Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM): Exploring the gap between expectations and outcomes

The paper examines the relationship between the version of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) promoted by the Global Water Partnership (GWP) and its contribution to achieving not only “peaceful co-operation and synergies between uses of water at all levels” but also among users at all levels. The paper considers the application of IWRM to resolving water resource allocation and management dilemmas within common water resource property management arrangements, where the common property resource is defined in Ostrom’s terms as a resource that is “jointly used, (and) managed by groups of varying sizes and interests” (Hess & Ostrom 2007: 5). The allocation and management dilemmas are then related to the fiercely opposed yet seemingly inevitable processes of enclosure of water resource commons whose purpose is to exclude not only for productive use, but also to conserve and protect an important and vital resource.