This e-resource succinctly captures the lessons learnt from an SADC (Southern African Development Community) Danida-supported integrated water resource management (IWRM) programme. Also referred to as 'community-scale MUS', the e-resource provides step-by-step guidelines on how to implement local IWRM at the community level using participatory approaches. It also offers several innovative IWRM approaches that depart from conventional single-use approaches for implementation.

Community-driven water resource management is an innovative approach to rural water supply and resource management. Since 2006, the SADC Regional Water Sector Programme, supported by Danida, has piloted this approach through Integrated Water Resource Management Demonstration Projects in five countries: Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and Zambia. Recognizing the importance of better integration across the water sector, the Programme aimed to demonstrate how principles of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) can be put into practice in rural areas. The focus was on those principles that have received limited attention as yet: water resource management at the lowest appropriate levels, users’ participation and the inclusion of women. [authors abstract]