Governance in the La Plata River Basin and OECD principles: an opinion survey of transboundary water professionals

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article analyses how La Plata River Basin experts perceive the process of setting up the governance of transboundary waters and determines whether the principles of good governance are adhered to, as established by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). A questionnaire was developed and submitted to experts with demonstrated expertise in the field. The results suggest that transboundary water governance needs to be strengthened. Critical issues include principles related to policy coherence and coordination among sectors, integrity and transparency, stakeholder engagement, and balanced commitments between consumers, rural and urban regions, and generations.KEYWORDS: La Plata River Basintransboundary water governanceThe OECD Principles on Water Governancetransboundary water professionalsopinion survey AcknowledgementsThe authors extend their gratitude and acknowledgements to all water professional participants in this study.Disclosure statementNo potential competing interest was reported by the authors.Notes1. The designations employed in this paper and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO or the organizations of the authors concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries. The ideas and opinions expressed therein are those of the authors and are not those of UNESCO or the organisations of the authors and are not an expression of these organizations’ commitment. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Ethical approval for this study was obtained from Federal University of São Paulo Ethics Committee (Project CEP/UNIFESP no 0932/2020). Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.Additional informationFundingThis publication was supported by the National Water and Sanitation Agency of Brazil as part of the ANA-ABC-UNESCO 586RLA2001 project.