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This page contains links to articles that originate from the Canadian International Development Research Centre web site.

" IDRC is a Canadian Crown corporation that works in close collaboration with researchers from the developing world in their search for the means to build healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous societies. "

Water: A Slideshow The importance of water and the current problems surrounding this precious resource are highlighted in this slideshow.

After the Water Wars: The Search for Common Ground After 32 failed attempts to reach consensus on water legislation and a deadly social conflict over water rights, IDRC-supported researchers in Bolivia have helped their country develop a water law that everyone could agree on.

Reservoirs of Hope An IDRC-funded shared learning effort helps farmers deliver fresh water — and the prospect of a brighter future — to impoverished villages in China’s Guizhou province.

Making the Most of Minimal Water The IDRC-supported WaDImena project is helping countries in the parched Middle East and North Africa share lessons on how demand management can avert a looming water crisis.

THE RESULTS: Water Local water management strategies offer practical and sometimes superior alternatives to the large-scale, centralized, capital-heavy approaches that dominated in the past. They can also complement wider-reaching water management approaches. But they are no panacea. Research over three decades has explored their promise and problems. It has generated lessons that are helpful for making better management decisions, and in marking paths for future investigation.

WATER / Appendix: Sources and Resources

THE ISSUE: Water Managing water scarcity effectively and fairly is one of the great imperatives of governance today. In more prosperous countries, water scarcity curtails economic growth and diminishes quality of life. In poorer countries, it breeds sickness, blocks development, deepens inequalities, and undermines the survival of entire societies.

WATER / Part 1. The Issue Managing freshwater scarcities constitutes one of the great imperatives of governance almost everywhere in the world; local management is an indispensable component.

MIDDLE EAST: Water Management A thematic collection of feature articles and researcher profiles.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS: Water Good water policy involves planning at the watershed or basin level, and implementing at the local level. But the relationship cuts both ways. Watershed planning needs to be fully informed by local interests, local potential, and knowledge of local resources. Similarly, local supply and demand are constrained by the watershed's biophysical and socioeconomic limits. To a large extent, resolving these difficulties will describe the future directions of local water research and management.