The water in the development of the Millennium (MDGs) after 2015 strategy: the role of Governments

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5 What would you want governments to do?

Water needs to move up governments' priority lists. They should strengthen leadership, identify actionable goals and set priorities at different levels — nationally, in individual watersheds/river basins, and locally. And instead of a multiplicity of different agencies acting in silos, governments should aim to build comprehensive water resource management strategies that also take into account the water-food-energy nexus.

Furthermore, governments should aim to bring together stakeholders in watersheds, both at a community and national level to discuss goals and their implementation. Experience with the MDGs shows that political mobilization for development goals at a global level is not enough.

They should help to build local institutions (for water services and allowance, for instance), act as an efficient regulator and set incentives that ensure cost-effective solutions. Water services such as water supply and wastewater are mostly in the hands of governments: they have to look for ways to ensure management becomes more efficient.

A clear and credible plan for long-term finance of infrastructure should be an inherent part of their strategy.

Best practice: there is now a great deal of evidence on both the obstacles to MDG progress and how to overcome them. There is a range of tried and tested tools and policies (see also post on question 1) which, adapted to national contexts, will ensure MDG progress where there is the leadership, capacity and funding to implement them. One could imagine a catalogue of good practice by governments, building on lessons from pilot countries (UNDP).

These are only ideas and the list is incomplete. It requires further discussion, particularly by people working in governments and intergovernmental agencies.

This is the last of my five posts on the post-2015 global development goals discussion. Please read back over the first four posts if you have not seen them and feel free to how:

1 Were the original MDG targets helpful in focusing the minds of government, business and civil society on the water crisis and its importance within overall social and economic development?

2 What still remains to be done before 2015 to complete the job started in 2000?

3. On the assumption that we would like the post-2015 goals to still include a target on water, how should we frame it? What would be the key measures of progress and success?

4 What role and responsibility should the private sector play in delivering thesis goals?