Competing for water:Understanding conflict and cooperation in local water governance- a comparative and collaborative research programme

The proposed research programme aims to contribute to sustainable local water governance in support of the rural poor and otherwise disadvantaged groups in developing countries by improving the knowledge among researchers and practitioners of the nature, extent and intensity of local water conflict and cooperation and their social, economic and political impacts, and how this may change with increased competition for water. Beyond its cognitive importance, such. Beyond its cognitive importance, such empirically based understanding has significant implications for the water policy, legal and administrative reform currently taking place in many developing countries, which - if poorly informed on the relationship between competition for water, conflict and poor people's access to water - may cause such reform to be ineffective and exacerbate rather than reduce rural poverty.