Overview

Water gives life and every life is made of water. Every human being should have access to safe water for drinking, appropriate sanitation and enough food and energy. With the increase of population the amount of fresh water is becoming scarce throughout the world in general and in many of the Ummah countries in particular. About a billion people face water shortages in the world today and this figure is expected to double in the next twenty-five years. In the face of such challenge, provision of adequate water to meet the basic human needs must be made in an equitable manner that works in harmony with nature. Water must, therefore, be managed and used in the most appropriate manner in both quantitative and qualitative terms without jeopardizing the interest of any member of the society and the nature as well. The Islamic countries are aware of the importance of water for the continuous development of the Ummah. The Inter-Islamic Network on Water Resources Development and Management (INWRDAM) like all other International Organizations dealing with water, attaches utmost importance to efficient and effective development and management of water resources.

INWRDAM was established by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) in 1987. The headquarters of INWRDAM is located in Amman and hosted by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. As a think tank it focuses on policy and applied research and conducts dialogues - through which it seeks to advance ideas, concepts and policy direction to inform policy making and program formulation processes towards shaping the contours of water resources development and management in the member countries.

INWRDAM is a non-political and non-profit autonomous body having international legal status.


Our Vision

INWRDAM envisions:

a) To have all the OIC countries as members in the Network;

b) To make its mark in the global arena as the representative organization of the Ummah and make meaningful contributions in all important regional and global deliberations on water resources development and management;

c) To establish and maintain an effective network of communication amongst the Ummah countries for dissemination and sharing of knowledge on water management between individuals, institutions, agencies and societies at all appropriate levels;

d) To help further advance the process of collaboration among the Ummah countries in order to translate agreed water management principles into action, based on the guidelines established by the Quran and sunnah with partnerships and synergies among the government, citizens and other stakeholders;

e) To work closely with the multilateral institutions, particularly the UN system to strengthen water-related policies and programs that enhance water security and to assist member countries, to the extent possible, to address the major challenges in the water sector;

f) To help policy makers, organizations, individuals in the member States appreciate that:

Water is the basis for all living ecosystems and habitats and part of an immutable hydrological cycle that must be respected if the development of human activity and well being is to be sustainable,
Fresh water, a basic human need, is becoming increasingly scarce and needs to be managed efficiently for the sake of all,
A holistic, systematic approach relying on integrated water resources management must replace the current fragmentation in managing water. This should take account of social, economic and environmental factors and integrate surface water, groundwater and the ecosystems through which they flow,
For meaningful water management special attention should be paid to the poor, to the role, skills and needs of women and to vulnerable areas such as island States, landlocked countries and desertified areas,
Effective management of water could become a vehicle for collaboration as much as its absence could be a source of conflict,
Quantity and quality aspects of groundwater management will be as crucial as surface water management in the years ahead,
Integrated water resources management depends on collaboration and partnerships at all levels, based on a political commitment to, and wider societal awareness of the need for water security and the sustainable management of water resources,
Promotion of peaceful co-operation and development of synergies between different uses of water at all levels, whenever possible, within and in the case of boundary and trans-boundary water resources between States concerned, through sustainable river basin or aquifer management or other appropriate measures which are essential to provide security from floods, droughts, pollution and other water related hazards.