ABSTRACT

The World Water Vision has three primary objectives: to empower women, men, and communities to decide how we use water, to get more crops and jobs per drop, and to manage use to conserve freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. It also specifies five actions critical to their achievement: involving all stakeholders in integrated management, moving to full-cost pricing for all water services, increasing public funding for research and innovation, cooperating to manage international basins, and massively increasing investments in water. As noted, industry should also finance its own water supply and waste water treatment facilities or make capital contributions to installations that meet the needs of municipalities and large industry. The value of the community approach has been demonstrated in the construction of water harvesting schemes in the Alwar District of Rajasthan. Government resources will contribute a smaller share in direct capital investment and maintenance costs for traditional water supply projects.