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Glossary of technical terms and abbreviations used
| Aquifer | A water-bearing stratum of permeable rock or soil able to hold or transmit much water. |
| Assessment (water resources) | An examination of the aspects of the supply and demand for water and of the factors affecting the management of water resources. |
| Capacity building | The process of building organizations, human resources and the legal and regulatory framework needed for effective and efficient water resources management. |
| Catchment area | The area from which rainfall flows into a river, reservoir, etc. |
| CBA | cost-benefit analysis |
| CEA | cost-effectiveness analysis |
| Comprehensive water resources management | Water resources planning, development and control that incorporates physical, social, economic and environmental inter- dependencies. |
| Cost recovery | Fee structures that cover the cost of providing the service or investment. |
| De-centralization | The distribution of responsibilities for decision making and operations to lower levels of government, community organizations, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). |
| Delft Declaration | Declaration on Capacity Building, agreed at the UNDP Symposium A Strategy for Water Resources Capacity Building, held in Delft, the Netherlands, June 1991. |
| Demand management | The use of price, quantitative restrictions and other devices to limit the demand for water. |
| Dublin Statement | The Dublin Statement on Water and Sustainable Development, adopted at the International Conference on Water and the Environment (ICWE). |
| Ecosystem | A complex system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with its environment. |
| EIA | environmental impact assessment |
| Externality | The unintended real (generally non-monetary) side effect of one party's actions on another party. |
| FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |
| GNP | gross national product |
| Helsinki Rules | Helsinki rules on the Uses of the Waters of International Rivers, agreed in 1966, and since extended to include groundwater |
| HRD | Human resources development, i.e., the enhancement of knowledge and skills, plus the creation of optimum development conditions to use these |
| IAP-WASAD | International Action Programme on Water and Sustainable Agricultural Development (FAO) |
| ICID | International Commission for Irrigation and Drainage |
| ICWE | International Conference on Water and the Environment, attended by over 500 participants from over 100 countries and over 80 international governmental organizations and NGOs, and held in Dublin, Ireland, 26-31 January 1992. It resulted in the Dublin Statement. |
| IHE | International Institute for Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering |
| Institutions | Organizational arrangements and the legal and regulatory framework - the 'enabling environment' - in which organizations operate. More broadly, institutions include entities, processes and linkages between individual entities. |
| ILA | International Law Association |
| ILC | International Law Commission |
| IPTRID | International Programme on Technology and Research in Irrigation and Drainage |
| ITN | International Training Network (UNDP) |
| IWRA | International Water Resources Association |
| Market failure | A divergence between the market outcome, without intervention, and the economically efficient solution. |
| NGO | non-governmental organization |
| O&M | operation and maintenance |
| Opportunity cost | The value of goods or services foregone, including environmental goods and services, when a scarce resource is used for one purpose instead of for its next best alternative use |
| Policy | A declared intention and course of action adopted by government, party, etc., for the achievement of a goal. |
| Programme | A definite plan of intended procedure. |
| Project | A scheme or undertaking. |
| Ramsar Convention | Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat, done at Ramsar on 2 February 1971 and signed by 22 European States. It came into force on 21 December 1975. |
| RBO | river basin organization |
| Riparian state | A state through or along which a portion of a river flows or a lake lies |
| River basin | A geographical area (catchment area) determined by the watershed limits of a water system, including surface and underground water, flowing into a common terminus. |
| Sensitivity analysis | Assessment of the response of some factors as a result of changes in others |
| Sewage | Liquid refuse or waste matter carried off by sewers. |
| Sewerage | The removal and disposal of sewage and surface water by sewer systems. |
| Stakeholder | An organization or individual that is concerned with or has an interest in water resources and that would be affected by decisions about water resources management. |
| Strategy | A set of chosen short-, medium- and long-term actions to support the achievement of development goals and to implement water-related policies. |
| UFW | un-accounted-for water, i.e., the volume of water lost through leakage or irregular practices between entering a distribution system and reaching the users. |
| UN | United Nations |
| UN/ACC | UN Administrative Committee for Coordination |
| UNCED | United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1992). Also known as The Earth Summit. |
| UNDP | United Nations Development Programme |
| UNEP | United Nations Environment Programme |
| UNESCO | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization |
| UNDDSMS | United Nations Department of Development Support and Management Services |
| Watercourse | A system of surface and underground waters that constitute, by virtue of their physical relationship, a unitary whole and that flow into a common terminus |
| Watershed | The line separating waters flowing into different rivers, basins or seas. Often used to mean catchment area or river basin. |
| WDR | World Development Report |
| Wetlands | Areas of marsh, fen, peatland, or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water less than six metres deep at low tide. |
| WHO | World Health Organization |
| WMO | World Meteorological Organization |
| WRD | water resources development |