Integrated Water Resources Management and Poverty Eradication –Policy Analysis of Bangladesh and Cameroon

Abstract

There is a growing recognition that the world faces water crisis that, left unchecked, will derail progress to-wards the Millennium Development Goals and hold back human development. Water for life in the house-hold and water for livelihoods through production are two of the foundations for human development. This paper argues that the roots of the crisis in water can be traced to poverty, inequality and unequal power rela-tionships, as well as flawed water management policies that exacerbate scarcity. Structured discussion on the basis of the key elements of integrated water resource management reveals that despite of more or less equivalent economic structure of both Bangladesh and Cameroon, both countries do not necessarily have the same policies in water management. This paper therefore broadly recommends inter-country experience sharing of good practices in to be able to cope with water problems in these millennia.