External publications

Evolving river basin management in Mongolia?

Houdret, Annabelle / Ines Dombrowsky / Lena Horlemann
External Publications (2014)

in: Dave Huitema / Sander Meijerink (eds.), The politics of river basin organisations: coalitions, institutional design choices and consequences, Cheltenham: Elgar, 265-297

ISBN: 978-1-78254-921-5
Information

Can River Basin Organisations (RBOs) actually improve water governance? RBOs are frequently layered on top of existing governmental organisations, which are often reluctant to share their power. This, in turn, can affect their performance. The Politics of River Basin Organisations addresses this issue by exploring the subject on a global level.
‘There is no better book on river basin organisations for practitioners and researchers. It imposes tough criteria to evaluate the performance of eleven such hydrologic based governance forms. Findings are surprising and cautionary for water resources reformers. The authors suggest that the demands of complex interaction and interplay in layered organisational environments, the power of inertia to thwart change, and inability to command resources can overwhelm the aspirations of river basin organisations for coordination, accountability, legitimacy and environmental effectiveness. This book belongs in the library of everyone seriously interested in water management.’
– Helen Ingram, University of California at Irvine and University of Arizona, US