Friday, July 10, 2009 9:40 AM Subject: SIFN Friday Messages

From: Marilyn O'Leary [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, July 10, 2009 9:40 AM Subject: SIFN Friday Messages

Hello SIFN:

1. Attached are two pubs from Brian Richter of the Global Freshwater Team. BTW, he is responsible for a very helpful newsletter called e-flows. Google it and consider subscribing. The attached are Environmental Flows in Water Resources Policies, Plans and Projects: (i) Findings and Recommendations and (ii) Case Studies are joint products of SDN's Environment Department and Energy, Transport and Water Department. The reports address a fundamental shortcoming in most water resources investments, planning and policy reforms to date, particularly, the inadequate protection of environmental flow conditions in rivers, lakes, wetlands, estuaries and groundwater systems. The main report reviews the science, the decision making, and the practice of environmental flows using a structured analytical framework. These are quite detailed.

2. Don't forget to mark your calendars for July 23, 2009, 1 p.m. Eastern Time, SIFN WebEx on Messaging. We'll be looking at the existing outreach on flow in many states and sharing some tools to increase outreach and get more out of each effort. This WebEx is also open to people in your organizations who may not be SIFN team members but helping you with SIFN outreach. Invite them. Particulars and the agenda will be distributed closer to the date.

Have a great weekend.

Marilyn O'Leary

Marilyn Barrett-O'Leary [email protected] 225-892-7470

2 attachments — Download all attachments 9780821379400worldbanksifn.pdf 1769K View Download EDP 117 Env flows.pdf 3289K View Download Environmental Flows in Water Resources Policies, Plans, and Projects Findings and Recommendations

Raﬁ k Hirji and Richard Davis

ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

Environmental Flows in Water Resources Policies, Plans, and Projects ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

A fundamental element of sustainable development is environmental sustainability. Hence, this series was created in 2007 to cover current and emerging issues in order to promote debate and broaden the understanding of environmental challenges as integral to achieving equitable and sustained economic growth. The series will draw on analysis and practical experience from across the World Bank and from client countries. The manuscripts chosen for publication will be central to the implementation of the World Bank’s Environment Strategy, and relevant to the development community, policy makers, and academia. Topics addressed in this series will include environmental health, natural resources management, strategic environmental assessment, policy instruments, and environmental institutions, among others.

Also in this series: International Trade and Climate Change: Economic, Legal, and Institutional Perspectives Poverty and the Environment: Understanding Linkages at the Household Level Strategic Environmental Assessment for Policies: An Instrument for Good Governance Environmental Health and Child Survival: Epidemiology, Economics, Experiences Environmental Flows in Water Resources Policies, Plans, and Projects Findings and Recommendations

Rafik Hirji and Richard Davis © 2009 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street NW Washington DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000 Internet: www.worldbank.org E-mail: [email protected] All rights reserved 1 2 3 4 12 11 10 09 This volume is a product of the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this volume do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of The World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgement on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries.

RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS

The material in this publication is copyrighted. Copying and/or transmitting portions or all of this work without permission may be a violation of applicable law. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank encourages dissemination of its work and will normally grant permission to reproduce portions of the work promptly. For permission to photocopy or reprint any part of this work, please send a request with complete information to the Copyright Clearance Center Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA; telephone: 978-750-8400; fax: 978-750-4470; Internet: www.copyright.com. All other queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to the Office of the Publisher, The World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; fax: 202-522-2422; e-mail: [email protected]. ISBN: 978-0-8213-7940-0 eISBN: 978-0-8213-8012-3 DOI: 10.1596/978-0-8213-7940-0 Cover photo: inner photo, © World Bank; outer photo, © iStockphoto.com/jameslee999 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for. CONTENTS

ix Foreword xi About the Authors xiii Acknowledgments xvii Abbreviations

1Overview 2 Environmental Flows: Science, Decision Making, and Development Assistance 4 Environmental Flow Implementation Case Studies 6 Mainstreaming Implications 9Notes

PART I Context and Rationale

CHAPTER 1 13 Introduction 17 The World Bank and Environmental Flows 20 Objectives of the Report 21 Methodology 22 Organization of Report 22 Notes

PART II Environmental Flows: Science, Decision Making, and Development Assistance

CHAPTER 2 27 Environmental Flows in Water Resources Decision Making 31 Water-Dependent Ecosystem Services 33 Environmental Flows: Adoption and Methods 34 Environmental Flows and Decision Making 37 Environmental Flows in Policies, Plans, and Projects 38 Environmental Flows, IWRM, and Environmental Assessment 40 Notes

CHAPTER 3 41 Environmental Flows and the World Bank 43 Country Water Resources Assistance Strategies 49 Bank–Netherlands Water Partnership Program 55 World Bank Safeguard Policies

v vi CONTENTS

55 Partner Agency Collaboration 58 Notes

PART III Case Studies of Environmental Flow Implementation

CHAPTER 4 61 Case Study Assessment 61 Good-Practice Criteria 62 Institutional Drivers

CHAPTER 5 67 Policy Case Studies: Lessons 67 Assessment of Effectiveness 77 Institutional Drivers 79 Summary of Policy Lessons 82 Notes

CHAPTER 6 83 Basin Plan Case Studies: Lessons 83 Assessment of Effectiveness 90 Institutional Drivers 92 Summary of Plan Lessons 92 Note

CHAPTER 7 93 Project Case Studies: Lessons 99 Assessment of Effectiveness 110 Institutional Drivers 115 Summary of Project Lessons 116 Note

PART IV Mainstreaming Implications

CHAPTER 8 119 Achievements and Challenges 120 Scientific Achievements 124 Integrating Environmental Flows into Decisions 124 Plan Achievements 125 Infrastructure Projects 128 Notes

CHAPTER 9 129 Framework for Mainstreaming Environmental Flows 129 The Way Forward 132 A Framework for Bank Action CONTENTS vii

PART V Appendixes

139 APPENDIX A: The Brisbane Declaration 143 APPENDIX B: Infrastructure Design Features for Environmental Flows from Dams 149 APPENDIX C: Background to Environmental Flows 155 APPENDIX D: Water Environmental Issues in Country Water Resources Assistance Strategies 165 APPENDIX E: Environmental Flow Programs of International Development Organizations and NGOs 177 References 183 Index Boxes 14 1.1 Environmental Flows and IWRM Linkages 18 1.2 Policies, Strategies, and Resources for Supporting Integration of Environmental Flows in World Bank Operations 30 2.1 Examples of Flow-Dependent Ecosystem Services 36 2.2 Environmental Water Trading in Australia 48 3.1 Environmental Flows to the Indus Delta 50 3.2 Proposed Environmental Flows Program for Tanzania 56 3.3 World Bank Safeguard Policies 57 3.4 Designing Hydropower Dams to Include Environmental Flows 63 4.1 Drivers for Environmental Flows in Plans and Projects 64 4.2 Drivers for Environmental Flows in Policies 72 5.1 Managing the Whole Water Cycle 78 5.2 Water Use Conflicts in Usangu Plains, Tanzania 84 6.1 Basin-Level Environmental Flow Assessments 87 6.2 Levels of Environmental Flow Analysis Used in South Africa 100 7.1 The Tarim Basin Restoration 102 7. 2 The Senegal Basin Water Charter 104 7. 3 Structured Assessment for the Bridge River Reoperation, Canada 105 7.4 Monitoring Program for the Berg River Dam, South Africa 107 7. 5 Economic Assessment of Downstream Impacts of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project 122 8.1 Climate Change and Evapotranspiration 126 8.2 Achievements of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project 153 C.1 Using Indigenous Knowledge, Rio Patuca, Honduras 168 E.1 Flows in the Okavango Basin 171 E.2 The Huong River Basin, Vietnam 172 E.3 Environmental Sustainability in Southern Africa Figures 28 2.1 Water Storage per Capita in Select Countries 29 2.2 Changes in Freshwater Species Population Indices, 1970–1999 viii CONTENTS

33 2.3 Components of the Flow Regime 39 2.4 Hierarchy of Decisions Leading to Project-level Environmental Flow Allocation 43 3.1 Number of Examinations of Upstream and Downstream Issues in Dam-related Project Documents 150 C.1 The Evolution of Dam Planning Practices

Tables 35 2.1 Estimated Time and Resource Requirements of Select EFA Methods 42 3.1 Biophysical Impacts Included in the Analysis of World Bank–Funded Dam Projects 45 3.2 Inclusion of Environmental Flow Issues in CWRASs 51 3.3 Select BNWPP Assistance to World Bank Projects 68 5.1 Characteristics of Select National Water Policies 80 5.2 Institutional Drivers for Water Policy Reform and Inclusion of Environmental Flows in Policies 91 6.1 Institutional Drivers for Undertaking Environmental Flow Assessments at Basin and Catchment Scales 94 7.1 Characteristics of Project Case Studies 95 7. 2 Major Findings from Project Case Studies 108 7. 3 The LHWP Economic Rate of Return for Different Flow Scenarios 110 7.4 Lesotho Highlands River Condition Target Monitoring Results 111 7. 5 Drivers for New Infrastructure and Restoration Projects 133 9.1 A Framework for Adopting and Integrating Environmental Flows into Bank Work Foreword

Investments in infrastructure provide opportunities for economic growth and poverty alleviation. Many developing nations face the major development challenge of providing the infrastructure to meet the growing demand for water for domestic consumption, agriculture, energy, and industry and for a buffer against the vulnerabilities to floods and droughts. Climate change is likely to heavily affect water supply and demand and worsen extreme events. Adaptation to climate variability and climate change may require a suite of solutions, including investments in water resources management policies; plans and institutions; demand management; and conservation and protection of watersheds, lakes, wetlands, and aquifers. This adaptation may also require the rehabilitating, upgrading, and constructing new onstream and offstream abstractions, small and large dams, and interbasin transfers, as well as the conjunctive use of surface and ground water.

The global food crisis has refocused attention on improving agriculture, including investment in irrigation infrastructure, among other actions, in developing nations. At the same time, the global energy crisis has drawn attention to accelerating investments in energy production, including hydropower development. The current global financial and economic crisis is adding weight to the argument for increasing investments in infrastructure in the water, transport, energy, and other sectors in developed and developing nations both as a solution to and buffer against the uncertainties associated with the economic downturn. In all cases, the Sustainable Development Network’s challenge will be how and at what pace to increase infrastructure investments while maintaining the necessary measures required for economic, social, and environmental sustainability.

The World Bank’s 2003 Water Resources Sector Strategy calls for investing in such “high-risk” infrastructure projects as dams in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. It calls for a new business model for developing high-risk water infrastructure that takes full account of both upstream and downstream environmental and social impacts of the infrastructure in a timely, predictable, and cost-effective manner. Apart from reducing uncertainties associated with project decision making and financing, this socially and environmentally ix x FOREWORD

responsible approach will help sustain ecosystem services on which many poor people in developing countries rely. The formation of the Sustainable Development Network in 2007 has further elevated environmental responsibility as a core element of World Bank’s work.

The World Bank’s own analysis and the far-reaching report of the World Commission on Dams have both shown that dam developments have not always been planned, designed, or operated satisfactorily. Even though dams generate considerable benefits in aggregate, these benefits have not always been shared equitably. Dams have often been developed without adequate consideration for either the environment or the people downstream of the dam who rely on local ecosystem-based services.

The World Bank’s knowledge of, and experience in, addressing the upstream impacts of dams has advanced considerably over recent decades. However, its experience in addressing the downstream impacts of water resources infrastructure, although growing, remains limited. Environmental flow work within the Bank has been shaped by the evolving global knowledge, practice, and implementation of environmental flows. The Bank has also contributed to this growing international experience, particularly through its support for the Lesotho Highland Water Project, the restoration of the downstream parts of the Tarim River, and the restoration of the Northern Aral Sea and the Senegal River basin. It has also supported environmental flow initiatives in Central Asia, China, Ecuador, India, Mexico, the Mekong River region, Moldova, Tajikistan, Tanzania, and Ukraine, and has produced knowledge products and support material, including a series of technical notes on environmental flows.

This report further contributes to international knowledge about environmental flows and sustainable development. It focuses on the integration of environmental water allocation into integrated water resources management (IWRM) and so fills a major gap in knowledge on IWRM. It also contributes to broadening our understanding of benefit sharing from risky infrastructure development. This report is an output of an important collaboration between the Bank’s Environment Department and Energy, Transport, and Water Department to promote and mainstream sustainable development.

James Warren Evans Director Environment Department About the Authors

Rafik Hirji, a senior water resources specialist at the World Bank, has extensive experience in water resources planning, management, and development projects and programs in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Yemen, and the United States. He has led the Sustainable Development Network’s agenda on water and environment by promoting operational tools for sustainable utilization and management of rivers, lakes, and aquifers. He was team leader for the global lake basin management initiative, sector analysis on strategic environmental assessments in water resources management, and sector analysis for the integration of environmental flows into water resources operations and water policy dialogue. He has also led water resources policy dialogue and the preparations of national water resources strategies for Kenya, Tanzania, and Trinidad and Tobago and supported the preparation of state water plans in Tamil Nadu and Orissa, India, and the Ghana Water Resources Management Study. Currently, Dr. Hirji is leading the preparations of the global groundwater governance project and supporting the World Bank’s flagship work on climate change and water, including managing the preparation of two special papers on impacts on groundwater resources and adaptation options and climate change and adaptation implications on freshwater ecosystems. Dr. Hirji has published widely and is the principal editor for the SADC regional report on environmentally sustainable water resources management in southern Africa and co-editor for the World Bank Water Resources and Environment Technical Note series. He holds a MSc in environmental engineering and science and a PhD in water resources planning from Stanford University. He is a registered professional engineer in the U.S.

Richard Davis, a senior science advisor to the Australian National Water Commission, has had an extensive career in water and environmental research with CSIRO, Australia, specializing in environmental flows, water quality, catchment management, and decision support systems. He has also worked for Australian government policy departments and as program coordinator for Land and Water Australia. Dr. Davis was seconded to the World Bank’s Environment Department in 2001-03, and he has since consulted widely on country water resources assistance strategies, river and lake basin management operations,

xi xii ABOUT THE AUTHORS

environmental flows, and strategic environmental assessment sector analysis. He has published extensively. He was the principal editor of the World Bank Water Resources and Environment Technical Note series. Dr. Davis has a BSc from Otago University, New Zealand, and a PhD and a BEc from the Australian National University. Acknowledgments

Environmental Flows in Water Resources Policies, Plans, and Projects: Findings and Recommendations was prepared by Rafik Hirji (ETWWA) and Richard Davis (consultant). It, and a complementary report that summarizes 17 case studies of water policies, river basin/catchment plans, and infrastructure development and rehabilitation projects, is based on the economic and sector analysis (ESW)— Mainstreaming Environmental Flow Requirements into Water Resources Investments and Policy Reforms—that was jointly supported by the Environment Department and Energy, Transport, and Water Department and completed in June 2008. The authors are grateful for the support they received from individuals within and outside the World Bank. Editorial support was provided by Robert Livernash and Elizabeth Forsyth. The preparation of this report was funded by the World Bank–Netherlands Water Partnership Program (BNWPP) Trust Fund.

The economic and sector analysis was prepared through an extensive collaboration over 2 years with over 75 water and environment experts, including task team leaders and project staff, researchers, and practitioners from the World Bank and other institutions in many parts of the world. The core team comprised Rafik Hirji (team leader), Richard Davis (consultant), Kisa Mfalila (consultant), and Marcus Wishart (AFTWR). Michelle De Nevers, Laura Tlaiye, Abel Mejia, James Warren Evans, and Jamal Saghir provided overall guidance. Daryl Fields provided detailed comments on an earlier draft. Stephen Lintner provided extensive critiques and comments on earlier drafts.

Case studies 2 and 16 were drafted by Mike Acreman (consultant, United Kingdom); case study 12 by Denise Dalmer (consultant, Canada); case study 11 by Marcus Wishart (World Bank); and case study 7 by Kisa Mfalila (consultant). Summaries of agency and nongovernmental organization practices were provided by Karin Krchnak (the Nature Conservancy), Gregory Thomas (NHI), Kisa Mfalila (WWF, UNDP, UNEP), and Mike Acreman (IUCN, IWMI).

The authors wish to acknowledge the following staff and colleagues who commented on the 17 case studies and provided information and materials:

xiii xiv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Masood Ahmad, Greg Browder, Ousmane Dione, Jane Kibbassa, Andrew Macoun, Doug Olson, Geoff Spencer, and Mei Xie of the World Bank; and Mike Acreman (consultant, United Kingdom), Fadhila Hemed (National Environment Management Council, Tanzania), Harry Biggs (SANParks, South Africa), Cate Brown (Southern Waters, South Africa), Satish Choy (Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Water, Australia), Kevin Conlin (BC Hydro, Canada), Mark Dent (University of KwaZulu-Natal South Africa), Saidi Faraji (Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Tanzania), A. J. D. Ferguson (consultant, United Kingdom), Sue Foster (BC Hydro, Canada), Dana Grobler (Blue Science Consulting, South Africa), Larry Haas (consultant, United Kingdom), Thomas Gyedu-Ababio (SANParks, South Africa), Robyn Johnston (Murray-Darling Basin Commission, Australia), Sylvand Kamugisha (IUCN, Tanzania), David Keyser (Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority, South Africa), Jackie King (University of Cape Town, South Africa), Josephine Lemoyane (IUCN, Tanzania), Delana Louw (Water for Africa consultant, South Africa), John Metzger (consultant, Mekong River Commission), Willie Mwaruvanda (Rufiji Basin Water Office, Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Tanzania), Bill Newmark (Utah Museum of Natural History, United States), Tally Palmer (University of Technology, Sydney, Australia), Sharon Pollard (Association for Water and Rural Development, South Africa), Donal O’Leary (Transparency International, United States), Geordie Ratcliffe (Freshwater Consulting Group, South Africa), Paul Roberts (formerly with the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, South Africa), Kevin Rogers (University of Witwatersrand, South Africa), Nigel Rossouw (Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority, South Africa), Hamza Sadiki (Pagani Basin Water Office, Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Tanzania), Charles Sellick (Charles Sellick & Associates, South Africa), Doug Shaw (the Nature Conservancy, Florida, United States), Tente Tente (Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority, South Africa), Malcolm Thompson (Department of Environment, Water, Heritage, and the Arts, Australia), Pierre de Villiers (Blue Science Consulting, South Africa), Niel van Wyk (Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, South Africa), Bill Young (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia), and Bertrand van Zyl (Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, South Africa).

The authors are especially indebted to Washington Mutayoba (Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Tanzania) and Barbara Weston (Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, South Africa) for facilitating reviews of three case studies from Tanzania and three case studies from South Africa by various staff and professional colleagues from their respective countries, and to Steve Mitchell (Water Research Commission, South Africa) for his encouragement and for providing access to research reports from South Africa. The review of the BNWPP environmental flow work drew from an earlier report coauthored by Thomas Panella (now at the Asian Development Bank). ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xv

World Bank peer reviewers were Claudia Sadoff, Salman Salman, and Juan D. Quintero. External peer reviewers were Brian Richter (the Nature Conservancy) and John Scanlon (UNEP). Comments were also received from Vahid Alavian, Julia Bucknall, Usaid El-Hanbali, Stephen Lintner, Christine Little, Glenn Morgan, Grant Milne, Abel Mejia, Doug Olson, Stefano Pagiola, Salman Salman, Geoff Spencer, and Peter Watson (former director of infrastructure from the Africa Region).

Abbreviations

BBM building block method BNWPP Bank–Netherlands Water Partnership Program BP Bank procedures (World Bank) CAS country assistance strategy (World Bank) CEA country environmental assessment COAG Council of Australian Governments CWRAS country water resources assistance strategy (World Bank) DANIDA Danish International Development Agency DPL development policy lending (World Bank) DRIFT downstream response to imposed flow transformation EFA environmental flow assessment EIA environmental impact assessment ESW economic and sector work (World Bank) EU European Union GEF Global Environment Facility GLOWS Global Water for Sustainability (USAID) IFIM instream flow incremental methodology IFR instream flow requirement IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature IWMI International Water Management Institute IWRM integrated water resources management LHDA Lesotho Highlands Development Authority LHWP Lesotho Highlands Water Project LKEMP Lower Kihansi Environmental Management Project MDG Millennium Development Goals NGO nongovernmental organization NHI Natural Heritage Institute NWI National Water Initiative (Australia) OKACOM Okavango River Basin Water Commission OMVS Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du Fleuve Sénégal OP operational policy (World Bank) PAD project appraisal document (World Bank) SAR staff appraisal document (World Bank) SDN Sustainable Development Network (World Bank) SEA strategic environmental assessment

xvii xviii ABBREVIATIONS

TNC The Nature Conservancy UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNESCO United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization USACE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers USAID U.S. Agency for International Development WANI Water and Nature Initiative (IUCN) WFD Water Framework Directive (European Union) WRMP water resources management policy (World Bank) WRSS water resources sector strategy (World Bank) WWF World Wide Fund for Nature

Notes: Unless otherwise noted, all dollars are U.S. dollars. All tons are metric tons. Overview

ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS ARE REALLY about the equitable distribution of and access to water and services provided by aquatic ecosystems. They refer to the quality, quantity, and timing of water flows required to maintain the components, functions, processes, and resilience of aquatic ecosystems that provide goods and services to people. Environmental flows are central to supporting sustainable development, sharing benefits, and addressing poverty alleviation. Yet allocating water for environmental uses remains a highly contested process. Investments in water resources infrastructure, especially dams for storage, flood control, or regulation, have been essential for economic development (including hydropower generation, food security and irrigation, industrial and urban water supply, and flood and drought mitigation), but, when they are improperly planned, designed, or operated, they can cause problems for downstream ecosystems and communities because of their impact on the volume, pattern, and quality of flow. While aquatic life depends on both the quantity and quality of water, changes in flows are of particular concern because they govern so many ecosystem processes. Consequently, changes in flow have led to a diminution of the downstream ecosystem services that many of the poorest communities rely on for their livelihoods. In order to achieve sustainable development, downstream impacts will require more attention by all parties, as countries—through both public and

1 2 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

private sector investments—expand their infrastructure in many sectors, especially dams for various purposes. Climate change is projected to affect the supply of and demand for water resources; in turn, these changes will have an impact on water for the environment. Sea-level rise will cause saltwater intrusion and affect estuarine processes that rely on freshwater environmental flows. In some nations, adaptation to climate change is likely to involve more investment in dams and reservoirs to buffer against increased variability in rainfall and runoff. This will further affect downstream ecosystems, unless the impacts are properly assessed and managed. The overall goal of the analysis presented in this report is to advance the understanding and integration in operational terms of environmental water allocation into integrated water resources management. The specific objectives of this report are the following: ■ Document the changing understanding of environmental flows, by both water resources practitioners and by environmental experts within the Bank and in borrowing countries ■ Draw lessons from experience in implementing environmental flows by the Bank, other international development organizations with experience in this area, and a small number of developed and developing countries ■ Develop an analytical framework to support more effective integration of environmental flow considerations for informing and guiding (a) the planning, design, and operations decision making of water resources infrastructure projects; (b) the legal, policy, institutional, and capacity development related to environmental flows; and (c) restoration programs ■ Provide recommendations for improvements in technical guidance to better incorporate environmental flow considerations into the preparation and implementation of lending operations.

Environmental Flows: Science, Decision Making, and Development Assistance

The provision of flows, including volumes and timings, to maintain downstream aquatic ecosystems and provide services to dependent communities has been recognized in developed countries for more than two decades and is increasingly being adopted in developing countries. These services include the following: ■ Clean drinking water ■ Groundwater recharge ■ Food sources such as fish and invertebrates ■ Opportunities for harvesting fuelwood, grazing, and cropping on riverine corridors and floodplains OVERVIEW 3

■ Biodiversity conservation (including protection of natural habitats, protected areas, and national parks) ■ Flood protection ■ Navigation routes ■ Removal of wastes through biogeochemical processes ■ Recreational opportunities ■ Cultural, aesthetic, and religious benefits. But the impacts of development on communities downstream are often diffuse, long term, poorly understood, and inadequately addressed. Assigning water between environmental flows and consumptive and nonconsumptive purposes is a social, not just a technical, decision. However, to achieve equitable and sustainable outcomes, these decisions should be informed by scientific information and analysis. The causes of changes in river flow can also be broader than just the abstraction or storage of water and the regulation of flow by infrastructure; upstream land-use changes due to forestry, agriculture, and urbanization can also significantly affect flows. The impacts of environmental flow can extend beyond rivers to groundwater, estuaries, and even coastal areas. Many methods, from the very simple to the very complex, exist for estimating environmental flow requirements. The process for estimating environmental flow requirements is also referred to as environmental flow assessment (EFA). There is an extensive body of experience for the main EFA techniques.

The Entry Points for Bank Involvement The Bank has four entry points through which to support countries seeking to integrate environmental flows into their decision making: (1) water resources policy, legislation, and institutional reforms;1 (2) river basin and watershed planning and management;2 (3) investments in new infrastructure; and (4) rehabilitation or reoperation of existing infrastructure or restoration of degraded ecosystems. Consistent with its commitment to sustainable development, the Bank should support measures to promote the integration of environmental flows at an early stage in the decision-making process through dialogue on water resources policy, river basin planning, and programs that entail major changes in land-use. The World Bank already has supported some projects with successful environmental flow components and outcomes.

Environmental Flows, Integrated Water Resources Management, and Environmental Assessment EFAs are an intrinsic part of integrated water resources management. Although it is desirable for EFAs to be integrated into strategic environmental assessments (SEAs) for policy, plan, program, or sectorwide lending, and into environmental impact assessments (EIAs) for project-level investments, the practice of SEA and 4 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

EIA has yet to mature to the point at which it can effectively integrate EFA. As a consequence, most EFAs have been undertaken separately either in conjunction with or after the EIAs have been completed.

Bank Adoption of Environmental Flows An analysis of select dam projects found that, until the mid-1990s, Bank support for environmental and social work was heavily focused on evaluating and addressing the upstream impacts of dams. By the mid-1990s, these assessments had expanded to include downstream environmental and social issues with about equal frequency, underscoring the evolving concern about downstream impacts. An analysis of country water resources assistance strategies, however, showed mixed results concerning the inclusion of environmental flows, with only some countries incorporating them into their planning. There is a limited perception of the need for including environmental flows within the water policies of developing countries, but a good understanding of the importance of environmental flows in catchment-scale water resources planning. The Bank–Netherlands Water Partnership Program has catalyzed some notable achievements in introducing environmental flows into infrastructure planning, design, and operations in dam rehabilitation and reoperation projects.

International Development Organizations and NGOs Various international development organizations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have been supporting environmental flow assessments at both the project and basin levels, conducting training courses, and providing information and support material. The Bank has partnered with some of these organizations to produce analytical material on the incorporation of environmental flows into infrastructure development and reoperations.

Environmental Flow Implementation Case Studies

Seventeen case studies were selected for an in-depth analysis to identify the lessons from incorporating environmental flows into water resources policy, basin and catchment plans, new infrastructure projects, and the rehabilitation and reoperation of existing infrastructure (Hirji and Davis 2009a). The analysis included eight case studies that were supported by the World Bank. The assessment criteria included factors that influenced the case study’s success, as well as the institutional drivers that initiated and supported the introduction of environmental flows.

Inclusion of Environmental Flows in Water Resources Policies An analysis of five policy case studies found that the inclusion of environmental flows in policy should provide for the following: OVERVIEW 5

■ Legal standing for environmental water allocations ■ Inclusion of environmental water provisions in basin water resources plans ■ Assessment of all relevant parts of the water cycle when undertaking EFAs ■ A method or methods for setting environmental objectives in basin plans ■ Attention to both recovery of overallocated systems and protection of unstressed systems ■ Clear requirements for stakeholder involvement ■ An independent authority to audit implementation ■ A mechanism for turning value-laden terms into operational procedures.

Inclusion of Environmental Flows in Basin and Catchment Plans Several lessons emerged from the analysis of four basin and catchment water resources plans: ■ Recognition of environmental flows in water resources policy and legislation provides important backing for including environmental flows in basin or catchment plans. ■ There is a need to demonstrate the benefits from environmental water allocations after plans are implemented. ■ The term “environmental flows” can be counterproductive if not explained at an early stage. ■ Participatory methods need to be tailored to suit stakeholder capacity. ■ A range of EFA techniques is needed to suit different circumstances. ■ Ecological monitoring is essential to provide information for adaptive management.

Inclusion of Environmental Flows in Infrastructure Projects Four new dams and four restoration projects were reviewed for lessons in assessing and implementing environmental flows: ■ Engineering improvements usually have to be combined with reoperations to provide the volume of water needed for major ecosystem restoration. ■ Inclusion of environmental flows in water resources policy simplifies the application of EFAs at the project level. ■ Environmental outcomes need to be linked closely to social and economic outcomes. ■ EFAs should be conducted for all components of the hydrological cycle. ■ Traditionally trained water resources professionals can find it difficult to grasp environmental flow concepts. ■ Water resources plans provide benchmarks for water allocations during project assessments. ■ Active monitoring is needed to enforce flow allocation decisions and undertake adaptive management. 6 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

■ It is important to present information in terms that are comprehensible to decision makers. ■ Economic studies can support arguments for downstream water allocations. ■ EFAs are yet to be fully mainstreamed into EIAs. ■ The cost of conducting EFAs constitutes a small fraction of project costs. ■ EIAs have not always or adequately identified issues associated with downstream water provisions.

Mainstreaming Implications

The science underpinning EFAs has advanced considerably. There are now many more methods for estimating environmental flow requirements, and more information is available on the ecological response to different flow regimes. There is also growing experience in integrating information from across a range of physical, ecological, and socioeconomic disciplines. In addition, a wide variety of EFA methods have been developed, backed by considerable field experience, to suit a variety of levels of environmental risk, time and budget constraints, and levels of data and skills. The Bank’s support for the Lesotho Highlands Water Project has contributed to the development of a method known as Downstream Response to Imposed Flow Transformation (DRIFT), which systematically addresses the downstream biophysical and socioeconomic impacts. There is also a growing body of experience in implementing environmental flows, including monitoring and adaptation of management procedures.

Mainstreaming Achievements Developed countries, including parts of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and the countries of the European Union, together with South Africa, have accepted the need to develop and implement catchment water resources plans that include environmental flows. There is general public acceptance of the importance of maintaining healthy aquatic environments in these countries. In these countries, where environmental flows have now been mainstreamed into water resources planning, there is an acceptance that the concept of environmental flows should be extended to groundwater as well as to estuaries and even near-shore regions.

Support for Developing Countries International development organizations, NGOs, and research organizations have been active in providing support in developing countries through assistance with EFA and implementation, training programs, and provision of support material and Internet resources. The Bank has collaborated with diverse development partners. The Bank’s major contribution to global good practice OVERVIEW 7

has been its restoration of the degraded Tarim basin and Northern Aral Sea, its assistance with the provision of flood flows in the Senegal basin, its support for the pioneering work on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, and its growing influence in introducing environmental flows into government water policies. In these cases, provision of environmental flows has restored (or retained) ecosystems with demonstrable benefits to downstream populations; in the Tarim basin case, there were also significant benefits to the upstream irrigation communities.

Challenges Both the Bank and environmental flows practitioners face many challenges: ■ Overcoming the misperceptions arising from the term “environmental flows” ■ Developing methods for systematically linking biophysical and socioeconomic impacts ■ Incorporating the whole water cycle (surface, groundwater, and estuaries) into the assessments ■ Applying EFAs to land-use activities that intercept and exacerbate overland flows ■ Including climate change in the assessments ■ Integrating environmental flow assessments into strategic, sectoral, and project EAs ■ Understanding the circumstances in which benefit sharing is a viable approach.

