Water

Promoting Water Sector Reforms

The current water crisis is essentially a crisis of water governance, of how water is managed. To achieve the vision of "Water for All" and meet the needs of the poor, water governance needs to improve. ADB's water policy, Water for All, is about improving water governance, through national water sector reforms, and improvement in water services and water resources management.

SPOTLIGHT Water Sector Reforms: Tracking Progress in Asia and the Pacific ADB concluded its preliminary study on the progress of water sector reforms in Asia and the Pacific. Read the results.

• What are water sector reforms?
• How does ADB support water sector reforms?
• Current Initiatives
• Related Documents

Water sector reform refers to the whole of a country's policies, planning, implementation, and supporting activities to develop and manage its water resources and deliver water services to all users in its society. It includes activities for river basin and groundwater development and management, water supply and sanitation, wastewater management and pollution control, irrigation and drainage, hydropower development, flood control and management, watershed and wetlands protection and management, fisheries and aquatic resource management, water-borne transport, and other water-related activities.

Top

ADB supports the national water sector reform process by assisting its member countries' efforts in:

• reviewing or developing comprehensive water policies and laws
• undertaking water sector assessments to ensure that policy formulation and sector reforms are well grounded
• reducing fragmentation among the planning and implementation functions of various water related institutions
• developing cross-sector coordination mechanisms that can oversee the policy formulation and sector reform process, e.g. apex bodies

Top

	Comparative Analysis of Water Sector Reforms ADB has conducted the first phase of a study of national water sector reforms to improve water governance. The study focuses on national water policies and laws , water sector apex bodies, river basin organizations, water sector action agenda and more. Read the results of the study.
	National Water Sector Apex Bodies ADB sees national water sector apex bodies as critical institutions to improve decision-making for better water governance. As such, ADB actively promotes and supports the development of national water sector apex bodies. Read about the progress of ADB's assistance.

Top

• Leadership in Water Governance: ADB’s Water Policy and the Need for National Water Sector Apex Bodies [PDF]
• Direction and Experience in Water Sector Apex Body Development [PDF]
• Water Sector Reform: A Progress Report [PDF]
• Water Sector Reforms: Tracking Progress in Asia and the Pacific [PDF]