36 Integrated Water Resources Management-II (Implementation and Capacity Development)

Sharda R. Gupta

epgp books

 

Objectives:

 

1.      Explain IWRM processes and planning.

2.        Explain IWRM implementation.

3.        Explain water resources management at the river basin scale.

4.      River Basins in India

5.        Explain capacity development for successful implementation of IWRM

 

Introduction:

 

An integrated water resources management is crucial for progress towards a green economy in the context of sustainable development, poverty eradication, and climate adaptation (UN-Water 2012). IWRM is a challenge to conventional practices and attitudes. Education is a key component of water crisis. Implementing IWRM means change, which creates threats and opportunities for managing water. There is need to enhance the capabilities of individuals, organisations and society for implementing IWRM.

 

The potential benefits of IWRM include :

  1. Consensus‐based water management decisions with high implementation success,
  2. Significantly improved community capacity for water resources decision making,
  3. Significantly improved institutional capacity for multi‐stakeholder/multi‐disciplinary water management,
  4. Reduced costs for governments, because of increased partnerships share costs across stakeholder groups
  5. Measurable and sustainable water resources improvements,
  6. A planning and management process that is ongoing, adaptive, and iterative

 

36.1.The IWRM Processes and Planning

 

The IWRM processes show many of the individual components of IWRM planning, which fall in three main areas:

 

  • Hydrologic cycle ‐with common hydrological factors
  • Watershed and land use ‐ includes a number of land activities that affect water
  • Economics, social interactions and institutions‐ includes the various factors in those areas that bear on water supply and IWRM

 

IWRM lies at the intersection of all of the factors of hydrologic cycle, watershed and land use, and socio-economics as well as concerning the institutions (Figure 36.1). Outside factors such as global climate changes, water transfers, atmospheric pollution, and movement of people are important. For example, water can also be exported from the watershed in food or other products.

 

36.2. IWRM Implementation Process

 

Conditions for implementing IWRM (UNESCO 2009)

 

The necessary conditions as cited from UNESCO (2009) are as follows:

  • Political will and commitment,
  • Basin management plan and clear vision,
  • Participation and coordination mechanisms, fostering information-sharing and exchange,
  • Capacity development,
  • Good knowledge of the natural resources present in the basin,
  • Comprehensive monitoring and evaluation.

The Global Water Partnership has created an IWRM toolbox which has been designed to support the development and application of IWRM approaches, providing IWRM practitioners with a wide range of tools, and instruments to fit diverse needs (http://www.gwp.org/ en/ToolBox/). The tools fall into three main categories, replicating the three pillars of IWRM: (a) enabling environment, (b) institutional roles, and (c) management instruments.

 

The learning by doing cycle of planning and implementation

 

The learning by doing cycle of planning and implementation and its various steps are shown in Figure.36. 2. Policy making, planning, and management comprise a series of sequential steps. The first step is to draw up broad policy goals. The next steps are to specify water management issues need to be solved, list potential strategies, evaluate each of these, select a strategy or combination of strategies, implement the strategy, monitoring and evaluation of the outcomes, learn from these outcomes and revise the plan to make it work better in the future. The ‘learning-by-doing management cycle’ helps us incorporate what we learn in the process of planning and managing water. There are also problems fit and of interplay, and these need to be solved for effective implementation of IWRM. IWRM is a long-term approach, nothing could be implemented in short term.

 

36.3. Water Management at River Basin Scale

 

River basins are the basic hydrological unit for the assessment of water resources of a region/country. However, water management on the river basin scale is extremely complex and many factors need to be taken into account. Some of the basic functions and associated activities for water resources management in a river basin are presented in Figure 36.3. The water resources management functions comprise a general framework for implementing IWRM for any river basin. For an inhabited river basin with competing water demands all these functions need to be performed to achieve sustainable management of the water resource and to improve livelihoods. In most countries the water resource management functions are guided by the national water laws and policies. For example, water allocation and pollution control are the regulatory functions. The other functions may be partly regulatory but also serves as support for each other. The functions of financial and information management are essential to enable the implementation of all regulatory functions.

