9.1.1 Participation
It is important that all the people who are affected by decisions are allowed to participate in the process of reaching those decisions. Residents’ groups and other stakeholders or their representatives should be consulted as part of any decision-making process (Figure 9.1). Both men and women should be involved. The number and range of stakeholders to be consulted will depend on the project or scheme under discussion. As an example from a wider context, farmers may wish to increase their intake of water from a river for irrigation because they want to improve their crop production. This could affect many other people, especially those who live downstream of the abstraction point on the river, and they should be invited to participate in the deliberations.
9.1 Good governance