Integrated Water Resources Management and Effective Intergovernmental Cooperation on Watershed Issues

Abstract

Recent efforts to study and optimize water resources management have largely endorsed an integrated approach that is implemented at the watershed level and necessarily crosses traditional geopolitical and agency boundaries. Known as “integrated water resources management,” this methodology generally aims to coordinate development and management of diverse water and water-related resources to maximize economic and social welfare without compromising environmental sustainability. Although its precise scope and content remains unclear, policy makers attempting to implement it must adopt innovative and cooperative governance mechanisms. Starting from an analysis of existing programs and interviews with involved regulators, this interdisciplinary Article draws from recent literature in a variety of fields to inform and evaluate legal and policy strategies for integrated watershed management in two areas that have proven problematic for traditional regulatory approaches: 1) controlling non-point pollution from agricultural sources; and 2) overcoming legal and policy barriers to adoption of green infrastructure. Applying integrated management strategies and fostering intergovernmental cooperation in these areas could lead to important environmental and technological advances while conserving socially valuable resources. Although progress toward implementing integrated solutions has generally been slow, incorporating three important “lessons learned” from previous integrated water resources management projects — specifically, the need to create an enabling regulatory environment, to ensure the availability of adequate resources, and to build management capacity — could significantly further such efforts in the future.

Keywords: Environmental Law, Water Resources, Water Law