Methods for social participation and conflict resolution

Abstract

Droughts can result in restrictions to water supplies, which cause alarm in towns and cities or wherever they are enforced; a situation the news media never fails to cover with photos of deserts and death disseminated far and wide. It is clear that droughts place hydraulic systems under an extreme amount of strain - especially rivers and aquifers. It is therefore essential to make use of successful experiences to create a new conception of the field. It will however take some time for this to be accepted as the norm, since drought management will continue to generate situations involving conflict between the interests and values of different individuals and groups. Prevention, negotiation, mediation, arbitration, judicialization and imposition are the successive steps towards solution of the conflict. First steps are preferable than the last ones because normally they lead to more sustainable success.