3. How to build consensus? How to resolve conlfict over shared waters?

Recommended (Handbooks & Toolkits):

Governance of shared waters: legal and institutional issues (IUCN, 2011) En, Es
This book seeks to reposition the law as a tool for implementing higher good, or, in other words, for providing justice by seeking to ensure individuals have access to the services that ecosystems naturally provide, and guaranteeing the right to water for human well-being. The goal of the publication is to contribute to a better understanding of the legal and institutional arrangements necessary for promoting good governance of transboundary waters between two or more States. The ultimate aim of this book is to try and strengthen the capacity of various stakeholders, and to help reach the ideal that water should be considered as a vehicle for integration rather than as a source of conflict.

Conflict Resolution and Negotiation Skills for IWRM (UNDP, 2008) En, Es, Fr
Conflict is an unavoidable aspect of human social systems and given the central importance of water to human well-being it is natural that conflicts arise over water. This training manual, together with presentations and resource materials, brings together information of how to manage conflicts over water and turn from conflict to cooperation. IWRM requires cooperative management of water and therefore conflict resolution skills will always be of value. The materials are based on experiences in training on the subject in various courses organised by Cap-Net network partners in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Communication and Conflict Resolution Skills (DWAF, 2003): This training manual from the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry in South Africa is part of a series for developing champions at catchment level able to lead the implementation of the IWRM approach. Most emphasis is on communication skills but with some good guidance for conflict resolution.

Participation, Consensus Building and Conflict Management Training Course (UNESCO-IHP, 2003)
Water planners and managers need the skills of designing and conducting processes that draw together partners, stakeholders, and publics, resulting in decisions that enjoy broad cross-sectoral, and often transboundary, public support. This course teaches this set of skills that will help water resources decisions makers avert conflict, deal with conflict should it arise, and use water decisions as a venue for dialogue when others are closed to parties locked in other types of non-water conflicts.

SA Facilitators Guide to Participatory Workshops with NGOs/CBOs responding to HIV/AIDS (International HIV/AIDS Alliance, 2001)
This guide aims to support people who facilitate participatory workshops with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs) responding to HIV/AIDS in developing countries. It is based on the practical experiences of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance (the Alliance). The Alliance is an international NGO that supports communities in developing countries to prevent the spread of HIV, support and care for those infected and ease the impact of HIV on families and communities.

Recommended (Case Studies from Global Water Partnership (GWP) – ToolBox section on Consensus building):

Americas: Costa Rica: Better water allocation in the Lake Arenal Watershed; Colombia: Building institutional coordination for water resources management; Brazil: Progress towards the integration of water resources management; Panama: Restoration and integrated management in the Zaratí river sub basin

Asia: Nepal: Building water infrastructure as part of Khimti I Hydropower Project (Khp-I); India: Relocation of a washing community to reduce urban lake pollution; India: A tale of rehabilitation of people displaced due to dam construction; Malaysia: Managing the Kinabatangan floodplains in Sabah; Japan: River improvement plan created with the participation of Tama River residents; Thailand: Sustainable fishery in Si-nad Swamp area; India: Social side-effects of the Upper Veda Dam Project

Europe: International co-operation in the Scheldt and Meuse River Basins; Cross-border co-operation for small-scale river basins, the Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders); The Netherlands: Informally co-operating governing bodies design future water system for the Delta Metropolis; The Netherlands: Role-playing for shifting spatial claims due to necessity for water retention; Germany: Innovative instruments and institutions in implementing the EU WFD; France: Innovative instruments and institutions in implementing the EU WFD

Oceania: Australia: Reducing land based marine pollution by IWRM approach