OECD launches new guidance on water governance

World: On 22 March, World Water Day, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released new guidance on water governance to strengthen policymaking for water organization.

The new guidance builds on the service of the OECD Water Governance Initiative and its 12 principles launched at the World Water Forum in 2015.

‘As a toolkit, it comprises of good-practices from the nations that have already used the principles’, stated Secretary-General Angel Gurria of the OECD in his opening statement in the webinar. 

Gurria has always been an inspiration for more strong water governance. In the month of May, he will retire as Secretary-General and took this webinar as his last chance to call upon the global water community to create good use of all his experiences that the OECD has gathered earlier. Gurria requested.

The new guidance allows policymakers to self assess their water governance. Initially, it was the OECD itself that organized assessments of water governance. In 2013 the policymaking and governance structures in Mexico were evaluated, soon to be followed by the Netherlands. 

Dutch infrastructure and the water-management minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen was one of the spokespeople at the OECD meeting. In her message, she stated that the novel guidance could not be more timely. 

‘Not only do the team have to address the extreme weather events that are becoming more frequent, but also the ongoing pandemic makes it more important to create a more resilient future’.

‘Let us utilize this momentum and take this chance to overcome undervaluing water and take action on climate adaptation and the underinvestment of these issues’, she continued. ‘We have a choice to make. We can invest in short-term quick wins or invest in green and blue resilience for the long-term.’

According to Van Nieuwenhuizen, all plans to do a meeting the UN Sustainable Development objective, such as the Sendai Framework and the Paris Climate approvement, are there. ‘It is a sign that we keep our promises. 

This year, especially in the run-up to the next Climate Summit COP26, the UN water conference was organized by the Netherlands and Tajikistan in 2023. Water must be mainstreamed in all nationally determined contributions and national adaptation plans.’

The presentation of the novel OECD guidance on the water governance initiated with a series of webinars, one of which will feature the latest national assessment-report on Peru that will be released and discussed during the online webinar meeting.

The OECD expects the guidance to be a living document and hopes to include all future development programs and new experiences. 

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