Integrated water resources management (IWRM) for sustainable development

Water is an essential resource for sustainable development, however it is not often taken into account. In order to find effective and lasting solutions to the problems related to water resources, it is required a new form of governance and management paradigm. This new paradigm is included into the concept of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), which has been defined by Global Water Partnership GWP , as "a process which promotes the coordinated management and development of water, land and related resources, in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of ecosystems"