Proceedings from 'Balancing Human Security and Ecological Security Interests in a Catchment: Towards Upstream/Downstream Hydrosolidarity' Seminar

Abstract

"Three earlier SIWI Seminars have addressed issues related to the upstream/downstream dimensions of catchment management in seeking ways and means of moving towards hydrosolidarity. In 1999, the focus was on national catchments, in 2000 on multinational catchments, and in 2001 on how to address water security for cities, food security and environmental security in a catchment. A number of issues and obstacles were identified, including conceptual issues, human momentum and social momentum obstacles. The 2002 Seminar continued along this track but put emphasis on the balancing component: how to balance human livelihood security and ecological security, paying attention to water-ecosystem interactions and to upstream/downstream dependencies and how these interactions are modified or altered by human interventions and manipulations. The overriding goal is to seek clarity on what should exactly be meant by 'land/water integration taking a catchment-based ecological approach' - an approach advertised by both Global Water Partnership and Global Environment Facility in the follow up of the 2nd World Water Forum in 2000. This paper summarises the outcome of the Seminar."