In the backdrop of the growing concerns of increasing water security in the larger Asian, especially South and South East Asian (S&SEA) context, this paper examines the major water security challenges as well vulnerability of the countries in the region towards water-scarcity induced problems. It is observed that the water security concerns in the S&SEA region emerge from a host of factors that are attributed to growing populations, urbanization, industrial development and the nascent climate change induced threats. Apparently, all these factors continue to remain quite virulent in the future as well despite earnest efforts among individual countries to overcome many of these developmental issues through appropriate policies as well as adaptation and mitigation strategies. Following an analysis of the status of water across S&SEA and other countries, the paper makes a critical look at the major water security challenges as emerge from the empirical literature. Since water security issues are increasingly becoming potent affecting the sustainable livelihoods of human and cattle population as well as the survival of the environmental and ecosystems, it is all the more important that the countries concerned are to be highly sensitive and responsive in terms of mainstreaming the local governance, institutions and community based as well as other local development agencies for protecting and conserving the water resource systems. In this regard, the paper brings out the imperatives of evolving strategies for strengthening the ties between local institutions (state operated, private, and community/civil society based) as well as national governments?and?or?international/cross-border NGOs in?the regional context of  the S&SEA to address the water security challenges from a multi-stakeholder, multi-sectoral perspectives. This essentially calls for constant interactions between countries as well as regions within a country, to use or the locally suited institutional models to address the multiple problems of access to water as well as strengthening the economic, political and financial capabilities of the local institutions to achieve the SDGs

The general objective of this paper is to describe the position of Oxfam and ARCO on how local governance processes play a crucial role in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We believe that a common understanding and framework for local governance is urgently required to build more consistent and effective development strategies and initiatives. In particular, we aim to emphasise the importance of enabling local actors to lead and influence policy action and practices within a system of multilevel relations, in order to tackle multidimensional poverty and inequality. To achieve this end, we embrace the Sustainable Human Development approach in order to analyse local governance and policy issues in relation to the SDGs and the localization of these goals. In this respect, this paper contributes to Oxfam’s Theory of Change – based on the combination of active citizens and effective states (Green, 2012) – by integrating in both conceptual and operational terms the synergies between local action and national policies leading to social change for human “flourishing”.

Background discussion for Commonwealth Local Government Conference 2015.  CLGF commissioned two “thinkpieces” Local government 2030 achieving the vision – the role of local democracy and good governance and Local government 2030 achieving the vision – the importance of local government in economic development and cities as engines of economic growth. 

This resource guide provides practical guidance for designing, implementing and evaluating decentralisation reforms and local government practices to ensure they are as effective as possible. It also synthesises and presents current debates on the impact of decentralisation and local government on poverty reduction, service delivery and conflict as well as providing links to cutting-edge research and recent case studies.