The Quest for Salient Features of Effective Water Resources Management Systems: Assessing the English and Ethiopian Water Policies and Laws

The shortage of water as a resource is a threat to which both Ethiopia and England are exposed. This vulnerability of the countries necessitates the question of whether existing management systems for water resources will promote the sustainability of such resources. With growing natural resource insecurity over the last fifty years, the tragedy of the commons and the integrated water resources management (IWRM) approach are at the forefront. This study evaluates the tragedy of the commons and the IWRM approach to identify key features of effective water resource management (WRM) systems. The study also assesses the effectiveness of English and Ethiopian systems by reference to their salient features, to explore the extent to which the major facets of an effective system are reflected within the countries water policies and laws. The evaluation demonstrates that in the case study countries, some such factors have already been reflected within their water policies and laws. From the overall review of each countries' water policies, it may be argued that the contemporary policies that are in place generally accommodate some of the main attributes of an effective management system for water resources if they are accompanied by proper water laws, implementation strategies and institutional remits that are designed to promote water security. However, while some key features of an effective WRM system can already be seen in the case study countries' water laws, the initiatives which have been taken are limited and varied. Particularly, in Ethiopian WRM systems, the progress made to incorporate the main elements into binding law were slow. Even if some features have been reflected within the water laws of both jurisdictions, theirs scope is limited and incomprehensive. Moreover, their implementations are weak and incomplete in both jurisdictions. This study demonstrates that there has not been much deviation from the 'traditional' way of managing water resources.