Framework for Expanded Bank Engagement with Environmental Flows The analysis points to a four-part framework for improving the Bank’s use of environmental flows. First, efforts are needed to strengthen Bank capacity in assessing and overseeing environmental flows: ■ Promote the development of a common understanding across the water and environmental communities about the concepts, methods, and good practices related to environmental flows, including the need to incorporate EFAs into environmental assessment at both project (EIAs) and strategic (SEAs) levels. ■ Build the Bank’s in-house capacity in EFA by broadening the pool of ecologists, social scientists, and environmental and water specialists trained in EFA. Second, efforts are needed to strengthen environmental flow assessments in lending operations through training, support materials, and access to international experts: ■ Disseminate existing guidance material concerning the use of EFAs in program and project settings and conduct training for Bank and borrower country staff on this emerging issue. 8 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

■ Identify settings, approaches, and methods for the select application of EFAs in the preparation and implementation of project-level feasibility studies and as part of the planning and supervisory process. ■ Provide support for hydrological monitoring networks and hydrological modeling to provide the basic information for undertaking EFAs. ■ Prepare an update of the EA sourcebook concerning the use of EFAs in SEAs and EIAs. ■ Prepare a technical note that defines a methodology for addressing downstream social impacts of water resources infrastructure projects. ■ Test the application of EFAs to include infrastructure other than dams that can affect river flows, as well as other activities, such as investments in large- scale land-use change and watershed management, and their effects on downstream flows and ecosystem services. ■ Broaden the concept of environmental flows for appropriate pilot projects to include all affected downstream ecosystems, including groundwater systems, lakes, estuaries, and coastal regions. ■ Develop support material for Bank staff and counterparts in borrowing countries, such as case studies, training material, technical notes, and analyses of effectiveness. Third, efforts are needed to promote the integration of environmental flows into policies and plans through dialogue, instruments such as country water resources assistance strategies (CWRASs), country assistance strategies (CASs), country environmental assessments, and development policy lending, and support material for Bank staff: ■ Promote basin or catchment plans that include environmental flow allocations, where relevant, through country dialogue. ■ Use CASs and CWRASs to promote Bank assistance with basin or catchment planning and water policy reform so that the benefits of environmental water allocations for poverty alleviation and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals are integrated into country assistance. ■ Incorporate environmental water needs into Bank SEAs such as country environmental assessments and sectoral environmental assessments. ■ Test the use of EFAs in a small sample of sectoral adjustment lending operations, including where the sectoral changes will lead to large-scale land-use conversion. ■ Promote the harmonization of sectoral policies with the concept of environmental flows in developing countries and the understanding of sectoral institutions about the importance of considering the impact of their policies on downstream communities. OVERVIEW 9

■ Develop support material for Bank staff on the inclusion of environmental flows into basin and catchment planning and into water resources policy and legislative reforms. ■ Draw lessons from developed countries that have experience with incorporating environmental flows in catchment planning. Fourth, efforts are needed to expand collaborative partnerships: ■ Expand collaboration with NGOs (International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Worldwide Fund for Nature, the Nature Conservancy, Natural Heritage Institute, and others), research organizations, and international organizations (United Nations Environment Programme, Ramsar Secretariat, International Water Management Institute, and United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) to take advantage of their experience in conducting EFAs and building environmental flow capacity in developing countries. ■ Strengthen collaborative relationships with industry associations, such as International Hydropower Association and private sector financing, to extend their recognition of environmental flows as desirable hydrological outcomes to include the social and economic outcomes that result from the ecosystem services delivered by the downstream flows. ■ Integrate lessons from the ESW into—and coordinate the activities outlined above with—the ongoing initiative of the World Bank’s Sustainable Development Network and Energy, Transport, and Water Department for enhancing benefits to local communities from hydropower projects. Adoption of this framework will improve the Bank’s ability to implement its strategy of increasing investment in water resources infrastructure, while reducing the risk of detrimental environmental impacts that threaten the livelihoods of downstream communities.

Notes

1 The word “policy” is used throughout much of the report to include legislation supporting the policy. 2 Different countries use different terminology: river basins, catchments, and watersheds. Generally river basins are larger than catchments and watersheds. In this report we use the term basin to refer to basins, catchments, and watersheds generically unless a particular catchment or watershed is being discussed.

PART I

Context and Rationale

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS ARE CONCERNED with the equitable sharing and sustainable use of water resources. They form a central, yet underappreciated and inadequately addressed, element of integrated water resources management (IWRM) (Hirji and Davis 2009b). They lie at the center of the development debate on environmentally responsible water resources development. They also form an integral part of adaptation responses and strategies for addressing climate change. The debate about environmental flows is really a debate about equity. It is a debate about the allocation of water needed for immediate consumption, often through development investments, and water needed to sustain ecosystem services on which communities and biological diversity have traditionally depended. It is a debate about (a) recognizing that there is a physical limit beyond which a water resource suffers irreversible damage to its ecosystem functions and (b) systematically balancing the multiple water needs of society in a transparent and informed manner. Environmental flows are the flow regimes needed to maintain important aquatic ecosystem services. They are a core element of good practice in water resources planning and management. While there are numerous definitions of environmental flows, they are defined here as “the quality, quantity, and timing of water flows required to maintain the components, functions, processes, and

13 14 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

resilience of aquatic ecosystems which provide goods and services to people” (Nature Conservancy 2006). In some countries, they are regarded as a luxury of a few environmentally conscious people at the expense of scarce water for production needed by many. This misperception has arisen largely because the term “environmental flows” conjures up images of water being allocated to the environment at the expense of human use and economic development or being wasted by being allowed to flow to the sea.1 The reality is that, rather than being at the expense of people, environmental flows are essential for providing both direct and indirect benefits on which current and future generations rely (see appendix A).2 The flow in rivers varies throughout a year and between years. This pattern of flow—termed the flow regime—typically consists of low flows during the drier months, small peaks (freshets) when rains return, and occasional high floods in unregulated rivers. Groundwater levels also can vary naturally throughout a year and between years in response to changes in recharge and discharge. An environmental flow assessment (EFA) is a process used to understand and define the ecosystem functions supported by the various components of flow in a river or groundwater system. While the EFA is a technical scientific process that links flow regimes and levels with ecosystem outcomes, the allocation of water between the environment’s needs and consumptive needs is a societal decision that is undertaken in a multisectoral decision framework. Thus the allocation of environmental flow

BOX 1.1 Environmental Flows and IWRM Linkages The environment is linked to IWRM in three fundamental ways. First, the aquatic (and related terrestrial) ecosystem provides habitat for fish, invertebrates, and other fauna and flora. The aquatic ecosystem is thus a water- consuming sector just like agriculture, energy, and domestic and industrial supply. Second, the design and operation of hydraulic infrastructure for water supply, sewerage, irrigation, hydropower, and flood control often affect ecosystems, both upstream and downstream of the infrastructure, and communities—farming, pastoral, and fishing—dependent on those ecosystems. Conversely, the reoperation and rehabilitation of existing infrastructure have been used to support the successful restoration of degraded riverine ecosystems. Third, integrated water resources planning and management are facilitated by policies, laws, strategies, and plans that are multisectoral, based on the allocation of water for all uses; protection of water quality and control of pollution; protection and restoration of lake basins, watersheds, groundwater aquifers, and wetlands; and control and management of invasive species. INTRODUCTION 15

is a distinctive element of IWRM, a framework that many developed and developing countries are gradually embracing. Box 1.1 highlights the key linkages between environmental flows and IWRM. Contested debates about environmental flows have often arisen when major infrastructure projects, especially dams and direct abstractions, are being planned, designed, constructed, or operated. The development benefits of dams—hydropower generation, water supply, irrigation, regulation of flood control, and abstractions—are usually well quantified and apparent to decision makers. Their detrimental impacts on upstream communities affected by reservoir inundation3 now receive concerted attention through resettlement programs and action plans. But the impacts of dam development on those downstream of the dam are often diffuse, long term, poorly understood, and inadequately addressed. The downstream impacts—biophysical and social—arise primarily from changes in the quantity, timing, and quality of the flow pattern of rivers. They typically include the following: ■ Reduced abundance of fish and invertebrates such as prawns and shellfish ■ Reductions in floodplain sediment and nutrient deposition ■ Reductions in areas available for floodplain grazing, cropping, and fuelwoods ■ Impediments to riverine navigation and transport ■ Reductions in water to terrestrial habitats (including protected areas) and aquatic habitats important for biodiversity ■ More difficult access to domestic, irrigation, and livestock water supplies ■ Changes in estuarine productivity from altered flow patterns and saline intrusion ■ Reductions in groundwater recharge ■ Loss of cultural amenities. Downstream communities can often be affected in two fundamental ways when a dam is developed. First, their livelihoods can be disrupted by the changes in the river flow regime from the development itself. Second, the benefits of the development (for example, electricity generated) often end up in distant places, such as urban areas, and the local communities rarely share in those benefits. Programs for sharing benefits from water infrastructure projects could both address downstream impacts and integrate environmental flows into water resources decision making. Although most attention in the current debate on environmental flows has been directed to the effects of dams and other water resources infrastructure on downstream flows, other development activities, particularly large-scale land- use changes, can also affect the access to water of people downstream of the development. For example, conversion of land into farmland, urban development, or forestry plantations in the headwaters of catchments can accelerate or intercept runoff. These activities can also increase erosion and exacerbate sedi- 16 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

ment loads and transport. Yet these activities have seldom been considered as requiring environmental flow assessments, even though they can cause significant reductions in downstream river flows and alter river morphology and ecosystem functions. Climate change is likely to make environmental flows both more important and more difficult to maintain. The annual average inflows of water to surface water and recharge to groundwater systems will be affected by climate change, with consequent impacts on aquatic ecosystems and the ecosystem services that they provide. The frequency of extreme events will also be affected by global warming, causing changes in the frequency of floods and droughts, on which some riverine ecosystems rely. The rise in sea level will affect freshwater inflows into estuarine and coastal ecosystems. Warmer temperatures will alter ecosystem processes and patterns of demand. The water requirements of crops for rainfed and irrigated agriculture will change, and this, in turn, will affect the water allocated to the environment. In particular, climate change will force governments to make explicit choices in the ecosystems that are to be protected when the availability of water changes in contested catchments and groundwater systems. In some parts of the world, adaptation to climate change will require increased investments in new dams and other forms of water resources infrastructure, reoperation of existing infrastructure, and conjunctive operation of surface water and groundwater systems to buffer against the impacts of longer droughts and extreme floods. The downstream impacts of these investments will need to be assessed, both during strategic planning and during project preparation, design, and operations. There are several reasons for the lack of political and institutional awareness about the downstream impacts arising from either infrastructure or land-use change. These include the restricted use of EFAs in project design and implementation and the limited adoption of EFAs as an integral part of environmental assessments. This situation reflects, in part, the challenge of identifying the downstream impacts; the absence of a common metric to evaluate the impacts; the diffuseness of the impacts across communities and over space; the absence of uniform methodology to delineate the downstream population affected by changes in flow; the absence of, or weak representation of, the affected parties in the decision-making process; the difficulty of expressing the respective impacts in financial and economic terms; and the lack of consensus about acceptable EFA methods. In general, the debate about environmental flows is about multiple and evolving values of society. It is also a debate about asymmetrical power relationships between different groups: water user groups, upstream and downstream interests, urban and rural interests, public and private interests, regulators and INTRODUCTION 17

the regulated community, developers and communities, as well as central and local interests. Consequently, any program to promote the inclusion of environmental flows into public decision making needs to be participatory, include biophysical and socioeconomic sciences, express the impacts in understandable ways (using both monetary and nonmonetary terminology), and be consistent with the principles of IWRM.

The World Bank and Environmental Flows

Interest in environmental flows within the World Bank has increased over the last 15 years (see box 1.2), mirroring the interest in and development of environmental flows globally. The Bank’s 1993 water resources management policy (WRMP), based on the Dublin Principles, stipulated, “The water supply needs of rivers, wetlands, and fisheries will be considered in decisions concerning the operations of reservoirs and the allocation of water” (World Bank 1993). This explicitly identified downstream environmental water needs. The Bank’s 2001 environment strategy underscored the linkage between water resources management, environmental sustainability, and poverty (World Bank 2001b). It emphasized the reliance of poor people on the productivity and environmental services of ecosystems and natural resources. It also emphasized that environmental concerns need to be moved up the decision hierarchy to policy and planning levels if environmental concerns, such as environmental flows, are to be incorporated effectively into project-level investments.4 In the case of environmental flows, there needs to be a commitment to water policy and environment policy that recognizes water for the environment as a legitimate use of water and authorizes environmental flows with legally binding provisions and support for water allocation planning that includes water allocations for environmental purposes. The 2003 water resource sector strategy (WRSS) was a turning point with the adoption of IWRM as a framework for water resources planning and management and its central message of reengagement “with high-reward/high-risk hydraulic infrastructure, using a more effective business model.” It considered the environment as a special water-using sector as well as a central element of integrated water resources management. The new business model calls for the development of infrastructure in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. This, in turn, implies the need to take full account of both upstream and downstream environmental and social impacts and, where possible, avoid, minimize, mitigate, or offset their effects. This business model is aimed at reducing the uncertainties that are often associated with decision making in complex hydraulic infrastructure planning, design, and operations. 18 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

BOX 1.2 Policies, Strategies, and Resources for Supporting Integration of Environmental Flows in World Bank Operations The following policies and strategies support the Bank principles in water and the environment: • The 1993 WRMP stipulated, “Water supply needs of rivers, wetlands, and fisheries will be considered in decisions concerning the operations of reservoirs and the allocation of water.” • The 2001 environment strategy highlighted the environment, recognized environmental water as a legal use in water policy, and authorized its use with legally binding provisions. • The 2003 WRSS treated the environment as a special water-using sector and central element of IWRM. • Safeguard policies for lending operations are in place in the following areas: environmental assessment (an umbrella policy for assessing a range of impacts), natural habitats (a policy for avoiding the degradation or conversion of natural habitats unless there are no feasible alternatives and there are significant net benefits), involuntary resettlement (a policy for ensuring that resettled people are fully consulted, share in project benefits, and maintain their current standard of living), and projects on international waterways (a policy for informing affected riparian countries of proposed projects on international waterways). Through the BNWPP environmental flows window (information available on the water Web page), support is provided by international experts to enable Bank projects to integrate environmental flow considerations into their operations. This window has supported a number of Bank operations.

Following the WRSS, the Bank increased its support for environmental flows via individual infrastructure projects, in river and lake basin management and development, in sectorwide programs, and in development policy lending. The Bank–Netherlands Water Partnership Program’s windows on environmental flows, river basin management, dam development, and other areas were opened in 2000 to provide support to World Bank operations on a demand-driven basis. In 2003 a series of World Bank technical notes on environmental flows were prepared to support operations (Davis and Hirji 2003a, 2003b, 2003c). The Lesotho Highlands Water Project is an example where environmental flow requirements were incorporated into the design of new infrastructure (the Mohale Dam) and the reoperation of the previous dam (Katse Dam). Projects in the Tarim basin in China and the Aral Sea in Central Asia are examples of the successful restoration of downstream ecosystems that had been severely degraded following large-scale irrigation and hydropower developments and weak water INTRODUCTION 19

Country water resources assistance strategies are used for defining strategic issues for Bank assistance. To date, 18 CWRASs have been produced. CWRASs from China, Tanzania, Mozambique, and the Philippines include thorough treatments of environmental flows. Water resources and environment technical notes (available on the World Bank water Web site) provide guidance on different aspects of environmental flow science and applications: • “Environmental Flows: Concepts and Methods” (Davis and Hirji 2003a) • “Environmental Flows: Case Studies” (Davis and Hirji 2003b) • “Environmental Flows: Flood Flows” (Davis and Hirji 2003c) • “Integrating Environmental Flows into Hydropower Planning, Design, and Operations” (Nature Conservancy and Natural Heritage Institute forthcoming), prepared as part of this ESW. An in-depth case study of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project draws detailed lessons from a complex interbasin transfer dam project between two nations (Watson forthcoming). Hirji and Davis (2009b) review the opportunities to move environmental consideration of water resources up to the more strategic levels of policies, legislation, programs, and plans. This approach is consistent with the proposal to extend environmental flows into policies and basin plans in this ESW. This report reviews the science of environmental flows and the global practice with environmental flows in policies, plans, and projects; it also presents a framework for better integration of environmental flows into Bank assistance. It includes 17 detailed case studies analyzed using a consistent methodology that will be published separately. resources management. The Bank has also provided assistance in water policy reforms and river-basin-level planning in conjunction with support for infrastructure projects that have incorporated environmental flows. The shift in Bank lending from a project basis to development policy lending (DPL), programmatic lending, and sectorwide lending has provided further impetus for accelerating the mainstreaming of the environment through sector analysis as well as the use of emerging tools such as strategic environmental assessments (SEAs), country environmental assessments (CEAs), country water resources assistance strategies (CWRASs), and others. In 2007 the Bank elevated its commitment to sustainable infrastructure investments by integrating two vice presidencies working on infrastructure, the environment, and social, agriculture, and rural development within a Sustainable Development Network (SDN) to ensure a more holistic approach to development. The SDN vision not only calls for mainstreaming the environment, but 20 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

also embodies environmental sustainability as a core element of the Bank’s work. This commitment is reflected in the recently updated Infrastructure Action Plan approved by the Bank in 2008, the 2006 Agriculture Water Management Initiative (World Bank 2006b), and the Clean Energy Development Framework. This report develops a framework for more systematically incorporating environmental flow considerations into Bank assistance with water policy reform, support for river basin and watershed planning and management, and investments in water resources infrastructure. It contributes to a more effective business model for reengaging in high-reward, high-risk hydraulic investments. It supports the integration of environmental flows into DPLs and water-centered sectorwide assistance and programmatic lending. It also supports the objectives of several Bank initiatives—the Infrastructure Action Plan, the Agriculture Water Management Initiative, and the climate change and water economic and sector work (ESW), as well as the Strategic Framework for Climate Change and Development—to provide environmentally sustainable investments in hydropower, water supply, agricultural water management, and flood management systems. Overall, it supports integration of the SDN vision into Bank operations.

Objectives of the Report

The overall goal of the analysis presented in this report is to advance the understanding and integration in operational terms of environmental water allocation into integrated water resources management. In this regard, this report comple- ments the recently completed report on strategic environment assessment and integrated water resources management and development (Hirji and Davis 2009b). This report has the following specific objectives: ■ Document our changing understanding of environmental flows, both by water resources practitioners and environmental experts within the Bank and in borrowing countries ■ Draw lessons from experience in implementing environmental flows by the Bank, other organizations with experience in this area (United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, United Nations Environment Programme, International Union for the Conservation of Nature, International Water Management Institute, Natural Heritage Institute, the Nature Conservancy, and Worldwide Fund for Nature), and a small number of developed countries (Australia, Canada, the European Union, and the United States), and developing countries and regions (Central Asia, China, India, Lesotho, the Mekong basin, Senegal basin, South Africa, and Tanzania) INTRODUCTION 21

■ Develop an analytical framework to support more effective integration of environmental flow considerations for informing and guiding (a) the planning, design, and operations decision making of water resources infrastructure projects; (b) the legal, policy, institutional, and capacity development related to environmental flows; and (c) restoration programs ■ Provide recommendations for improvements in technical guidance to better incorporate environmental flow considerations into the preparation and implementation of lending operations. The report is written primarily for World Bank task team leaders and water resources and environmental specialists engaged in water policy dialogue, river basin and watershed planning and management, and water resources investment planning, design, and operational decision making for investment lending. Other audiences include professional organizations, professionals from development organizations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and client countries engaged in water policies, plans, and projects.

Methodology

The analysis draws on a variety of sources of information. The international literature provided information on current issues and approaches to environmental flows in both developed and developing countries. This was supplemented by information contained in several Bank documents and published articles (Davis and Hirji 2003d). The changing perception of environmental flows within the World Bank is drawn from a review of the Bank’s activities in supporting environmental flows in lending operations and technical assistance (Hirji and Panella 2003). In this report, select water-related infrastructure projects that were prepared during the 1990s were examined to see if there had been an increase in recognition of environmental flow issues following the 1993 WRMP. The Bank’s CWRASs were analyzed for their recognition and integration of environmental flows. Assistance under the Bank–Netherlands Water Partnership Program (BNWPP) environmental flows window was also reviewed. The main source of information for the lessons on implementing environmental flows came from an in-depth analysis of 17 case studies covering water policy, catchment and basin plans, and investment projects. Many of the case studies contain components that represent the world’s best practice in the inclusion of environmental flows into water policy and river basin plans and in the conduct and implementation of EFAs in the development of new infrastructure and the reoperation and rehabilitation of existing infrastructure. Eight of the case studies describe projects supported by the World Bank. These case studies were analyzed with a uniform methodology both to evaluate the 22 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

effectiveness of environmental flow programs and to explain factors (or institutional drivers) that may have contributed to those outcomes, as well as to identify lessons for implementing environmental flows in a variety of settings. These sources were supplemented by information drawn from other environmental flow projects supported by the Bank and other organizations, as well as technical assistance for environmental flows provided through the BNWPP5 environmental flows window, and from a broad review of the environmental flow programs of international development organizations and NGOs. A separate stand-alone technical guidance note on integrating environmental flows into hydropower planning, design, and operations decision making was commissioned as a key input into the economic and sector analysis.

Organization of Report

The report consists of an overview; nine chapters, organized in four parts; and five appendixes. This chapter provides the context and justification for the sector analysis and outlines the methodology used in the analysis. Chapter 2 provides an introduction to environmental flows, including the reliance of downstream communities on flows; the definition of environmental flows; ecosystem services; the extent to which environmental flows are formally recognized in different countries; the incorporation of environmental flows into polices, plans, and projects; the linkage between environmental flows, IWRM, and environmental assessment at tactical and strategic levels; and the methods employed to assess environmental water needs. Chapter 3 discusses the adoption of environmental flows in the work of the World Bank. It includes a brief analysis of the evolution of acceptance of environmental flows within the Bank, the inclusion of environmental flow concerns into CWRASs, assistance under the BNWPP environmental flows window, and partnerships with other international development organizations providing assistance in environmental flows. Chapters 4 through 7 describe the analysis of the 17 environmental flow case studies. Chapter 4 describes the criteria used to analyze the case studies. Chapters 5 through 7 contain the findings from the policy-, plan-, and project-level case studies, respectively. Chapter 8 summarizes the achievements to date in integrating environmental flows into water resources decision making and the key challenges remaining. A framework for the effective integration of environmental flows into Bank operations is presented in chapter 9. There are five appendixes. Appendix A contains the Brisbane Declaration on environmental flows. Appendix B summarizes the design options for releasing environmental flows from dams. Appendix C contains background on environmental flows. Appendix D describes the integration of environmental flows into CWRASs. Appendix E describes the contributions of the major international INTRODUCTION 23

development organizations and NGOs providing environmental flows assistance to developing countries and their contact information. The case studies have been published separately (Hirji and Davis 2009a).

Notes

1 Flows into marine waters are essential for many important ecosystem processes in estuaries and near-shore areas. Perceptions that these flows represent wasted water are slowly changing. 2 The Brisbane Declaration, following the 2007 River Symposium and Environmental Flows Conference in Brisbane, Australia, issues a call to action addressed to all governments. 3 Typical impacts upstream of an impoundment would be related to the conversion of a terrestrial into an aquatic habitat and could entail relocation, resettlement, or compensation of land and assets to be inundated or affected by inundation. 4 The environment strategy proposed that strategic environmental assessments be introduced as tools for this purpose. 5 The Bank–Netherlands Water Partnership Program is a programmatic trust fund established in 2000 to increase water security through the sponsorship of novel approaches in integrated water resources management and thereby contribute to the reduction of poverty. The environmental flows window has provided technical assistance to 13 countries in preparation for, or during the implementation of, lending activities.

PART II

Environmental Flows: Science, Decision Making, and Development Assistance

CHAPTER 2

Environmental Flows in Water Resources Decision Making

EQUITABLE ACCESS TO ADEQUATE QUANTITIES of good-quality water is central to growth and sustainable development. Water is a vital input to livelihoods and to most economic sectors—dryland and irrigated agriculture, livestock, forestry, inland and estuarine fisheries and aquaculture, national parks, hydropower, industrial and mineral production, transport, and tourism— in both developed and developing countries. Access to water is also central to alleviating poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). One of the MDG targets is to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation by 2015, while other MDG targets implicitly require access to clean, safe water. This requires provision of both good-quality water and sufficient quantities of water for subsistence. The development of water resources through dams (small and large), interbasin transfers, aquifer storage and recovery, levees and dikes, and boreholes provides a buffer against climate variability. Developed countries typically have invested substantially in storage infrastructure and have much greater water storage per capita than most developing countries (see figure 2.1), even though developing countries, especially in the tropics, face much greater climate variability than developed countries. Not only do developing countries have less per capita water storage, which increases their vulnerability to extreme climate shocks

27 28 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

FIGURE 2.1 Water Storage per Capita in Select Countries

7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000

cubic meters per capita 0

China Brazil Mexico Ethiopia Thailand Australia South Africa North America

Source: Grey and Sadoff 2006. such as floods and droughts, but their existing water resources infrastructure is often unreliable, poorly maintained, and incapable of providing buffering capacity against floods and droughts (Mogaka and others 2004). Water resources infrastructure can also, potentially, play an important role in adapting to climate change by providing water storage during extended dry periods and buffering from floods during wet periods and extreme events. Water resources managers have been dealing with the issue of regulating flows for many years in relation to navigation, production of electricity, protection of commercial fisheries, floatation of logs, and protection against flooding. Environmental flows are increasingly being recognized as a vital part of the equation in order to maintain healthy, productive, and sustainable river and groundwater systems. South Africa’s National Water Act (1998) recognizes the importance of ensuring a minimum quantity of water to sustain the ecosystem services on which many human activities depend. Other countries have similar provisions in their water policies and laws, generally mandating water for essential human and ecosystem needs. Many other countries are considering policy reforms related to environmental water. The development of water resources has often altered the flow regimes of rivers,1 affecting ecosystems and contributing to the decline of many species (see figure 2.2), and resulted in adverse impacts on communities downstream of the development. Abstractions of water for irrigation, water supply, or interbasin transfers for any type of use reduce the total volume of flows, while dams and other barriers also change the pattern of flows. It is important to recognize that changes in the pattern of flows—shifts in the seasonality of flows, prevention of floods reaching floodplains, maintenance of relatively high levels of flows during traditionally low-flow periods, among others—can be as disruptive to down- ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES DECISION MAKING 29

FIGURE 2.2 Changes in Freshwater Species Populations Indices, 1970–1999

140

120

100

0 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 North America Asia/Pacific Latin America Australasia Europe Freshwater species Africa population index Source: World Wide Fund for Nature 2000. stream ecosystems as are changes in the total volume of flows. Appendix C provides details of the current understanding of the impacts of these developments on downstream ecosystems and the development of environmental flow methodologies. While there is no international agreement specifically concerned with environmental flows, the topic is included in several other global and regional agreements. Two of note are the United Nations Convention on the Law of Non- Navigational Uses of International Watercourses—a global agreement dealing with various aspects of river utilization and management—and the Convention on the Protection and Uses of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes. The latter contains environmental provisions. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) provides a fuller treatment of international treaties and agreements dealing with water resources management and environmental flows (Scanlon, Cassar, and Nemes 2004). The 2000 report of the World Commission on Dams provides a sharp focus on both upstream and downstream ecosystem needs and associated social impacts (World Commission on Dams 2000). It states, “Among the many factors leading to the degradation of watershed ecosystems, dams are the main physical threat, frag- menting and transforming aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems with a range of effects that vary in duration, scale, and degree of reversibility.” One of the report’s strategic 30 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

principles is sustaining rivers and livelihoods.2 In its sustainability guidelines, the International Hydropower Association now recognizes the need to provide for environmental flows that maintain downstream ecosystem functions (International Hydropower Association 2004). The major commercial banks providing financing for project developments have adopted a voluntary set of principles3—the Equator Principles—governing their social and environmental responsibilities for lending to projects of more than $10 million. Under these principles, the International Finance Corporation’s categorization of project risk is adopted, and all projects that fall into categories A or B have to undergo a social and environmental assessment. Dams are not the only infrastructure investments that can affect flows. Water that is pumped directly from water bodies or is discharged into water bodies can affect the quantity, quality, and timing of flows; levees and dikes for flood protection or other purposes disconnect floodplains and wetlands from the rivers and

BOX 2.1 Examples of Flow-Dependent Ecosystem Services Provisioning services: Tonle Sap, Cambodia. Tonle Sap is a large shallow lake in the center of the Cambodian plain (ILEC 2005). The lake is filled during the wet season from the Mekong River and, depending on the wetness of the season, can expand from about 2,500 square kilometers to up to 16,000 square kilometers. The periodic flooding carries sediment-rich water from the Mekong River to the lake, which supports a complex food web. The lake basin contains extensive wetlands and flooded forests that are critical to fish breeding. The lake is an important source of fish for the Cambodian population, providing about 230,000 tons per year, which is more than 75 percent of Cambodia’s annual inland fish catch and 60 percent of Cambodians’ protein intake. It supports more than 3 million people. In addition, fish migrate from the Tonle Sap to the Mekong River and help to restock Mekong River fisheries. Regulating services: Mississippi River, United States. The natural floodplains of the Mississippi River allow floodwaters to extend laterally and so reduce the peaks of floods for downstream communities (Belt 1975). However, the floodplains have been progressively cut off from the river by levees and banks, as the floodplain has been developed initially for agriculture and then for industrial and urban development. Whole communities are now built on the flood plain. Also, the progressive constriction of the Mississippi for navigation makes floods higher; thus navigation works degrade the protection afforded by levees. In 1973 the levees failed under the water pressure from high flows in the Mississippi River, and large areas were suddenly inundated. Although the Mississippi crested in St. Louis 2 feet above the level of the 1844 flood, the flow in the river was actually 35 percent less than the earlier flood, illustrating the importance of the floodplain for absorbing large flows. In a study of the causes of the 1973 flood, Belt concludes that the flood was “man-made” to a great extent. ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES DECISION MAKING 31

affect physical, chemical, and biotic processes; and excessive groundwater pumping can affect river flows where there is connectivity between the river and associated aquifers. Land-use change can also affect downstream river systems. Converting forest to annual agricultural crops typically reduces evapotranspiration and increases runoff. It can also reduce water abstraction from shallow aquifers (because of the shallow rooting of annual crops), leading to rising water tables and potentially higher base flows to streams. Expanding cities increase storm water runoff, reduce groundwater infiltration, and increase pollution loads, all of which can affect river flows. Conversely, afforestation can also increase evapotranspiration and reduce stream flow, while straightening of river channels can speed up runoff and increase peak magnitude of floods downstream.

