Strengthening capacity of local governments to engage in Integrated Water Resources Management; experiences from

Local governments have a big stake in water resources management and a potentially important role to play to further IWRM. Two main strategies are identified in which local governments can enact that role: 1) through their engagement with water resources management institutions, and 2) by applying IWRM principles in their own mandate through local actions. In practice, however, their role remains limited and actions are sometimes isolated, as shown in a case study from the Netherlands. Reasons for that often come down to poor local governance due to weak inter-institutional relations, and lack of transparency in decision-making. This paper proposes a framework to analyse these capacity gaps. Such analysis can help developing recommendations for capacity development initiatives in IWRM