11 Counting Down to Day Zero: Exploring Community-Based Water Management …
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11.3 Conceptual Framework
The two key concepts of Community-based Water Management (CBWM and
Community-Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) constitute the conceptual
lenses and frames of analysis for this research. Whereas water resource management pertains to the optimum planning, developing, distributing, and managing of
resources, Community-based Water Management relates to the inclusive local level
involvement of communities in the management of their water resources in a participatory approach to ensure water supply security, reliability, and accessibility by
all members of the community in terms of quality and quantity against competing
demands, greater extremes, uncertainties, and water scarcity (Kobayashi et al 2014;
World Bank 2017). Thus, the goal of CBWM is to ensure that all community residents manage to secure adequate water supply for drinking, sanitation, household
use, energy generation, agriculture, water-based recreation, and other uses (World
Bank 2017).
While traditionally CBWM has been popularized as a model common in rural
communities since the government and other state institutions have very minimum
control of water supply and management, the practice has now spread to cities
and towns due to the diversification of water sources as well as disasters such
as droughts. Authors such as Tantoh and Simatele (2017) have argued that while
Community-based Water Management, itself a form of community-based natural
resource management, may be viewed as an effective resource management strategy,
in some instances local communities may lack the ability to manage water resources
in an inclusive and sustainable manner thereby resulting in intra-community struggles over control of water resources. This has become imperative in light of drought
recurrence across the globe, with the World Bank (2017) noting that water scarcity
affects over 40% of the global population.
Bruns (2008), as cited in Day (2009: 52), has argued that community-based
water resource management is advantageous in that local water users often possess
indigenous knowledge on water resources, water needs, and historical change that
has occurred related to water use. This assists in the prudent implementation of
community-based water resource management strategies. To Bruns (2008), the fact
that water users recognize the importance of water in their subsistence-based livelihoods facilitates relationship-building between and among water users. Another
merit of community-based water resource management is that communities can easily
monitor their agreed water usage arrangements every day and oftentimes they have
historical mechanisms for participatory conflict management and resolution evolve
and adapt to global challenges (Bruns in Day 2009: 52). However, Day (2009)also
acknowledges that the concept of community-based water resource management can
be made difficult to implement given the non-homogenous nature of communities as
societal members disparities in wealth, knowledge and power often leads to conflicts
over interests, needs, priorities, views, and perspectives that may be very difficult to
reconcile. It is not uncommon community-based water resource management strategies to be frustrated by contestations over access to water resources, or have their
197
11.3 Conceptual Framework
The two key concepts of Community-based Water Management (CBWM and
Community-Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) constitute the conceptual
lenses and frames of analysis for this research. Whereas water resource management pertains to the optimum planning, developing, distributing, and managing of
resources, Community-based Water Management relates to the inclusive local level
involvement of communities in the management of their water resources in a participatory approach to ensure water supply security, reliability, and accessibility by
all members of the community in terms of quality and quantity against competing
demands, greater extremes, uncertainties, and water scarcity (Kobayashi et al 2014;
World Bank 2017). Thus, the goal of CBWM is to ensure that all community residents manage to secure adequate water supply for drinking, sanitation, household
use, energy generation, agriculture, water-based recreation, and other uses (World
Bank 2017).
While traditionally CBWM has been popularized as a model common in rural
communities since the government and other state institutions have very minimum
control of water supply and management, the practice has now spread to cities
and towns due to the diversification of water sources as well as disasters such
as droughts. Authors such as Tantoh and Simatele (2017) have argued that while
Community-based Water Management, itself a form of community-based natural
resource management, may be viewed as an effective resource management strategy,
in some instances local communities may lack the ability to manage water resources
in an inclusive and sustainable manner thereby resulting in intra-community struggles over control of water resources. This has become imperative in light of drought
recurrence across the globe, with the World Bank (2017) noting that water scarcity
affects over 40% of the global population.
Bruns (2008), as cited in Day (2009: 52), has argued that community-based
water resource management is advantageous in that local water users often possess
indigenous knowledge on water resources, water needs, and historical change that
has occurred related to water use. This assists in the prudent implementation of
community-based water resource management strategies. To Bruns (2008), the fact
that water users recognize the importance of water in their subsistence-based livelihoods facilitates relationship-building between and among water users. Another
merit of community-based water resource management is that communities can easily
monitor their agreed water usage arrangements every day and oftentimes they have
historical mechanisms for participatory conflict management and resolution evolve
and adapt to global challenges (Bruns in Day 2009: 52). However, Day (2009)also
acknowledges that the concept of community-based water resource management can
be made difficult to implement given the non-homogenous nature of communities as
societal members disparities in wealth, knowledge and power often leads to conflicts
over interests, needs, priorities, views, and perspectives that may be very difficult to
reconcile. It is not uncommon community-based water resource management strategies to be frustrated by contestations over access to water resources, or have their