 

Water Management at River Basin Scale

 

The water systems of the world including aquifers, lakes, rivers, large marine ecosystems, and open oceans are the basis for supporting the socioeconomic development and wellbeing of humanity besides harboring a high proportion of the world’s biodiversity (UNEP-DHI and UNEP 2016). Many of these systems are shared by two or more nations. These transboundary resources are linked by a complex web of environmental, political, economic and security factors. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) initiated the Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme (TWAP) to develop a baseline assessment (Table 36.1). Some of these transboundary river basins cover iconic rivers such as the Nile, Mekong, Amazon and Indus (UNEP-DHI and UNEP 2016).

 

Table 36.1. Transboundary river basins in the world (UNEP-DHI and UNEP 2016).

 

The concept of IWRM for entire drainage basins was developed during the 1990s, and several organizations have subsequently set up global IWRM programmes, including the Global Water Partnership (GWP) and the UN Development Programme’s Capacity Development in Sustainable Water Management Network (CAP-Net). The IWRM approach has been successfully carried out in a number of watersheds, including the North Sea, Baltic Sea, North American Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay.

 

36.4. River Basins in India

 

The river systems in the Indian subcontinent are grouped on the basis of the area of their drainage basin into major (more than 20,000 km2), medium (2000 to 20,000 km2) and minor (less than 2,000 km2) rivers. The Indian mainland is drained by 14 major, 45 medium and over 120 minor rivers, besides few ephemeral streams in the western arid and semi-arid region (Rao 1979). Some important rivers systems of India are briefly described in Table 36.2. “River basin is a ‘geographical unit’ enclosing an area drained by streams and channels that feed a river at a particular point.” The entire river system of the country has been divided into 34 major basins as per Central Ground Water Board (India-WRIS.2012).

River basin management is essential for implementation of IWRM. The Ganga River Basin Management Plan (GRBMP) has been developed by the IIT Consortium. An important aspect is that there are many institutions as well as ministries that must be involved in conducting water resources management. The structure and organisational framework are dependent on the national policies. There are also related engagement areas, which directly influence the water resources and the basic water resources management functions. For example, pollution abatement land Flood-plain Development & Sand mining both of which affect quality of the water resourceshe river basin of Ganga along with its tributaries have been brought under the holistic Basin Approach according to IIT Consortium with a focus on the following aspects:

 

§   Pollution abatement

§    River-Front Development

§    Flood-plain Development & Sand mining

§    Conserving biodiversity

§    Peoples’ participation and creating awareness

§   Capacity Building and State’s participation

§    Research and Monitoring

 

IIT Consortium stress the need for Improved Inter-Ministerial and Centre-State Co-ordination ( Figure 36.4). National Ganga River Basin management Project is summarized in Box 36.1.

Box 36.1 The National Ganga River Basin Project

 

The World Bank is supporting the Government of India in its effort to rejuvenate the Ganga River. The $1 billion project is helping the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) to build institutional capacity and infrastructure for rejuvenating the river. The institutional development includes the institutions at the central and state level; a communications and stakeholder engagement program; water quality monitoring; and technical assistance for city service providers and environmental regulators. The infrastructure investments in four sectors, i.e., wastewater collection and treatment, control of industrial pollution, solid waste management, and riverfront development. Successful experience of international rivers such as Rhine, Danube, Thames, Murray-Darling, etc. provides learning for Ganga Rejuvenation.

36.4.2. Narmada River Basin

 

The Narmada is the largest west flowing river of the Peninsula, which rises near Amarkantak range of mountains in Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth largest river in the country traversing Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat and meets the Gulf of Cambay. Narmada River total length from source to sea is 1312 km, has catchment area of 98,796 sq. km. The catchment area up to Sardar Sarovar dam is 88,000 sq. km. The climate of the basin is humid and tropical. The normal annual rainfall for the basin is 1,178 mm.

