In this paper, the authors approachwater governance not only through the prism of sectoralorganization and the official services, but also through allof the practices, still to be “integrated” into theregulatory framework,that give rise to order and socialprogress. In doing so, we do not wish to limit publicactions tog overnment decisions, however much these may havebeen democratically debated or even jointly constructed, butrather we wish to re-articulate social practices andcollective action. consider that what society produces foritself is an integral part of governance. For this, startwith the example of access to urban water in Bolivia, asthat public action in Bolivia and the water sector not onlyemblemize what is being played out on the regulation frontbetween State, communities, and society, but also questionthe place that the collective interest holds within thesphere of general interest. Firstly, the political projectof Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first Aymara president and adefender of the country’s traditional values, was toredefine the rules of the game in view of reappropriating anational identity. The intent was to make them less liberaland more inclusive, notably by attempting to integrate thedynamics of customary practice into the workings of themodern State. Moreover,his policies have largely beenbased on the re-appropriation of national resources, in abroadand highly symbolic move to negotiate with themultinationals that manage the country’s water, gas and oilindustries. Secondly, the water sector lends itselfparticularly well to an analysis of multi-stakeholdergovernance as the reality of large cities in developingcountries is still one where limited or failing publicservices struggle to serve agglomerations and keep up withthe pace of their demographic growth. Public waterdistribution services (managed by the State or delegated tothe private sector) are thus systematically “supplemented”informally by a multitude of other players whose socialfunction is crucial: small private traders, itinerant ornetwork operators, community services (cooperatives or userassociations), resale by neighbors, etc. These stakeholdersparticipate in water governance even if they are not part ofthe sector’sregulatory framework. After setting up apanorama of the official urban water sector in La Paz-ElAlto, two cases that typify the thinking on the way that thedynamics of the commons and public service are interlinked :one involves the environmental risks and possible trade-offsrequired to balance the interests of communities and thegeneral interest, while the other concerns the issues ofarticulating grassroots common services (water cooperatives)and public service.
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