Development Aspects Impressum Editors

Conclusions

The concern about redesigning water resources management has come to the fore as traditional water supply management strategies have shown both their costs (financial, environmental and social) and inherent inefficiencies. The main lesson to be drawn from the present analysis of the Mediterranean region is that a shift from supply-oriented to demand-oriented water management can act as a driver for change in the water sector and promote the transition to green water economies. This policy transition requires a move from centralized planning to harmonized and decentralized decision-making, which is, in turn, possible only to the extent that water resources are correctly valued from a social point of view.

Pursuing water security requires a balance between water supply and demand to be found. The core of efficient water demand management is trying to achieve this balance in a sustainable way, i.e., avoiding the irreversible environmental dam- age caused by the mobilization of additional water through large-scale infrastruc- tures. The proposed demand-side water strategies include: the establishment of appropriate pricing, charging and allocation systems that convey signals of rela- tive resource scarcity to users; and the adoption of technical measures aimed at increasing the efficiency of water use in both irrigated and rain-fed agriculture. The implementation of such measures will mean difficult choices to be made and trade-offs to be calibrated between different stakeholders.
The study has also argued that institutional capacity development is a funda- mental prerequisite of the whole transition to the Green Economy. Flawed or suc- cessful water policies indeed reflect the extent to which societies have developed the necessary institutional capacity in order to address problems, formulate solu- tions and finally support the implementation of sound reforms.
The process of transition to the Green Economy, rather than being “power- neutral”, will also require a fundamental paradigm shift in the water discourse. A water decision is a political decision first. The consistent implementation of the advocated policy reforms will depend on the extent to which politics accepts these changes to be made. Sociopolitical acceptance of the suggested reforms will thus

determine whether the transition will take place or not, despite the soundness of economic prescriptions or environmental recommendations.