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The Conservation and Sustainable Use of Freshwater Resources in West Asia, Central Asia and North Africa

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The Conservation and Sustainable Use of Freshwater Resources in West Asia, Central Asia and North Africa IUCN-WESCANA Water Publication The Conservation and Sustainable Use of Freshwater Resources in West Asia, Central Asia and North Africa The 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress Bangkok, Kingdom of Thailand, November 17-25, 2004 IUCN Regional Office for West/Central Asia and North Africa Kuwait Foundation For The Advancement of Sciences The World Conservation Union 1 2 3 The Conservation and Sustainable Use of Freshwater Resources in West Asia, Central Asia and North Africa The 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress Bangkok, Kingdom of Thailand, November 17-25, 2004 IUCN Regional Office for West/Central Asia and North Africa Kuwait Foundation 2 For The Advancement of Sciences The World Conservation Union 3 4 5 Table of Contents The demand for freshwater resources and the role of indigenous people in the conservation of wetland biodiversity Mehran Niazi.................................................................................. 8 Managing water ecosystems for sustainability and productivity in North Africa Chedly Rais................................................................................... 17 Market role in the conservation of freshwater biodiversity in West Asia Abdul Majeed..................................................................... 20 Water-ecological problems of the Syrdarya river delta V.A. Dukhovny, N.K. Kipshakbaev,I.B. Ruziev, T.I. Budnikova, and V.G. Prikhodko............................................... 26 Fresh water biodiversity conservation: The case of the Aral Sea E. Kreuzberg-Mukhina, N. Gorelkin, A. Kreuzberg V. Talskykh, E. Bykova, V. Aparin, I. Mirabdullaev, and R. Toryannikova............................................. 32 Water scarcity in the WESCANA Region: Threat or prospect for peace? Odeh Al-Jayyousi ......................................................................... 48 4 5 6 7 Summary The IUCN-WESCANA Water Publication – The Conservation and Sustainable Use Of Freshwater Resources in West Asia, Central Asia and North Africa - is the first publication of the IUCN-WESCANA Office, Amman-Jordan. It is to be launched during the World Conservation Congress (WCC) in Bangkok, November 17-25, 2005. The rationale of the IUCN-WESCANA Water Publication is to contribute and share knowledge about conservation and water management. his rationale is in line with the IUCN conservation of wetlands in Iran. He assessed the Framework for Action as outlined in demand of indigenous people for the freshwater Tthe Vision for Water and Nature. This resources and their role in preservation and conser- framework proposes six goals to achieve vation of the wetland ecosystem. sustainable water management. Specifically, Majeed reviewed economic or market based societies and individuals must choose to: instruments in conservation. He argued that these • Care for the planet’s ecosystems by respecting, instruments affect the relative prices (costs and conserving and restoring the planet’s freshwater benefits) of alternative actions, creating markets resources; for natural resources and the environment, these • Adopt an ecosystem-based approach within river instruments can signal true resource scarcities basins for sustainable water resources manage- to users creating economic incentives for wiser ment. management. • Empower people to establish participatory, equi- Rais addressed the question of carrying capacity table and responsible water use; and sustainable fishing. The basic question he • Create political will and good governance to fa- addressed is: Can the living resources of the inland cilitate wise water use and prevent water conflicts; waters in North Africa be exploited in a sustainable • Raise awareness and strengthen capacity to manner? The paper concluded by identifying change human behaviour to reduce water consump- the constraints on sustainable management of tion and waste and protect ecosystems; ecosystems. Special reference was paid to the risk • Develop and share knowledge and technology to of the introduction of invasive species. improve water resources management. Addressing the issues in Central Asia, Dukhovny This IUCN-WESCANA Water Publication et al. showed the linkages between environment sought to bring into focus some of the many issues and socio-economic aspects. They documented related to the conservation and sustainable use the root causes and effects of environmental of freshwater resources across the WESCANA deterioration in the Aral Sea. Moreover, Elena et region. This publication includes 6 technical al. documented the extent of biodiversity loss in the papers prepared by specialists representing each