IWRM NEWS OiEAU 2021

EDITORIAL NEWS IN BRI EF FROM THE LONG TERM Water resources management issues are numerous and almost everywhere include the need to adapt to climate change. The integrated approach developed in France has largely inspired the European legal framework, particularly the Water Framework Directive. We sometimes hear that "IWRM (Integrated Water Resources Management) has become an obsolete, outdated concept" and that, consequently, "it would be appropriate from now on to innovate in terms of water resources management". However, there is a very broad international consensus that the resource should be managed at the hydrographical basin level, that all resources (surface water, groundwater, biodiversity, etc.) and uses should be studied, and that local stakeholders (users, elected representatives, administrations, civil society) should be involved in the decision-making process within a participative governance system. Obviously, in a specific river basin, the "water-energy-agriculture nexus", for example, will be more significant. But it will always be necessary to seek a holistic approach and avoid being limited to the cumulating of sectoral approaches. Designing and implementing such integrated policies is the core business of the water agencies in France. Within the OiEau, we rely on this wide-ranging expertise and capitalise on the lessons learned from the numerous projects carried out over the years, in interaction with our partners in countries, to develop our cooperation actions according to various pillars: Governance , including the definition of appropriate legal and institutional frameworks at the river basin level (river, lake or aquifer). The participatory dimension is a key element in achieving genuine policy ownership; Identification of the main water resource issues within natural watershed boundaries and methodological support to the planning processes , integrating the dimension of adaptation to climate change and implementation of the developed plans; Strengthening of monitoring tools and interoperability of information systems for the development of decision support tools; Implementation of sustainable financing mechanisms , in particular through the user-pays and polluter-pays principles and payments for environmental services. . 1