The subsequent floods of 1993 and the very recent floods (June 2008) on the Mississippi River and the associated widespread damage to property, farmland, industry, and cities along the river have underscored the severe consequences of encroachment into floodplains, the vulnerability of towns and communities living in the floodplains, and the inadequacies of structural measures alone to manage floods. A key lesson concerns the significant impact of changes in land use on river flows and flow patterns. Supporting services: Nakivubo swamp, Uganda. Uganda’s Nakivubo swamp has been receiving partially treated wastewater from Kampala for more than 30 years (Kansiime and Nalubega 1999). It contains dense communities of papyrus and Miscanthidium violaceum. These plants aid in the removal of nutrients from wastewater. In the papyrus-dominated parts of the swamp, the purification efficiencies are 67 percent for nitrogen and phosphorus and 99 percent for fecal coliform. In the Miscantheum-dominated parts, the removal efficiencies are lower, at 55 percent for nitrogen, 33 percent for phosphorus, and 89 percent for fecal coliform. Cultural services: Caroni swamp, Trinidad and Tobago. The Caroni swamp has considerable biodiversity and cultural value for Trinidad and Tobago, with at least 157 birds species frequenting the swamp (Trinidad and Tobago, Ministry of Planning and Development 1999). Caroni also provides roosting and breeding habitat for a significant number of migratory waterfowl between North and South America. It was especially noteworthy as a roosting site for the scarlet ibis—the national bird of Trinidad and Tobago. But the scarlet ibis has not had a substantial nesting colony in the swamp over much of the last 30 years, presumably because of the steady salinization of the swamp. The increased salinity has been caused by several developments, including water abstractions for urban water supply, highway embankments (which have drastically altered runoff patterns), siltation, and the opening of an entrance canal for visitors. 32 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

Water-Dependent Ecosystem Services

Rivers provide many important ecosystem services for communities in both developed and developing countries (this section draws on Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005). Box 2.1 illustrates the diversity of ecosystem services provided by rivers, including (a) provisioning services (such as food, water, timber); (b) regulating services (such as flood regulation, prevention of disease, disposal of wastes); (c) supporting services (such as nutrient cycling, maintenance of river morphology); and (d) cultural services (such as aesthetic values). Many communities, particularly in developing countries, depend on these services for protein (through fish catches), productive land for agriculture and grazing, and timber for firewood. Biodiversity underpins many of these services (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005). The ecosystem services provided by rivers are disrupted by changes in the volume, quality, and pattern of flows downstream of the development activities. Thus irrigation abstractions during the dry season can isolate river pools and prevent fish migration; river regulation because of upstream dams can reduce floodplain inundation and opportunities for recessional cropping and grazing; and changes in the volume and pattern of freshwater flows can cause silting of river reaches and loss of habitat and reduce dilution of wastewaters discharged into river systems. The IUCN’s Vision for Water and Nature calls for “leaving water in the system to provide environmental services such as flood mitigation and water cleansing” (IUCN 2000). Other parts of the hydrologic system, such as groundwater, also provide ecosystem services (Dyson, Bergkamp, and Scanlon 2003). Apart from being the major water resource in arid and semiarid climatic regions, groundwater also supports important groundwater-dependent ecosystems such as wetlands and swamps. Many shallow groundwater systems are connected to rivers, providing base flows in the dry season and being recharged during flood events. Groundwater systems can also be affected by upstream developments. For example, forest plantations that require large volumes of water can reduce recharge to an aquifer, thereby lowering water tables and making it more difficult to provide water for stock and domestic purposes further downstream. Freshwater flows are also vital for estuaries and marine systems. Estuaries are complex ecosystems dependent on both freshwater and marine influences. They provide breeding habitat for fish and invertebrates, often have high recreational and scenic values, and can be economically important for transport and ship- ping. Changes in freshwater inflows can threaten these benefits through closure of river mouths, loss of mangroves and wetland habitats, saltwater intrusion, and reductions in nutrient and sediment inflows. ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES DECISION MAKING 33

FIGURE 2.3 Components of the Flow Regime

70 large flood 60

50 freshets 40

30 low flows 20

10 discharge (cubic meters per second)

0 October

Source: Authors.

Different ecosystem functions are maintained by different components of the flow regime (see figure 2.3). The particular functions depend on the river system. Typically, low flows maintain the connectivity of pools and provide for longitudinal movement along the river; small, more frequent floods (known as freshets) can trigger spawning in some species and may remove detritus; and larger, more infrequent floods can water floodplains and provide lateral movement of sediment and nutrients to and from the floodplain. An EFA is used to identify the reliance of different ecosystems or organisms (fish, invertebrates, vegetation) on the different components of flows and their sensitivity to changes in these components. This knowledge is important when decisions are being made on allocating different parts of the flow regime to different water uses.

Environmental Flows: Adoption and Methods

Although there are various methods for undertaking EFAs, they fall into four discrete groups, namely hydrological index methods, hydraulic rating methods, habitat simulation methods, and holistic methodologies. These methods are summarized in several reviews (see, for example, Arthington and Zalucki 1998; Davis and Hirji 2003a; Dyson, Bergkamp, and Scanlon 2003; Tharme 2003). Many early environmental flows methods were designed to protect a single species or to address a single issue. However, managing flows for a single species 34 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

(and sometimes even for a single ecosystem function such as low-flow connectivity) may not result in robust aquatic ecosystems and may even fail to preserve the target species because of their dependence on a wide range of ecosystem functions (such as food webs, habitat). Consequently, holistic methodologies, which typically incorporate all components of the flow regime, are at the cutting edge of EFA methodology. Applying these methods involves a wide range of water users and sometimes includes considerations of the social and economic dependence of communities on environmental flows. Holistic methods were developed in South Africa and Australia, but are increasingly being tried in other parts of the world (see case studies 7 and 8). The wide range of methods provides a choice of technique to suit various timetables, budgets, and purposes (see table 2.1).

Environmental Flows and Decision Making

An EFA provides the scientific basis for understanding the relationship between the different flow components and ecosystem responses. But deciding on how much and at what time(s) water should be allocated to the environment at either the river basin or project level is a decision that can only be taken in the context of all the demands on the water resource. There is no absolute quantity and timing of flows that are required for the environment or for that matter for any other use. Instead, a social choice has to be made about what uses are important, to what degree they need to be addressed, and which ecosystem services need to be preserved (and to what degree) to meet society’s objectives for a particular water resource. This choice will then determine the flows that are needed to deliver those services. For example, society may decide to increase irrigated agriculture using a particular groundwater resource—at the expense of some groundwater-dependent wetlands that rely on high water tables—because the net societal benefits are greater when irrigated agriculture is increased and wetlands are decreased. These choices have always been made in water resources planning and management. The contribution of environmental flows is that the EFA makes explicit the consequences of different choices on aquatic ecosystems and communities that depend on those ecosystem services and so leads to a more informed decision- making process. It enhances equity and sustainability in the decision-making process. This is important because downstream individuals and communities that are affected by changes in flow regimes are often relatively unorganized, powerless, and voiceless—compared to institutions and organizations that want to develop the water resource—and their traditional rights to use water are not always recognized in law. It is important to include the relationships of the TABLE 2.1 Estimated Time and Resource Requirements of Select EFA Methods

Data and Time Duration of Relative Confidence Method Type Requirements Assessment in Results Level of Experience Tennant Hydrologic Moderate to low 2 weeks Low United States: extensive index Wetted perimeter Hydraulic Moderate 2–4 months Low United States: extensive rating Expert panel Holistic Moderate to low 1–2 months Medium South Africa, Australia: extensive

Holistic Holistic Moderate to high 6–18 months Medium-high Australia, South Africa: extensive

Instream flow Habitat Very high 2–5 years High United States, United Kingdom: incremental simulation extensive methodology DRIFT Holistic High to very high 1–3 years High Lesotho, South Africa, Tanzania: limited

Source: Davis and Hirji 2003b. 35 36 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

communities to rivers and the needs of these downstream communities in decisions about flows. There are two broad methods for providing environmental flows. On regulated rivers—those with water storages in their headwaters—the agreed environmental flows can be delivered through specific releases of water from the storages at the right times to mimic some of the natural patterns of flows. On all rivers—regulated and unregulated—and in all groundwater systems, controls over abstractions can also be used to retain certain components of flows. For example, cease-to-pump rules during dry periods are widely used to ensure that low flows are protected. A wide variety of instruments are used to provide these flows, including separate entitlements for environmental water, conditions on abstraction licenses, and dam operating rules. Where water markets have been established, environmental water can also be acquired on the market (see box 2.2). In some cases, too many water resources are allocated to economic uses, and water needs to be recovered for the environment. This is always difficult (as illustrated in several case studies in chapter 7). There are various options for obtaining this water: ■ Instituting efficiency improvements in the economic uses through technical improvements, with some of the “saved” water being used for the environment ■ Reoperating infrastructure so that more efficient use is made of the water for economic purposes; this is particularly successful with hydropower dams

BOX 2.2 Environmental Water Trading in Australia Under the Australian national water reforms, environmental water entitlements have the same legal standing as consumptive water entitlements and so can be traded on the market that has been established for trading consumptive water entitlements. Environmental water managers are slowly being appointed at national, state, and local levels to represent the environment in the marketplace. In principle, this tradable environmental water, termed adaptive environmental water, can be traded countercyclically. That is, it can be sold at times when the price of water is high (typically during a drought when the environment would not normally receive much water) and bought back when prices are low (when water is abundant) thus helping to make the environment self-financing. Market trading of environmental water is still to be fully implemented in Australia, and these mechanisms are yet to be tested. ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES DECISION MAKING 37

where the operating rules have been in place for some time and may no longer fully reflect the electricity demand requirements ■ Acquiring water rights from consumptive users, with or without compensation ■ Augmenting water supplies through interbasin transfers, conjunctive use of groundwater, and desalinization and using some of the additional water for environmental purposes (while ensuring that there are no detrimental environmental effects from accessing the additional sources) ■ Instituting demand management measures, particularly with urban water supply. Some of these water recovery options are illustrated in the project-level case studies.

Environmental Flows in Policies, Plans, and Projects

As noted, there are four entry points for introducing environmental flows into water resources planning and management decision making: ■ National water policy, legislation, regulations, and institutions ■ River- and lake-basin-level water allocation plans, including watershed management ■ Single-purpose or multipurpose investment projects ■ Restoration (rehabilitation and reoperation) projects and programs. The last two entry points share some operational and conceptual similarities. Both involve environmental flows downstream of infrastructure and are sometimes combined in the following discussion as infrastructure investments. Environmental flows have become identified, at least within development assistance organizations, with mitigation of the impacts of dams and other water resources infrastructure. Environmental assessment of proposals to build new dams or other infrastructure or to rehabilitate existing infrastructure should include an assessment of the potential downstream environmental and social impacts.4 Dealing with environmental flow issues only when development projects are proposed is unlikely to lead to equitable or efficient allocation decisions. At these times, the major decisions—for example, about siting and sizing structures (Ledec and Quintero 2003) or incorporating features such as multiple outlet valves—have often been taken, and there is usually limited flexibility to influence major decisions. Such decisions are almost always inefficient in the long run. This is illustrated by (a) the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (case study 14), where the Mohale Dam outlet valves had to be resized and a new valve had to be added to Katse Dam to accommodate higher EFA releases and (b) the 38 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

Lower Kihansi Hydropower Project (case study 15), in which the process of granting and enforcing the final water right was highly contested. More equitable development outcomes are likely to be achieved if environmental flows are considered at an earlier, more strategic stage in the decision-making process. For environmental flows, this means that environmental flow allocations should be included in river basin plans and backed up with national water policy. There are three reasons for incorporating environmental flows into national water polices: ■ Policies give legitimacy to environmental flows and thereby shift the focus of project-level discussions to the quantities and timings of water for the environment rather than on whether environmental flows are a legitimate use of water. ■ Policies can be used to specify the priority to be assigned to environmental water allocations compared to other water uses. ■ The procedural requirements (notification requirements, institutional responsibilities, timing, participation, and relationship to other instruments such as environmental impact assessments and strategic environmental assessments) can be spelled out in the policy, ensuring that plan-level or project-level environmental flow studies are carried out proficiently. The policy provisions, in turn, are often incorporated in legislation to give them force when being implemented. A water resources strategy is then typically used to spell out the steps to be followed and to identify the institutions responsible for implementing the policy and legislation. A water resources management institution, such as a river basin organization, is thereafter charged with implementing the relevant parts of the water policy and law. Basin-level water allocation plans, drawn up under water resources legislation, identify the rights of different groups to use water resources and so should include environmental flow requirements. This means that water will be provided to maintain important ecosystem assets and functions during subsequent water management operations; this can include a formal recognition of traditional rights to water. Water allocation plans not only reduce tensions in water-scarce regions by making rights and their associated conditions explicit, but also provide a foundation for decisions on development activities that require access to water resources. They can include areas to be protected from development as well as areas that may need to be restored because of their ecological significance and importance for downstream flows. Water resources policies that contain sections on the provision of environmental water (case studies 1–5) usually require that environmental water be included in basin-level water allocation plans (Dyson, Bergkamp, and Scanlon 2003). ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES DECISION MAKING 39

FIGURE 2.4 Hierarchy of Decisions Leading to Project-level Environmental Flow Allocation

policy

legislation strategy

basin plans strategic

program and projects tactical

Source: Authors.

Thus making provisions for environmental water requirements when investment projects are being planned should be the culmination of a hierarchy of more strategic decisions about environmental water requirements rather than a one-off decision being made without considering the broader context of water management.5

Environmental Flows, IWRM, and Environmental Assessment

Integrated water resources management considers the environment as a legitimate use of water and integrates environmental flows into the implementation of IWRM. That is, environmental flows should not need to be promoted specifically if IWRM is properly adopted. However, most developing countries lack the resources to put IWRM into practice; the reality is that there has been only limited practical implementation of IWRM in the developing world. According to a recent World Bank analysis, environmental flows are seldom considered (Hirji and Davis 2009b). This report squarely places environmental flows in the context of IWRM so that environmental water requirements to support downstream water use becomes an integral part of both strategic (policy and basin planning) and tactical (project-level) multisectoral decision making (see figure 2.4). Environmental impact assessments (EIAs) are now widely accepted planning tools used to integrate environmental concerns systematically into decisions about investment projects. Most developing countries have adopted legislation 40 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

requiring EIAs for infrastructure investments, and development partners (such as the World Bank and regional development banks) require an assessment of environmental and social impacts for projects they are funding. The World Bank has produced the Environmental Assessment Sourcebook and updates covering a wide range of topics related to environmental assessment, including those covering various water sectors, to assist with these assessments (World Bank 1991). These have been complemented by the environment and water resources technical notes, which address environmental flows, among other issues. Undertaking an environmental impact assessment after a project has been designed is often too late in the decision-making process. The most important decisions that ultimately influence the impacts were taken much earlier, when policies, programs, and plans were being formulated and approved. Consequently, strategic environmental assessments were developed as a tool to move environmental considerations earlier in the process from project-level analysis to the levels of policies, legislation, strategies, programs, and plans. In principle, the downstream impacts from infrastructure investments should be assessed as part of project planning and design studies, including EIAs or other appropriate planning instruments. However, in practice, these downstream impacts have not always been fully recognized or accounted for, and their assessment has often arisen as a separate process, through EFA, specifically to fill this gap. As a consequence, important opportunities for informing key design decisions are often lost. Water resources planners, EIA practitioners, and social scientists need to recognize the importance of impacts that arise downstream of projects and include EFA techniques in their toolkits, so that EFA is effectively absorbed into planning studies, EIAs, and SEAs.

Notes

1 The term “river systems” refers to a river and the hydrologic features connected to it, such as wetlands, floodplains, and estuaries. 2 The principle includes the recognition that “releasing tailor-made environmental flows can help maintain downstream ecosystems and the communities that depend on them.” 3 See http://www.equator-principles.com/ for details. 4 The World Bank’s 10 safeguard policies require an assessment of a range of potential environmental and social impacts. 5 See the Nature Conservancy and Natural Heritage Institute (forthcoming), which says, “Societal objectives will be best met when regional development plans, which set broad regional, national, and/or river basin objectives for water and energy development and environmental protection, are paired with more detailed local-scale environmental assessments for individual dams or cascades of dams on specific rivers.” CHAPTER 3

Environmental Flows and the World Bank

THE CONSENSUS EMERGING from the 1992 Dublin Conference on Water and the Environment and the 1992 Environmental Summit at Rio de Janeiro influenced the World Bank and development partners to increase their assistance to developing countries regarding environmental issues in general. The World Bank, like the global water community, recognized the importance of environmental impacts that occurred downstream and upstream of water resources developments and translated this into operations using different tools and avenues. The 1993 WRMP marked the beginning of the Bank’s commitment to environmentally sustainable water resources development: “more rigorous attention to minimizing resettlement, maintaining biodiversity, and protecting ecosystems in the design and implementation of water projects.” The evolving understanding of the importance of downstream environmental issues is shown by an analysis of select Bank-funded dam projects implemented before and after 1996 (given project preparation times, this year was chosen as representing the earliest date when the 1993 policy was likely to have been influential in leading to more recognition of environmental issues in preparation of dam-related projects). The main objective of the analysis was to see if more attention was given to downstream flow-related impacts after the 1993 policy was approved.

41 42 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

Projects that involved construction of a new dam or rehabilitation of an existing dam1 and where the project appraisal documents (PADs), staff appraisal documents (SARs), and EIAs were available in English were selected for analysis. At least one project was selected from each region. Twenty-eight dam projects approved before 1996 and 10 approved after 1996 were selected for analysis. The PADs, SARs, and EIAs were examined for their inclusion of potential upstream and downstream impacts. The impacts were restricted to the biophysical impacts from changes in flow regime downstream of the dam and changes in the level of the impoundment upstream of the dam (see table 3.1). To be selected, the impacts had to be clearly identified as arising from the dam itself and not from the construction activity. The depth of consideration of these impacts was classified as cursory (typically one or two sentences in passing), considered (at least a paragraph of specific consideration), or detailed (a detailed assessment, sometimes in quantitative terms). There is considerable subjectivity in making these assignments, but they nevertheless indicate the extent of consideration of biophysical issues in the project preparation documents.

TABLE 3.1 Biophysical Impacts Included in the Analysis of World Bank–Funded Dam Projects

Upstream Downstream Biophysical Impact of Dam of Dam Comment Excessive sedimentation ¥ ¥ Flood control ¥ ¥ Generally beneficial downstream; includes detrimental upstream flooding Modified fisheries ¥ ¥ Generally beneficial upstream; generally detrimental downstream Aquatic weeds ¥ Modified irrigation activities ¥ ¥ Saltwater intrusion ¥ Modified floodplain watering ¥ Bank and shoreline erosion ¥ ¥ Loss of biodiversity ¥ ¥ Modified groundwater recharge ¥ Loss of aquatic habitat ¥ ¥ Alteration to hydrology ¥ ¥ References to changes in flow regime not specifically linked to a biophysical impact for downstream impacts Source: Authors. ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS AND THE WORLD BANK 43

FIGURE 3.1 Number of Examinations of Upstream and Downstream Issues in Dam-related Project Documents

downstream

upstream number of examinations

1960–65 1965–70 1970–75 1975–80 1980–85 1985–90 1990–95 2000–05 1995–2000

detailed considered cursory

Source: Authors. Note: No downstream issues were identified for the 1975–80 period.

Figure 3.1 shows the number of times an upstream or downstream issue was mentioned in the documents. The number of mentions depends on the number of projects examined in each time period, so comparisons between time periods are neither important nor meaningful. However, the ratios between upstream and downstream issues within a period reveal the relative emphasis accorded to the regions above and below a dam. Compared to upstream issues, downstream issues are seldom mentioned in the project preparation documents prior to 1990. Only 27 percent of the issues prior to 1996 occurred downstream of the dam; after 1996, 51 percent of issues were downstream of the dam. Over the period 1990–95 and afterward, there was also a dramatic increase in the depth of assessments. Only 2 out of 38 issues were considered in detail prior to 1990, but 30 out of 68 were classified as detailed after 1990. These results are consistent with a significant increase in the depth of treatment of environmental and social issues generally, together with a growing recognition of downstream effects of dams following implementation of the 1993 water resources management policy.

Country Water Resources Assistance Strategies 44 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

The Bank introduced country water resources assistance strategies in 2003 to bring coherence to its support for water management across the resources and service spectrum within specific countries and regions. CWRASs identify key strategic water resources issues where the Bank can play an important role in assisting with water resources development and management, including environmental issues. The Bank has now produced 18 CWRASs. They analyze the major water resources issues facing a country or region and develop a strategic approach that countries can use to tackle these issues. The CWRASs were analyzed to see the extent to which environmental flow issues were recognized by the countries and the Bank and whether a strategy to tackle these issues was included in the CWRAS recommendations (see table 3.2). Specifically, the analysis assessed whether the CWRAS did the following: ■ Proposed inclusion of environmental flows issues in national or regional water policy and legislation ■ Proposed inclusion of environmental water requirements in basin-level water plans ■ Proposed measures to introduce or strengthen downstream EFAs when assessing new infrastructure projects ■ Identified opportunities for providing downstream flows when rehabilitating existing dams and other infrastructure ■ Proposed technical training in EFA and related procedures. Appendix D provides a summary of these analyses. There was no expectation that environmental flow issues should be mentioned in all CWRASs. Clearly some countries do not face water stress, and in others, environmental flow issues, even if present, may not be a priority. Nevertheless, the extent to which environmental flows are discussed in the CWRASs and incorporated into the recommended Bank strategy serves as another barometer of the degree to which this issue is being recognized and mainstreamed into water resources planning and management. Four CWRASs (Cambodia, Dominican Republic, Peru, and Republic of Yemen) made no mention of environmental flows or equivalent concerns. The Islamic Republic of Iran CWRAS had only a passing mention through a recommended action: “Preparing and compiling necessary guidelines for studying the impacts of executing the water resources development plan on water quality and aquatic ecosystems.” In contrast, the CWRASs for some countries (such as China, the Philippines, and Tanzania) included thorough treatments of environmental flows. The China CWRAS described the overexploitation of groundwater, particularly in the Hai basin, and the overuse of surface water resulting in inadequate environmental flows in much of northern China. This, along with water pollution, is TABLE 3.2 Inclusion of Environmental Flow Issues in CWRASs (continued)

Country Regulation by Infrastructure Excessive Abstraction Excessive Discharge

Bangladesh Brief mention of effects of upstream Brief mention of effects of upstream regulation by dams abstractions for irrigation China Considerable attention to better Overuse of groundwater and surface water environmental water management resulting in damage to freshwater and coastal environments East Asia and Proposed water allocation plans that give Pacific region priority to environmental water needs Ethiopia Minor mention of need for environmental flows from hydropower dams India General comment that attitudes need to change to maintain instream flows for environmental benefit Iran, Islamic Statement that the development of dams will Rep. of lead to deterioration of wetlands

Iraq Recognition that upstream dams have Recognition that agricultural and urban water Inflows of drainage waters have altered flows to the marshes, reducing extractions have reduced flows affected flow regimes to the flood pulses marshes Kenya Brief mention of downstream Brief mention of ecosystem degradation environmental impacts of dams from water withdrawal at Lake Naivasha and on Tana River Mekong Region Inclusion of the effects of proposed dams Inclusion of the effects of expansion on flows of irrigation

45 (continued) 46

TABLE 3.2 Inclusion of Environmental Flow Issues in CWRASs (continued)

Country Regulation by Infrastructure Excessive Abstraction Excessive Discharge

Mozambique Detailed consideration of effects of dams on flows Pakistan Recognition that dams are reducing Mention of the effects of withdrawals on delta floods to wetlands and Indus delta and riverine wetlands Philippines Requirement that environmental flow Recognition that environmental flows affect assessments are needed for new surface and groundwater systems infrastructure Tanzania Description of problems from dams Description of the need to ensure that water and flow-related conflicts is retained for the environment

Source: Authors. — Not included. Note: The CWRASs for Cambodia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Peru, and Republic of Yemen did not discuss environmental flow issues. ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS AND THE WORLD BANK 47

leading to the decline in and deterioration of water resources and damage to freshwater and coastal environments. The CWRAS recommended that environmental protection, including environmental flows, be one of the major themes of future Bank development assistance.

Policy and Legislation Apart from China and Tanzania, no CWRASs mentioned the inclusion of environmental provisions into national water policies and laws. In both these cases, the countries had already established the relevant instruments. The 2002 Water Law in China includes provisions for environmental and ecological protection, and the 2002 Tanzanian national water policy requires that environmental flow provisions be made in basin-level planning. No CWRAS identified the importance of having national policy or legislation to mandate environmental flows at basin or project levels, and consequently the CWRASs did not call for Bank support at this level. Although the Islamic Republic of Iran CWRAS did identify the need for a new water policy and governance structure, it did not specifically include environmental water requirements within the new policy.

Planning Six of the CWRASs identified the need to build environmental flow provisions into basin-level water plans, although only the CWRASs for China and the Philippines linked environmental water requirements to planning groundwater use. The Pakistan CWRAS said that environmental flows are currently being established in the delta of the Indus. One of the proposed pillars of assistance is to promote IWRM, including provisions for environmental flows (see box 3.1). The Philippines CWRAS called explicitly for considering environmental flows in rivers and estuaries and for maintaining groundwater levels; it also called for Bank assistance in the development of basin plans that include environmental flows. The China CWRAS called for national guidelines for comprehensive river basin planning that include a requirement for considering environmental flows in rivers providing water to ecologically important areas. Several CWRASs deal with transboundary water management. The Bangladesh, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Iraq CWRASs described efforts to promote transboundary water planning, including provisions of flows to maintain downstream ecosystems. The Iraq CWRAS described the drying of the Mesopotamian marshes, partly as a result of upstream water use by Turkey and the water developments proposed by Syria. The Mekong CWRAS recognized the need for countries in the region to better coordinate their development plans. While the Mekong CWRAS was optimistic that environmental sustainability is possible along with development, it provided few explicit proposals to achieve this. 48 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

BOX 3.1 Environmental Flows to the Indus Delta The Water Apportionment Accord was signed in 1991 by the Pakistan provinces to distribute the waters of the Indus River among the provinces and command areas. It established water rights and protected future water rights, including the effect of future storage. A formula was made available for sharing river flows. The accord also included the need for certain minimum flows (escapages) to the sea to check seawater intrusion. The provinces held different views about the necessary flows; it was decided that further studies would be undertaken to establish the minimal escapages needed below Kotri Barrage, the main regulating structure on the lower Indus River. Three studies were agreed on after intense negotiation among the provinces. The first study determined the minimum flow below Kotri Barrage to control seawater intrusion into the delta. The second addressed environmental impacts from river water and sediment flows and their seasonal distribution below Kotri Barrage. The third addressed environmental concerns about a wide range of issues related to the management of water resources upstream of Kotri Barrage. These reports were then assessed by an independent panel of experts. The panel of experts recommended an escapage at Kotri Barrage of 5,000 cubic feet per second throughout the year to check seawater intrusion, accommodate the needs for fisheries and environmental sustainability, and maintain the river channel. They recommended that 25 million acre-feet in any five-year period be released in a concentrated flood flow to maintain sediment supply to the mangroves and coastal zone. They also recommended that any further upstream development of storage preceded by a full EFA.

Source: González, Basson, and Schultz 2005.

New Infrastructure Ten of the CWRASs discussed the need for further infrastructure development. Only four of these included an explicit recognition of the need to provide for downstream environmental water needs when planning this infrastructure, although some (such as the Philippines CWRAS) emphasized the importance of environmental flows elsewhere in the document, implying that these issues would be included in an environmental assessment of new infrastructure. In contrast, the China CWRAS placed a high priority on strengthening environmental management, including environmental flow provisions. It saw loans for physical infrastructure as a vehicle for integrating the particular project with basinwide management in order to address the full range of water issues including environmental objectives. ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS AND THE WORLD BANK 49

Infrastructure Rehabilitation Five CWRASs foresaw the need to rehabilitate existing water resources infrastructure, especially dams that had been poorly maintained. The Pakistan CWRAS identified the need to rehabilitate a large stock of old infrastructure as well as the need to build new dams. Much of this old infrastructure has resulted in downstream environmental problems; for example, the India CWRAS described the “environmental debt” that hangs over the country’s water infrastructure and is still not widely recognized by senior decision makers. Only two CWRASs specifically stated that there are opportunities to remedy these issues. With the renegotiated ownership of the Cahora Bassa Dam in Mozambique (together with two new project proposals), for example, there is an opportunity to restore environmental flows to rehabilitate some of the damaged downstream ecosystems on the Zambezi River. The Bangladesh CWRAS called for environmental flow studies on the Ganges River to assess the human and environmental impacts of existing and proposed infrastructure and to provide a scientific basis for determining environmental flows. However, since this infrastructure was in India, the CWRAS did not contain any rehabilitation proposals. The Kenya CWRAS recognized that existing dams have caused downstream social and environmental problems and called for better project planning in the future, but it did not envisage any rehabilitation or changes in operating rules.

Training Few of the CWRASs mentioned the need to develop skills and experience in environmental flows. The Tanzanian CWRAS is distinctive in its inclusion of a comprehensive environmental flows training program (see box 3.2). The Pakistan CWRAS also included the training of a new generation of water resources specialists in all aspects of water planning and management, presumably including environmental flow provision, while the Iran CWRAS called for training on a range of topics, including “water and the environment.”

Bank–Netherlands Water Partnership Program

The government of the Netherlands established the Bank–Netherlands Water Partnership Program following the Second World Water Forum in the Hague in March 2000. The BNWPP supports World Bank operations and promotes innovative approaches for integrated water resources management in the Bank’s client countries and the broader development community. The BNWPP operates through subprograms (called windows) corresponding to various IWRM topics. Each window has a team of experts who provide assistance to World Bank task managers to improve the quality of their ongoing operations. The 50 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

BOX 3.2 Proposed Environmental Flows Program for Tanzania The 10-point plan (supported under the BNWPP environmental window) includes a wide range of activities required to build a long-term sustainable program in Tanzania that supports institutionalization of EFA into water resources planning and management decision making. Some activities are large and will take several years; others are small and can be implemented rapidly. These activities are very broadly in the chronological order in which they would be undertaken, although some may overlap or be done in parallel: 1. Training course: “getting experience of environmental flow frameworks and methods” 2. Defining an assessment framework: “turning policy into action” 3. Trial application of environmental flow methods: “practicing what we’ve learned” 4. Visits to foreign case studies: “seeing what others have done” 5. Technical workshop or symposium: “discussing our techniques” 6. Technical support: “checking what’s been done” 7. National database: “assembling a library of knowledge” 8. Networking: “sharing experience” 9. Research: “improving our understanding” 10. Communications strategy: “spreading the word.”

Source: World Bank 2006c.

