DEVELOPMENT (IWRD) At its simplest, integrated water resources management is a logical and appealing concept. Its basis is that many different uses of water are interdependent. High irrigation demands and polluted drainage flows from agriculture means less freshwater for drinking or industrial use, contaminated municipal; industrial water use pollutes rivers and threatens ecosystems, and overprotection of fisheries and ecosystems means that less water can be diverted to grow crops. There are plenty more examples of the basic theme that the unregulated use of scarce water resources is wasteful and inherently unsustainable. Integrated Management means that all the different uses of water resources are considered together. Water allocations and management decisions consider the effects of each use on the others. They are all able to take account of overall social and economic goals including the achievement of sustainable development. This also means ensuring coherent policy making related to all sectors. The basic IWRM concept has been extended to incorporate/include participatory decision-making. Different user groups (farmers, communities, environmentalists…) can influence strategies for water resource development and management. That brings additional benefits, as informed users apply local self-regulation about issues such as water conservation and catchment protection far more effectively than central regulation and surveillance can achieve. Management is used in its broad sense. It emphasizes that we must not only focus on development of water resources but that we must consciously manage water development in a way that ensures long term sustainable use for future generations. IWRM is therefore a systematic process for the sustainable development, allocation and monitoring of water resource use in the context of social, economic and environmental objectives. When responsibility for drinking water rests with one agency, for irrigation water with another and the environment with yet another, the resultant lack of cross-sectional linkages leads to uncoordinated water resource development and management resulting in conflict, waste and unsustainable systems. Technical Committee of the Global Water Partnership (GWP) defines Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) as "a process, which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare equitably without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems,” and emphasized that water should be managed in a basin-wide context, under the principles of good governance and public participation.
1 |IWRM WATER CRISIS FACTS • Only 0.4% of the total of global water in the world is available for humans. • Today more than 2 billion people are affected by water shortages in over 40 countries. • 263 river basins are shared by two or more nations. • 2 million tonnes per day of human waste are deposited in water courses. • Half the population of the developing world are exposed to polluted sources of water that increase disease incidence. • Most of the natural disasters in the1990s were water related. • The increase in number of people will be the main driver of water resources management for the next 50 years.
Why IWRM Water is vital for human survival, health and dignity and a fundamental resource for human development. The World’s freshwater resources are under increasing pressure yet many still lack access to adequate water supply for basic needs. Population growth, increased economic activity and improved standards of living lead to increased competition for, and conflicts over freshwater resource. • Water resources are increasingly under pressure from population growth, economic activity and intensifying competition for the water among users; • Water withdrawals have increased more than twice as fast as population growth and currently one-third of the world's population live in countries that experience medium to high water stress; • Pollution is further enhancing water scarcity by reducing water usability downstream; • Shortcomings in the management of water, a focus on developing new sources rather than managing existing ones better, and top-down sector approaches to water management result in uncoordinated development and management of the resource. • More and more development means greater impacts on the environment. • Current concerns about climate variability and climate change demand improved management of water resources to cope with more intense floods and droughts.
2 |IWRM IWRM is based on three principles: social equity, economic efficiency and environmental sustainability. Considering these principles means answering the following questions: - How will my decision/ action affect access for other users to water or the benefits from its use? - Will my decision/ action result in the ‘most efficient use of the available financial and water resources? - How will my decision/ action affect the functioning of natural systems? Social equity means ensuring equal access for all users (particularly marginalized and poorer user groups) to an adequate quantity and quality of water necessary to sustain human well-being. The right of all users to the benefits gained from the use of water also needs to be considered when making water allocations. Benefits may include enjoyment of resources through recreational use or the financial benefits generated from the use of water for economic purposes. Economic Efficiency means bringing the greatest benefit to the greatest number of users possible with the available financial and water resources. This requires that the most economically efficient option is selected. The economic value is not only about price – it should consider current and future social and environmental costs and benefits. Ecological Sustainability requires that aquatic ecosystems are acknowledged as users and that adequate allocation is made to sustain their natural functioning. Achieving this criterion also requires that land uses and developments that negatively impact these systems are avoided or limited.