 

The Narmada river basin is bounded on the north by the Vindhyas, on the east by the Maikala range, on the south by the Satpuras and on the west by the Arabian Sea (GOI 2015). Most of the basin is at an elevation of less than 500 meters above mean sea level. A small area around Panchmarhi is at a height of more than 1,000 meters above mean sea level. Narmada River has 41 tributaries, 22 on left bank and 19 on the right bank. In the basin, forests occupy nearly 31,670 km-2 which is 32.1% of the total area and the cultivable area is about which is about 60% of the total area. The flow of this river flow is more than combined flow of Beas, Sutlej and Ravi rivers. The present utilisation of Narmada River basin today is hardly about 10%. Thus water of the Narmada continues to flow to the sea unused.

 

There are 21 Major and 23 Medium irrigation projects in the basin. There are six Hydroelectric projects in Narmada basin (Table 36.4).

36.4.3. Sardar Sarovar Project

 

The Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) is an inter-state multidisciplinary project with a terminal dam on river Narmada at Kevadia in Gujarat. Through this dam Gujarat and Rajasthan have proposed to utilize their share of allocated water. An annual irrigation of 17.92 lakh ha in Gujarat, 2.46 lakh ha in Rajasthan and hydel power generation of 1450 MW are proposed through SSP Narmada basin is the subject of one of the largest basin development schemes in the world. The Sardar Sarovar Project is one of the largest water resources project of India covering four major states – Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. The idea of constructing dams on the Narmada River was first suggested in 1946. It is an ambitious and technologically complex irrigation scheme which is to draw upon the flow of the Narmada River to alleviate the water needs of large areas of the state of Gujarat. The project, which is one of the largest water resource projects ever undertaken in India, includes a dam, a riverbed powerhouse, a main canal, a canal powerhouse, and an irrigation network. The components of the project are designed to irrigate a vast area of Gujarat and Rajasthan, and to provide drinking water to areas of central and northern Gujarat. The water is to be delivered by creating a storage reservoir on the Narmada River with a full reservoir level of 138.684m along with an extensive canal and irrigation system.

 

Benefits of SSP (http://www.sardarsarovardam.org/benefits-of-project.aspx)

 

ü  Even at 30% completion, present canal network is much larger than many irrigation projects of India

ü  Total fruitful utilization of more than 100106 MCM (81.16 MAF) so far

ü  Drinking Water to 8213 villages and 159towns, Rajasthan being supplied water since March 2008

ü  Electricity Generated > 41367 Million Units, •Irrigation Potential developed –14.17 lakh hectare.

ü  Sardar Sarovar Project has boosted the overall progress of the Gujarat state

 

Wild Ass Sanctuary in little Rann of Kachchh, Black Buck National Park at Velavadar, Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary in Kachchh, Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary at the mouth of River will be benefited. There will be benefits of fisheries development, recreational facilities, water supply for industries, agro industrial development, protection of conserved forest from grazers and secondary benefits, viz., employment generation, increase in vegetal cover.

 

36.5. THE TRANSBOUNDARY INDUS RIVER BASIN

 

The Indus River Basin

 

The Indus River is a major south-flowing river in South Asia. The Indus River begins in the Tibetan Plateau in China, originates from the lofty mountains of Himalayas around Mansarovar Lake in Tibet at an elevation of 5,182 m. The total length of Indus from origin to its outfall in Arabian Sea is 2,880 km, out of which 1,114 km flows through India. Near lake Manasarovar to the north of the Himalayas range on the Kailash Parbat mountain in China at an elevation of 5 500 m. The climate of the upper basin is dominated by air masses that contribute to the snowfall; the glacial melt regulates the hydrologic regime of the Indus. There are five major tributaries, i.e., Beas, Sutlej, and Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum Rivers which originate from the Hindu Kush, Karakorum, and Himalayan glacial mountain ranges. About 50-80% of the total average river flows in Pakistan are fed by snow and glacial melt, with the remaining coming from Monsoon rain (Yu et al. 2013). The Beas, Sutlej, and Ravi rivers carry heavy monsoon flow while the Chenab River is transitional. Annual precipitation ranges between 100 and 500 mm in the lowlands to a maximum of 2 000 mm on mountain slopes. Snowfall at higher altitudes (above 2 500 m) accounts for most of the river runoff (Ojeh, 2006).The total length of the river is 3,610 km (1,988mi) which makes it one of the longest rivers in Asia

 

The transboundary Indus river basin has a total area of 1.12 million km2distributed between Pakistan (47 %), India (39 %), China (8 %) and Afghanistan (6 %) (see FAO 2011) . The Indus river basin stretches from the Himalayan mountains in the north to the dry alluvial plains. In India, the basin spreads over states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana and Union Territory of Chandigarh. The major part of basin is covered with agricultural land accounting to 35.8% of the total area and 1.85% of the basin is covered by water bodies.