BNWPP also supports activities that generate knowledge and development of best-practice materials (World Bank 2001a). One of the windows specifically deals with environmental flow allocation.2 Its objective is to assist World Bank client countries to integrate environmental flow considerations into water resources management and project development activities. The window draws from a panel of international experts who are available to assist Bank staff and borrowing country staff with environmental flow issues. Not all activities draw on these experts. The window has provided support to a number of Bank projects where environmental flow requirements need to be assessed and incorporated into decision making. Many of these activities are in their early stages of implementation; table 3.3 summarizes some of the main assistance activities. Overall, the BNWPP environmental flows window has provided good support to Bank activities. Support to the Lesotho Highlands Water Project resulted in an analysis of the economic impacts of different environmental flow options as well as a thorough review of the lessons emerging from this project. Support for the Ningbo Water and Environment Project in China led to an assessment of the TABLE 3.3 Select BNWPP Assistance to World Bank Projects

Type of BNWPP Project Region Sector Activity Issues Outcomes Status

Lesotho Highlands Africa Water supply Economic analysis • Assessment of • Acceptance by Completed Water Project of EFA and environmental flow Lesotho of necessary dissemination of requirements environmental flows environmental flow • Establishment of • Development of compre- policy development and flows following hensive assessment implementation results earlier treaty method (downstream agreement response to improved • Redesign of outlets flow transformation, to accommodate DRIFT) required flows • Successful redesign of • Enforcement of flow outlet structure agreement • Performance audit of instream flow requirement policy every five years

Lower Kihansi Africa Hydropower Technical assistance • Discovery of rare • Offsite breeding of Phase 1 completed; Environmental in national EFA and threatened threatened toad species Phase 2 support Management capacity-building effort ecosystem after • Agreement on environ- ongoing Project dam commenced mental flow provisions • High national and water rights for dependence of hydropower water for electricity • Development of a production catchment management • High cost of plan retrofitting dam for • Establishment of profes- additional flows sional training course in EFA

51 (continued) TABLE 3.3 52 Select BNWPP Assistance to World Bank Projects (continued)

Type of BNWPP Project Region Sector Activity Issues Outcomes Status

Mekong River Water East Asia and Hydropower, Initial technical • Proposed • Development of BNWPP support Utilization Project Pacific irrigation assistance on EFAs for development of hydrologic and completed; Mekong the Mekong River to upstream dams in hydraulic models EFA ongoing help the Mekong River transboundary • Examination of flow Commission to setting implications of establish and • High dependence of development scenarios implement flow rules downstream fishing • Hiring of BNWPP expert and agricultural as an EFA adviser to production on flow the Mekong River regime Commission • Divergence of development objectives among basin countries • Maintenance of significant aquatic ecosystems

Orissa Water South Asia Irrigation Technical assistance for • Changes in flows to • Development of Completed Resources Project, establishing environ- Chilika lagoon and hydrological models India mentally sensitive increased sediment • Completion of technical operational rules for loads from the training of Orissa State Naraj Barrage catchment leading water resources staff to reduced • Improved understanding exchanges with the at management level ocean of relevance of environmental flows and procedures for establishing flow requirements • Reduction in fish catches, effects on lake’s biodiversity, decreased salinity, increased flooding, and weed infestation • Loss of livelihoods leading to civil disturbance

Ningbo Water and East Asia and Water supply Technical assistance • Diversion of water for • Awareness of environ- Ongoing Environment Pacific to advise on monitoring urban supply leading mental flow concepts Project needs and environ- to desiccation of and techniques mental water require- the Ningbo River • Training in EFA methods ments downstream of dam • Development of an • Aesthetic and environmental flow environmental scientific program issues from water loss Mexico Latin America Water policy Technical assistance • Ongoing reform of Unknown Ongoing and Caribbean reviewing impacts of water policy to deal water policies and with conflicting programs on environ- demands mental needs; use of • No experience economic instruments with environmental for providing environ- water considerations mental water (continued) 53 Completed Completed of environmental flow environmental of not needs; full analysis undertaken managers on environ- managers concepts flow mental practice and best Preliminary assessment Preliminary Training sessions for sessions Training • • of wetlands and wetlands of lakes of presence rivers, fish endangered rare species or policy flow in experience Ecuador Severe degradation Severe of Degradation No environmental • • • ) continued ( Technical assistance on assistance Technical environ- incorporating require- water mental and new into ments infra- rehabilitated projects structure Preliminary environ- of assessment needs for flow mental proposed two plants hydropower Type of BNWPP of Type Activity Issues Outcomes Status Irrigation Hydropower Europe and Europe Asia Central Latin America and Caribbean Authors. Rehabilitation of the of Rehabilitation basin, Kura-Araz Azerbaijian Hydropower Project, Umbrella Ecuador Source: TABLE 3.3 Select BNWPP Assistance to World Bank Projects Projects Bank World to BNWPP Assistance Select Project Region Sector

54 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS AND THE WORLD BANK 55

downstream impacts of the development. Support to the Lower Kihansi Environmental Management Project helped to develop longer-term capacity in Tanzania in environmental flows. The expert funded to introduce environmental flows to the Mekong River Commission was subsequently hired by the commission to advise on the introduction of EFA in the basin. The window has also supported various operations (hydropower, irrigation, river basin management) to introduce environmental flows and implement environmental flow assessments in other countries, including Azerbaijan, Ecuador, the Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. There have been other window-supported activities where the results have yet to be realized. The extensive training and guidance provided to the Water Resources Department and the Chilika Development Authority in the Chilika basin (India), for example, has yet to result in the integration of environmental flow allocations in the operating rules for the Naraj Barrage, and it is not clear whether the support for water resources policy reform in Mexico will lead to the inclusion of environmental flows in the country’s national water policy.

World Bank Safeguard Policies

The World Bank’s 10 safeguard policies support the integration of environmental and social concerns into project design and the decision-making processes of borrowing countries (see box 3.3). These policies apply to investment lending operations, including sector investment loans, financial intermediary lending, rapid response, Global Environment Facility (GEF), and carbon finance operations. Although not covered by the safeguard policies, development policy lending operations, which are covered by operational policy (OP) 8.60/Bank procedure (BP) 8.60, are also subject to environmental and social review through the use of SEAs, poverty and social impact analysis, and other instruments. Investment lending and DPL operations are subject to the Bank’s disclosure policy and provide for public consultation and disclosure. All of these policies may deal with topics relevant to downstream impacts, depending on the scope and nature of a proposed development program or project. Extensive support material is available to help apply the environmental assessment safeguard policy (OP/BP4.01), especially the Environmental Assessment Handbook (World Bank 1991) and a series of updates that deal with specialized topics. In addition, the water resources and environmental technical notes on environmental flows provide a general introduction to environmental flows.

Partner Agency Collaboration

The World Bank is also collaborating with several international development organizations, including the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), 56 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

BOX 3.3 World Bank Safeguard Policies OP/BP 4.01 Environmental assessment. An umbrella policy requiring environmental assessments to cover a broad range of potential impacts. OP/BP 4.04 Natural habitats. Avoid the degradation or conversion of natural habitats unless there are no feasible alternatives and significant net benefits. OP 4.09 Pest management. Promote environmental and biological pest management for both public health and agricultural projects. Chemical methods can be supported where justified. OP/BP 4.12 Involuntary resettlement. Avoid resettlement where possible and, where not, ensure that resettled people are fully consulted, share in project benefits, and maintain their standard of living. OD 4.20 Indigenous peoples. Ensure that indigenous peoples are involved in fully informed discussions so that they do not suffer adverse effects and that they receive culturally compatible social and economic benefits from Bank-financed projects. OP 4.36 Forestry. Harness the potential of forests to reduce poverty, while integrating forests into sustainable economic development and protecting the environmental services and values of forests. OP/BP 4.37 Dam safety. Ensure that new dams are constructed and operated to internationally accepted standards of safety and existing dams used in a project undergo safety inspection and any necessary upgrades. OP/BP 4.11 Physical cultural resources. Avoid or mitigate adverse impacts on physical cultural resources such as valuable historical and scientific information, assets for economic and social development, and integral parts of a people’s cultural identity and practices. OP/BP 7.50 Projects on international waterways. Inform affected riparian countries of proposed projects on international waterways and, if there are objections, refer the proposal to independent experts. OP/BP 7.60 Projects in disputed areas. Ascertain that the governments concerned agree that the undertaking of a project in disputed areas does not damage claims made by other governments.

International Water Management Institute (IWMI), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). It is also working with international conservation NGOs, including the IUCN, Natural Heritage Institute (NHI), the Nature Conservancy, and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) as well as with research organizations that offer financial or technical assistance to developing countries to undertake and implement EFAs and ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS AND THE WORLD BANK 57

protect downstream ecosystems. Such assistance includes practical, longer-term technical assistance with EFAs for specific restoration work and new infrastructure projects, technical assistance and financial assistance with the inclusion of downstream flow concerns into river basin plans, shorter-term training and capacity building, and provision of resources for water resource and environmental specialists. The Bank has collaborated with these international development organizations and conservation NGOs at several levels—global, regional, national, and basin—and has drawn on their experience and expertise in EFA and also their presence on the ground. Thus, for example, the Nature Conservancy and NHI have produced a technical note for the Bank on integrating environmental

BOX 3.4 Designing Hydropower Dams to Include Environmental Flows Several structural and operational considerations in the development of hydropower (and other) dams can facilitate the integration of environmental flow objectives, including the following: • Variable outlet and turbine-generator capacities • Multilevel, selective-withdrawal outlet structures • Reregulation of reservoirs • Power grid interconnection • Coordinated operations of cascades of dams • Flood management in floodplains • Sediment bypass structures and sediment sluice gates • Fish passage structures. These should be considered from the earliest stages of planning and designing the dam. The operating objectives for dam projects are likely to change over time, in response to changing social priorities, scientific and technological advancements, and climate change. This places a premium on maintaining flexibility to modify dam operations. Many recent experiences suggest that it is possible to improve the environmental performance of existing dams (called “reoperation”) in a cost-effective manner, sometimes with little or no social or economic disruption. Reoperation can be accomplished by implementing various water or energy management techniques that increase the flexibility of reservoir storage and releases such that environmental flows can be released into the downstream channel and floodplain. However, it is far easier and more cost-effective to integrate environmental flow considerations into the planning and design of dams than to modify or retrofit the design and operation of existing schemes.

Source: The Nature Conservancy and Natural Heritage Institute, forthcoming. 58 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

flows into the planning, design, and operations of hydropower dams (see box 3.4) as a contribution to the ESW on which this report is based. NHI also is collaborating with the GEF, the African Development Bank, and the World Bank to examine the feasibility of reoperating existing dams in order to improve their environmental performance. Appendix E highlights selective but relevant environmental flow–related work of the various organizations. It is intended to inform Bank staff of the types of activities and potential opportunities for future collaboration. However, there are opportunities to increase the level of collaboration, combining their experience in conducting EFAs and training with the Bank’s experience in implementing infrastructure projects and water policy reforms.

Notes

1 Projects were excluded that involved installation of turbines and other equipment in existing dams or where the rehabilitation did not involve substantial construction that had the potential to affect flows. 2 Two other windows—river basin management and dam development—potentially would integrate environmental flow considerations. The activities supported under these two windows have not been reviewed. PART III

Case Studies of Environmental Flow Implementation

CHAPTER 4

Case Study Assessment

FIVE POLICY-LEVEL, four catchment- or basin-plan-level, and eight project- level case studies were selected for analysis to identify the factors that promoted or impeded successful EFA in policies, plans, and projects. The case studies were also analyzed for the drivers that initiated the EFAs and supported their implementation. These case studies provided a diversity of institutional settings, geographic regions, and levels of economic development (Hirji and Davis 2009a). In order to draw on the best available experience, the case studies included eight cases that were supported by the World Bank and nine other cases that were not supported by the Bank but that contained components that represent international best practice.

Good-Practice Criteria

The International Association for Impact Assessment has published a set of good- practice principles for producing SEAs (IAIA 2002). These have been adapted and used to analyze 10 SEA case studies in previous World Bank economic and sector work (Hirji and Davis 2009a). EFAs are a special type of environmental assessment. Project-level EFAs are a type of EIA, and basin- or catchment-plan EFAs are a type of SEA. Consequently, the criteria used to assess the project-level and plan- level case studies were developed from these SEA criteria (Hirji and Davis 2009b).

61 62 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

The good-practice policy-level criteria were developed around the need for policy support for implementing these plan- and project-level EFAs. The following good-practice assessment criteria were used for the policy case studies analyzed here: ■ Recognition. Environmental allocations were recognized in the policy (and legislation) as legitimate uses of water and necessary for the provision of ecosystem services. ■ Comprehensiveness. All components of the water cycle were included in the policy provisions, and national and transboundary environmental flow concerns were included. ■ Environmental water mechanism. The policy and legislation identified a mechanism for establishing environmental objectives and providing water for the environment. ■ Participation. The policy and legislation included provisions for encouraging stakeholder participation in formulating environmental flow requirements and participating in the making and implementation of decisions. ■ Assessment method and data. The policy and legislation provided guidance on the use of information. ■ Reviewing, monitoring, and enforcement. The policy and legislation included provisions for reviewing, monitoring, and reporting environmental outcomes. Both basin or catchment plans and water resources projects were assessed for the extent to which they incorporated the following: ■ Recognition. The legitimacy of environmental flows was recognized by all parties when the plan was being formulated and implemented and the project proposal was being assessed. ■ Comprehensiveness. All relevant components of the water cycle were included in the EFA. ■ Participation. Stakeholders with an interest in environmental flow outcomes were engaged in the process. ■ Assessment method and data. Recognized methods and reliable data were used in the EFA. ■ Integration. There was integration between environmental impacts and the consequent social and economic impacts of water allocation decisions. ■ Cost-effectiveness. The EFA methods were cost-effective, and the provision of environmental flows within the plan resulted in cost-effective outcomes. ■ Beneficial influence. The EFA had a beneficial influence on the allocation of water for environmental purposes within the plan, as well as more widely.

Institutional Drivers

To be effective, an EFA also needs to be embedded in an appropriate enabling environment and championed and driven by powerful influences. This analysis also assessed the drivers that led to the initiation of the inclusion of environ- CASE STUDY ASSESSMENT 63

mental flows in water resources policy (policy-level case studies) and the drivers that brought about the EFAs at the basin- or catchment-level plan and project levels.

BOX 4.1 Drivers for Environmental Flows in Plans and Projects Judicial drivers. The courts have a formal role in ensuring that government organizations implement EFA provisions in the relevant legislation. Judicial drivers are used widely in the United States, where the judiciary has a constitutionally sanctioned role in reviewing government procedures. Procedural drivers. Legislation, regulations, and guidelines provide formal drivers over the procedures to be followed when EFAs are conducted for basin water allocation plans or project impact assessments. However, procedural drivers are seldom effective without the availability of other drivers such as evaluative or professional drivers. By themselves, they can lead to well-written EFAs that are ignored. These drivers also include external agreements such as international conventions and regional agreements. Evaluative drivers. Evaluative drivers exist when there is an institution responsible for assessing the quality of implementation of policy requirements or plan- or project-level EFAs. These independent assessors may have the power to return catchment or basin plans or EFAs for revision, may be able to impose fines for lack of compliance with policy requirements, or may rely on publicity to generate effective implementation of policy. Instrumental drivers. The requirements of international development partners provide an additional driver for EFAs. Thus many development partners have formal requirements for EFAs as part of the due diligence attached to loans. There can also be informal instrumental drivers operating where the development partner advocates environmental flow considerations when supporting water policy reforms. Instrumental drivers can play a central role in developing countries, where legislative and evaluative drivers are absent. Professional drivers. The considered judgment of planners, professional associations, and other professionals undertaking policy development, catchment or basin plans, or project developments can act as a powerful driver for EFAs. Professionals can be influenced by international developments in EFAs or, more broadly, in environmental sustainability. Public drivers. These drivers rely on informed public citizens, community- based organizations, and nongovernmental organizations that are motivated and confident enough to make their views about environmental equity known to government. They may be more relevant in developed countries, which have a tradition of active public engagement in the decisions of government, but may also be important in developing countries. A stimulus is often provided by local, national, or international NGOs, who make an assessment and then inform the public.

Source: Modified from Ortolano, Jenkins, and Abracosa 1987. 64 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

The basin- or catchment- and project-level case studies were analyzed against a set of institutional drivers that were originally identified for project-level EIAs, but that also are relevant for project- and plan-level EFAs (Ortolano, Jenkins, and Abracosa 1987). They are described in box 4.1. However, the drivers that lead to the inclusion of environmental flows into water resources policies differ from the ones that operate for plans and projects. Environmental flow provisions are included in policy when the policies themselves are being revised, and so the policy drivers need to include both those that

BOX 4.2 Drivers for Environmental Flows in Policies Drivers are divided into those that encourage policy reform and those that encourage the inclusion of environmental flow considerations in the water resources policy. In the area of policy reform, Convening. In a federal system, the superior government can use its influence to convene and lead policy reforms even when the responsibility for the policy lies at a subsidiary level. This convening power is sometimes supplemented with financial assistance from the federal level to help the subsidiary levels of government implement the policy reforms. Singularity. A singular event, such as a drought, can precipitate policy reforms if it is clear that the current water policy is inadequate to handle the event. While such events act as triggers for reform, there is often a backlog of issues, including provision of water for the environment, that need to be incorporated into the new policy beyond the particular deficiency that triggered the reform. Public. Public pressure, because of perceived deficiencies in water resources management, can act as a powerful stimulus for reform. In the area of environmental flow inclusion, Institutional. Water managers and other professionals within government can support the inclusion of environmental flow provisions in policy because they are aware of the benefits that these flows confer on downstream environments and communities. Evaluative. A specific organization can be identified in the policy with the oversight of environmental flow provisions to ensure that they are implemented. The organization is typically at least partially independent of government, since it is overseeing the performance of government organizations. This driver acts to implement the environmental flow provisions rather than to introduce them into policy. Public. Where the public is concerned about the decline in downstream environments because of water abstractions and other developments, they

(continued) CASE STUDY ASSESSMENT 65

can exert considerable pressure for environmental flow provisions to be included in policy reforms. Scientific professional. Scientific organizations and individual scientists can use their standing in government and in the community to highlight the issues arising from disruptions to downstream flows and to propose policy provisions to help to restore downstream environments. International developments. The proclamations from major international conventions, such as the 1992 Rio Summit, can exert considerable influence on the contents of new policies. This can manifest itself in decisions to bring in international expertise in environmental flows into countries so that they can demonstrate that they are using international best practice.

CHAPTER 5

Policy Case Studies: Lessons

AUSTRALIA, THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU), Florida (United States), and South Africa were selected for the policy case studies because they represent the major countries where environmental flows have been introduced through water policies (see table 5.1). These policies have now been implemented for several years, so they offer good opportunities for learning. Australia and the EU also provide opportunities to learn from environmental flow provisions in transboundary policy settings. The fifth case study, Tanzania, provides an example where environmental flows are required in the national water policy of a developing country. These case studies are described in Hirji and Davis (2009a).

Assessment of Effectiveness

As detailed in chapter 4, the analysis assesses projects according to good-practice criteria in the following areas: recognition, comprehensiveness, environmental water mechanism, participation, assessment method and data, and reviewing, monitoring, and enforcement.

Recognition Assigning priorities to environmental water is an important indicator of the importance to be attached to environmental allocations. All five water policies recognize

67 68

TABLE 5.1 Characteristics of Select National Water Policies

Gross Domestic Product per Capita Case Study Country or Region (US$)a Institutional Setting Sector Date Completed

National Water Initiatives Australia $35,990 Federation of states Multisectoral 1994; revised 2004 Water Framework European Union $4,089–$89,571 Union of countries Multisectoral 2000 Directive Florida water policy United States $44,970 State government within Multisectoral 1972; subsequent amendments federal system National water policy South Africa $5,390 Unitary government Multisectoral 1997 National water policy Tanzania $350 Unitary government Multisectoral 2002 Source: Authors. a. From World Bank Doing Business 2008 site. http://www.doingbusiness.org/ExploreEconomies/EconomyCharacteristics.aspx. POLICY CASE STUDIES: LESSONS 69

the importance of ensuring that water is allocated to the environment, although the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) treats environmental flows as a secondary issue compared to water quality issues and maintenance of ecosystem health. The priority accorded to environmental flows compared to other uses of water differs among the countries. The South African and Tanzanian policies assign explicit priority positions (first or second priority) to environmental water allocations. The Australia, EU, and Florida policies do not mandate a priority, although the Florida implementation rule implies that environmental water allocations have a high priority, except in times of drought. Although the concept of assigning the environment first or second priority in the water allocation process makes its importance clear, specific priorities in water allocation are difficult to put into practice. When water allocation decisions are made in a basin plan, tradeoffs between environmental and other water uses are inevitable. Unless there is an explicit procedure or mechanism for putting these priorities in place, it is not clear how the concept of allocation priority is to be interpreted when making these tradeoffs. The links among environmental health, provision of ecosystem services, and human benefits need to be made explicit in the national water policies of developing countries. These links are clearly stated in the South African, Australian, and Tanzanian policies. Because the EU WFD focuses specifically on ecosystem health rather than on environmental flows, it does not make these links clear and does not link the protection of ecosystem health to human benefit. That is, the purpose of the policy is to establish a minimum level of ecosystem health, and if this requires modification of the flow regime, then environmental flows will be implemented. Similarly, the Florida implementation rule promotes minimum flows and levels to protect environmental values but does not link these to the ecosystem benefits that humans enjoy. And the minimum flows and levels are only instituted for ecosystem protection for surface waters; maintaining minimum levels for groundwater is for the physical sustainability of the resource rather than for the benefit of any groundwater-dependent ecosystem. It takes considerable political will and administrative drive to implement environmental flow provisions. While the policies, except for the European Union WFD, all provide clear recognition of environmental flows, the implementation of these policy provisions differs considerably across the countries. The South African policy has been implemented slowly because of the extensive consultation requirements in the legislation and the reluctance of water users with existing entitlements to accept that the water resources are overallocated and that the environment is a legitimate and priority water user. In Tanzania, where the water reforms are not bound up with a major social change agenda, implementation of the water policy is moving ahead even before the water resources legislation has been passed. In Australia, even though many components of the 70 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

water reforms have now been implemented, the rollout of water plans has been slower than intended (although about 120 catchment and groundwater plans have now been completed). In Florida the minimum flows and levels were not implemented until 20 years after the act had been passed (although 237 minimum flows and levels have now been established and 114 are pending). Giving environmental water entitlements at least equal standing in law to consumptive water entitlements provides security to environmental water allocations. In South Africa, the ecological reserve, along with the basic human needs reserve, is enshrined in the law as the only water right. All other uses need permits for use after the reserve has been established. The Australian National Water Initiative (NWI) does not give an explicit priority to environmental water provisions, but it does require that environmental water be given the same statutory recognition as consumptive water entitlements. This not only places environmental water allocations on the same footing as other water uses, but also opens the door for trading in environmental water entitlements and allocations. Water and environment policy and legislation provide legitimacy and guidance to EFAs at the plan and project levels. All policies, except the Tanzanian policy, are now supported with legislation. This provides legitimacy to the environmental water provisions of the policies and guidance about the mechanisms to use for implementing these provisions. While legislation is important, Tanzania provides an example where it is not necessary to wait for the legislation before preparing for water allocation planning. A trial environmental flow assessment has commenced in one basin, and several EFAs are either under way or being planned in other basins. Passing a policy with provisions for environmental flows does not mean that sectoral harmonization will follow. It is essential to have the concepts of environmental flows recognized as legitimate by the professional staff of the relevant water resources and environment organizations and water-dependent sectoral institutions. The case studies illustrate the diversity of acceptance of environmental flows across different organizations. In Australia, the EU, and Florida, there is now a general acceptance of the importance of providing water for the environment. In Tanzania, the Water Resources Department under the Ministry of Water and Irrigation exhibits the greatest understanding and has taken the lead in implementing environmental flows; the environment organizations contribute but do not take the lead, although they are now working on building capacity for EFAs. Some Tanzanian ministries—typically those involved in hydropower development—and the Irrigation Department have yet to understand the importance of environmental flow considerations. Within the South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, a similar tension exists between the staff who advocate the importance of providing flows that main- POLICY CASE STUDIES: LESSONS 71

tain ecosystem services and the more development-oriented sections of the department. The same difficulty was encountered in the assessment of environmental flows for Chilika lagoon, India (case study 13), where the state Water Resources Department engineers found difficulty in grasping the ecological and social concepts behind environmental flows.

Comprehensiveness Environmental provisions need to be comprehensive across the water cycle to include surface water and groundwater, estuaries, and near-shore regions. The five policies are comprehensive in recognizing the importance of environmental functions of the surface freshwater cycle continuum (lakes, rivers, wetlands, floodplains), although only the Australian and South African policies include the importance of controlling land uses that intercept overland and subsurface flows because of their potential to remove water that is needed to support downstream ecosystem functions. These interception activities can remove significant quantities of water and should be included in the water policies of countries where forestry or other high-water-demand land uses are prevalent. The Florida policy gives equal weight to surface water and groundwater (in recognition of this, it uses the term “environmental flows and levels”), while Tanzanian and South African policies have sections on groundwater. However, groundwater is not explicitly included in the South African definition of the ecological reserve (van Wyk and others 2006). The 1994 Council of Australian Governments (COAG) water policy was very weak in its recognition of the role that groundwater plays in sustaining environmental functioning; this omission was recognized to cause significant consequences and was remedied in the 2004 NWI agreement. More recently, the Australian Water Act 2007 requires that the use of water in the Murray-Darling basin be subject to an integrated surface water and groundwater cap (see box 5.1). The need for freshwater inflows to maintain estuarine ecosystem functions is absent from the Australian NWI policy and only mentioned in passing in the South African policy and legislation. The European Union WFD explicitly recognizes the importance of providing river flows into estuaries. In the Florida policy, the minimum flows and levels apply to coastal waters and estuaries. The Tanzanian policy states explicitly that water for the environment is required to maintain “the health and viability of riverine and estuary eco-systems.” However, the extent to which environmental flows for estuaries are actually incorporated into water allocation plans is difficult to determine. They have been included, although not always well integrated, in some Australian catchment plans. South Africa, which does not give strong recognition to estuarine water needs in its policy, is an international leader in determining the flows needed to maintain estuarine values. 72 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

BOX 5.1 Managing the Whole Water Cycle The consequence of focusing on surface water and neglecting groundwater is shown by the perverse outcome from the cap on surface water use in Australia’s Murray-Darling basin. During the 1980s and 1990s, water abstractions grew rapidly in the Murray-Darling basin primarily to service the growth of irrigated crops. Because of concerns about the damage being done to the aquatic environment, in 1995 a cap was placed on further abstractions from surface waters beyond the abstractions that were diverted in the 1993–94 year. While the cap has (with a few exceptions) been adhered to and surface water abstractions have remained steady at about 11,200 gigaliters a year, there has been a dramatic increase in groundwater use within the basin. Groundwater licenses have been issued that could allow the extraction of 3,261 gigaliters a year, around 34 percent of the surface water allocation. An estimated 186 gigaliters a year of stream flow have already been captured due to the growth in groundwater extraction from the introduction of the cap until 1999/2000 because of the connectivity between surface water and groundwater. This figure will grow as abstractions from less directly connected groundwater systems start to have an impact on rivers. A review in 2000 recommended that the surface water cap be replaced with an integrated surface water and groundwater cap that was based on the water needed for ecosystem functioning, rather than water abstraction in an arbitrary year. This recommendation has now been enacted in the 2007 Water Act.

Source: Murray-Darling Basin Commission 2000.

Climate change should be accounted for when establishing environmental flow provisions. None of the policies explicitly links climate change in the assessment of environmental flows. Climate change is included as one of the inputs to water allocation planning in the Australian NWI, but it is not linked specifically to the potential effects on ecosystem functions. In the South African policy, there is an allusion to “human activities [that] are beginning to have a noticeable impact on our climate,” although this is not linked to ecosystem functioning. Climate change is not included in the European Union WFD, the Florida implementation rule, or the Tanzanian water policy. These are important omissions, since climate change is predicted to have significant effects on the availability and use of water in many of these countries and consequently on the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. It will force governments and communities to make choices in the ecosystems that should be protected and those that are too expensive, in water terms, to be maintained. POLICY CASE STUDIES: LESSONS 73

It is possible to develop transboundary water policy with an environmental component, but it is difficult. Transboundary water-sharing figures prominently in the South African water policy, although transboundary sharing is not specifically linked to ecosystem water needs. Even the Australian and Florida water policies have cross-border (interstate) concerns.1 The Australian policy requires that environmental and other public benefits be achieved through joint arrangements for shared water resources, while the Florida water policy has interstate agreements with the states of Georgia and Alabama as one of its objectives, although this objective is not linked to environmental water allocations. It has taken substantial expenditure and national leadership to bring about the environmental water improvements across the eight Australian jurisdictions; progress has been considerably slower than envisaged when the water reforms commenced in 1994. In the EU, establishing a consistent ecosystem health policy across such a diverse region has proven to be expensive and time-consuming, but it may provide the basis for easier transboundary water management in the longer term. The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (case study 14) provides another example where the new environmental flows policy is part of the transboundary water agreement. The Senegal basin water charter (case study 16) and the Mekong basin agreement (case study 7) both contain specific provisions for environmental flows.

Environmental Water Mechanisms The environmental objectives in a basin plan can be established using a variety of approaches. The South African and Tanzanian policies and legislation establish a national river classification system, where a national program is used to establish a quality class for each significant water resource. This class then acts as an environmental goal for the management of that water resource. Different water bodies will be assigned to different quality classes, depending on factors such as the uses of the water resource, its biodiversity values, and other factors. In the EU policy, by way of contrast, the environmental objectives for all water resources are the same, at least “good ecological status” (with some specific exceptions). The Australian and Florida policies are different again in that neither intro- duces a national classification system. Instead, the environmental objectives are established as part of the catchment-level water allocation planning based on local, national, and international objectives. All approaches have advantages and disadvantages. The EU approach, with its mandated uniform minimum environmental quality objective, minimizes the possibility that ecological outcomes will be diluted in the stakeholder negotiations, particularly where the river or groundwater system is already heavily committed with existing licenses. The Australian, Floridian, South African, and Tanzanian approaches are potentially more flexible and cost-effective, since not 74 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

all water bodies have to be brought to the same environmental standard if competing water uses have higher priority. Market mechanisms can be used for providing environmental water, but require an established infrastructure. While the South African and Tanzanian policies recognize the potential of using market mechanisms for water trading, only the Australian policy requires that market mechanisms be used for trading water allocations and entitlements for environmental purposes. However, even though there are functioning water markets in Australia, this component of the policy has been implemented quite slowly, primarily because of political limitations rather than institutional or legal barriers (Scanlon 2006). Large quantities of environmental water have now been bought on the water market by Australian governments, but there has yet to be active trading in environmental water allocations. Once allocated, it is very difficult to recover water for the environment in overallocated systems. Recovery of overallocated systems receives particular emphasis in the Australian, EU, Floridian, and South African policies. However, the implementation of this requirement differs greatly. In South Africa, although there is yet to be any action to recover water for the environment, the water resource strategy acknowledges that about 50 percent of water management areas are currently overallocated. In Australia, where several catchments are clearly degraded because of lack of flows, there is little official acknowledgment of overallocation. Even so, many billions of dollars have been allocated to recovering water for the environment in stressed catchments in Australia. In Florida, too, there is little official acceptance of overallocation, with only one catchment being declared as overallocated. It is clear from the experience to date in Australia, the EU, Florida, and South Africa that recovering water for the environment once it has been allocated to a consumptive water use is extremely difficult and politically unpopular. This has been identified as one of the major impediments to environmentally sustainable water management in both Australia and the EU (National Water Commission 2007). Even purchasing water at market prices from willing sellers in overallocated systems has proven unpopular in some parts of Australia. While legislative provisions for recovering water for the environment have yet to be used in South Africa, provisions in the National Water Act require new water licenses to be issued to replace existing entitlements. This will provide an opportunity to reduce current allocations and recover water for environmental purposes if systems are overallocated. The experience is similar in the EU. When the Guadiana River Basin Authority in Spain tried to reclaim allocated water resources, water users filed 15,000 separate court cases that stalled the process.2 The focus on recovery of overallocated systems can divert attention from protecting presently unstressed systems. The Australian and EU policies place considerable POLICY CASE STUDIES: LESSONS 75

emphasis on the recovery of presently overallocated systems to environmentally sustainable levels of extraction. However, the experience in Florida is that this emphasis on stressed and potentially stressed water bodies means that more pristine systems are sometimes allowed to degrade substantially before any attention is placed on them. Consequently, the Florida policy requires the identification of water bodies that will potentially be stressed within 20 years and the development of a recovery or prevention strategy. This forward-looking provision thus focuses attention on the management of systems that need protection.

Participation Participation is increasingly accepted as necessary even when its requirements in the policy are not very clear. The participation requirements vary considerably across the policies. The South African policy, legislation, and strategy have extensive stakeholder participation requirements, while Australia’s and Florida’s policies promote participation at specific stages of the development of water allocation plans. The European Union WFD has broad, timed requirements for public information and opportunities for public comment in river basin management planning, but no specific stakeholder involvement requirements in setting the environmental objectives or in undertaking the EFAs. In Tanzania, there is only a general requirement that concerned stakeholders be consulted when the national water resource management plan is drawn up; there are no explicit requirements for stakeholder consultations when the basin-level water resource management plans are developed. In spite of this diversity of requirements, there has been considerable emphasis on stakeholder participation when the policy provisions were put into practice. For example, the first Tanzanian EFA undertaken in anticipation of a river basin water resource management plan (case study 8) has undertaken extensive stakeholder involvement activities in spite of the absence of direction in the policy. Similarly, the water management districts in Florida went well beyond the formal participation requirements when they established their water management plans. Stakeholder participation can impede implementation unless carefully designed to suit a country’s circumstances. However, participation can also act as an impediment to policy implementation if the policy requirements do not match the capacity of stakeholders or resources to undertake effective participation. Participatory requirements have resulted in delays in introducing environmental water provisions in South Africa and obstruction of efforts to recover from overuse in the case of the upper Guadiana basin in Spain (case study 2).