KEY ISSUES IN WATER MANAGEMENT
• Water governance crisis Sectoral approaches to water resources management have dominated in the past and are still prevailing. This leads to fragmented and uncoordinated development and management of the resource. Moreover, water management is usually in the hands of top-down institutions, the legitimacy and effectiveness of which have increasingly been questioned. Thus, weak governance aggravates increased competition for the finite resource. IWRM brings coordination and collaboration among the individual sectors, plus a fostering of stakeholder participation, transparency and cost-effective local management. • Securing water for people Although most countries give first priority to satisfying basic human needs for water,one-fifth of the world’s population is without access to safe drinking water and half of the population is without access to adequate sanitation. These service deficiencies primarily affect the poorest segments of the population in developing countries. In these countries, meeting water supply and sanitation needs for urban and rural areas represents one of the most serious challenges in the years ahead. Reducing the proportion of the population lacking water and sanitation services by 2030 is one of
3 |IWRM the sustainable Development Goal. Doing so will require a substantial re-orientation of investment priorities, which will be very much more readily achieved in those countries that are also implementing IWRM. • Securing water for food production Population projections indicate that over the next 25 years food will be required for another 2-3 billion people. Water is increasingly seen as a key constraint on food production, equivalent to if not more crucial than land scarcity. Irrigated agriculture is already responsible for more than 70% of all water withdrawals (more than 90% of all consumptive use of water). Even with an estimated need for an additional 15-20% of irrigation water over the next 25 years - which is probably on the low side – serious conflicts are likely to arise between water for irrigated agriculture and water for other human and ecosystem uses. IWRM offers the prospect of greater efficiencies, water conservation and demand management equitably shared among water users, and of increased recycling and reuse of wastewater to supplement new resource development. • Protecting vital Ecosystems Terrestrial ecosystems in the upstream areas of a basin are important for rainwater infiltration, groundwater recharge and river flow regimes. Aquatic ecosystems produce a range of economic benefits, including such products as timber, fuel wood and medicinal plants, and they also provide wildlife habitats and spawning grounds. The ecosystems depend on water flows, seasonality and water-table fluctuations and are threatened by poor water quality. Land and water resources management must ensure that vital ecosystems are maintained and that adverse effects on other natural resources are considered and where possible reduced when development and management decisions are made. IWRM can help to safeguard an “environmental reserve” of water commensurate with the value of ecosystems to human development. • Gender Disparities Formal water management is male-dominated. Though their numbers are starting to grow, the representation of women in water sector institutions is still very low. That is important because the way that water resources are managed affects women and men differently. As custodians of family health and hygiene and providers of domestic water and food, women are the primary stakeholders in household water and sanitation. Yet, decisions on water supply and sanitation technologies, locations of water points and operation and maintenance systems are mostly made by men. Then Gender and Water Alliance cites the example of a well-meaning NGO that helped villagers to install pour-flush latrines to improve their sanitation and hygiene, without first asking the women about the extra two litres of water they would have to carry from distant sources for every flush. A crucial element of the IWRM philosophy is that water users, rich and poor, male and female, can influence decisions that affect their daily lives.
4 |IWRM PRINCIPLES OF IWRM A meeting in Dublin (Ireland) in 1992 (International Conference on Water and Environment) gave rise to FOUR guiding principles (the Dublin statement), in approach to IWRM. Principle No. 1: Fresh water is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life, development and the environment Since water sustains life, effective management of water resources demands a holistic approach, linking social and economic development with protection of natural ecosystems. Effective management links land and water uses across the whole of a catchment area or ground water aquifer. Principle No. 2: Water development and management should be based on a participatory approach, involving users, planners and policy-makers at all levels The participatory approach involves raising awareness of the importance of water among policy- makers and the general public. It means that decisions are taken at the lowest appropriate level, with full public consultation and involvement of users in the planning and implementation of water projects. Principle No. 3:
Women play a central part in the provision, management and safeguarding of water
This pivotal role of women as providers and users of water and guardians of the living environment has seldom been reflected in institutional arrangements for the development and management of water resources. Acceptance and implementation of this principle requires positive policies to address women's specific needs and to equip and empower women to participate at all levels in water resources programs, including decision-making and implementation, in ways defined by them.