 

The river flows are comprised of glacier melt, snowmelt, rainfall and runoff. The glaciers serve as natural storage reservoirs that provide perennial supplies to the Indus river and some of its tributaries (WCD, 2000). The Indus river system forms a link between two large natural reservoirs, the snow and glaciers in the mountains and the groundwater contained by the alluvium in the Indus plains of the Sindh and Punjab Provinces of Pakistan (Ojeh, 2006). The major economic activity in the basin is irrigated agriculture.

 

Indus Waters Treaty

 

The Indus Waters Treaty, deals with the use of the River Indus water between India and Pakistan. It is as one of the most sophisticated international water agreements and remained stable despite several complications taking place during its negotiations and implementation. The Indus water treaty was signed on 26 September, 1960 by the Prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan’s President Ayub Khan. The World Bank has played an important role in the negotiation and implementation of the Indus Waters. The Indus Waters Treaty addressed both the technical and financial concerns of the two countries. According to this treaty the water of the Ravi, the Beas and the Satluj shall be available for the unrestricted use by India. India has also been permitted to make domestic use, non-consumptive use, uses for runoff the river Hydroelectric plants and specified agricultural use from the Indus, the Jhelum and the Chenab. The treaty set the rules how river Indus and its tributaries that flow in India and Pakistan will be utilised. Both India and Pakistan are peacefully sharing the water of Indus and its tributaries, because of ratification of the Indus Water Treaty.

 

  1. According to the treaty, Beas, Ravi and Sutlej are to be governed by India, while, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum are to be taken care by Pakistan.
  2. Since Indus flows from India, the country is allowed to use 20 per cent of its water for irrigation, power generation and transport purposes.
  3. A Permanent Indus Commission was set up as a bilateral commission to implement and manage the Treaty. The Commission solves disputes arising over water sharing.
  4. The Treaty also provides arbitration mechanism to solve disputes amicably.
  5. Though Indus originates from Tibet, China has been kept out of the Treaty. If China decides to stop or change the flow of the river, it will affect both India and Pakistan.
  6. Climate change is causing melting of ice in Tibetan plateau, the scientists are of the opinion the changing climate may affect the river in future.
  7. The Indus Commission has been set up in the Ministry of Water Resources, GoI of India under the Indus Water Treaty to look into the aspects of implementation of the treaty obligations.

 

36.6. Capacity Development

 

Capacity building is required within countries to meet objectives of water management. Capacity development refers to “the process through which individuals, organizations and societies obtain, strengthen and maintain the capabilities to set and achieve their own development objectives over time” (UNDP, 2008). The capacity for action by individuals, organisations and societies is a significant prerequisite for the achievement of the sustainability approach in the IWRM process. Also essential and thus for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNDP, 2008). Thus, implementation and capacity development lead to Sustainability.

 

36.6. 1. Levels of capacity

 

Three levels of capacity development according to UNDP are as follows:

 

Individual: It involves existing knowledge, skills, and experience that allow each person to perform. Some of these are acquired formally, through education and training, while others come informally, through doing and observing.

 

Institutional: This refers to the internal structure, policies and procedures that determine an organization’s effectiveness, and encouraging existing institutions to grow.

 

Societal: This involves capacities in society as a whole.

 

36.6. 2. Principles of capacity development

 

The capacity development is driven by values and consists of a conceptual framework and a methodological approach. It is based on the following basic principles (UNDP , 2008):

 

 

1.      To make informed choices and decisions.

2.      Emphasizes the importance of motivation as a driver of change.

3.      Capacity development is a long-term process.

4.      The approach links the enabling environment, as well as organizations and individuals, and promotes a comprehensive approach.

5.      A focus on training to address broader questions of institutional change, leadership, empowerment and public participation.