Assessment Method and Data 76 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

Provisions for “best-available science” in water policy can be used to impede policy implementation. Both the 1994 and 2004 policies in Australia require that best- available science should be used to assess environmental water needs. By way of contrast, the South African water policy does not mention whether the information used has to be the “best available” or not. In spite of these different policy requirements, both countries have been at the forefront of developing environmental flow assessment methods and applying them with high-quality scientific information. The Tanzanian policy also requires that “water for the environment shall be determined on the best scientific information available.” The European Union WFD does not require any particular standard of scientific input to environmental water decisions, but it does require member states to give responsibility for achieving “good status” to a “competent” authority with the necessary scientific skills and mandate. Furthermore, there has been an extensive scientific effort across the EU to develop assessment procedures that are based on high-quality scientific information. Florida also requires that decisions be based on best-available information, but this has proven to be an impediment to progress in environmental water allocation because of concerns that decisions based on anything other than the highest-quality scientific information will be challenged in courts. Value-laden terms in water policies need to be supplemented with specific interpretation and implementation mechanisms. All five policies contain value-laden terms, such as “significantly harmful to water resources or ecology” (Florida), “environmentally sustainable levels of extraction” (Australia), and “degraded beyond recovery” (South Africa) to describe water resources that are unacceptably environmentally stressed. However, these terms are very difficult to define operationally. To decide on what constitutes “significant harm,” “sustainable levels of extraction,” and “degraded beyond recovery” requires social decisions on the ecosystem services to be provided for different social groups. It would be difficult enough to make these social judgments if there were good evidence about the consequences of different decisions, but in reality often little information is available on the consequences of the different choices. For example, in the EU, scientists themselves do not agree on some biological, ecological, or hydrological issues. The European Union and Australia have mounted significant efforts to define these terms operationally.

Reviewing, Monitoring, and Enforcement Establishing an independent oversight authority, with power to levy sanctions, can be an effective mechanism with which to implement environmental water provisions. The Australian National Water Initiative requires regular reviews of progress in implementing the initiative by the Australian state governments. A special authority—the National Water Commission—has been established to POLICY CASE STUDIES: LESSONS 77

oversee the implementation and to undertake the reviews. For the first two years, it inherited the authority to recommend the withholding of payments to the state governments if inadequate progress was made with the broad range of water reform measures under the Australian national competition policy. This has proven to be a real incentive for compliance. The European Union WFD also requires each country to report on their progress in implementing the directive to the European Union. They can be fined for lack of compliance. Even though no fines have been levied yet, the provision has acted as a powerful lever for action by countries that see noncompliance as politically damaging. These oversight mechanisms have been implemented in the two federated systems within the policy case studies. The individual country water policies do not include provisions for reviewing the implementation of the policies, although the Australian and EU experiences show the benefits of establishing reporting requirements and oversight of progress in implementation. Environmental indicators need to be established, and the monitoring program should be focused on these outcomes rather than only on hydrologic measures. Both Australian and South African policies promote monitoring of water plan outcomes; that is, monitoring of environmental outcomes. South Africa is developing an ecosystem monitoring program, and various Australian states have developed programs, although their detail and focus on environmental outcomes vary greatly. The Florida legislation also requires annual reporting by both the water management districts and the Department of Environment Protection on establishing and meeting the minimum flows and levels. However, these reports have been restricted to hydrological measures and do not provide information on ecological outcomes.

Institutional Drivers

Environmental flows were just a component of broader water reforms in the five case studies. Thus the drivers consist of two parts: (a) drivers for the overall water policy reforms and (b) drivers specific to the inclusion of environmental flows in the policies (see table 5.2). A singular event can be a powerful inducement to policy reform if professional and public drivers are organized to take advantage. The policy reforms in three of the five case studies were driven at least partly by drought, which focused attention on equitable water management. In Australia, Florida, and Tanzania, severe droughts highlighted the overallocation of water resources and the resulting stress on environmental functions. In Tanzania, the environmental aspects of this poor planning and management only became apparent later, as highly contested water rights issues gained high political visibility (see box 5.2). The South African case study was driven by a different singular event—the general 78 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

BOX 5.2 Water Use Conflicts in Usangu Plains, Tanzania Water shortages in the Great Ruaha basin, Tanzania, have resulted in intense competition between irrigators and pastoralists, particularly during the dry season. In the Usangu plains of the basin, water scarcity has caused tensions over access to both land and water. There was a perception among farmers that increasing numbers of cattle were placing greater demand on water and forage during the dry season, both within and around the Utengule swamps. At the same time, the gradual expansion of areas under irrigation by farmers decreased the amount of land that was previously available for grazing and the availability of water for livestock. The pastoralists and their cattle trespassed on cultivated fields to access water sources during the dry season, causing severe damage to the crops and cultivated fields and intensifying the hostility between farmers and pastoralists. A DFID-supported study was initiated to obtain a scientifically credible explanation for the water shortages in the Great Ruaha basin. Its findings made it clear that livestock numbers in Usangu were smaller than previously claimed and that livestock water and pasture needs were within the carrying capacity of the basin. They were not the cause of either the water shortage or the environmental degradation within the basin. WWF Tanzania, in close cooperation with the Rufiji Basin Water Office, is undertaking a study to identify and investigate options to restore flows to the Great Ruaha River flowing through the Ruaha National Park in Tanzania. The study will develop a short list of flow options and a high-level analysis of the preferred options. WWF has established an electronic forum to promote wide discussion of the prefeasibility assessment of potential options.

Sources: Ministry of Water and Livestock Development, Tanzania 2002; personal communication, Dr. Constantin von der Heyden, WWF Tanzania.

reforms accompanying the democratic government in 1994—but also against a backdrop of growing water shortages. These unusual events, while difficult to predict and plan for, provide powerful stimuli for reforming water policies, with the concomitant opportunity to ensure that environmental sustainability and provisions for environmental flows are included in the new policies. Public pressure can be a powerful driver for policy reform. Public pressure was central to both the water reforms and the inclusion of environmental flows in the new water policies in all cases except the EU Water Framework Directive. In South Africa, there was a strong pressure from the black majority to reform the water laws so that blacks would have equitable access to the country’s water resources. Generally, they had much less interest in environmental flows, even though the services delivered by these flows were ostensibly to their benefit. In POLICY CASE STUDIES: LESSONS 79

Australia and Florida, the public pressure included an awareness of environmental degradation and a desire to see a return of environmental values. Scientific institutions can play a leading role in introducing environmental flows when policy reforms are occurring. This is seen most clearly in the South African reforms, where the scientific organizations were well organized and used the opportunity of the reforms to work with government officials to incorporate extensive environmental water provisions into the policy white paper. International agreements that reflect an emerging consensus can be an effective motivator for the inclusion of environmental flows in national policies and legislation. The global consensus that emerged in the early 1990s about the importance of environmental sustainability, including in water resources management (such as the Dublin Principles), was an important, albeit secondary, influence on the inclusion of environmental flows in the South African and Australian policies (the Florida policy and legislation predated this consensus by a decade). In Tanzania, there was a rising awareness among government officials about the weakness in the existing water resources planning and management decision- making process and about the emerging international consensus that included environmental water concerns.

Summary of Policy Lessons

The analysis of environmental flows in the five national water policies offers the following lessons: ■ Countries in both developed and developing countries are integrating environmental flow provisions into their water resources policies. ■ Gobal leaders in environmental flows include both developed (Australia, EU, and Florida) and developing (South Africa and Tanzania) countries. ■ Some of the important aspects to be included in environmental flows provisions in policies are (a) legal recognition of environmental flows with, ideally, equal legal standing for consumptive water uses; (b) links between environmental flows and ecosystem services provided by the flows; (c) inclusion of all relevant parts of the water cycle, especially surface water and groundwater, when establishing environmental flow provisions; (d) a method for determining environmental objectives and outcomes at the basin level; (e) attention to both recovery of water for the environment in overallocated systems and protection of environmental flows in systems not yet under stress; (f) clear requirements for stakeholder participation in environmental flow decisions that do not impede progress; (g) the desirability of using an independent authority to audit performance of the policy; and (h) requirements for best- available science in making environmental water allocations, as long as this does not inhibit implementation of the policy requirements. 80

TABLE 5.2 Institutional Drivers for Water Policy Reform and Inclusion of Environmental Flows in Policies

Policy initiation and implementation Environmental flow inclusiona

Country or Scientific International Region Convening Singularity Public Institutional Evaluative Public Professional Developments

Australia Federal government Drought Strong public Professional water An independent Strong public Scientific studies International initiated national accentuated pressure existed managers organization was pressure publicized the consensus water reforms and the need for to make supported the established to existed to decline of added provided financial improved water Australia’s water inclusion of drive the arrest the environmental support for assistance for their management management environmental reforms and environmental assets, and environmental implementation more efficient and flows in water recommend decline of leading scientists water reforms environmentally policy financial water advocated sensitive penalties for lack resources environmental of progress flows European EU was established The water supply The EU has Ecosystem Union to provide and sanitation power to professionals harmonized sector supported sanction advocated that legislation and ecosystem health countries not ecosystem procedures across to reduce meeting health was the countries treatment costs; implementation best indicator of other water-using standards sustainable sectors supported development ecosystem health because it could provide green credentials Florida Severe drought There was public Public and accentuated pressure to environmental the need for manage water groups improved water resources better advocated management in the face of the environmental drought restoration, especially of the Everglades South Africa Installation of Public pressure Scientific International democratic for water reforms organizations consensus government was part of were active in added led to a policy democratic advocating the support for to support change inclusion of environ- redistribution environmental mental water of resources flows in the policy reforms Tanzania Drought, Public disquiet River basin officers Supporters International inadequate with the poor and Department of the Ruaha consensus investment, performance of of Water Resources National Park added and poor water the water sector, played a key role were very support for management especially in the inclusion of vocal about environmental led to hydropower, environmental the drying up water electricity and contributed to the flows in policy of the Ruaha reforms, food shortages revision of the River during which were water policy dry seasons also influenced by water reforms in South Africa Source: Authors. a. Environmental flows were not specifically included in the European Union WFD. The drivers in this case refer to the policy’s focus on ecosystem health. 81 82 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

■ Implementation challenges include (a) obtaining continued political support to implement the environmental flow provisions of the policy; (b) reori- enting sectoral ministries to the need to include environmental water provisions in their policies and practices; (c) obtaining stakeholder support for environmental water provisions, especially in overallocated catchments and basins; (d) establishing environmental goals and the benefits delivered by associated ecosystem services; (e) turning value-laden terms such as “overallocation” and “sustainable levels of extraction” into practical procedures; and (f) matching the EFA procedures to the budget and time available, while still meeting the requirement for “best-available science.”

Notes

1 Cross-border issues are those that cross water management boundaries within a country. They can share many characteristics with transboundary water management issues. 2 This example illustrates a related issue: the jurisdiction of the River Basin Authority may not match the area of the groundwater resources, particularly if they are deeper regional aquifers, that it has to manage. CHAPTER 6

Basin Plan Case Studies: Lessons

FOUR CATCHMENT- OR BASIN-LEVEL water planning studies that included environmental flow assessments were selected for case studies (see box 6.1). They included one from a developed country (Australia) and three from developing countries and regions (South Africa, Tanzania, and the Mekong region). These case studies are described in Hirji and Davis (2009a).

Assessment of Effectiveness

As explained in chapter 4, the effectiveness of environmental flows in basin plans was assessed using the criteria of recognition, comprehensiveness, participation, method of assessment and data, integration, cost-effectiveness, and influence.

Recognition Recognition of environmental flows in legislation and policy can simplify their incorporation into water allocation plans. Policy and legislation provide legitimacy for acceptance and implementation of environmental flow determinations. In the Kruger National Park, the instream flow requirements, first determined in the 1990s, were not implemented because they were not backed by legislative

83 84 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

BOX 6.1 Basin-Level Environmental Flow Assessments Kruger National Park, South Africa. There have been several studies of environmental water needs in the seven major rivers flowing through the Kruger National Park. These studies were initially driven by drought during the 1980s, when there was concern that the park’s rivers were drying up because of upstream abstractions. Some of the EFA techniques then being developed in South Africa, such as BBM, were used to establish instream flow requirements. However, these IFRs were not implemented because there was no mechanism for allocating water to provide the park with a greater share. The advent of the National Water Policy and National Water Act in the late 1990s provided such a mechanism. The estimates of water required to support the park’s ecosystems have been refined through more recent studies in order to provide estimates of the ecological reserve as defined in the act. Mekong basin, Southeast Asia. The agreement between the countries of the lower Mekong basin includes provisions for establishing minimum flows and for maintaining the reverse flow to Tonle Sap in Cambodia. GEF and the World Bank helped the Mekong River Commission to implement these provisions through a three-stage process to explore the impacts of different environmental flow provisions. However, the environmental flow provision was reduced from the status of a rule to that of a guideline because there was a perception, even by the downstream countries, that it would impede development. Pangani basin, Tanzania. The Pangani basin has experienced severe competition for water between the hydropower and irrigation sectors. Under the Tanzanian national water policy, each basin water office will be required to establish a water resources management plan, including provisions for environmental water allocations. The Pangani Basin Water Office and IUCN have commenced a trial EFA in the basin to explore the potential consequences of different flow scenarios. This has also been used as an opportunity to train staff from other basin water offices, as well as academics and ministry staff in EFA procedures. Pioneer catchment, Australia. Under the 1994 COAG water agreement and the subsequent National Water Initiative, all Australian states are required to develop water allocation plans, including environmental flow provisions, in all significant surface water and groundwater systems. The Pioneer catchment water allocation plan was completed in 2002 as part of that commitment. The EFA for the plan was developed as a technical exercise using a holistic assessment technique, and the environmental water requirements were then incorporated into the final catchment plan. The plan includes a monitoring plan; early indications are that the environmental objectives are being met. BASIN PLAN CASE STUDIES: LESSONS 85

requirements and did not have mechanisms for implementation. However, once the National Water Act was passed, these instream flow requirements (IFRs) were used to develop high-confidence reserve determinations for the rivers of the park, which will be incorporated into the catchment strategies to be drawn up by the catchment management authorities. Even so, there was still a lack of acceptance by upstream extractive water users about the limitations imposed on their taking of water. Similarly, in Tanzania, the Pangani basin trial EFA, the Mara catchment EFA, and the Wami basin EFA are being conducted with the knowledge that the new Tanzanian Water Resources Act will soon be passed. In the meantime, these EFAs and that for the Lower Kihansi Environmental Management Project (LKEMP) (case study 15) were legitimized by the national water policy, which requires environmental water allocations to be included in basin plans. There is, however, a danger that EFAs that were developed ahead of legislation may not meet the legal requirement for inclusion in a basin plan. Following implementation, there is a need to demonstrate the benefits of environmental flows. The Pioneer catchment provides an example where environmental flows were incorporated into a water allocation plan under legislation—the Queensland Water Act 2000—and were accepted by all parties as a legitimate use of water. Even so, agricultural water users in the catchment needed to be reas- sured that the environmental flows would result in clear environmental outcomes, such as increases in native fish, healthy wetlands, and maintenance of estuarine mangroves. (This illustrates the importance of an environmental monitoring program, public reporting, and adaptive management.) It is difficult to get agreement on transboundary environmental water planning. The Mekong basin provides the only example of basin planning for environmental flows within a transboundary setting.1 It illustrates the tension between development aspirations and provision of ecosystem services when each nation is focused on sharing water rather than sharing benefits. Even though the Mekong agreement contains requirements for minimum flows and maintenance of the reverse flows to Tonle Sap, the concept of environmental flows has not been fully accepted by all basin countries because of its perceived restrictions on development. Nevertheless, attempting to resolve transboundary environmental flow issues using formal EFA methods may contribute to the resolution of wider transboundary issues.

Comprehensiveness All relevant components of the water cycle should be considered in the EFA. The Pangani basin and Pioneer catchment EFAs illustrate the hydrological integration of estuarine and freshwater needs for environmental flows. Both also demonstrate the consideration of ecosystem services from both surface water 86 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

and groundwater. The Pangani basin EFA is the only one of the four basin-level case studies to include the effects of climate change in its scenarios. All but one of the scenarios assessed included the best estimate of the effects of climate change on the basin’s water resources.

Participation Participation is important but needs to be realistic; it should be tailored to suit the capacities of the stakeholders and the policies of the country and to build capacity in IWRM. Local communities did not have a history of participating in decisions about resource use in the catchments of the Kruger National Park. Although they were keen to improve their access to water, they lacked the institutional forum, and perhaps the confidence, to work with the predominantly white constituencies and lacked the capacity to engage fully in discussions. In the Mekong basin, it was difficult to develop a full stakeholder engagement program, when there were such strong differences in government attitudes, stakeholder capacities, and language. The initial EFAs were undertaken as technical assessments with limited stakeholder engagement, while an inclusive study is yet to be fully implemented because of funding limitations and lack of comprehensive support from the basin countries. In both the original IFR studies and the more recent reserve determinations in the Kruger National Park, there was only limited direct engagement by local groups, although the impacts of flow decisions on their livelihoods were considered by the planners. Experience suggests that it takes time to develop the capacity for stakeholders to participate effectively in activities such as EFA. Specific capacity-building activities are currently under way, including development of a common vision, establishment of local objectives, and stakeholder involvement in monitoring activities. Publication of submissions and government responses can assist transparency in decision making. The Pioneer catchment (case study 9) illustrates an effective mechanism for promoting transparency. Under the Queensland Water Act 2000, all submissions to the water planning process have to be published, together with the government’s response to each submission, within 30 days of the plan being approved. Stakeholder engagement in transboundary settings is particularly difficult. This is illustrated by the Mekong basin (case study 7). Not only did the different stakeholders within the basin have different languages, capacities, and objectives, but the different governments had very different attitudes toward the involvement of local groups in national development decisions.

Assessment Method and Data BASIN PLAN CASE STUDIES: LESSONS 87

For both plan and project EFAs, a range of techniques are needed within a country to meet different levels of environmental risk and to suit different budgets and time frames. All four basin or catchment case studies used versions of the holistic approaches to developing EFAs, based on both general flow–ecology relationships and specialized field studies. The building block method (BBM) was used initially in the Kruger National Park low flows, followed by the flow stress ranking method. The benchmarking method was employed in the Pioneer catchment, and modified versions of the DRIFT (downstream response to imposed flow transformation) method were used in the Pangani basin and the third phase of the Mekong basin. In the case of the Pangani basin, experienced international consultants devised a procedure that assessed the flow requirements of the major ecosystem components. The experience in both Australia and South Africa is that a country needs to implement a range of EFA techniques for incorporating EFAs in basin-level plans to suit the budget, skill, and information needs as well as the severity of the pressure on the environment. Thus South Africa has adopted four levels of EFA procedure (see box 6.2), while Australian states such as New South Wales have two basic EFA methods, each being applied with more or less intensity to suit the circumstances. Similarly, in the project case studies, the assessment methods varied from the simple estimates of restored lake levels that were undertaken for the Aral Sea case study, to the hydrological and hydraulic modeling undertaken for the Chilika lagoon study, to the detailed and expensive flow assessment method (DRIFT) undertaken for the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP). The high cost of DRIFT (nearly $2 million) and the time needed (more than two

BOX 6.2 Levels of Environmental Flow Analysis Used in South Africa The South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry has developed four levels for determining environmental water needs: desktop, rapid, intermediate, or comprehensive. The method used depends on the environmental pressure faced by the body of water and the funds and time available. The desktop and rapid determinations are based largely on applications of the BBM to determine instream flow requirements (King and Tharme 1994; King, Tharme, and de Villiers 2000; Tharme and King 1998). The intermediate and comprehensive determinations, which can be based on the BBM, DRIFT, or flow stress ranking methods, involve specific local data collection and hydraulic modeling.

Source: Personal communication, D. Louw, March 2008. 88 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

years) were justified because it was important to have defensible and comprehensive results for a very large project ($2.9 billion) that were grounded in specific impacts to convince skeptical managers in the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA). Where possible, field data should be used to supplement desktop assessments. The collection of field data was an important component of all planning studies in order to establish defensible flow-ecology relationships. While much of the data collected under the Kruger National Park Rivers Research Program were not directly usable in the EFAs, the understanding and knowledge of the scientists engaged in the program were a valuable resource for the EFAs. The Pioneer catchment EFA relied on two years of field data assessments to illustrate the risks to different organisms from the two flow scenarios examined, while the Pangani basin study undertook data collection in the freshwater and estuarine reaches of the basin. The second and third phases of the Mekong basin study also used field data. An ecological monitoring program is a key part of a basin plan. Establishing an environmental monitoring program is an important, but often neglected, part of implementing environmental flows. An ecological reserve monitoring program is being developed for some catchments of Kruger National Park, but, of the case studies, only the Pioneer catchment (case study 9) has advanced to the stage where such a monitoring and reporting program is operational. In this plan, five environmental assets have been identified, and annual reports are being produced on the delivery of environmental flows and the state of these assets. Under the Queensland Water Act 2000, the minister for water is required to prepare a regular report outlining progress on the implementation of a water resources plan and the achievement of the plan’s objectives. These monitoring and reporting requirements not only provide feedback about the success of the measures in the plan, but also provide a public driver for the continued attention by government to providing environmental flows.

Integration For both basin plans and projects, environmental outcomes can be integrated with social and economic outcomes either as part of the EFA process or during the decision-making process. The case studies illustrate two approaches to integrating the environmental assessment with social and economic issues. The Pioneer catchment EFA dealt only with environmental water needs and did not explicitly integrate these needs with social or environmental uses of the water. These environmental water needs were then traded off against other demands on the catchment’s water resources during the water allocation planning process. Similarly, the Bridge River consultative committee (case study BASIN PLAN CASE STUDIES: LESSONS 89

12) used both intuitive and formal methods to combine the environmental, social, and economic outcomes for different flow scenarios in the Bridge River assessment. One consequence of this approach is that, without a very transparent decision-making process, it is difficult to assess the extent to which the environmental flows in the final plan protect the environmental assets and ecosystem functions in the catchment. The Pangani basin EFA and the LHWP illustrate an alternative approach. The assessment of different environmental flow scenarios included the social and economic benefits to the communities that depend directly on the river flows. In a similar way, the second and third phases of the Mekong basin study progressively included social, economic, and environmental benefits from the different environmental flow scenarios. In that case, it was clear that an analysis focused just on environmental outcomes would not have been accepted.

Cost-Effectiveness Little information is available about the cost of the basin and catchment EFAs. The Pangani EFA trial cost approximately $500,000 over three years, but this figure includes the training and establishment costs that would not be incurred in subsequent applications in Tanzania. Nevertheless, an EFA that included the extent of fieldwork included in these EFAs would be expensive, even though these costs are a small fraction of the benefits obtained from development. However, a lower-cost approach might be more appropriate for catchments in developing countries where the development pressures are not yet intense. The Pioneer catchment EFA was one of the first EFAs carried out in Queensland as part of the development of catchment water allocation plans across Australia. The assessment was judged to be too costly for widespread application if the intensity of scientific investigation remained at the level employed in this catchment. Consequently, there has been a rationalization of EFAs, with less-intensive approaches being employed in Queensland catchments, where the ecological risks are judged to be lower.

Influence The Pioneer, Kruger National Park, and Pangani EFAs have all been influential in different ways. The Pioneer EFA results fed directly into the water allocation planning of the Pioneer catchment; the environmental assets now receive environmental flows, although the extent to which the flows in the EFA are actually delivered is difficult to assess. This work has not had influence outside the catchment because there was already a general program to roll out water allocation plans across the country. 90 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

The extensive environmental flow investigations in the Kruger National Park have been highly influential, both within the catchments surrounding the park and more widely. The early IFR determinations formed the basis of the subsequent ecological reserves, although these determinations have yet to be formalized in water allocation plans for the park’s catchments. The EFAs also gave confidence to those developing the South African water policy and legislation that it was possible to estimate the flows needed to maintain aquatic environments. While the trial Pangani EFA has yet to be completed and the basin water resource management plan has yet to commence, the study has already been influential in both training a cadre of academics and government staff in the practical aspects of EFA (with some trained staff now participating in EFAs in other basins) and in increasing awareness of environmental flow issues in this basin. It is more difficult to mount an influential EFA in transboundary water management. The EFA in the Mekong basin, the only fully transboundary EFA in the plan case studies, has produced some valuable documentation on basin hydrology and has brought about some changes in attitudes toward environmental water provisions. However, Mekong basin countries are yet to fully embrace the concept of environmental flows. The minimum flow rules that were recommended as a result of the initial EFA were subsequently reduced in status to guidelines, and the third phase of the EFA has been hampered by a lack of support at senior political and administrative levels.

Institutional Drivers

Table 6.1 shows the institutional drivers that operated in the four basin or catchment case studies. Procedural drivers were important motivators for all four planning case studies. However, the details differ about the roles of these drivers. The Pioneer catchment EFA was a direct response to the legal requirement for water allocation plans to be developed for all major surface water and groundwater catchments in Australia and was accepted by all sectors without issue. The Mekong EFA was undertaken in response to the Mekong agreement. The Pangani EFA was undertaken in anticipation of passage of the Tanzanian water legislation; the trial would probably not have occurred in this basin if the IUCN had not acted as an additional driver because of its interest in locating a suitable basin in which to conduct an EFA demonstration study. The Kruger National Park EFAs were only driven by procedural requirements after passage of the 1998 National Water Act; prior to this, the professional and public drivers had not been sufficiently strong to lead to agreed allocations by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry of water for maintaining the park’s ecosystems. TABLE 6.1 Institutional Drivers for Undertaking Environmental Flow Assessments at Basin and Catchment Scales

Site Procedural Evaluative Instrumental Professional Public Kruger National The 1998 National Park managers and NGOs were concerned Park Water Act provided the scientists were concerned about the impacts of dam justification for about the effects of water proposals on the park’s establishment of the abstractions and proposed biodiversity ecological reserve in the dams on the park’s park’s rivers biodiversity Mekong basin The Mekong agreement The World Bank and GEF International, regional, and requires protection of low included EFAs as part of national NGOs raised flows and the reversal of their development concerns about flows to Tonle Sap assistance development proposals on the Mekong River Pangani basin Tanzanian national water The IUCN supported the policy and draft Water EFA trial as part of its Resources Act require Water and Nature Initiative EFAs Pioneer The 1994 COAG The National Competition The government water Public opinion was catchment agreement and the 2000 Council and the National managers supported the strongly in favor of Queensland Water Act Water Commission reviews formal allocation of water environmental sustain- required EFAs as part of of progress with for the environment to ability, both in the Pioneer catchment-level water implementation of the prevent the catchment catchment and more allocation plans National Water Initiative from becoming stressed generally provided an evaluative driver for the EFA

Source: Authors. 91 92 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

However, other factors, apart from these institutional drivers, were important in initiating some of the case studies. The concern among some of the countries of the Mekong basin about proposed developments in the upstream China tributaries of the Mekong River was a powerful impetus for seeking rules for sharing the waters of the basin. GEF and the World Bank provided support for an EFA to implement some of the provisions of the Mekong agreement.

