstreaming?
▪ “put into ‘main’ stream---”
▪ A strategy for making the concerns and experiences of women and men an integral part of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programs in all political, economic and societal spheres, so that women and men benefit equally and inequalities are not perpetuated.
How to consider gender issues
Importance of Gender Mainstreaming in water management
▪ To achieve gender equality. Man still dominate formal water management yet women play a central role in provision , safeguarding and management of water
▪ Water development and management should be based on participatory approach involving users, planners and policy makers at all levels
How to Mainstream Gender in WRM
▪ First phase:
Awareness of existing gender divisions and efforts. (Norms, values, beliefs, cultural styles & traditions)
▪Second Phase:
Gradual questioning of these divisions.
▪ Third Phase:
Increased awareness of gender.
Discussion Point:
▪Does gender equality mean 50/50- ? It is difficult to measure equality.
MWAZVITA