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| TOOLS AND KNOW-HOW FOR WATER AND NATURE |
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Water management used to focus on drinking water and irrigation, and forgot that natural infrastructures manage, clean and distribute water, and support diverse rural livelihoods. The Water and Nature Initiative demonstrated the need for the integrated management of all water resources in practice and policy.
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The Water and Nature Initiative works with over 80 members and partners in 13 river basins worldwide. Water users and regulators find the best ways to use and distribute scarce water resources, and the economics and legal tools to support equitable water resource use. These field experiences merged with the best science in four pragmatic ‘toolkits’ with proven solutions and instructive case studies. Its latest book, PAY , shows how payments for water and ecosystem services can generate economic returns for up and downstream beneficiaries.
Next, our know-how cultivated transboundary cooperation in Africa, where 230 million people face water scarcity along desiccating rivers. IUCN convened 30 decision makers from 15 African countries to apply the VALUE toolkit to their river basin management. Each developed an action plan on how to incorporate accounting for ecosystem services in their work, such as planning new dams for the Volta or strategic environmental assessment in the Nile basin.
We also helped to ensure waters kept flowing in rivers for all species, including our own. We helped water-stressed rival states and competing users integrate the environmental flow methodology in water management. We trained professionals from countries sharing the Limpopo to conduct flow assessments. And we galvanized Angola, Namibia and Botswana under the Okavango Delta Shared and Common Vision to guide policy, set priorities and meet natural resource needs for the timeless watershed that is shared by millions of poor.
The sharing of our know-how culminated at the 4 th World Water Forum in Mexico. We provided a platform for sharing of know-how for 10,000 water professionals, and demonstrated how forests, wetlands and soils can ensure sustainable water supplies. IUCN provided an independent platform for scientists, members and donors to bridge ideological factions and seek pragmatic solutions for water resource management, conservation, risk avoidance, food security, development, supply and sanitation.
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