6.      Adaptation to local conditions and starts from the specific requirements and performance expectations of the sector or organization it supports.

7.      There are good-practice indicators, case evidence and analyses of quantitative and qualitative dat.,

 

35.6. 3.    The capacity development process

 

Capacity development is a continuous implementation strategy (UNDP, 2008; Ibisch et al., 2016) which has been described in a six-step process cycle (Figure35.5).

 

The six steps of the capacity development process are:

 

1.    Target definition by engaging stakeholders on capacity development;

2.  Assess capacity assets and needs;

3.  Formulate capacity development measures;

4.  Implement a capacity development response;

5.    Monitoring and Evaluation of capacity development,

6.  Adaptation of Strategy.

 

Capacity development is not a one-off intervention, but an iterative process of design-application-learning-adjustment. A core principle of an IWRM approach to water management is stakeholder participation, which has been defined as the process of involving stakeholders in problem-solving or decision-making and using stakeholder inputs to make more informed decisions. Water is everyone’s business and for the success of water sector reforms it is important to know the views and interests are of the stakeholders. Some guidelines for promoting active stakeholder participation (UNDP, 2008) include Information dissemination, capacity building of the stakeholders, giving responsibility and clear roles, and providing services.

 

36.7. IWRM and Wastewater

 

Inadequate management of wastewater has significant implications for environmental sustainability. Large volumes of wastewater are discharged untreated into rivers, lakes and oceans containing nutrients, toxic substances and organic matter that severely affect aquatic life and the integrity of ecosystems (Grant et al. 2012). The degraded aquatic ecosystems provide decreased services such as coastal protection, water purification and food provision. Therefore, it is important that wastewater management is coordinated with other sectors such as agriculture, silviculture and industry.

 

Recycling and reuse of water is a useful planning and management tool at the river basin level. Urban effluent can be treated and returned to rivers for dilution by natural flows and re-abstraction downstream after ensuring the quality of returning effluent. Treated effluent from industrial or municipal treatment plants may be used in agriculture and horticulture after proper treatment with minimum health risks and zero damage to crops. In India, waste water can be used in urban plantations and green areas with nonedible crops like cut flowers and aromatic grasses , and treated in constructed wetlands to provide many economic, social, recreational, and biodiversity conservation.

 

Use of recycling/reuse approaches can be stimulated through policy instruments, and regulations and bylaws and incentive schemes to stimulate change. Regulations can be introduced to require changed industrial practice in water use. Awareness raising and the use of information and communication tools can stimulate recycling and reuse of water

 

36.8. Summary

  1. An integrated water resources management is crucial for progress towards a green economy. Potential benefits of IWRM include implementation success and water resources decision making.
  2. IWRM lies at the intersection of all of the factors of hydrologic cycle, watershed and land use, and socio-economic as well as concerning the institutions
  3. The Global Water Partnership has created an IWRM toolbox which has been designed to support the development and application of IWRM approaches.
  4. The ‘learning-by-doing management cycle’ helps us incorporate what we learn in the process of planning and managing water.
  5. River basins are the natural areas in which to develop sustainable water management. “River basin is a ‘geographical unit’ enclosing an area drained by streams and channels that feed a river at a particular point.” The entire river system of India has been divided into 34 major basins.
  6. The Ganga river basin includes 17 major tributaries including Yamuna and the river Son and 11 states. Agricultural land accounts for 65.57% of the total area.
  7. The Narmada is the the fifth largest river in the country traversing Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat and meets the Gulf of Cambay. The Narmada river basin is bounded on the north by the Vindhyas, on the east by the Maikala range, on the south by the Satpuras and on the west by the Arabian Sea.
  8. The transboundary Indus river basin has a total area of 1.12 million km2distributed between Pakistan (47 %), India (39 %), China (8 %) and Afghanistan.
  9. Capacity development refers to “the process through which individuals, organizations and societies obtain, strengthen and maintain the capabilities to set and achieve their own development objectives over time”.
  10. The six steps of the capacity development process are Target definition, capacity assessment, capacity development, Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation and adaptation of strategy.
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REFERENCES

 

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