The challenge and status of IWRM in four river basins in Europe and Asia.

This paper assesses the implementation of four selected IWRM principles in four very different river basins in Europe and Asia. The four principles relate to all the different aspects of sustainable development-environmental, social, economic and institutional-as well as the factor that is particularly crucial in many countries of the South: implementation capacity. The paper is based on the work performed in the EC-funded STRIVER project, 'Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM-An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins'. The four basins-Tungabhadra and Sesan (in Asia), and Tagus and Glomma (in Europe) exemplify very different problems and challenges with regard to IWRM: different levels of socio-economic development and very varying problems with regard to water quality and availability. The paper shows that the implementation of IWRM is at a fairly early stage in all the four STRIVER basins; and that successful implementation of water resources is dependent not only on the existence of relevant policies, but also the degree to which laws and policies are in fact implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]