Principle No. 4:
Water has an economic value in all its competing uses and should be recognized as an economic good Within this principle, it is vital to recognize first the basic right of all human beings to have access to clean water and sanitation at an affordable price. Past failure to recognize the economic value of water has led to wasteful and environmentally damaging uses of the resource. Managing water as an economic good is an important way of achieving efficient and equitable use, and of encouraging conservation and protection of water resources.
5 |IWRM BENEFITS OF IWRM Environment benefits
• Ecosystems can benefit from applying an integrated approach to water management
by giving environmental needs a voice in the water allocation debate. At present these needs are often not represented at the negotiating table.
• IWRM can assist the sector by raising awareness among other users of the needs of ecosystems and the benefits these generate for them. Often these are undervalued and not incorporated into planning and decision-making.
• The ecosystem approach provides a new framework for IWRM that focuses more attention on a system approach to water management: -protecting upper catchments (e.g. reforestation, good land husbandry, and soil erosion control), pollution control (e.g. point source reduction, non-point source incentives, groundwater protection) and environmental flows. It provides an alternative to a sub-sector competition perspective that can join stakeholders in developing a shared view and joint action. Agriculture benefits
• As the single largest user of water and the major non-point source polluter of surface and groundwater resources, agriculture has a poor image. Taken alongside the low value added in agricultural production, this frequently means that, especially under conditions of water scarcity, water is diverted from agriculture to other water uses. However, indiscriminate reduction in water allocation for agriculture may have far- reaching economic and social consequences. With IWRM, planners are encouraged to look beyond the sector economics and take account of the implications of water management decisions on employment, the environment and social equity.
• By bringing all sectors and all stakeholders into the decision-making process, IWRM is able to reflect the combined “value” of water to society as a whole in difficult decisions on water allocations. This may mean that the contribution of food production to health, poverty reduction and gender equity, for example, could over-ride strict economic comparisons of rates of return on each cubic meter of water. Equally, IWRM can bring into the equation the reuse potential of agricultural return flows for other sectors and the scope for agricultural reuse of municipal and industrial wastewaters.
• IWRM calls for integrated planning so that water, land and other resources are utilized in a sustainable manner. For the agricultural sector IWRM seeks to increase water productivity (i.e. more crop per drop) within the constraints imposed by the economic, social and ecological context of a particular region or country.
6 |IWRM Water supply and sanitation benefits
• Above all, properly applied IWRM would lead to the water security of the world’s poor and unserved being assured. The implementation of IWRM based policies should mean increased security of domestic water supplies, as well as reduced costs of treatment as pollution is tackled more effectively.
• Recognizing the rights of people, and particularly women and the poor, to a fair share of water resources for both domestic and household-based productive uses, leads inevitably to the need to ensure proper representation of these groups on the bodies that make water resource allocation decisions.
• The focus on integrated management and efficient use should be a stimulus to the sector to push for recycling, reuse and waste reduction. High pollution charges backed by rigid enforcement have led to impressive improvements in industrial water-use efficiencies in the industrialized countries, with benefits for domestic water supplies and the environment.
• Past sanitation systems often focused on removing the waste problem from the areas of human occupation, thus keeping the human territories clean and healthy, but merely replacing the waste problem, with often detrimental environmental effects elsewhere. The introduction of IWRM will improve the opportunity for introduction of sustainable sanitation solutions that aim to minimize waste-generating inputs, and reduction of waste outputs, and to solve sanitation problems as close as possible to where they occur.
• At a practical local level, improved integration of water resource management could lead to greatly reduced costs of providing domestic water services, if for instance more irrigation schemes were designed with a domestic water component explicitly involved from the start.
