The KnoWat project developed a water tenure assessment methodology to identify and analyze the diversity of water tenure arrangements that exist within an assessment area such as a catchment or community. The methodology includes desk research and field work for data collection, as well as trainings and consultations with local people who depend on water for their livelihoods, as well as decision makers and national stakeholders. The assessment is carried out by a multidisciplinary team including legal and sociological experts.

Water tenure assessment allows the identification and the analysis of water tenure arrangements. These derive from different sources, including formal, customary, traditional and indigenous systems. Formal law, often described in terms of ‘water rights’, includes permits, licenses, small scale so-called ‘free uses’, concessions, contracts, membership in a water user association and legal powers conferred on public bodies. Local communities and indigenous peoples who exercise self-governance of natural resources may apply their own rules for the allocation, management, use and protection of water resources.  Communities often share resources based on social, cultural or religious norms, some of which may be recognized by formal law. 

The assessment methodology allows for a categorization of water tenure arrangements, identifies their perceived security, enables the analysis of governance institutions and the identification of potential conflicts and how they can be resolved through the application and revision of legal frameworks and local practices. The methodology allows comparisons between countries and between regions within the same country, while at the same time highlighting the specificities of each study area. 

The methodology seeks to shed light to analyze and inform policy makers on how the rights of all tenure holders can be defined and safeguarded, as well as the duties and ways to protect water resources for all legitimate users, while ensuring food security, and livelihoods of the people as well as the integrity of natural ecosystems.