61

Universities Council on Water Resources

Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education
Issue 145, Pages 61-64, August 2010

International Cooperation and Water Resources

Management: Hydrophilanthropy, Sustainable
Development, and Sustainable co-Development
Jean Fried

UNESCO, IHP, Paris, France

Department of Planning, Policy, and Design, University of California, Irvine, CA

Abstract: The paradigm of sustainable development as a strategy of dialogue and communication is of

growing interest in the context of international cooperation, in a world of economic, environmental, and
societal and demographic interdependence. After a brief discussion of the complexity of the concept of
sustainable development, contributing to the difficulty of an operational definition, we introduce sustainable
co-development as an operational set of principles and tools for the practical implementation of sustainable
development policies in international cooperation, based on mutual trust, shared responsibilities and mutual
benefits. Taking history and culture of all partners into account as a facilitator of mutual trust and promoting
the role of civil society to increase the sense of responsibility of the partners, sustainable co-development
introduces ethical values in economic relationships, combining the generosity of hydro-humanity and
hydro-philanthropy and the search for mutual benefits, which is a good condition of sound international
cooperation.
Keywords: Sustainable co-Development, mutual trust, mutual benefits

H
ydro Humanity and Hydrophilanthropy
have been defined as follows: Hydro
Humanity is to express kindness or
benevolence by helping people meet their water,
sanitation, and related needs; Hydrophilanthropy is
to express altruistic concern for the water, sanitation,
and related needs of humankind, as manifested by
donations of work, money, or property (Campana
2007). These concepts are particularly relevant
in international cooperation for the setting and
implementation of water management policies,
which constitutes the domain of study of this paper.
Both concepts are generous and express trust
in mankind, but their practical implementation is
difficult, as nothing is purely free and the quest
for benefits and short-term advantages is a normal
human feature. Besides, although water is a basic
human and ecological necessity, it has been
recognized as an economic good, meaning it has
to be managed according to economic rules, which
creates another difficulty.
To answer both difficulties in a practical manner,
I propose a system based on the introduction of
sustainable development principles and ethics
in the context of international cooperation, or
sustainable co-development, defining the principles
and practical guidelines of sustainable co-
development, and discussing its ethical dimensions
and practical values. In my mind, it will be a way of
implementing hydro humanity and philanthropy in
practice, therefore constructively complementing
these concepts.
From Sustainable Development to
Sustainable co-Development
Sustainable development was officially
introduced in 1987 at the United Nations by
the Brundtland Commission as “development
which meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs.”
However, sustainable development has been

Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education UCOWR

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interpreted in a variety of ways yielding many
different definitions, therefore adding to the
complexity and fuzziness of the concept.
It is complex because development is a complex
process depending on a whole set of parameters, such
as, among others, progress realized in the various
economic sectors, quantity and quality of services,
employment and working conditions, levels and
distribution of revenues, lodging, food, sanitary
conditions and healthcare, access to education
and culture, science and techniques. Hence the
definitions of development as given by professional
economists are rather complex, usually depending
on the political systems the economist believes
in. Each society will also have an intuitive idea of
development depending on its social conditions and
cultural habits, its immediate and longer term needs,
and, more generally, its conception of life: for
instance, some people will understand development
as giving them access to a job as a garbage collector
in Paris, 5000 miles from home, while, for others, it
will be the possibility of buying a car and a country
house. And for many, it will just mean to be able to
have something to eat for the next day.
The concept of sustainability is also fuzzy.
Does it mean “long term”? The long term of a
dam is not the long term of a computer. Does it
mean “adequate management of resources”? A
renewable resource like water or a forest will not
be adequately managed in the same way as a non-
renewable resource like oil. In addition, cultural
and linguistic differences add to the fuzziness. For
instance, in French we use two different words
for “sustainable,” “soutenable” (which can be
supported) and “durable” (which can last long),
which gives way to different interpretations.
In 1991-92, at the initiative of the European
Commission (the executive body of the European
Union), a European Commission Expert Group
prepared the 1992 Euromediterranean ministerial
conference on the sustainable development of the
Mediterranean Basin in Cairo. The Expert Group
proposed the following operational definition:
Sustainable development is an economic
development on the long term through a
better definition of the relationships between
Civil Society and Public Authorities, the
research of adequate institutional, legal,
administrative and financial structures and
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Fried
the direct participation of the citizen to his/
her development by public debates and
active citizenship (European Commission
1992).
The participating countries accepted this
definition, as a complement of the already accepted
Brundlandt’s definition, which had emphasized the
interaction between the economic, environmental
and societal dimensions of development and the
responsibility of present generations towards
future generations. They stressed two particular
aspects of the concept, the long-term dimension
and the participation of the population in its own
development.
Since then, sustainable development has become
familiar and an almost inevitable part of many
political declarations. Besides, another dimension
has appeared, the international dimension, based
on the fact that countries and regions are strongly
interdependent, economically, environmentally and
even demographically; international cooperation
can, therefore, be a significant facilitator of
their sustainable development. We have studied
sustainable development through international
cooperation and proposed its principles and
implementation guidelines under the name of
“sustainable co-development.”
Sustainable co-development aims at setting
new relationships between regions, populations
and countries emphasizing the ethical and cultural
dimensions of sustainable development more than
the purely commercial aspects of international
exchanges. Sustainable co-development strongly
emphasises capacity building in each partner country
on the one hand, and, on the other hand, culture as
both a factor of confidence building and a component
of creative economy (Fried 2001; Fried 2007).
Sustainable co-Development and its
Operational Principles
Sustainable co-development is defined as “an
approach of international cooperation for economic
sustainable development with shared responsibilities
and mutual benefits, based on international solidarity
and mutual trust.” (Fried 2002).
Sustainable co-development aims at identifying
and making the most efficient use of each partner’s
competences, knowledge, experience, and know-
how in a global approach integrating all dimensions,
Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education
 International Cooperation and Water Resources Management
especially the historic and cultural dimensions of
each partner population, and replacing the rather
traditional mentality of “assistant-assisted” by
making each partner assume its political and
financial responsibilities.
Sustainable co-development is based on the
following operational principles:
1. To study, understand and take into account the
culture, the history, the social environment,
and the physical environment of each partner
population in order (a) to better understand its
political, institutional, administrative and social
characteristics, (b) to have better access to the
collective preferences of the partner populations
i.e. their real needs and priorities and hence
to set the objectives of each cooperative
development project with better accuracy, and
(c) to stimulate the setting of mutual trust. In
particular, since the Rio+10 World Summit in
Johannesburg, culture has been recognized as
the fourth pillar of sustainable development
along the environmental, economic and social
pillars. But to understand the interaction
between culture and economy is still a major
challenge and it has become a significant
theme of research for us.
2. To ensure that the partners assume their
responsibilities in any cooperative development
project by mobilizing their financial, natural
and human resources in order to get rid of the
mentality of “assistant-assisted.”
3. To identify the competences, experience and
know-how of each partner which could be
used in any cooperative development project
for better efficiency and better adaptation to
the specific characteristics of the partners,
including scientific and technical cooperation
and exchanges, for mutual benefits as implied
by the prefix “co”; and
4. To stimulate long-term actions, by supporting
them with political, economic, and financial
instruments available on the long term and a
systematic follow-up and regular evaluation,
to account for the possible evolutions over
time of the action assumptions and hence to be
able to adapt it to these evolutions.
Sustainable co-development will use the following
Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education
63
tools (Baktiari and Fried, 2005; Fried 2001; Fried
2007):
1. Education and training, both fundamental and
professional;
2. Public awareness raising to foster public
participation;
3. Information exchanges; and
4. A strong and permanent political will (this is
most difficult, as political interests usually
vary on the short term).
Sustainable co-Development and Ethics
Mutual trust is the necessary ingredient of
long-term cooperation, which involves an ethical
approach that will be based on the following
aspects:
1. Replacing classical commercial relationships
based on short-term interests by cooperation
with mutual benefits, which may need the
assistance of the public authorities of the
cooperating countries;
2. Introducing the interactions of history and
culture with economic development, for a
better understanding of the real needs of the
populations whose development is looked for;
and
3. Giving civil society a significant role in
defining its development, which will contribute
to introducing democratic principles in
international cooperation.
Conclusion
Combining sustainable development and its ethical
values to methodological guidelines for its practical
implementation in international cooperation for
development, sustainable co-development appears
as an operational complement to hydro humanity
and philanthropy. It stimulates cooperation in
a practical way by combining the fundamental
generosity of hydro humanity and philanthropy
and their ethical aspects and the search for mutual
benefits, both moral and financial, which is the
necessary incentive of a sound international
cooperation on the long term.
Actually, even if its terminology is not yet
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64 Fried

popular and its teaching not systematic, sustainable
co-development is now being used by many
international institutions, such as UNESCO-IHP
(International Hydrological Programme), which
are including some or even most of its principles
in the rules guiding the approval and financing of
a project.
Fried, J. 2001.  Développement et co-développement
durable : outil programmatique et mode d’action.
XIXèmes rencontres universitaires de Génie Civil,
COSS 2001, Université Lille 1, Lille-Villeneuve
d’Ascq, May 2001.

Author Bio and Contact Information

Jean Fried is is a Senior Consultant at UNESCO
and a Project Scientist at the Department of Planning,
Policy and Design of the School of Social Ecology at
the University of California, Irvine. He was a tenured
Professor of Fluid Mechanics at the Université Louis
Pasteur Strasbourg 1, France, now retired, from 1973
to 2006, and, from 1976 to 1996, an Expert-Consultant
for water and sustainable development at the European
Commission (the governing institution of the European
Union). Jean Fried has developed an expertise in water
sustainable management, with an emphasis on ground
water issues, and the communication between science,
legislation and policy-making. He can be contacted
at the University of California, Irvine, Department of
Planning, Policy and Design, School of Social Ecology,
320B Social Ecology I, Irvine, CA 92697-7075. E-mail:
jfried@uci.edu.

References
Baktiari, B. and J. Fried. 2005. Sustainable development:
a strategy of dialogue and communication.
Environmental Policy and Law 184: 184-188.
Campana, M. 2007. Hydrohumanity: Quo Vadis?
Annual Meeting Geological Society of America,
Denver, CO, October 28–31, 2007, Paper no. 194-2.
European Commission. 1992. Non-published
preparatory policy document, Second Ministerial
Conference on Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation
on the Environment in the Mediterranean Basin,
Cairo, 28-30 April 1992.
Fried, J. 2007. International water problems and
sustainable co-development: A Central Asian
example. 3rd International Symposium on
Transboundary Waters Management. Universidad
de Castilla La Mancha, Ciudad Real, Espagne,
juin Gonzalez, J. (Editor) 2007, III TWM –
Transboundary Waters Management, ADI, Madrid.
Fried, J. 2002. Séminaire International sur le co-
développement durable de l’Océean Indien , la
Réunion ; Juillet 2002.

UCOWR Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education