OUR CLE

The success of coordinated water resource management at the local level has always been a major concern for the State. In 1998, the Water Policy and Strategy Document made “subsidiarity” a cardinal management principle, stating that issues that should be managed locally are handled at the most appropriate local level. This concern for protecting water through the involvement of key stakeholders was demonstrated by the experimentation of local management structures. Illustrative examples include Water Point Committees (CPE) and Management Committees (COGES) for certain hydraulic infrastructures. It is in this context that the first Local Water Committees (LWC) emerged, primarily around dams. With the adoption of the Action Plan for Integrated Water Resources Management (PAGIRE) in 2003, the establishment of LWCs became essential for improving the institutional framework of IWRM. This establishment underwent two main phases. First, in 2004, a “Guide Document for Design, Creation, and Operation” was developed to frame the LWC establishment process, without determining its territorial basis. It was in 2010 that this document was revised to adopt the sub-basin as the appropriate territory for the LWC, thereby moving away from the dam-based LWC approach.

A Local Water Committee (LWC) is a local body for consultation, promotion, facilitation, and exchange, bringing together all stakeholders involved in water resource management. It is the local body of the Water Agency to which it belongs. The standard LWC organization comprises three colleges of actors: – Public administration, represented by decentralized technical services at the local level, whose mission is to safeguard the public interest in the water sector; – Territorial authorities (regions and municipalities). These actors are essentially attentive to the collective interests of the populations within their territory; – Users and civil society organizations. This category of actors ensures the protection of the interests of specific groups or communities in the water sector. To carry out its assigned mission and responsibilities, the LWC has a standard organization as follows:

• A General Assembly (GA);
• An Executive Bureau;
• A Control Unit (CU);
• Other units as needed.

The General Assembly is composed of all LWC members. It is led by a president designated from among the LWC members. The Bureau, the LWC’s executive body, is established by the GA. It consists of a President, a First Vice-President, a Second Vice-President, and a Secretary. The Control Unit is an autonomous body responsible for overseeing the Bureau’s actions. It can be supported by other units such as the Programming and Monitoring Support Unit (CAPS).

The Local Water Committees are responsible for:

• Seeking the permanent commitment of water stakeholders (administration, users, Territorial Authorities, traditional authorities, civil society organizations) to coordinated water resource management through awareness-raising, information, and training;
• Initiating and supporting, at the sub-basin level, actions for the development, promotion, protection, and restoration of water resources in collaboration with competent local structures, notably by supporting the development and implementation of Water Management and Development Schemes (SAGE);
• Developing synergy for consultation and horizontal and vertical actions with other water management bodies;
• Initiating and implementing, through public or private project ownership and in accordance with current regulations, solutions to water management and development issues (competition and conflicts of water use, protection and conservation of water and dependent ecosystems, development and enhancement of water resources, etc.);
• Providing opinions on projects of the Liptako Water Agency;
• Arbitrating local conflicts related to water use within its area of competence.

The area of competence of an LWC is the hydrographic sub-basin, to which secondary socioeconomic and administrative criteria can be associated. The LWC’s management area can be divided into sections to address concerns of functionality, operationalization, and dynamism. This allows for achieving the objectives of local management, involvement, mobilization, and participation of grassroots stakeholders following IWRM principles.

The process of establishing an LWC must be based on a participatory approach. This process follows these steps:

• The joint diagnosis of the LWC’s area of competence leads to a sufficient understanding of its management area, the issues/challenges, and the stakeholders involved, in order to better guide the LWC’s future actions;
• Stakeholder mobilization involves holding information and awareness sessions for all stakeholders from the different colleges. It aims to secure the commitment and engagement of stakeholders at different levels;
• The development of constitutive texts involves drafting a creation order and internal regulations for the LWC using a participatory principle;
• Holding the constitutive General Assembly of the LWC allows the various stakeholders present to agree on the fundamental texts of the future LWC and to designate the members of the LWC’s 3 management bodies;
• The adoption of the LWC’s constitutive texts involves describing the procedure to be applied for signing the act of recognition of the local water committee;
• The constitutive General Assembly of the LWC allows the different colleges of actors to agree on the fundamental texts of the future organization and to establish its bodies;
• The official installation of the LWC officially launches the LWC’s activities, establishes its legitimacy, and ensures its visibility.