Summary of Plan Lessons

The following are some of the key lessons to emerge from this analysis of four catchment and basin plans: ■ It is simpler to implement environmental water provisions in basin and catchment plans when the concept has been recognized in policy and legislation. ■ It is not enough to allocate water for the environment in basin plans; managers need to demonstrate the resulting human and ecosystem benefits through monitoring and interpretation. ■ Caution is needed when allocating water rights; once allocated, it is very difficult to return water to the environment. ■ Participation needs to be tailored to meet the capacity of the stakeholders to engage in decision making; this should include mechanisms to help them to understand the issues and consequences of decisions. ■ No single EFA technique suits all basin planning occasions; a range of techniques from the simple to the complex is needed to respond to the different levels of risk and intensity of water use. ■ Ecological monitoring of the outcomes of the plan is essential, partly to reas- sure stakeholders that the environmental benefits are being delivered and partly to provide information for adaptive management. In addition, the case studies highlight challenges related to implementation: ■ Incorporating water-using land-use activities, such as plantation forestry, in basin water allocation plans remains difficult. ■ Developing water allocation plans that take account of all downstream water needs, including estuarine, near-shore, and groundwater needs, is difficult partly because there is a lack of understanding about the dependence of these systems on freshwater flows and partly because the institutions that manage these components of the water cycle are often separate from the institutions that manage surface freshwaters. ■ Building the expertise and data to undertake basin plans with environmental flow components remains a major challenge in developing countries. ■ There is a perception that undertaking EFAs is expensive and that the water that is allocated for the environment would otherwise be used for productive activi- CHAPTER 7

Project Case Studies: Lessons

THE PROJECT-LEVEL CASE STUDIES INCLUDE EFAS conducted as part of the development of a new dam (Berg River Dam in South Africa and Mohale Dam in Lesotho), replacement of old infrastructure (Naraj Barrage on the Mahanadi River in India and irrigation canals in the Tarim basin in China), reconstruction or modification of existing infrastructure (Berg Strait Dike in the Aral Sea; lower Kihansi in Tanzania; and Katse Dam in Lesotho), and reoperations for existing infrastructure (Bridge River in Canada; Manantali Dam in the Senegal basin; dams on the Syr Darya River in the Aral Sea basin and the Tarim basin in China). Table 7.1 summarizes the characteristics of the case studies, and table 7.2 summarizes the major findings from the assessment. The eight project case studies are described in Hirji and Davis (2009a). Some of the lessons for the rehabilitation and reoperation case studies differ from those for new infrastructure. Two of the major infrastructure rehabilitation and ecosystem restoration case studies—the Tarim basin in China and the Aral Sea in Central Asia—involved inefficient infrastructure, so there were opportunities to improve efficiency and redistribute the “saved” water to the environment as well as to achieve increased production. At the Manantali Dam in the Senegal basin, the hydropower turbines had not been installed for a decade after the dam was built, providing an opportunity to demonstrate through experimental flood release studies the value of environmental flows to

93 TABLE 7.1 94 Characteristics of Project Case Studies

Gross Domestic Country Product per Institutional Case Study or Region Capita (US$)a Setting Sector Purpose Date Completed Aral Sea Central Asia $260–$43,000 Transboundary Environmental Reoperations and GEF project 2003; restoration restoration; dike World Bank project upgrading still active Berg River South Africa $5,390 Catchment Water supply New dam, operating In progress rules Bridge River Canada $36,170 Subcatchment Hydropower Reoperations 2001 Chilika lagoon India $820 Subcatchment Irrigation flood Restoration 2004 control and reoperations LHWP Lesotho $1,030 Transboundary Interbasin transfer Reconstruction of outlet 2006 (water supply) structure in old dam and in new dam; new flow release policy

Lower Kihansi Tanzania $350 Subcatchment Hydropower Reconstruction of outlet In progress Power Project structure in new dam, spray augmentation using artificial sprinklers

Senegal basin West Africa $750 Transboundary Multipurpose Reoperation and Regional Hydropower restoration Development Project completed 2005

Tarim basin China $2,010 Sub-basin Irrigation Irrigation canal 2005 reconstruction and reoperations

Source: Authors. a. From World Bank Doing Business 2008 site. Available at http://www.doingbusiness.org/ExploreEconomies/EconomyCharacteristics.aspx. TABLE 7.2 Major Findings from Project Case Studies Project Recognition Comprehensiveness Participation Assessment Method Integration Cost-effectiveness Influence Aral Sea The water needed to Flow needs were Success of the No EFA or Social and Refilling of the northern restore the northern those required both northern Aral quantitative economic Aral Sea reestablished Aral Sea was to refill the northern Sea recovery modeling was benefits were the fishing industry; unquestioned by local Aral Sea and to was partly due carried out, integral to Lake Sudoche recovery communities and reduce floods in to strong apart from simple project and raised interest in other government, although upstream areas; engagement estimates of water not quantified lake restorations not called however, the by local balance and levels in advance “environmental flows” hydrograph was not Aral Sea in the northern decomposed into communities Aral Sea components and government Berg River After initial reluctance, The study Initial EFA was EFA was fully Capital The EFA has been environmental flows considered a range based on BBM, integrated expenditure: influential in have been strongly of flow components, subsequently with the EIA $6.6 million to determining the initial supported by including the extended with during project $14.9 million operating rules, with government since the estuary (although field studies; an preparation further adaptation National Water Act was this was not extensive monitoring proposed as data arrive passed; community proceeded with) program was from the monitoring support was strong integrated with program; it is yet to be for environmental adaptive influential outside the flows management Berg River (continued) 95 TABLE 7.2 Major Findings from Project Case Studies (continued) 96 Project Recognition Comprehensiveness Participation Assessment Method Integration Cost-effectiveness Influence Bridge The dam operating Originally the A consultative A systematic Separate EFA cost: More power was River authority preferred project only committee method based technical $600,000 generated, and better to maintain the agreed considered drove the on multicriteria studies Monitoring and environmental downstream releases, minimum flows; process; there decision making were implementation: outcomes were until threat of a court subsequent study was strong was used; the integrated $520,000 achieved; the project case persuaded them investigated the engagement modeling results intuitively per year influenced other water to investigate the flows needed for a and ownership were couched in and formally use plans downstream range of organisms from all terms of agreed during ecosystem water sectors, except indicators that all decision needs; there was the First decision makers making; flow strong community Nations understood; an modeling was acceptance of the environmental combined with concept of monitoring program water quality environmental flows was integrated modeling for specific with adaptive species protection management Chilika The successful Assessment Institutional Hydraulic and Flow modeling Draft environmental lagoon restoration of the focused stakeholders hydrologic modeling combined with flow rules developed lagoon through on environmental had little combined with water quality for the Naraj Barrage, engineering works flows to the lagoon engagement ecological outcomes, modeling although yet to be blunted interest in only, but included in the although formal EFA implemented, have led establishing some water environmental method was not to the incorporation of environmental quality aspects flow followed; lagoon environmental flows as flows from Naraj determination recovery is a priority water use in Barrage because the monitored, but the state water policy engineering not linked to flows work had been from barrage successful for the short term; community stakeholders were consulted as much as their capacity permitted Lower Water resource Flow needs No downstream Extensive fieldwork No economic The project stabilized Kihansi institutions rather restricted communities; and experimentation benefits; social the lower gorge, gorge than environmental to the gorge the concerns to link flows through benefits were improved knowledge of institutions took ecosystem but of the gorge with the integral to environmental flows the lead with focused on unique international extent of spray and outcomes, within government, environmental flows. mechanism of environmental ecological response. but not and generated interest The dam operating spray dependence groups were No formal EFA quantified in catchment-level authority was reluctant represented method was environmental water to provide water for through the applicable; plans downstream ecosystem; Tanzanian monitoring was Tanzanian government environmental a critical organizations organizations component, understood the used for relevance of the enforcement concept and insisted on provision of flows

Lesotho Managers initially The initial concept Downstream The DRIFT method The DRIFT EFA: $2 million; Downstream environ- highlands persisted with an was of minimum communities was developed for technique compensation: mental health targets agreed minimum flows; subsequent were consulted this project, as was integrates $14 million were met or exceeded; flow studies using DRIFT through the a method for environmental, DRIFT technique is were fully DRIFT process, presenting complex social, and being used more widely comprehensive but their results economic for in-channel and influence on outcomes; floodplain watering decisions was EFA was quite limited meant to be integrated with EIA, but was delayed; flow modeling was combined with water quality 97 modeling

(continued) 98 TABLE 7.2 Major Findings from Project Case Studies (continued)

Project Recognition Comprehensiveness Participation Assessment Method Integration Cost-effectiveness Influence Senegal Managers were The project includes Downstream Hydrological models Separate basin initially reluctant estuarine delta communities were used to predict economic to accept the concept, water needs as well were involved the extent of and social but attitudes changed as floodplain and with the floodplain inundation; studies were once the water in-channel needs assistance no ecological integrated charter of an NGO monitoring during decision was signed was conducted making with environmental and hydrological modeling of groundwater and surface water studies

Tarim Water needed to The flows were Water user No specific EFA Economic The increased The project achieved basin restore the green confined to those associations technique was used, and social agricultural increased cropping and corridor was needed to and irrigation but hydrologic and benefits were production was improved unquestioned reestablish district hydrogeological integral to the greater than the environmental by government the green corridor; committees models were used to project, but cost of water outcomes because restoration the project included were formed predict water savings; EFA was not efficiency work was their priority groundwater and and consulted, monitoring of water carried out; surface water but were not use and downstream groundwater modeling of drivers ecological response and surface irrigation was integral to water both districts the project were modeled but were not integrated

Source: Authors. PROJECT CASE STUDIES: LESSONS 99

downstream communities in time for the needs of their residents to be included in the final water-sharing arrangements. Once rights to water from infrastructure developments have been established, it is usually difficult to redistribute them through rehabilitation projects. This is most apparent in countries, such as Australia and South Africa, that are facing major costs to return water to the environment in overallocated systems.1 Not all of the costs are financial. In Australia, the political costs of buying back water licenses from irrigators are probably even greater than the financial costs. In Tanzania, the government faced significant political costs because the water being reserved for the unique ecosystem in the lower Kihansi gorge meant that electricity generation could not be expanded further in a nation facing enormous electricity shortages and high demand. For restoration of degraded downstream ecosystems, engineering improvements are often needed to provide the volume of flows needed. To restore the northern Aral Sea, upstream dam-operating structures had to be modified to better control water releases, and a dike was constructed across the Berg Strait to retain the sea’s water. Similarly, Chilika lagoon in India, Kihansi Dam in Tanzania, and the Tarim basin in China all required engineering interventions (respectively, a new entrance to the ocean and a channel across the lagoon, a modified outlet structure from the Kihansi Dam and an artificial sprinkler system, and a lining for irrigation channels to conserve water) along with the establishment of environmental flows for the recovery of downstream ecosystems.

Assessment of Effectiveness

As described in chapter 4, the effectiveness with which environmental flows were included in water resources projects was assessed against recognition, comprehensiveness, participation, method of assessment and data, integration, cost-effectiveness, and influence.

Recognition Procedural drivers can help water resources managers to accept the concepts of environmental flows. The intuitive acceptance of environmental flows in the Aral Sea and Tarim basin case studies (see box 7.1)—the two ecosystems that have been most heavily degraded out of these case studies—can be contrasted with the initial reluctance to accept the concept in the Lesotho highlands, Chilika lagoon, lower Kihansi, Bridge River, and Senegal basin cases. In these cases, the operating authorities had a mandate to develop and operate infrastructure. However, in all these cases, with the exception of Chilika lagoon, the operating authorities came to understand and accept the relevance and legitimacy of environmental flow concepts. For the lower Kihansi and Senegal River cases, this acceptance 100 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

BOX 7.1 The Tarim Basin Restoration The Tarim River, in western China, has been increasingly used for irrigated agriculture over the last 50 years—to the point where, in the 1970s, it ceased to flow in its lower reaches. Lake Taitema, a terminal lake, has not received water from the river for many years. The “green corridor” in the 300 kilometers of the river above Lake Taitema has became ecologically stressed, reducing the vegetative barrier to encroachment of the Taklamakan and Kukule deserts, which border the river in that area. The advance of the deserts and the threat that they would join up and sever the transport links was a significant concern to the national government. The Bank-supported Tarim II Project used geomembranes to line the leaky water distribution channels and significantly reduce water losses, together with drainage improvements. The saved water was used both to improve agricultural production in the irrigation districts and to return water to the lower reaches of the Tarim River. The project also improved management arrangements for the basin’s water by establishing the Tarim Basin Water Resources Commission. The commission made it clear that it would enforce the quotas established for irrigation abstractions. As a result of the project, canal seepage losses have been reduced by between 600 million and 800 million cubic meters per year; 41,000 hectares of new irrigated land has been developed; the incomes of farmers have risen substantially; Lake Taitema has expanded to 200 square kilometers; and riverine vegetation has improved dramatically.

Sources: Hou and others 2006; World Bank 1998. was assisted by the procedural drivers of a new policy and a new transboundary agreement, respectively; for the Bridge River and Berg River cases, the acceptance came about because the benefits of providing downstream flows became more evident as the EFA studies progressed. In fact, in the Bridge River case, the reoperation procedures resulted in increased power generation as well as improved downstream benefits through changes in the timing of water releases. The concept of environmental flows has never been fully accepted by the Water Resources Department and other Orissa State government departments, partly because the benefits to the Chilika lagoon were more distant than the immediate benefits from opening a new mouth to the ocean and partly because high staff turnover prevented the development of a corporate approach. The World Bank facilitated the EFA, but this was completed after the Bank project had closed. Thus the Bank was unable to influence the state government further to ensure that its recommendations were incorporated into the Naraj Barrage operating rules. Catchment-level water allocation plans provide benchmarks for project-level decisions on water allocations. Difficult decisions about sharing water from infra- PROJECT CASE STUDIES: LESSONS 101

structure development can be assisted if water policies and laws are in place that define environmental uses as legitimate uses of water that are protected by the force of law or if a water allocation plan is in place. Such a plan establishes the agreed distribution of water or benefits from river flows and acts as a benchmark for redistributing benefits from infrastructure. The Lesotho Highlands Water Project would have been simplified if such a plan had been in existence before the dams were developed. Environmental flow provisions need to be monitored and enforced. Enforcing environmental flow provisions, like all allocations, requires vigilance. While the LHDA has formally agreed to the environmental flow provisions, there has been a lack of understanding and acceptance by operational managers and staff, and the agreed environmental flows have not always been released in a timely manner nor in adequate quantities; for example, important flood releases were not made. Similarly, diligent monitoring by the Rufiji Basin Water Office showed that the environmental flows from the lower Kihansi Dam during the first two years of operation were about 30 percent less than the flows that the power utility reported it was providing. This became evident after the monitoring system became operational.

Comprehensiveness The concept that environmental flows are a matter of retaining minimum flows in rivers and estuaries arose in a number of case studies. Examples include the treaty minimum flow, which was agreed to in the 1968 treaty to build the Lesotho Highlands Water Scheme; the inclusion of minimum flows in the Mekong agreement; the 1998 proposal from BC Hydro to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to provide minimum flows; and the Senegal basin water charter, which specified “minimum flows and other ecosystem services.” However, the EFAs carried out in these and other cases assessed all components of the flow regime and often recommended that some of the flow components (for example, dry- and wet-season flows, freshets, and occasional large floods) be retained to provide a range of downstream ecosystem services. EFA studies should consider all downstream-dependent ecosystems. Several case studies included consideration of flows to maintain ecosystem services in estuaries and groundwater systems as well as surface water. The Chilika EFA focused principally on flows to the Chilika lagoon. The original environmental flow plans of the Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du Fleuve Sénégal (OMVS) in the Senegal basin did not include provisions for freshwater flows into the delta and estuary of the Senegal River because subsistence farmers on the floodplains were not seen as contributing to the national economies of the basin countries. Once the importance of these flows was realized, the OMVS approved a water charter (see box 7.2), which included the delivery of water to these downstream environmentally sensitive areas as well as the provision of flood flows for the 102 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

BOX 7.2 The Senegal Basin Water Charter In May 2002, the governments of Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal signed a water charter. Guinea signed the charter in 2004. The objective of the charter is to “provide for efficient allocation of the waters of the Senegal River among many different sectors, such as domestic uses, urban and water supply, irrigation and agriculture, hydropower production, navigation, [and] fisheries, while paying attention to minimum stream flows and other ecosystem services.” The charter guarantees an annual artificial flooding (Article 14) and minimal environmental flows (Article 6), except under extraordinary circumstances. The charter contains the principles and procedures for the allocation of water and establishes a permanent water commission to serve as an advisory body to the OMVS’s Council of Ministers. The water charter extended stakeholder involvement within the Senegal basin to include farmers and NGOs. Further stakeholder participation was stimulated by the GEF project, which included participation in its design and implementation. Now local coordination committees exist throughout all countries of the basin.

Source: World Bank 2006a. mid-river floodplains and groundwater recharge in the floodplain. The Berg River EFA considered the need for flows to maintain the river’s estuary, but decided that this was not an important aspect at that time. It has subsequently carried out detailed work on the estuarine reserve. Only the Tarim basin case study explicitly considered the effects that returning water to the environment would have on groundwater. In the Senegal case, the groundwater recharge was a secondary benefit. None of these project EFAs considered the effects of climate change on the flows needed to maintain downstream ecosystem services.

Participation While the involvement of stakeholders is always central to achieving successful environmental flow outcomes, the methods employed and the responsibility assigned need to be tailored to suit local circumstances. The Bridge River EFA was at one extreme, where the consultative committee drove the EFA process, with BC Hydro providing the secretariat. At the other extreme, the irrigators in the Tarim basin were involved through their water user associations and irrigation district committees, but the real decision-making authority resided with government departments and the national government. However, both projects resulted in successful environmental and production outcomes. The restoration of the PROJECT CASE STUDIES: LESSONS 103

northern Aral Sea provides another instructive example. Although the World Bank project included a component for a basin consultative group in the Syr Darya Control and Northern Aral Sea Project, the group was never formed because of the difficulties in developing this group across the five countries of the basin. Nevertheless, the communities directly affected by the shrinking of the northern Aral Sea were highly motivated to engage in the project and provide assistance. Stakeholder engagement mechanisms need to be designed around the capacity of communities to engage in decision making. The project where the EFA studies have not yet been influential—the restoration of Chilika lagoon—was an example where institutional stakeholders were not effectively engaged with the process. The stakeholder executive committee was not formed until late in the project, and the institutions, generally, did not engage in the EFA process. Nevertheless, local communities around the lagoon were consulted and did provide feedback of value to the EFA team, although their ability to comment on the technical options was very limited. Similarly, the affected communities in the Lesotho highlands and the Senegal River valley were limited by their understanding of the technical aspects of the assessment. In the former case, the lack of policy in Lesotho hampered the participatory process: there was no guidance on the role expected of the communities or the extent of consultation. There was a tendency for the LHDA to inform these communities rather than listen to their requirements. Finally, the lower Kihansi EFA provides a unique example in which no downstream communities were directly affected by the change in river flows. The affected stakeholders were the international community. Through the Biodiversity Convention, they expressed the objective of protecting endangered species and ecosystems. These stakeholders were represented in the decision making by the appropriate river basin and environmental organizations and also by international NGOs, which had originally raised the alarm over the loss of the downstream ecosystem.

Assessment Method and Data Information is of little value if it is not couched in terms that the audience can understand. One lesson emerging from the Lesotho highlands project is that the results of the scientific studies within the EFA must be comprehensible to managers who must determine the allocation of water to its different uses. In that example, the scientists undertaking the EFA devised a simple, understandable system for conveying the downstream consequences of different flow scenarios. Similarly, the information provided to stakeholders needs to be in a form that is understandable. In the case of the Berg River EFA, the language used by ecologists and other scientists was initially found to be a barrier to 104 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

BOX 7.3 Structured Assessment for the Bridge River Reoperation, Canada The members on the consultative committee charged with developing the reoperation plan for the dams on the Bridge River came from a wide range of backgrounds. In order to work together effectively, they followed a systematic approach that consisted of six key steps and was based on multiple-attribute techniques and value-focused thinking (Keeney 1992). The steps began with clear articulation of objectives. Performance measures were developed that describe the extent to which each alternative operating regime contributed to or detracted from each objective. Usually quantitative, the performance measures force specificity to the objectives, better educate each participant on the needs of others, and create a basis on which to collect decision-focused information. The following objectives were agreed for the Bridge River water-use plan: • Fisheries: maximize the abundance and diversity of fish • Wildlife: maximize the area and productivity of wetland and riparian habitat • Recreation and tourism: maximize the quality of the recreation and tourism experience • Power: maximize the value of the power produced • Flood management: minimize adverse effects of flooding on personal safety or property • Dam safety: ensure that facility operations meet requirements of BC Hydro’s Dam Safety Program • Water supply and quality: preserve access to and maintain the quality of water. In total, more than 20 alternatives were run through BC Hydro’s operations model. The consequences for each objective were discussed by the consultative committee against the agreed performance measures. Preferences and values were documented, and areas of agreement were sought. The consultative committee members eventually agreed on a single recommended operating alternative.

Source: Bridge River water-use plan (case study 12).

understanding the implications of different options. For this reason, the results of the scientific investigations in the Bridge River studies were couched in terms of the performance indicators for seven outcomes that had been agreed to by the consultative committee (see box 7.3). Environmental flow monitoring programs need to assess the ecological outcomes, not just the flows themselves. Only some of the EFAs included monitoring compo- PROJECT CASE STUDIES: LESSONS 105

nents. Whether for rehabilitation or restoration cases or for new infrastructure, monitoring programs should be focused on ecological and social outcomes. Thus the Bridge River monitoring program assesses whether the downstream ecological outcomes (such as fish recovery) are achieved; the monitoring program in the Tarim basin has assessed not only the adherence to the water abstraction quotas, but also the extent to which the downstream riparian areas have recovered; the lower Kihansi monitoring program checks not only whether the agreed bypass flows have been provided but also the extent to which the gorge ecosystem has recovered; and a monitoring program has been established in the Berg River since 2002 to provide a baseline against which the effects of the new dam can be measured (see box 7.4). However, the Senegal basin does not appear to have an

BOX 7.4 Monitoring Program for the Berg River Dam, South Africa The record of decision for the Berg River Dam in South Africa required a detailed monitoring program to be established to provide the basis for an adaptive management framework implementing the ecological reserve. Thus the record of decision required sufficient baseline information to be collected prior to completion of the dam to assess the effectiveness of the environmental flows. The environmental flows will be revised if the monitoring demonstrates that the dam has an unacceptable ecological effect on the river or estuary. The baseline monitoring program, initiated in 2002, included eight specialist studies for the riverine environment, nine specialist studies for the estuary, and a series of general catchment reports that included groundwater elements. The aim was to monitor the effects of the flow regime downstream of the dam. Data collection was completed in 2005, and a conceptual model was developed for determining and managing changes brought about by the dam. The program focused on the flow regime and the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics that the environmental flow was intended to support. This comprehensive monitoring provides the baseline against which the project’s environmental allocations are assessed and will be used to establish a comprehensive reserve for both the river and the estuary. The issue of appropriate flood releases is now under discussion in the light of advances in environmental flow assessment methodologies, the information available from the three-year baseline monitoring program, and concerns over water quality, especially salinity. It is an example of best practice in environmental monitoring being used for adaptive management.

Source: Berg River Water Project (case study 11). 106 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

ecological monitoring program; the Chilka lagoon monitoring program is not designed to distinguish the effects of any environmental flows from other influences; and the Aral Sea monitoring program, established as part of the Syr Darya Control and Northern Aral Sea Project, will require trained staff in the newly formed Kazakhstan Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection before it will be effective.

Integration Although arguments for environmental flows usually rest on equity considerations, there can also be valuable economic benefits from the provision of environmental flows. Such a study was undertaken in the Senegal basin, where an analysis showed the high economic value of the floodplain. This had not been appreciated by senior decision makers in the Senegal basin countries and was instrumental in the agreement to permit flood releases from Manantali Dam. In the case of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, the benefits of different flow scenarios to downstream communities, as well as the income lost from other uses of the water, were quantified in an economic study. Even though the downstream benefits were considerably less than the lost income, these economic arguments played a role in showing that there were real economic benefits from releasing environmental flows. The Berg River case study provides another example of the benefits of undertaking a full economic analysis of the value of water and the services that it supports. EFAs are yet to be adopted as a mainstream part of EIA procedures for infrastructure assessment. The proposed Berg River Dam is the only project case study where the EFA was combined with the project EIA during the feasibility study. Although this is a sign that EFAs are being mainstreamed into project assessment, this integration remains a goal yet to be fully achieved in most projects. The Lesotho Highlands Water Project EFA was also a part of the project EIA, but was only completed after project appraisal because of the need to proceed rapidly to Phase 1B of the project in order to retain the workforce from Phase 1A and avoid startup costs. In hindsight, the goodwill of the Bank in agreeing to this accelerated commencement of Phase 1B had consequences for the subsequent decision-making process.

Cost-Effectiveness The evidence, while quite limited, is that EFAs are often a relatively small fraction of the cost of new infrastructure developments. The costs of EFAs for new infrastructure projects can be divided into four components: (1) the cost of undertaking the EFA; (2) the cost of compensating affected downstream communities; (3) the cost of modifying the infrastructure; and (4) the cost of undertaking ongoing monitoring and enforcement. PROJECT CASE STUDIES: LESSONS 107

Little information is available on any of these components of costs. The best information comes from the LHWP, where the comprehensive EFA was estimated to cost $2 million (0.07 percent of project costs) and the compensation was estimated to cost $14 million (0.5 percent of project costs). This included nearly two years of fieldwork to collect the baseline data and information and included the estimated costs of the resource losses to downstream communities. It included the potential impacts from both Phase 1 (now completed) and Phase 2 (yet to be commenced) of the project (see box 7.5). An economic study that was part of the Berg River EFA showed that the cost of water released for downstream environmental purposes was likely to be

BOX 7.5 Economic Assessment of Downstream Impacts of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project The findings of the environmental flow studies were subjected to a rigorous economic analysis, which concluded the following: • There are sizable projected economic losses (in terms of use values and necessary compensation costs) to downstream communities ranging from M2.9 million (US$0.45 million) to M8 million (US$1.23 million) annually, depending on the environmental flow scenario chosen. • Small increases in water releases from LHWP dams will have only a modest impact on these projected losses. Only considerable increases in environmental flows will succeed in sharply reducing the projected losses to downstream communities. • These losses do not have a significant impact on the overall economic assessment of the project, as the projected losses are relatively small compared to the large benefits the project generates overall. • From an economic point of view, the losses from reducing the yield of the project through higher environmental flows outweigh the benefits for downstream communities. • The rate of return of the project is not seriously affected by changes in the environmental flow requirement scenario (see table 7.3). While the water transfer benefits of the project are reduced in the nontreaty scenarios and further reduce the already very low rate of return of the hydropower component, the rate of return of the overall project is only moderately reduced should one decide to increase releases, and the benefits to Lesotho and South Africa remain substantial. Thus it would be economically defensible to increase the environmental flows for ecological or social reasons, although doing so would not maximize the economic benefits of the project, and both parties would have to contend with reduced benefits of the project.

Source: Klasen 2002. 108 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

TABLE 7.3 The LHWP Economic Rate of Return for Different Flow Scenarios

Design Minimum Limitation Degradation Indicator Treaty Scenario Fourth Scenario Scenario Scenario Annual economic value of losses ($ millions) 1.24 1.00 0.88 0.45 Lost variable royalty ($ millions) 0 6.36 33.82 71.85 % of total royalties 0 1.5 8.0 17.0 Economic rate of return (%) 7.6 7.4 7.3 7.1 Source: Watson forthcoming.

substantial. With no environmental flows, it would be 5.9 years until an additional water supply scheme would be required for Cape Town. With “drought relief” environmental flow releases, this would be reduced to 4.9 years and would require an additional capital expenditure of about $6.6 million. With a “full maintenance” environmental flow rule, the time to a new water supply scheme would be reduced to 3.6 years, and the capital cost of providing the flows would be $14.9 million. None of these studies of environmental flow provisions in new dams provided economic valuations of the benefits of the environmental flows to the downstream communities. However, other studies, such as the valuation of the ecosystem services from the flooding of the Hadejia-Nguru wetlands in northern Nigeria, have shown that, for highly productive downstream systems, these benefits can even be greater than the economic value of impounded water (Barbier, Adams, and Kimmage 1991). The cost of reoperations of existing infrastructure, without infrastructure rehabilitation, can be relatively low. EFAs for reoperating existing infrastructure can be relatively inexpensive when carried out as a technical exercise without extensive stakeholder involvement and without modifications to infrastructure. For example, the Nature Conservancy was able to recommend detailed flow requirements to maintain key ecosystem processes to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for inclusion in its comprehensive river basin plan for the Savannah River in the states of Georgia and South Carolina. This process took about nine months and cost US$75,000 (Nature Conservancy and Natural Heritage Institute forthcoming). The Bridge River reoperation EFA, which was based on an extensive stakeholder involvement process, but did not require any infrastructure modifications, cost approximately $650,000, and the ongoing monitoring is estimated to cost about $550,000 per year. These costs, while substantial, are considerably less PROJECT CASE STUDIES: LESSONS 109

than the legal costs that BC Hydro would have faced if it had elected to maintain its stance that it was not responsible for uses of the water other than hydropower production, and it would not have benefited from the improved hydropower production that resulted from the new operating rules. Retrofitting existing infrastructure to provide environmental flows can be very expensive. The LKEMP was essentially a project to help a heavily stressed ecosystem to recover from not undertaking and implementing an EFA when the dam was first built. While some of the cost of this project would have been incurred if the EFA had been undertaken originally, much of the $11 million can be attributed to the restoration effort, which resulted from inadequate environmental flow provisions. In another example, the outlet structures at both the Katse Dam (after the dam was constructed) and the Mohale Dam (when the dam was being designed) in the LHWP had to be modified at considerable cost to be able to provide the agreed environmental flows. While no specific costs are available for the environmental component of the Tarim II project, it was clearly substantial given the need to reline hundreds of kilometers of canals with geomembranes and replace water control infrastructure. However, the financial benefits from the improved agricultural production alone reportedly were greater than the total cost of the project ($90 million) without including the economic benefits from the recovery of the lower Tarim River.

Influence Environmental flows can lead to more efficient water use and benefit both environmental and consumptive water users. There were several win-win examples among the rehabilitation case studies. The reoperation rules for the Bridge River dams in Canada resulted in more power being generated as well as better delivery of water to downstream environments. Reoperation of infrastructure, particularly hydropower infrastructure, means a change in the timing, rather than the volume, of flows and so can result in these win-win situations. The Tarim basin upgrades, similarly, resulted in an increase in crop production as well as significantly increased flows to the downstream riverine environments. And the rehabilitation of the dams on the Syr Darya, together with improved operating procedures, meant that the environment of the Aral Sea as well as the fisheries industry have partially recovered, while more power has been generated from the hydropower dams and flooding has been reduced in upstream areas. Environmental monitoring of environmental flows is essential for establishing baselines, undertaking enforcement, and implementing adaptive management. The monitoring program was established in the Berg River in 2002 in order to provide several years of baseline information against which the effects of the 110 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

new dam can be measured. The underreporting of flow releases from the Lower Kihansi Dam was only detected because of an independent monitoring program conducted by the Rufiji Basin Water Office, and the quotas on water abstraction were only adhered to in the Tarim basin irrigation districts because of the monitoring and enforcement program. Because the ecological response was uncertain in parts of the river downstream of dams in the Bridge River, the environmental flow plan required an adaptive management approach. The expected ecological response would be monitored under different flow release patterns, and the dam operating procedures would be modified after 2012 to employ the most effective release patterns. The monitoring program instituted as part of the environmental water releases in the LHWP shows that the river health targets have been met or exceeded except in two reaches, where there are problems with an endangered fish species (see table 7.4). Successful environmental flow studies can have wider influence. Thus the recovery of Lake Sudoche has given the government of Uzbekistan the confidence to use environmental flows for the recovery of other degraded lakes; the partial recovery of the northern Aral Sea has led the government of Kazakhstan to consider rehabilitating other affected water bodies; the procedures used to develop improved operations at the Bridge River hydropower dams have influenced other water-use plans in British Columbia; the experience of developing draft environmental flow rules for the Naraj Barrage on the Mahanadi River in India has led to the assignment of high priority for environmental flows in the new Orissa State water policy; and the DRIFT method, developed during the Lesotho highlands EFA, has now been applied in several other countries.

TABLE 7.4 Lesotho Highlands River Condition Target Monitoring Results

Targeted River Measured River Measured Relative Reach Condition Target Condition Target to Target Reach 1 33On target Reach 2 4 3 Better Reach 3 4 2–3 Better Reach 4 3 2 Better Reach 5 22On target Reach 6 2 3 Worse Reach 7 4 3–4 Better Reach 9 2 3 Worse Source: Watson forthcoming. TABLE 7.5 Drivers for New Infrastructure and Restoration Projects

Project Judicial Procedural Evaluative Instrumental Professional Public New infrastructure Berg River After 1998 the At an early stage, Public awareness National Water scientific groups of the Cape Floral Act provided a advocated the Kingdom acted as legislative driver inclusion of a backdrop to for the conduct and environmental flows discussions about implementation of in planning for the effects of the dam the flow assessment dam Chilika lagoon State water plan The World Bank Pressure from lagoon gave legitimacy to required an EFA as communities to environmental flows part of the loan to manage flooding and but was not a reconstruct Naraj restore lagoon specific driver Barrage, but the ecosystems was an recommendations indirect pressure to are yet to be provide environ- implemented mental flows Lower Kihansi gorge The Rufiji River Field-based review International NGOs Basin Office became by government and place considerable an evaluator of World Bank provided pressure on the implementation basis for the Tanzanian restoration program government and World Bank to maintain the threatened ecosystem

111 (continued) 112

TABLE 7.5 Drivers for New Infrastructure and Restoration Projects (continued)

Project Judicial Procedural Evaluative Instrumental Professional Public LHWP The World Bank The South African safeguards initially experience and did not include requirements environmental acted as an indirect flows in Phase 1A; professional driver subsequently, they were the major driver for Phase 1B Rehabilitation and reoperation Aral Sea Local communities were major drivers; extensive NGO publicity about degradation provided pressure for international action Bridge River Threat of legal An external review Public concerns were action by federal of power generation expressed over the department drove called for water user health of salmon BC Hydro to develop plans stocks; environ- an environmental mental groups were flow investigation advocating flow management Senegal River The Senegal water The Word Bank NGO studies showed charter, when became engaged the importance of passed, contained late in project restoring floodplains clauses to provide implementation downstream flows when it provided funding for turbines Tarim basin The National Water The main driver was Law was supportive, the government but not a driver priority to protect downstream transport

Source: Authors. 113 114 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

Institutional Drivers

Public concerns were a significant driver for rehabilitation and reoperation projects. The restorations of the Aral Sea, Lake Sudoche, and the green corridor of the Tarim basin (see table 7.5) had the potential for providing such obvious ecosystem benefits to downstream people that the water needed for restoration was regarded as social and economic flows rather than environmental flows. In the case of the Senegal River basin, there were clear benefits to the mid-river and lower-river populations from maintaining some level of annual flood flows below Manantali Dam, and, although initially restricted in having their voices heard, these populations were assisted by NGOs to make their case. Although not a primary motivator, the rise in public concern about environmental degradation and threats to native fish was an important background driver leading to the reoperation of the dams on the Bridge River, Canada. When the loss of ecosystem services is clearly apparent, there is no dispute about reestablishing environmental flows. The governments involved with two of the most effective restoration projects, the Aral Sea and the Tarim basin, had internalized environmental flows to the point where restoring flows to downstream areas was the major objective of the projects. This can be contrasted with the Mekong basin case study, where the term “environmental flows” was seen by some governments as a potential impediment to development. Judicial drivers are seldom influential. The Bridge River case study provides the only example among the case studies where a judicial driver was one of the drivers for undertaking an EFA. In this case, the threat of being taken to court by a federal agency motivated BC Hydro to undertake a voluntary review of their operating rules to improve downstream environmental outcomes. Procedural drivers support initiatives that are under way. In two of the cases— Chilika lagoon and Tarim basin—the state water plan and legislation were, respectively, consistent but not influential in initiating and implementing the EFAs. In other cases—Berg River, Kihansi gorge, and Senegal River—the procedural drivers provided supportive backing for EFA initiatives that were already under way. NGOs can play a valuable role in bringing the need for environmental flows to public and government attention. NGOs contributed to the initiation of EFAs in several cases, but were a primary driving force only in the Lower Kihansi Power Project, where their pressure accelerated the response of both the Tanzanian government and the World Bank to restore the threatened ecosystem. The Rufiji Basin Water Office became arguably the most important institution for implementing the environmental flows. It was central to PROJECT CASE STUDIES: LESSONS 115

negotiating the agreed bypass flows as part of the final water right and to monitoring and enforcing the conditions of the water right. When assessing large infrastructure projects, the need to address downstream issues, including the use of EFAs, needs to be more fully recognized and addressed in the planning and conduct of feasibility studies and EIAs. For new infrastructure, it is notable that in several cases the EIAs did not give adequate attention to downstream environmental flow issues when the projects were initially approved. This occurred with the Power VI Project (Kihansi gorge), where it was assumed that there were no sensitive downstream ecosystems; the LHWP, where it was assumed that a nominal minimum flow included in the transboundary agreement would meet downstream needs; and the Tarim Basin Project, where the Tarim I Project improved the management of the upstream irrigation districts but did not improve flows to rehabilitate the downstream green corridor. This was also the case in the initial development of the Manantali Dam on the Senegal River. In all cases, follow-up interventions were needed to rectify issues that emerged.

