as a result even where power price reforms have occurred they are insufficient to create major incentives for efficiency or reductions in demand communication and transport systems expand access to information goods finances and people to better enable access to water in more efficient ways to meet the needs to sustain local livelihoods as biswas points out such calls for comprehensive planning have a long history a unique feature here is that whereas in the past such strategies as integrated rural development ird were wholly national or subnational attempts now the proposition is to include crossborder collaboration in multisector planning covering entire river basins