Resource information
BENEFIT-SHARING MECHANISMS
Water is essential for all human life and the ecosystems that support us. Water is a fundamental human right - socially, economically and culturally important.
For communities living in the Andean and Amazonian regions, this is especially true. Today these communities are facing three major water challenges as they fight to reduce poverty and protect their environment:
- Widespread land degradation, water pollution and climate change are reducing the availability, quality and reliability of water resources.
?- Weak institutions for regulating and managing water are resulting in poor water usage.?
- Inequitable distribution of water resource benefits. Frequently, those who care for the watersheds are not the same people who benefit most from water resources. Conversely, those who pollute and degrade watersheds are not the same as those who suffer the consequences. This generates inequality and is a
major cause of conflict.
One solution to these problems that has been proven to work is known as a Benefit-Sharing Mechanism, or BSM. This booklet offers a brief introduction to BSMs, including how they work, when to use them, and, finally it makes some recommendations so that interested organizations may begin the process of planning and implementing their own Benefit-Sharing Mechanism.??This booklet is not intended to be a step-by-step guide, but rather to act as a starting point for your exploration of Benefit-Sharing Mechanisms. Information in this booklet is based on the experience of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) Andes project which worked on Benefit-Sharing Mechanisms in ten Andean basins in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.?
