International Inland Waters : Concepts for a More Active World Bank Role Book

It is now widely recognized that ensuring the supply of water at an affordable cost and of acceptable quality for domestic consumption, food production, and other uses in the early years of the next century will be very difficult. Efficient use, effective conservation, and comprehensive management of the available water resources are essential to address this crisis. These objectives take a long time to achieve. They are more difficult to address in the case of international rather than national river basins. This paper has been part of a larger effort within the World Bank to review its policies and strategies for assisting developing countries in comprehensive management of their water resources. It focuses mainly on the Bank's role in international water affairs and recommends that the Bank should play a more proactive role in promoting dialogue, improving data base and analysis, and assisting riparians in establishing cooperative arrangements to plan and use their water resources efficiently. Further, it suggests that the Bank should strengthen its capacity to respond to riparian requests for assistance in an objective, competent and effective manner.