Summary of Project Lessons

The following are some of the lessons to emerge from the analysis of rehabilitation and reoperation projects: ■ Major infrastructure investments can be required if large quantities of water are needed for the recovery of downstream environments; conversely, if the recovery of the downstream environments depends on changes in the timing rather than in the quantity of flows, then the investments can be relatively modest. ■ The cost of EFAs for reoperation projects can be quite low, often less than $100,000. ■ Reoperation and rehabilitation projects can sometimes provide win-win results for both downstream communities dependent on environmental flows and consumptive water users. The following are some of the lessons to emerge from the analysis of new infrastructure projects: ■ Catchment and basin water allocation plans provide benchmarks for reallo- cations of water when new infrastructure is being developed. ■ There are real economic benefits when environmental flows are provided for downstream communities; economic studies that quantify these benefits can provide powerful arguments when water allocation decisions are being made. 116 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

■ For new infrastructure, EFAs appear to be a small fraction of the cost of the development; retrofitting infrastructure because thorough EFAs were not undertaken when projects were being planned can be very expensive. ■ Mechanisms to enforce environmental flow decisions, including monitoring programs, are essential: there can be strong pressures on infrastructure managers to limit environmental water releases. Still, significant challenges remain for the integration of environmental flows into decisions about investment projects: ■ Gaining acceptance that providing for environmental flows in development projects leads to increased social outcomes across all groups reliant on the water resource ■ Introducing environmental flow concepts and methodologies for all activities that affect river flows and groundwater levels, including large-scale land use changes ■ Assessing the impact of development activities on all downstream ecosystems, including groundwater-dependent ecosystems, estuaries, and coastal systems ■ Building awareness among the environmental community so that EFAs become an integral part of the EIAs for project preparation and appraisal.

Note

1 Currently $10 billion has been allocated for returning water to the environment in the Murray-Darling basin in Australia. PART IV

Mainstreaming Implications

CHAPTER 8

Achievements and Challenges

ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS WORK within the World Bank is shaped by evolving global knowledge, practice, and implementation and helps to shape the repository of global knowledge and experience on environmental flows. Providing water for the environment has now been institutionalized and mainstreamed in a growing number of developed countries such as Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and the countries of the EU. In these countries, the period of major water resources infrastructure development is now over (although the need to adapt to climate change may lead to a renewed interest in infrastructure investment), and the focus has been on the rollout of basin- or catchment-level water allocation plans that include environmental water provisions. South Africa, a country with an economy in transition, is also preparing to undertake nationwide catchment water resources plans. In all these countries, there is both broad acceptance of the importance of protecting the aquatic environment and general support for environmental water provisions in the water allocation plans. In these countries, the focus of environmental flow assessments has continued to broaden beyond the provision of water to rivers and associated wetlands to include other hydrologic components, including estuaries, near-shore areas, and linked groundwater systems. However, there is not yet the same level of expertise

119 120 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

and depth of experience in assessing the environmental water requirements for these new areas as there is for downstream river systems. In developing countries, in contrast, there has been a greater focus on the assessment of the downstream impacts of new infrastructure or the restoration of downstream aquatic ecosystems that have been degraded from existing infrastructure.1 While the World Bank has not had much experience in major basin water allocation planning programs, it has been a partner in some of the more notable achievements in ecosystem restoration in developing countries, such as China (Tarim basin), the Senegal basin, and Central Asia (northern Aral Sea). The science of environmental flows has advanced considerably in the last 20 years from a focus on individual aquatic species (although there are circumstances where this continues to be relevant) to a much broader concern about ecosystem protection or restoration. Many scientifically credible, field-tested assessment methods are now available, ranging from simple desktop approaches to complex, field-based holistic methods. Some of the holistic methods combine hydrologic and environmental science with social and economic assessments. There is now also experience in organizing multidisciplinary teams to carry out these holistic assessments. International development organizations and NGOs have been active in promoting understanding of environmental flows in developing countries, holding training courses, providing assistance in conducting EFAs, and developing support materials and information sources. The World Bank has contributed to this richer information environment through its BNWPP environmental flows window as well as the development of support documentation, which has been distributed widely.

Scientific Achievements

There have been considerable advances in the science of environmental flows over the last 15 years, including improvements in basic scientific understanding and the development of EFA techniques.

Understanding Environmental Flows Hydrological knowledge and ecological knowledge have advanced considerably, so that there is a now much better understanding of the dependence of both species and ecosystems on flows in freshwater systems as well as a broadly agreed conceptualization among scientists about the way to define the parameters for riverine flows in an ecologically meaningful way. The ecological response of wetlands and floodplains to different flow regimes is quite well known in many parts of the world. There is greater understanding of the flow needs of in-stream species (especially fish and invertebrates). The ACHIEVEMENTS AND CHALLENGES 121

effect of disturbances on the food web is increasingly well understood, and the effects of different flow regimes on substrate and physical habitat are improving. However, these and other advances in knowledge are usually limited to the local regions where the scientific information was collected; it remains difficult to develop useful generalizations that can be applied more widely. However, the same level of understanding of ecological responses is not yet available in the new areas where EFAs are being applied such as linked groundwater systems, estuaries, and near-shore areas. Hydrological science has advanced to the point where a wide range of river system models are available (although the accuracy of these model predictions is almost always limited by the absence of good flow data) that can provide ecologically useful flow predictions. Hydraulic models can estimate the level and velocity of flows, and the first generation of floodplain hydraulic models is available that can predict the extent (and sometimes duration) of floodplain wetting. EFAs require the integration of information from a range of scientific disciplines: hydrology, ecology, geomorphology, and hydrogeology. In some cases, this integration includes information from the economic and social sciences. There has been increasing experience in forming teams of scientists and experts from these different disciplines who can work together in spite of different terminologies, approaches, and scientific cultures.

Development of Environmental Flow Assessment Methods Over the last 15 years, a considerable body of experience has developed in applications of the extensive range of EFA techniques to evaluating the impacts of individual projects as well as undertaking basinwide studies. This experience is available through publications and a Web site.2 Much support material has been produced for environmental flow applications, including technical documents, a newsletter, Web pages, and a periodic conference on environmental flows methods and applications. There is sufficient understanding of their strengths and weaknesses to be able to customize the techniques to suit each application. This customization is illustrated in the Mekong basin and Pangani case studies (case studies 7 and 8).

Current Challenges First, the current terminology gives rise to confusion. The misperceptions that arise from the term “environmental flows” can lead to a rejection of environmental flow assessments by managers. While it would be helpful to adopt a new term, such as “social flows” or “environmental and social flows,” the reality is that “environmental flows” is so widely used that it would be very difficult to get acceptance for a new term. Retention of this terminology means that there is a need to stress, whenever the term is used, that environmental 122 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

flows are intended to provide healthy river systems and that these bring benefits to many groups in society. Second, there is a need to incorporate impacts on water other than rivers. EFA techniques have been developed primarily to assess the effects of changes in river flows on ecosystem services. The techniques need to be extended to include impacts on lakes, groundwater, estuaries, and near-shore systems (Young 2004). While these water bodies have been included in some EFA assessments, including in some of the present case studies, there is not yet a systematic procedure for integrating these nonriverine components of the hydrologic cycle into EFAs. Third, the impacts of land-use changes and land management activities on river flows and groundwater systems is still not properly integrated into EFAs. Some useful empirical relationships can be used to estimate the annual average interceptions of water by land-use changes, but there is still insufficient information available to make detailed assessments of the downstream environmental impacts of these activities (Zhang, Dawes, and Walker 1999). Fourth, the ecosystem services that people rely on will be affected in complex ways by the changes in the volume and timing of flows induced by climate change that are not yet properly understood (see box 8.1). In addition, climate change will have an influence on the demand for water for irrigation, industry,

BOX 8.1 Climate Change and Evapotranspiration The natural assumption is that, with the observed increase in air temperatures attributed to climate change, there would be a corresponding increase in the potential rate of evaporation. However, the evidence is that the atmospheric demand, as measured by pan evaporation, has been decreasing over the past 50 years. The reason for this counterintuitive result lies in the fact that evaporation is more sensitive to changes in net radiation, vapor pressure deficit of the air, and wind speed than to air temperature. Because vapor pressure has increased with global temperatures, relative humidity has remained about the same. Consequently, pan evaporation is particularly sensitive to wind speed. Average wind speed reportedly has declined in Australia, China, India, New Zealand, Thailand, the Tibetan Plateau, and the United States. This has been the main driver of the observed decreases in pan evaporation. It is difficult to assess whether these reductions in long- term average wind speed are local effects attributable to changes in the immediate environment of the pans (for example, growing trees or other obstacles progressively obstructing the air flow) or a more regional phenomenon.

Source: Roderick and others 2007. ACHIEVEMENTS AND CHALLENGES 123

and municipalities. These shifts in location, quantity, timing, and sources of water demand will have implications for providing water for environmental services. Climate change will act as a catalyst for choice: environmental assets and ecosystem services will need to be reassessed, with the essential assets and ecosystem services being identified and protected. The multiple effects of climate change on environmental flows have yet to be factored into EFAs and water allocation plans in a systematic way. Fourth, where EFAs have been carried out for surface water and groundwater resources, the assessments have usually been carried out separately. However, in many cases hydrological interdependencies exist between surface water and groundwater, and the assessments should be undertaken for the integrated system. Thus some environmental assets depend on both surface water and groundwater at different times of the year. The maintenance of the ecosystem services from these assets will require the joint planning of surface water and groundwater availability. However, with the current lack of understanding of physical connectivity and, in many cases, social dependence on the joint resource, the assessment of environmental flow needs is usually undertaken separately for surface water and groundwater systems. Fifth, in general, the EIA community has yet to integrate the assessment of environmental flows into EIAs (for project-level assessments) and SEAs (for more strategic-level assessments). Partly this is because EIAs and SEAs were developed by the environment sector, while EFAs were developed within the water resources sector. This represents a major disconnect between the water and environment communities and is counterproductive for promoting environmentally responsible development. For the Bank, environmental flows need to be fully integrated into the planning, design, and operations of infrastructure projects and into environmental assessments. Another aspect of this integration at a higher level of decision making is to ensure that water resources and environmental policies and laws are harmonized within countries. The Bank can contribute to this outcome by promoting harmonization when assisting with policy reforms. Finally, environmental flows are based on the concept of water sharing—that is, the idea that flows in river or groundwater systems should be shared equitably. Upstream infrastructure projects typically generate considerable economic benefits, and, in many cases, these benefits accrue to populations that are distant from the water sources. Benefit sharing provides an alternative approach to water sharing, where the economic benefits from the development project are shared with the affected people both upstream and downstream of the development. Environmental flows are concerned with delivering goods and services by enhancing and 124 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

conserving the environment; benefit sharing in this context is first about recognizing the “voiceless” downstream communities and bringing them into the decision making and second about both sharing the benefits of development as well as fairly compensating people for the loss of environmental goods and services that are linked to a reduced or altered flow regime.

Integrating Environmental Flows into Decisions

Environmental flow considerations were initially introduced into assessments for new infrastructure projects. They are now being gradually mainstreamed into more strategic levels of decision making, including national water resources policies and the formulation of basin- and catchment-level water plans.

Policy Achievements Environmental flow considerations have been incorporated into the water resources policies of a number of countries, as illustrated by the case studies of Australia, the EU, Florida, South Africa, and Tanzania in this document. While most of the examples of environmental flow recognition in policies so far have been in economically developed countries, an increasing number of developing countries are considering the inclusion of environmental flows. Good progress has been made in implementing the policy provisions for environmental flows under the Floridian, Australian, and South African policies. In Florida, minimum flows and levels have now been established in 237 water bodies and additional minimum flow levels continue to be established, although not to the originally proposed schedule. In Australia, environmental flow provisions have been incorporated into 120 catchment and groundwater allocation plans, although, as in Florida, these have slipped behind the agreed schedule. South Africa has established interim ecological reserves in all catchments. The World Bank has played an important role in assisting some developing countries and regions to introduce environmental flow considerations into their water policies as shown in Tanzania’s national water policy, Orissa State’s water policy, and the Senegal basin water charter described in the case studies. The Bank is currently providing technical assistance to Mexico in the revision of its water policy and has identified assistance with policy reform in the China CWRAS. It is also supporting policy dialogue on the energy sector in some Indian states and on water resources in general in Pakistan.

Plan Achievements

Catchment plans with environmental water provisions have been rolled out across Europe under the Water Framework Directive and across Australia under ACHIEVEMENTS AND CHALLENGES 125

the water reform agenda, while South Africa and Tanzania are preparing to develop basin-level water resources plans with environmental flow provisions. Although water resources plans are yet to be established in the catchments of the Kruger National Park in South Africa, this region is particularly noteworthy because of its influence both nationally and internationally in the development of approaches to the inclusion of environmental flow considerations in catchment planning. The Bank has contributed by assisting with basin-level water resources planning, including environmental water allocations in the Mekong basin and the Senegal basin. In the Mekong basin, an international environmental flows expert was introduced to the Mekong River Commission through BNWPP technical assistance, and the World Bank was the implementing agency for the GEF Water Utilization Project, which provided assistance for implementation of the 1995 Mekong agreement with its environmental flow provisions. In the Senegal basin, the Bank provided support for implementation of the Senegal basin water charter and provision of environmental water releases following the installation of turbines at Manantali Dam.

Infrastructure Projects

There are a growing number of examples where environmental flows have been incorporated into both the operations of new infrastructure and the rehabilitation and reoperation of existing infrastructure. The revision of the operating rules for the dams on the Bridge River in Canada resulted in both improved environmental outcomes and increased power production. This project was also noteworthy for giving responsibility to the stakeholder committee to develop the reoperation rules for the dams and for crafting an adaptive management plan that included alternative release schedules to determine which schedule provided the greatest downstream benefits. In another example, the Nature Conservancy has established a successful partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and is reviewing the operating rules at 26 dams in the United States. The Nature Conservancy provides technical guidance on the operations of the various USACE dams. The EFA carried out for the Berg River Dam in South Africa provides a good- practice example of EFAs for new infrastructure development. It was the first large water resources infrastructure development project in South Africa to be designed, constructed, and operated within the framework of the National Water Act, with provisions for basic human needs and the ecological reserve. It was developed in accordance with the guidelines of the World Commission on Dams. It also illustrates an adaptive approach to the determination of environmental flow requirements, including a preliminary assessment carried out as 126 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

part of prefeasibility investigations, a more detailed assessment as part of the feasibility studies, and a series of subsequent workshops and specialist meetings to obtain detailed inputs from specialists. A comprehensive determination of the ecological reserve is expected following finalization of the three-year monitoring program. The World Bank has been a significant contributor to the growing body of experience in this area, particularly through its ability to extend its support through all stages of project decision making, from initial discussion, through conduct of EFAs, to implementation of the agreed flow regimes, to support for monitoring and enforcement programs. The Bank has also used its convening powers to facilitate discussions and support scientific studies and dialogue to reach agreements among nations over environmental flows, especially in select transboundary cases. Between 2002 and 2004, the governments of the Senegal basin signed the water charter, which included provisions for flows to maintain important downstream ecosystem functions. The operating rules for the Manantali Dam now include water releases to provide artificial floods for parts of the mid- river floodplains. In addition, programs were implemented to release water through the river embankments to reinundate the Diawling National Park in the delta using water stored behind the Diama Dam near the mouth of the river. The Bank-supported Lesotho Highlands Water Project has established an environmental flow policies and procedures for operating the Katse and Mohale

BOX 8.2 Achievements of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project The DRIFT method for environmental flow assessment was developed and applied during this project by leading South African environmental flow consultants. It makes an important contribution to the science of environmental flows. It is the first fully integrative methodology combining environmental, social, and economic factors in assessing the impacts of different flow scenarios. It has now been applied to other environmental flow studies within South Africa and, in modified form, in the Pangani and Mekong basin studies. The EFA was carried out thoroughly enough to convince skeptical development authorities of the case for providing for downstream water-dependent communities, including economic studies into the financial effects of providing different levels of environmental flow releases. The thorough social surveys found that approximately 39,000 people directly and indirectly dependent on water and water-related resources would be affected downstream of the dam—many times the original estimate and an order of magnitude higher than the number of people affected upstream of the dam. ACHIEVEMENTS AND CHALLENGES 127

Dams. This constitutes the first systematic effort by the World Bank to support the development and implementation of downstream mitigation and compensation programs during project development. It has been described by an independent audit as being “at the forefront of global practice” (Lesotho Highlands Development Authority 2007; see box 8.2). The Bank’s support for the recovery of the northern Aral Sea and the Tarim Basin II Project has also yielded significant outcomes. The Aral Sea had been widely publicized as an example of an ecosystem that was virtually unrecover- able. However, the rapid recovery of the northern Aral Sea under the World Bank’s Syr Darya Control and Northern Aral Sea Project has shown what can be achieved with adequate funding, strong local and government commitment, strong Bank leadership, and an understanding of technical and operational impediments at upstream infrastructure. The Tarim River was a severely degraded ecosystem that was imposing considerable costs on local communities and posing a strategic threat to one of China’s major transport routes. With World Bank technical and financial assistance, the Chinese provincial government restored flows to the lower river and Lake Taitema, while also increasing agricultural production and incomes in the irrigation districts.

As a result of the EFA studies and economic analysis, the original minimum flows stipulated under the 1986 Lesotho Highlands Water Project treaty were increased by a factor of 3 and 4 for the Mohale and Katse Dams, respectively. The Mohale Dam outlet valves were resized to accommodate the anticipated higher flows, and a new valve was added to Katse Dam to accommodate higher EFA releases. Compensation payments have been negotiated for the remaining losses in ecosystem services for downstream communities, using both a negotiated formula involving distance from the dam and the results of the monitoring program. A monitoring program has been established, and early indications are that, under the agreed flow release policy, the river health targets have been met or exceeded in all except two reaches. The project outcomes included better than predicted ecological impacts and compensation to downstream communities, with little impact on the project’s economic rate of return. This best-practice work has contributed to improving the political image of a high-risk project that has faced two inspection panel complaints and major corruption charges.

Source: Watson forthcoming. 128 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

Resource Material and Assistance International development organizations and NGOs have produced many support documents, Web sites, databases, training courses, and discussion for countries interested in undertaking EFAs for project proposals or for basin plans. The World Bank has contributed to these support materials through its water resources and environment technical notes on environmental flows. The BNWPP-funded environmental flows expert panel has provided assistance to 16 countries through a mixture of training courses, workshops, and assistance in introducing and undertaking EFAs. A number of international development organizations and NGOs have run training courses in environmental flows that have been influential, such as the courses run by IUCN in Mesoamerica to develop a network of informed and influential champions for environmental flows.

Notes

1 There are exceptions such as Tanzania, which is embarking on a basin water allocation planning program, including environmental flow provisions. 2 See Postel and Richter (2003); http://dw.iwmi.org/ehdb/wetland/index.asp. CHAPTER 9

Framework for Mainstreaming Environmental Flows

ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS ARE CENTRAL TO SUPPORTING sustainable development, sharing benefits, and addressing poverty. In some circumstances, environmental flow assessments can also lead to more efficient water use and benefits to both environmental and consumptive water users. Effective integration of environmental flows in decision making is a necessary requirement for promoting environmentally responsible water resources development in the face of changing societal values and reduced availability of water under climate change. It is also critical to promoting environmentally responsible climate change adaptation strategies. It needs to be an integral part of programs for sharing benefits from water infrastructure development. In order to achieve environmentally sustainable and socially responsible development, more systematic and timely attention will need to be paid to downstream impacts using scientifically credible EFA methods as countries, through both public and private sector investments, expand their infrastructure, especially dams, in many sectors.

The Way Forward

The overall goal of this report is to advance the Bank’s understanding and integration in operational terms of environmental water allocation into integrated

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water resources management. Achieving this goal is essential for supporting the implementation of several recent Bank strategies and action plans—including the infrastructure action plan, investments in hydropower, the Agriculture Water Management Initiative, the water supply and sanitation business plan, and the Strategic Framework for Climate Change and Development—in an environmentally responsible manner, consistent with the SDN vision to mainstream environment in World Bank operations. The preceding chapters demonstrate how central environmental flows are to IWRM, how they will be affected by the impacts of climate change, and how they are central to climate change adaptation responses in the water sector. They highlight the evolving understanding of, and knowledge about, environmental flows as well as the integration of environmental flows into water resources decision making at the policy, plan, and project levels within and outside the Bank. They also illustrate the complexities and challenges associated with the implementation of environmental flows across the many sectoral uses of water, spanning many parts of the world. There is a growing body of experience in implementing environmental flows, including monitoring and adaptation of management procedures. Chapters 5, 6, and 7 summarize lessons from the integration of environmental flows in the formulation and implementation of water policies, river basin or catchment plans, and design and operations of infrastructure development and rehabilitation projects. The earlier chapters provide indicators of the direction that the Bank and its clients need to take to support better integration of environmental flows in policy reforms, river basin plans, land-use change and watershed management projects, and infrastructure investment planning, design, and operations. A key lesson is the high financial, social, reputational, and political costs associated with not undertaking (or undertaking late) a thorough EFA when projects are being prepared. The evidence, while limited, is that the cost of conducting an EFA for new infrastructure developments often is relatively small, whereas the cost of retrofitting existing infrastructure to increase the capacity and provide the flexibility for environmental flows can be very high. However, if environmental flow releases are obtained through the reoperation of an existing hydropower dam with minimal stakeholder involvement and no modifications to the infrastructure, then the costs can be relatively low—on the order of $50,000–$75,000 based on the Nature Conservancy’s experience with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Another important lesson concerns the critical links between environmental flows and riverine community livelihoods that are underscored by two African case studies (the Senegal basin and the Lesotho Highlands Water Project). In the FRAMEWORK FOR MAINSTREAMING ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS 131

former, the water charter signed by the governments of Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, and Guinea recognized the provision of flows to water the mid-river floodplain and ensured the maintenance of agricultural and fishing activities. The LHWP broke important new ground not only in supporting the development and application of a state-of-the-art EFA methodology, but also in applying a well-structured approach that links resource losses associated with reduced river flows to community livelihoods and addresses social impacts related to environmental flows. In the absence of any known clearly defined methods, procedures, and guidelines globally for addressing downstream social impacts of dams, the LHWP environmental flow experience offers important lessons in the following areas: ■ Understanding the difference between downstream social impacts and upstream social impacts ■ Recognizing the difference in magnitude in the number of people who can be affected downstream of the dam (about 39,000) compared to upstream of the dam (around 4,000) ■ Developing an approach for systematically defining the affected communities (or “the population at risk”) downstream of dams ■ Delineating the downstream socioeconomic impacts associated with changes in river flows ■ Defining approaches for addressing and mitigating the social impacts associated with significant changes in river flows and their limitations (in addressing impacts in proximal reaches versus distal reaches) ■ The challenges of developing and implementing a successful environmental flow policy for operating new dams. The successful EFAs in Bank project implementation was a result of strong leadership by individual task team leaders and other factors, rather than formal requirements or formal directions for initiatives related to integrating environmental flows or restoring degraded ecosystems. However, mainstreaming EFA in water resources decision making (under a better business model) will require a fundamental shift by the Bank from an ad hoc approach to an institutionalized approach—that is, more structured, systematic, and timely—to support the integration of EFA into Bank water resources infrastructure planning, design, and operations and policy dialogue. There are also clear lessons from the directions taken by countries such as Australia, South Africa, and the countries of the EU that the Bank can learn from as it moves forward to support implementation of the SDN vision: ■ Environmental flow considerations need to be moved up to the more strategic levels of policy and basin plans to ensure that there is a strong basis for environmental water allocations. 132 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

■ Where possible, environmental flow considerations should be integrated with existing IWRM and environmental assessment processes, such as the development of basin-level water resources plans. ■ Environmental flows should be concerned with any development activities, including land use changes, that affect flow regimes with consequences for downstream ecosystems and dependent communities. ■ The full range of downstream aquatic ecosystems, including estuaries and near-shore areas, should be included in EFAs. ■ Environmental flow assessments should integrate surface water and groundwater requirements where there are linked systems. ■ Climate change effects—through changes in water availability, changes in environmental assets, and changes in demand patterns—will be an important consideration in including environmental flows in policies, making provisions in basin or catchment plans, and assessing project-level impacts. Finally, several international development organizations, NGOs, and research organizations have accumulated considerable expertise in undertaking EFAs and providing training and other support to developing countries. Their experience can complement the Bank’s ability to convene development partners and work with developing countries throughout the full decision-making process.

A Framework for Bank Action

The proposed framework for action consists of four components: strengthen Bank capacity, strengthen environmental flow assessments in project lending, promote the integration of environmental flows at the policy and planning levels, and expand collaborative relationships. These actions are summarized in table 9.1. The following guidelines are intended to strengthen Bank capacity: ■ Promote the development of a common understanding across the water and environmental communities about the concepts, methods, and good practices related to environmental flows, including the need to incorporate EFAs into environmental assessment at both project (EIAs) and strategic (SEAs) levels. ■ Build the Bank’s in-house capacity in EFA by broadening the pool of ecologists, social scientists, and environmental and water specialists trained in EFA. The following guidelines are intended to strengthen environmental flow assessments in project lending: ■ Disseminate existing guidance material (from within and outside the Bank) concerning the use of EFAs in program and project settings and conduct training for Bank and borrower-country staff on this emerging issue. TABLE 9.1 A Framework for Adopting and Integrating Environmental Flows into Bank Work (continued)

Outcome Decision Level Bank Instrument Support Material Collaboration

Integrate EFA into planning New investment programs Increase focus on Environmental assessment Collaborate with experienced studies for infrastructure, and projects; rehabilitation downstream issues in update on environmental international agencies and including EIA and SEA or reoperation projects program and project design, flows; training materials; NGOs, the International making use of existing other support materials, Hydropower Association, and technical notes on EFA including case studies other relevant industry groups Integrate downstream social New investment programs Increase focus on Technical note on Collaborate with SDV on the impacts in infrastructure and projects; rehabilitation downstream social issues in downstream social issues, initiative for enhancing local planning or reoperation projects program and project design impacts, and mitigation and benefits from hydropower making use of Bank compensation options; projects experiences in previous training materials; other projects (for example, LHWP) support materials including case studies Broaden application of EFA New investment projects Include environmental flow Environmental assessment Draw on experiences in to noninfrastructure projects consideration in CAS and update on environmental countries where interception CWAS; test application of flows; training materials; activities are assessed for EFA to select operations of other support materials their flow impacts this type Ensure that EFAs include all Investment and non - Increase focus on Technical documents; Collaborate with experienced affected downstream investment projects and downstream issues in training materials international agencies and ecosystems basin and catchment plans program and project design, NGOs making use of existing technical notes on EFAs

(continued) 133 134

TABLE 9.1 A Framework for Adopting and Integrating Environmental Flows into Bank Work (continued)

Outcome Decision Level Bank Instrument Support Material Collaboration

Promote inclusion of EFAs Basin and catchment plans Include EFAs in proposals Technical documents; Collaborate with experienced into basin and catchment for land use plans in CAS training materials international agencies and plans and CWRAS NGOs Promote inclusion of National policy and Include downstream Technical and analytical Draw on experiences in environmental flow transboundary agreements ecosystem impacts in documents; training countries that have considerations in water proposals for environment materials implemented water policies resources and environment and water resources policies with environmental flow policies in CAS and CWAS components Harmonize sectoral policies National policy Include harmonization with Technical and analytical Draw on experiences in with water resources policy water resources and documents countries that have environment policies in implemented water and other proposals for policy reform sectoral policies with environ- in CAS mental flow components

Source: Authors. FRAMEWORK FOR MAINSTREAMING ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS 135

■ Identify settings, approaches, and methods for the select application of EFAs in the preparation and implementation of project-level feasibility studies and as part of the planning and supervisory process. ■ Provide support for hydrological monitoring networks and hydrological modeling to provide the basic information for undertaking EFAs. ■ Prepare an update for the Environmental Assessment Sourcebook concerning the use of EFAs in SEAs and EIAs. ■ Prepare a technical note that defines a methodology for addressing downstream social impacts of water resources infrastructure projects. ■ Test the application of EFAs to include infrastructure other than dams (such as levees and dikes for flood protection and excessive groundwater pumping) that can affect river flows as well as noninfrastructure activities, such as investments in large-scale land-use change and watershed management, that affect downstream flows and ecosystem services. ■ Broaden the concept of environmental flows for appropriate pilot projects to include all affected downstream ecosystems, including groundwater systems, lakes, estuaries, and coastal regions. ■ Develop support material for Bank staff and counterparts in borrowing countries, such as case studies, training material, technical notes, and analyses of effectiveness. The following are intended to promote the integration of environmental flows at the policy and planning levels: ■ Promote basin plans that include environmental flow allocations, where relevant, through country dialogue. ■ Use CASs and CWRASs to promote Bank assistance with basin or catchment planning and water policy reform so that the benefits of environmental water allocations for poverty alleviation and the achievement of the MDG are integrated into country assistance. ■ Incorporate environmental water needs into Bank SEAs such as country environmental assessments and sectoral environmental assessments. ■ Test the use of EFAs in a small sample of sectoral adjustment lending operations, including where the sectoral changes will lead to large-scale land-use conversion. ■ Promote the harmonization of sectoral policies with environmental flow concepts in developing countries and the understanding of sectoral institutions about the importance of considering the impact of their policies on downstream communities. ■ Develop support material for Bank staff on the inclusion of environmental flows into basin and catchment planning and into water resources policy and legislative reforms. 136 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

■ Draw lessons from developed countries that have experience in environmental flows in catchment planning. Finally, expand collaborative relationships through the following: ■ Expand collaboration with NGOs (IUCN, the Natural Heritage Institute, The Nature Conservancy, WWF, and others), international organizations (IWMI, Ramsar Secretariat, UNEP, and UNESCO), and research institutions to take advantage of their experience in conducting EFAs and building environmental flows capacity in developing countries. ■ Strengthen collaborative relationships with industry associations, such as the International Hydropower Association, and private sector financing to extend their current recognition of environmental flows as desirable hydrological outcomes to include the social and economic outcomes that result from the ecosystem services delivered by downstream flows. ■ Integrate the lessons from the economic and sector work into—and coordinate the activities outlined above with—the ongoing initiative of the Bank’s Sustainable Development Network and the Energy, Transport, and Water Department for enhancing the benefits to local communities from hydropower projects. By adopting this framework, the Bank will be better placed to fulfill its strategy of encouraging more investment in water resources infrastructure using a new business model that includes better consideration of the environmental, social, and economic impacts of the investment. PARTV

Appendixes

APPENDIX A

The Brisbane Declaration

ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS ARE ESSENTIAL for freshwater ecosystem health and human well-being.1 This declaration presents summary findings and a global action agenda that address the urgent need to protect rivers globally, as proclaimed at the tenth International River Symposium and International Environmental Flows Conference, held in Brisbane, Australia, on September 3–6, 2007. The conference was attended by more than 750 scientists, economists, engineers, resource managers, and policy makers from more than 50 countries. Key findings include the following: Freshwater ecosystems are the foundation of our social, cultural, and economic well-being. Healthy freshwater ecosystems—rivers, lakes, floodplains, wetlands, and estuaries—provide clean water, food, fiber, energy, and many other benefits that support economies and livelihoods around the world. They are essential to human health and well-being. Freshwater ecosystems are seriously impaired and continue to degrade at alarming rates. Aquatic species are declining more rapidly than terrestrial and marine species. As freshwater ecosystems degrade, human communities lose important social, cultural, and economic benefits; estuaries lose productivity; invasive

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plants and animals flourish; and the natural resilience of rivers, lakes, wetlands, and estuaries weakens. The severe cumulative impact is global in scope. Water flowing to the sea is not wasted. Freshwater that flows into the ocean nourishes estuaries, which provide abundant food supplies, buffer infrastructure against storms and tidal surges, and dilute and evacuate pollutants. Flow alteration imperils freshwater and estuarine ecosystems. These ecosystems have evolved with, and depend upon, naturally variable flows of high-quality fresh water. Greater attention to environmental flow needs must be exercised when attempting to manage floods; supply water to cities, farms, and industries; generate power; and facilitate navigation, recreation, and drainage. Environmental flow management provides the water flows needed to sustain freshwater and estuarine ecosystems in coexistence with agriculture, industry, and cities. The goal of environmental flow management is to restore and maintain the socially valued benefits of healthy, resilient freshwater ecosystems through participatory decision making informed by sound science. Groundwater and floodplain management is integral to environmental flow management. Climate change intensifies the urgency. Sound environmental flow management hedges against potentially serious and irreversible damage to freshwater ecosystems from climate change impacts by maintaining and enhancing ecosystem resiliency. Progress has been made, but much more attention is needed. Several governments have instituted innovative water policies that explicitly recognize environmental flow needs. Environmental flow needs are increasingly being considered in water infrastructure development and are being maintained or restored through releases of water from dams, limitations on groundwater and surface water diversions, and management of land use practices. Even so, the progress made to date falls far short of the global effort needed to sustain healthy freshwater ecosystems and the economies, livelihoods, and human well- being that depend upon them.

