It provides an analytical framework that policy makers and water professionals can use to bring greater clarity to the issue of social equity in their local context.
The paper explores the concepts that inform the debate on water and social equity and looks at equity in the context of processes, in particular the component of procedural justice in policy and water-related services. One of the key messages of the paper is that social equity in water management is primarily about people, not water.
Water may be allocated equitably, distributed equitably, and even accessed equitably, but if people are unable to derive benefits from it, the end result is not social equity. Thus it is not enough to consider only policies and processes within the water sector, but also the combined effect of these with other policies in other sectors and national development and economic policies. Ultimately, social equity should be judged by the final situation of people, and the distribution of the totality of benefits from water, both direct and indirect.
Humberto’s analysis brings home the need for an integrated approach to water resources management – one that considers water management as a means to advance a society’s equity goals and not an end in itself. Another important message from the paper is that although trade-offs are sometimes required between the goals of social equity and economic efficiency, well-designed policies that look at benefits and costs holistically rather than in piecemeal sectors, can often advance both goals.
It involves multiple management levels and different areas of activity. It is also a very complex issue, with roots in economic, cultural, historical, political and many other aspects that characterize every society. Sometimes, inequities are glaring and spur protest at national or global level, but others remain hidden and silent in the numerous decisions that are taken in relation to water management, daily.
This analysis of equity and water management from an integrated water resources management (IWRM) perspective yields two central conclusions.
- To analyse a particular water policy from the perspective of social equity, one must take a holistic view in very different dimensions.
- In water management, the goals of social equity and economic efficiency are usually objectives that potentiate each other. Well-conceived policies allow for simultaneous progress on both goals.
In reference to the need for a holistic view, the paper presented a number of key points:
- The goal of social equity in relation to water should be viewed in the context of society’s goals, and not as an objective that is dealt with just within the hydrological sector. In this sense, water management is a means to an end, and equitable water management is a means of improving equity within society as a whole.
- The goal of social equity must be considered within processes as well as in the distribution of the final benefits associated with water. This means that in order for a particular policy to be considered equitable, the interests of different groups must be represented, and problems of asymmetries of power, information, corruption, or discrimination must be addressed.
- The social equity of water policies should be assessed based on their final outcomes, and thus must be considered along with those sector policies and general state policies that affect the magnitude and distribution of water benefits. Analysis should also include both the management of water as a resource and the allocation of related services that allow for the procurement of water benefits.
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