Aral Sea Basin due to man-made developments. of WESCANA’s four sub-regions (the Arabian Finally, Al-Jayyousi argued that the WESCANA Peninsula, Mid-west Asia, North Africa and region represents a critical mass and a logical unit Central Asia). The papers addressed water issues of analysis for water assessment and management. from the viewpoint of the four themes of the World Complementarities among nation-states in water, Conservation Congress: food, and trade represent comparative advantages • Ecosystem Management: Bridging sustainability for each nation-state. Ecological and political and productivity borders rarely coincide. Few serious environmental • Health, Poverty and Conservation: Responding to problems can be solved within the framework the challenge of human well being of the nation state. The fact that regional • Biodiversity Loss and Species Extinction: Man- management programs exist and persist, in spite of aging risk in a changing world nationalist rivalries, shows the imperative need for • Markets, Business and Environment: Strengthen- environmental cooperation. To achieve sustainable ing corporate social responsibility, law and policy. water management within a river basin, there is Specifically, the first paper by Niazi analyzed a need for a linkage between international law the main stakeholders contributing to biodiversity principles and hydrological considerations. 6 7 The demand for Freshwater Resources and the Role of Indigenous People in the Conservation of Wetland Biodiversity Mehran Niazi (MSc), Iran is one of the largest1 and most populous2 countries of the Middle East. Division for Natural Environment and It is located geographically in the arid and semiarid part of the region Biodiversity, where competing demands on particularly scarce and valuable water Department of Environment, Iran resources is an important issue3. With an average annual precipitation of [email protected] about 250 mm, which is one third of the world average precipitation, the country suffers in most parts from shortage of freshwater. rid and semiarid regions of the interior and far south, which are characterized Aby long, warm, dry periods, sometimes last over seven months and cover 85% of the country. Overwhelming arid ecosystems, together with over-utilization of ground- and surface-water resources and with increasing trends of erosion within the catchments, have made the situation regarding the demand for freshwater resources much more drastic during the past three decades. Therefore, water and water resources management has been seen as one of the major concerns of the government and the local water users throughout history, and have been considered a top priority of the country’s development and conservation policy framework. On the other hand, because of its large for their conservation. A large number of species size and varied ecosystems, Iran is one of the most dependent on wetlands and identified by IUCN important countries in Western Asia in terms of as globally threatened, inhabit Iran’s wetlands biodiversity conservation. Though a dry country (Department of Environment, 2000). where water resources are scarce and much sought These freshwater resources, particularly the after, Iran has a great diversity of wetlands. Of 286 wetlands or aquatic ecosystems of ecological wetlands currently identified in the country, 86 meet importance, are also characterized by their economic the Ramsar criteria for international importance values as well as the benefits they can provide for and 22 have been designated as wetlands of the adjacent communities. At the regional and international importance. Seven wetlands also local level, these values are mainly ecological fall under the Montroux classification. Several (landscapes, resources for recreation, habitats for other wetlands also are located in cross-boundary fauna especially for migratory bird species, flood situations, thus requiring international cooperation control, etc.) as well as socio-economic (supply 1 Total area is 1,168,1 59sq. Km. 2 According to the 2001 census, Iran had a population of 68 million people. 3 60% of the area is classified as desert or semi-desert. 8 9 of freshwater for urban, sanitary, and agricultural uses, • What are the costs of wetland degradation/social provision of local people needs and amenity, etc.). Thus, costs? conservation of freshwater resources, which is defined as • Who are the stakeholders and what role do they play in the preservation of the important values of these resources wetland conservation? as well as the sustaining of the productivity of the aquatic • Who pays for the costs, do beneficiaries pay for the ecosystems, requires application of a specific management costs? approach that is referred to in this research as “freshwater • Is there any potential for a market to be developed? biodiversity conservation”. • Are traditional approaches viable alternatives to
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