Water Governance and Public Participation:what Matters?

Major transition in global water governance includes promotion of integrated water resources management, river basin approaches, decentralization, and involvement of stakeholders against traditional top-down and centrally driven decision-making processes. Although participatory approaches are important to enhance sustainable water governance, engaging general public in the water governance process itself is often a challenge across globe. This note draws perspectives on some of the major challenges faced in India to ensure effective participation in water governance with a focus on factors that motivate the general public to get involved in the process and the necessary changes that may facilitate improving the participatory governance.