Global Action Agenda

The delegates to the Tenth International River Symposium and Environmental Flows Conference call upon all governments, development banks, donors, river basin organizations, water and energy associations, multilateral and bilateral institutions, community-based organizations, research institutions, and the private sector across the globe to commit to the following actions for restoring and maintaining environmental flows: Estimate environmental flow needs everywhere immediately. Environmental flow needs are currently unknown for the vast majority of freshwater and estuarine ecosystems. Scientifically credible methodologies quantify the variable—not THE BRISBANE DECLARATION 141

just minimum—flows needed for each water body by explicitly linking environmental flows to specific ecological functions and social values. Recent advances enable rapid, regionwide, scientifically credible environmental flow assessments. Integrate environmental flow management into every aspect of land and water management. Environmental flow assessment and management should be a basic requirement of integrated water resource management; environmental impact assessment; strategic environmental assessment; infrastructure and industrial development and certification; and land-use, water-use, and energy production strategies. Establish institutional frameworks. Consistent integration of environmental flows into land and water management requires laws, regulations, policies, and programs that (1) recognize environmental flows as integral to sustainable water management, (2) establish precautionary limits on allowable depletions and alterations of natural flow, (3) treat groundwater and surface water as a single hydrologic resource, and (4) maintain environmental flows across political boundaries. Integrate water quality management. Minimizing and treating wastewater reduce the need to maintain unnaturally high stream flow for dilution purposes. Properly treated wastewater discharges can be an important source of water for meeting environmental flow needs. Actively engage all stakeholders. Effective environmental flow management involves all potentially affected parties and relevant stakeholders and considers the full range of human needs and values tied to freshwater ecosystems. Stakeholders suffering losses of ecosystem service benefits should be identified and properly compensated in development schemes. Implement and enforce environmental flow standards. Expressly limit the depletion and alteration of natural water flows according to physical and legal availability and accounting for environmental flow needs. Where these needs are uncertain, apply the precautionary principle and base flow standards on best- available knowledge. Where flows are already highly altered, utilize management strategies, including water trading, conservation, floodplain restoration, and dam reoperation, to restore environmental flows to appropriate levels. Identify and conserve a global network of free-flowing rivers. Dams and dry reaches of rivers prevent fish migration and sediment transport, physically limiting the benefits of environmental flows. Protecting high-value river systems from development ensures that environmental flows and hydrological connectivity are maintained from river headwaters to mouths. It is far less costly and more effective to protect ecosystems from degradation than to restore them. Build capacity. Train experts to scientifically assess environmental flow needs. Empower local communities to participate effectively in water management and policy making. Improve engineering expertise to incorporate environmental 142 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

flow management in sustainable water supply, flood management, and hydropower generation. Learn by doing. Routinely monitor relationships between flow alteration and ecological response before and during environmental flow management and refine flow provisions accordingly. Present results to all stakeholders and to the global community of environmental flow practitioners.

Notes

1 Environmental flows describe the quantity, timing, and quality of water flows required to sustain freshwater and estuarine ecosystems and the human livelihoods and well-being that depend on these ecosystems. APPENDIX B

Infrastructure Design Features for Environmental Flows from Dams

THE FOLLOWING DESCRIPTION of the physical infrastructure features that are needed to deliver environmental flows is taken from a recent report to the World Bank (Nature Conservancy and Natural Heritage Institute forthcoming).

Water Release Infrastructure

Water release infrastructure, including variable outlet and turbine-generator capacities as well as multilevel (selective withdrawal) outlet structures, can affect the capacity of a dam to release environmental flows. This section deals with these in turn.

Variable Outlet and Turbine-Generator Capacities The ability of a dam operator to provide a range of flows for downstream environmental purposes is ultimately dependent on a dam’s outlet and turbine- generator capacities. Many hydropower dams lack adequate turbine-generator capacity to make large releases—such as the controlled floods that may be highly desirable for maintaining the ecological health of downstream floodplain ecosystems and estuaries—without sacrificing power generation. Because of these constraints, some fraction of controlled flood discharges must be released

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through the dam’s flood spillway. This sacrifice of power generation causes dam operators to resist such controlled flood releases. This is the situation at the Manantali Dam in the Senegal River basin. At that dam, some 2,000 cubic meters per second of water would need to be released to inundate the floodplain to support 50,000 hectares of recessional agricultural production, yet the outlet and turbine-generator capacity is only capable of delivering 480 cubic meters per second. The rest of the required flow would need to be released through the spillway, thereby compromising hydropower generation. Necessary structural modifications to expand the powerhouse capacity from 480 to 2,000 cubic meters per second would be very expensive at this point. Had the powerhouse capacity and reservoir storage tradeoff been optimized in the first place, the economics of providing floodplain inundation would likely have been more favorable. Ecological problems can also arise when flow releases change rapidly up or down (called “ramping”). Ecologically damaging ramping occurs when a dam suddenly begins spilling high volumes of water during a flood or when substantially greater volumes of water are released when additional turbines are activated. This can lead to high mortalities in fish and other animals in the river or on the floodplain or cause undesirable erosion and sedimentation problems downstream. Conversely, when releases from a hydropower dam are being reduced for the purposes of rebuilding water levels (head) in a storage reservoir by shutting down outlets, river flows can be curtailed too abruptly and leave less mobile animals such as mussels and small fish and their eggs high and dry at the river’s edge. Providing a gradation in turbine-generator sizes and reservoir outlets in a dam’s design will minimize problems with these flow transitions. Further, construction of “reregulating dams” downstream of a hydropower dam can catch and partially even out fluctuations by releasing water in run-of-the-river fashion. When designing the outlet and turbine-generator capacity of a new dam, it is highly desirable to incorporate a wide range of water-release capabilities as well as adequate transmission capacity to convey the electricity, such that the full array of dam-operating objectives, ranging from hydropower generation to environmental flow releases, can be accommodated. By providing a range of outlet sizes, such as by incorporating multiple turbine-generator units of varying sizes, dam operators will be able to meet a variety of dam-operating objectives.

Multilevel (Selective Withdrawal) Outlet Structures The water in many reservoirs can become stratified, with considerable differences in water temperature with depth in the reservoir. Water near the bottom of a reservoir may contain very little dissolved oxygen, and this anoxic condition can cause chemical reactions that lead to undesirable water quality conditions in deep-water zones. The release of this water with low oxygen levels and undesir- INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN FEATURES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS FROM DAMS 145

able chemicals can create serious problems for fish and other aquatic animals downstream of the dam. Multilevel outlet structures (also called “selective withdrawal” structures) can be constructed to provide dam operators with the flexibility to release water from different reservoir levels, depending on the time of year, differences in water quality and temperature, and downstream management objectives.

Reregulation Reservoirs

The impacts of hydropower generation on natural river flows can be mitigated to some degree by constructing a “reregulating” dam, usually built immediately downstream of the lowest hydropower dam. The reregulating dam can be operated to “smooth out” the unnatural fluctuations caused by hydropower operations even while it is generating electricity, releasing water in a pattern much closer to reservoir inflows. The ability of a reregulating dam to restore natural flow patterns will depend on the extent to which the upstream hydropower dam has altered them; essentially the same volume of storage capacity is needed both to alter flows at the hydropower dam and to restore flows at the reregulating dam. If hourly downstream fluctuations are undesirable, a relatively small reregulating dam below the powerhouse can be a positive asset to hydropower and to the environment by providing a more steady downstream discharge during the day. However, if a large reservoir is being used to reshape the hydrograph over several months, that same volume of storage would be needed in the reregulating reservoir to reshape the hydrograph back to a more natural pattern. The same benefit can be achieved by dedicating the lower-most hydropower dam in a cascade to reregulate flows, which can be of considerable benefit to the downstream environment.

Other Design Infrastructure

While provision of adequate environmental flow releases will go a long way toward maintaining adequate habitat conditions and ecosystem services in rivers affected by dam development, other ecosystem protection measures may be needed.

Sediment Bypasses and Sluice Gates Sediment trapping in reservoirs presents serious challenges for water storage by reducing available storage capacity and creating the risk of uncontrolled dam overtopping and collapse. Sediment moving through a reservoir and into hydropower intakes can severely damage turbines and shorten their lifespan. It may also disrupt geomorphic processes that create high-value habitat below the reservoir, especially in watersheds with high sediment production 146 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

rates. If the water being released from the dam retains sufficient ability to erode the downstream river channel and banks, but sediment is not available from upstream to replace the eroded sediment, considerable channel down-cutting and instability can result, thereby endangering structures such as roads, bridges, and levees and altering the physical habitats supporting aquatic life. The loss of sediment supply to downstream deltas and coastal areas can result in considerable erosion of beaches and islands of great importance for people and nature as well. The implementation of sediment management measures—in the contributing watershed and in the reservoir—can greatly extend the design life of a dam and lead to other economic benefits, such as reducing the costs of maintaining hydropower turbines. Passing sediment around or through a dam can also help to alleviate dam-related impacts in the downstream river ecosystem. The World Bank’s publication on the RESCON software (Palmieri and others 2003) provides several useful approaches for managing sediment and evaluating the cost-effectiveness of sediment management measures. Some of the approaches discussed in that publication are summarized here. In addition to providing dead storage to accommodate sediment deposition in a reservoir, new dam designs are including features to move sediment around or through the reservoir. These features are generally of two types. Sediment bypass structures are designed to route sediment inflows into a bypass outlet (a channel upstream of or in a reservoir that bypasses the dam and rejoins the river below the dam) and subsequently discharge sediment and water below the dam, thereby keeping sediment from flowing into hydropower turbines. Sediment flushing involves opening sediment sluice gates or other low-level outlets and lowering reservoir levels to cause water in the reservoir to begin to flow through the reservoir and outlets. This flow needs to attain sufficient velocity to flush the sediments that have accumulated in the reservoir. This type of reservoir flushing entails considerable tradeoff with power generation, however, because the reservoir level (head) must be lowered considerably, thereby compromising potential power generation during flushing. It can also complicate environmental flow management due to the fact that reservoir storage must be refilled following sediment flushing, reducing downstream flow releases during refill. Moreover, in large reservoirs, the sediment tends to deposit at the inflow end of the reservoir rather than behind the dam, limiting the ability to flush it through the sluice gates.

Fish Passage Structures Structures such as “fish ladders” have commonly been used to enable fish and other mobile aquatic organisms to move upstream and downstream of a dam. However, the higher the dam wall, the harder and more expensive it is to build INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN FEATURES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS FROM DAMS 147

effective fish passages. Every dam, including those with fish passage structures, is likely to block the passage of some portion of the migratory fish. Each species will have particular design requirements for successful passage. For example, until recently, Australian dam builders constructed “horizontal baffle” fish ladders suitable for jumping salmonid fish (that is, trout, salmon) imported from the Northern Hemisphere. However, most of Australia’s native fish do not jump and did not use these fish ladders, requiring instead “vertical slot” fish ladders that allow these species to rest in eddies at each step. Aquatic wildlife may migrate along river banks, requiring passages on each side of a barrier, or follow the “scent” of a strong water flow, requiring a strong current to flow from the wildlife passage to attract the animals to the entrance. Rock ramp fishways that mimic natural waterways may be the most effective wildlife passages, whereas at the other end of the spectrum, fish lifts and “catch and truck” operations are likely to assist only a modest portion of the migratory animals. Any dam without wildlife passage is likely to have a severe local impact on species diversity.

APPENDIX C

Background to Environmental Flows

THE FLOWS NEEDED TO MAINTAIN important ecosystem services are termed environmental flows. This report has adopted the following definition from the Nature Conservancy (2006): Environmental flows are the quality, quantity, and timing of water flows required to maintain the components, functions, processes, and resilience of aquatic ecosystems that provide goods and services to people. This definition is general enough to include water for both surface water and groundwater systems and focuses on the need to maintain downstream ecosystem services valued by people. Water can be provided for environmental outcomes in two broad ways: (1) by specific releases of water from water storages or (2) by restrictions on abstractions from water systems. The former is termed “active management,” and the latter is termed “restrictive management” (Acreman and Dunbar 2004). The former approach is usually only possible for regulated river systems where reservoirs are holding environmental water allocations;1 the latter approach is more broadly applicable to both regulated and unregulated systems as well as to groundwater. It also recognizes the importance of ecosystems in providing services (use values) to people. There has been a gradual increase in acceptance and integration of environmental and social issues into decision making about dams. Initially, decision

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making was under the domain of engineers alone, but over the last four decades it has expanded to include economists, environmental specialists, social scientists, and upstream displaced people. Most recently, it has included greater attention to downstream ecosystems and communities (see figure C.1). Environmental flows are particularly important in river system management. Although diffuse and point-source pollution, introduction of exotic species, riparian degradation, and removal of aquatic habitat can all affect the provision of ecosystem services, the flow regime is of central importance because so many ecosystem functions depend on it. One aquatic ecologist has likened flow to “the maestro that orchestrates pattern and process in rivers” (Walker, Sheldon, and Puckridge 1995, quoted in Postel and Richter 2003). Flows influence aquatic ecosystems in four primary ways (Bunn and Arthington 2002): ■ Shaping physical habitats such as riffles, pools, islands, and bars in rivers and floodplains. Alteration of flows can lead to severely modified channel and floodplain habitats, thereby affecting the physical diversity needed to support diverse aquatic communities. ■ Affecting life-cycle processes. Many aquatic species depend on specific water flow conditions during life stages such as reproduction. ■ Altering mobility of organisms. Many species need to move upstream and downstream or from the river to the floodplain during their life cycle. Flow

FIGURE C.1 The Evolution of Dam Planning Practices

1940 engineers 1950

1960 + economists

1970 + environment

1980 + sociologists 1990

2000 + displaced people

2010 + downstream impacts

Source: Modified from a chart prepared by Robert Goodland. BACKGROUND TO ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS 151

alteration that impairs connections between these different habitat areas can limit their mobility. ■ Creating conducive conditions for the invasion of exotic and introduced species. Other terms are sometimes used instead of “environmental flows.” Some of these alternative terms reveal limitations in earlier conceptions of environmental flows: ■ Bypass flows are used to describe the releases made from the dam into the lower Kihansi gorge ecosystem. ■ Escapages are used to describe the Indus River flow at Kotri Barrage to check saltwater intrusion, accommodate fisheries and environmental sustainability, and maintain the river channel. ■ Minimum flows are used to describe the retention of enough flow to maintain river connectivity, especially for fish passage, but this is usually only one component of the flow regime that needs to be maintained, and there are few instances where an environmental flow consists of just a minimum flow. ■ Instream flows imply the flows needed to maintain ecosystem services from flows within the river channel, but this excludes the often important floodplain flows that overtop the channel. ■ Environmental water allocation is used to describe water specifically allocated for environmental purposes, usually held in a dam or storage. ■ Ecological reserve was coined in South Africa to describe the water allocated for downstream ecological functioning;2 however, the term reserve implies water held back in reservoirs or impoundments, whereas environmental water can also be assigned through controls on abstractions and discharges. ■ Natural flows imply that the environmental flows need to mimic the natural flow variability; in fact, environmental flows can deviate significantly from the natural flow regime when some flow components are maintained because of their important functions and other components are lost because they are considered to be unessential to the river ecosystem and can therefore be assigned to some development needs. ■ Surplus water implies that some components of the flow regime have no ecosystem value and are available for assignment to consumptive or other purposes at no cost to the environment; in reality, all components of the flow regime provide some ecological function. Even flows to the ocean are not wasted water; they provide nutrients to estuaries and near-shore areas, trigger spawning in some fish and invertebrate species, and shape physical habitat. ■ Compensation flows are used in the 1986 LHWP treaty between South Africa and Lesotho. The term is confusing since it implies that the remaining downstream flows are actually a compensation for the benefits that have been lost by abstracting the rest of the flows. 152 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

However, none of the terms, including environmental flows, gives sufficient prominence to the social and economic importance of these flows. There is thus a misleading implication that only the environment, and not the people dependent on the environment, benefits from environmental flows. Scientific knowledge is central to making decisions on water allocation at either the basin plan or project level. Scientific knowledge provides reliable information on the predicted response of aquatic ecosystems to changes in the quantity, timing, and duration of flows; this is particularly important because the response of ecological systems to changes in flow is seldom linear. Thus reducing a component of the natural flow regime will not necessarily have a proportionately reduced ecological outcome. Halving the peak flood flow will not transport half the sediment, and halving the overbank flow will not usually inundate half the floodplain (Gordon and others 2004). Unless these critical thresholds are understood, there is a possibility that progressive changes to the flow regime will have little apparent effect until the threshold is reached, and then there will be an abrupt decline in ecosystem function. Scientific knowledge is also important for understanding surface water hydrology and groundwater hydrogeology, the changes in water availability as a result of climate change, links between water quality and changes in flow, and the effects of changes in land use on runoff characteristics. Scientific knowledge about ecosystem responses is not always available entirely or in adequate form or quantity, particularly in developing countries. Traditional knowledge about the responses of vegetation, fish, or birds to different quantities and timings of flow can provide valuable information (see box C.1) and can be used to supplement limited data and scientific knowledge. Downstream individuals and communities who are affected by changes in flow regimes are often relatively unorganized and powerless compared to groups who want to develop the water resource. In addition, their traditional rights to use water are not always recognized in law. It is important for the relationships of the communities to rivers and the needs of these downstream communities to be included in decisions about flows through the following: ■ Making their objectives and reliance on flows explicit ■ Quantifying the links between different flow components and these objectives ■ Involving them in the decision-making process when choices are made about modifying components of the flow regime. Most EFA methods have focused on assessing biophysical impacts. It is only recently that EFA methods, such as the DRIFT method developed under the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (case study 14), are attempting systematically to quantify downstream social impacts associated with biophysical impacts (King, Brown, and Sabet 2003). Methods such as DRIFT identify the BACKGROUND TO ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS 153

BOX C.1 Using Indigenous Knowledge, Rio Patuca, Honduras With most of the nation’s hydropower potential still undeveloped, Honduras has decided to construct a hydropower dam on the Rio Patuca, the country’s longest river and the third longest river in Central America. The Patuca’s lower reach passes through a region of immense cultural and biological value. The river provides important ecosystem services to Tawaka, Miskito, and Pech communities along the banks of the river. Fisheries serve as their major source of protein; sediment deposition during annual flooding improves the fertility of low-lying agricultural fields; and the river is their primary means of transportation. The Empresa Nacional de Energía Eléctrica, the Honduran energy agency, asked the Nature Conservancy to provide guidance on a flow regime below the proposed dam that would maintain the river’s biodiversity and ecosystem services. Due to a paucity of technical information, the Nature Conservancy used traditional ecological knowledge about fisheries, agriculture, and transportation derived from the communities along the river as the basis for flow recommendations. Community members provided information on flow levels through two sources of spatial information: cross-sectional surveys of the river and historical watermarks and hand-drawn maps of each community. This was synthesized with other regional information to develop conceptual models of the linkages between flows and important fish species. These sources of information, augmented by hydrological analysis of a 30-year record of daily flows, provided the foundation for the environmental flow assessment.

Source: Nature Conservancy and Natural Heritage Institute forthcoming. http://www.nature. org/initiatives/freshwater/files/final_patuca_case_study_low_res_new_logo.pdf. reliance of communities on flows and quantify the links between flows and objectives. However, the extent to which stakeholders are involved in decisions about water allocation is determined by water (and sometimes environmental) policy and legislation as well as by power structures and customary law. In many developing countries, downstream communities (including those with customary water rights) have no tradition of being involved in decisions and constitute voiceless constituencies (Hirji and Watson 2007).

Notes

1 There are special circumstances where water can be purposefully released into a water system as return flows from urban and irrigation uses, but these are difficult to manage for environmental outcomes and are seldom used. 2 In South African law, the ecological reserve is distinguished from the social reserve, which is water allocated for basic human needs (case study 3).

APPENDIX D

Water Environmental Issues in Country Water Resources Assistance Strategies

THIS APPENDIX PRESENTS water issues in the World Bank CWRASs of 17 countries or regions: Bangladesh, China, Dominican Republic, East Asia and the Pacific region, Ethiopia, Honduras, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Mekong region, Mozambique, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Tanzania, and Republic of Yemen.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh, more than most countries, depends on water-derived ecosystem services for its survival. The Bangladesh CWRAS reflects this with recognition that the country is heavily dependent on the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers. Fisheries production is under threat from reductions in dry-season flows, loss of key aquatic habitats, and disruption to migratory pathways (80 percent of rural Bangladeshis depend on aquatic resources); there are water shortages in the southwest; the Sundarban ecosystems are deteriorating; and water transport has contracted because of reduced flows (from 8,500 kilometers of navigable waterways in winter in 1970 to 3,800 kilometers today). These downstream effects arise partly from developments in both Bangladesh and India. The Ganges water treaty provides a stable framework within which Bangladesh can begin to plan for the development of the main rivers. Specifically, it provides some assurance of upstream discharges so that the Gorai River Augmentation Project could be implemented with some promise. There are

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risks. The Gorai augmentation study did not adequately deal with the possibility that the Ganges discharge at the Gorai offtake may be too low. This reduces the volume of water available for redirection into the Gorai. A second area of concern is that the operation of the gates at Farakka has led to a steeper recession limb of the hydrograph. As a result, there are more residual bars and pools that restrict free channel flow. The CWRAS proposes a strategy for Bank engagement that includes a full- scale assessment of human and environmental impacts of development on the Ganges River, establishing a scientific basis for determining environmental flows. The CWRAS says that the scientifically based assessment of environmental flows is necessary to promote understanding between the upper and lower riparian countries to help develop benefit-sharing agreements for the river.

China

The CWRAS bluntly says that China is not maximizing its benefits from Bank involvement. It should make greater use of the Bank’s technical capacity. One of the recommendations is that China should use the Bank’s financing for management of water environmental issues such as ecosystem restoration of rivers, wetlands, lakes, and coastal waters. The CWRAS notes that overexploitation of groundwater, particularly in the Hai basin, and overuse of surface water resulting in inadequate environmental flows in much of northern China, along with increasing groundwater and surface water pollution in many parts of the country, are contributing to the decline and deterioration of water resources and damage to freshwater and coastal environments. More broadly, China needs to protect and restore the environment; otherwise, environmental degradation will result in huge negative impacts on the quality of life of the Chinese people. The CWRAS proposes six themes for assistance, two of which are relevant to environmental flows. The first theme is to improve environmental water management. This includes national guidelines for comprehensive river basin planning, which include a requirement for environmental flows in rivers providing water to ecologically important areas. The Bank can assist in this area. The sixth theme advocates further investment in new water resources infrastructure. Although there is a high priority accorded to rehabilitating environmentally degraded water bodies, the CWRAS does not mention that this new infrastructure needs to be designed to protect downstream environments. The 2002 Water Law contains provisions for allocating water for ecological and environmental protection and restoration. The CWRAS proposes that the Bank assist in revising the laws and in implementing them. The CWRAS strongly WATER RESOURCES ASSISTANCE STRATEGIES 157

advocates much greater attention to the provision of water for environmental flows and proposes that China draw on the Bank’s expertise in this area.

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic has severe problems related to water quality, flooding, and watershed degradation. There is no water resources policy or strategy, and the water law needs revision. The CWRAS focuses on addressing these issues and proposes that the Bank can assist with watershed protection as well as with revisions to the general water law. Although the CWRAS notes that there are water allocation issues, there is no mention of downstream impacts from upstream development apart from sedimentation from watershed erosion. The country is seeking funding for construction of infrastructure, including dams, but there is no mention of the steps to be taken for controlling their upstream and downstream impacts.

East Asia and the Pacific Region

This regional CWRAS clearly recognizes the downstream impacts of upstream water uses. It provides examples, including the Tarim basin (case study 17) and the Mekong basin (case study 7), where environmental flows have been included in development assistance. The CWRAS accepts that the Bank will reinvest in water resources infrastructure in the East Asia and the Pacific region, but questions the legitimacy of government initiatives and processes, including adequate consideration for the environmental impacts. It describes the shift of benefits from downstream water users to those upstream or offstream without using the language of environmental flows. The CWRAS proposes seven themes for assistance. The first is to preserve the environment and the base of land and water resources. This requires the development of basin water resource plans that include environmental flows to protect rivers and coastal zones and to sustain ecologically important areas. This has not historically been done in the region, but this is now changing, as shown by the Tarim basin and, to a lesser extent, the Mekong basin examples. The third theme is for rehabilitation of existing water resources infrastructure and construction of new infrastructure. Although the need to provide for environmental flows is not specifically mentioned in this theme, it is clear that this development has to be accompanied by improved management and protection of environmental and social needs.

Ethiopia 158 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

The CWRAS includes very little mention of environmental flow issues. It does state that urbanization, industry, and services all create additional demand for water, potentially diminishing both the quantity and quality of water. Abstraction for these purposes will lower flow levels and have severe negative impacts on downstream users and the environment. The CWRAS, in line with the energy strategy and the water sector development plan, advocates an expansion of hydropower and multipurpose development, but makes only passing mention of deleterious downstream effects: “Water releases for power generation must be weighed against requirements for irrigation, all in line with system requirements such as environmental flows.”

Honduras

The Honduran CWRAS is yet to be completed. The draft CWRAS notes that water resources infrastructure is needed to meet MDGs and that this infrastructure development needs sound environmental management practices to ensure its sustainability. However, the country lacks the capacity to ensure that these developments are environmentally sustainable and does not have a water resources policy or up-to-date water law. The CWRAS does not comment on the need to include environmental flow considerations into project assessments or into new water resources policy and law.

India

Although environmental protection and restoration are important in Indian water management, the CWRAS focuses primarily on governance and institutional issues. The Indian state water apparatus is still focused on a command-and-control approach and has yet to shift to a modern approach based on incentives, participation, devolution, and environmental sustainability. Consequently, the CWRAS says, water managers ignore the accumulated “environmental debt” (including vanishing wetlands and polluted rivers and aquifers). The CWRAS accepts that more water storage is needed to provide security, especially in the face of climate change, but this should be accompanied by more responsible management. However, dams are still seen within India as a solution, without the understanding that they can solve one person’s problem at the expense of someone “downstream.” The CWRAS argues that new investments need to be accompanied by greater care to safeguard existing downstream uses. Attention also needs to be paid to improving the reliability of supplying existing demands and meeting historically deprived environmental uses. Unlike other CWRASs, the document does not present a strategy for Bank engagement with the water sector. Instead it provides 12 rules to guide the WATER RESOURCES ASSISTANCE STRATEGIES 159

government of India in its water management. The India CAS already contains a major increase in water resources assistance. In discussions leading up to the CWRAS, there was a strong endorsement of the Bank’s reengagement in the full range of water-related issues and agreement that the government needed to complement its traditional focus on infrastructure with a growing emphasis on management.

Islamic Republic of Iran

The CWRAS describes the Iranian water management as “unevolved.” Although both water policy and law require that water be managed at the basin level, the number of basin organizations has not yet been established. Consequently, there is no call yet for basin-level water allocation planning or environmental water allocations. However, the CWRAS says that there is a recognition that construction of dams will lead to less water for aquatic ecosystems. There are no guidelines or requirements at present for protecting downstream environments, but the CWRAS proposes that social equity and environmental criteria should be established to mitigate the negative impacts of water resources development. The CWRAS identifies several areas where the Islamic Republic of Iran needs training and capacity building, including in understanding water and environment.

Iraq

The Iraq CWRAS contains a significant section on the loss of environmental flows, primarily in the Euphrates River, which has contributed to the devastation of the Mesopotamian marshes at the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.1 About 94 percent of the Euphrates flow comes from Turkey, with the remaining 6 percent coming from Syria. Both countries have developed large hydropower dams in the headwaters that have intercepted more than 50 percent of the flows. The planned irrigation developments will intercept even more. The CWRAS points out that the full irrigation development will have major impacts on water quality as well as leading to further environmental degradation in the marshes. Environmental flows are not just a matter of quantity; timing is also important for marsh inundation, as large volumes of water are required in a concerted surge to flood the marshland. The CWRAS recognizes the need for instream flows for both strictly environmental and navigational needs, although these environmental flow needs are not elaborated. Iraq’s hydropower generation lies on the Euphrates River and so 160 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

is directly linked to the transboundary agenda. These issues require a transboundary technical process to manage flows optimally at the basin scale. Much of the country’s water resource infrastructure is degraded and even dangerous. The rehabilitation of these assets is identified in the CWRAS as a priority. There are no plans for constructing new dams. However, there is no mention of the opportunity for establishing environmental flows below rehabilitated dams, even though the importance of these flows is clearly apparent in the transboundary case. Finally, the CWRAS includes the development of new water policy and governance arrangements as a priority, but there is little detail on the content of the new policy.

Kenya

There is little mention of environmental flow issues in the Kenyan CWRAS apart from recognition that existing hydropower dams and at least one irrigation scheme are causing downstream environmental and social problems. The issues include reduced fish catches, loss of spiritual value, and danger from unannounced high flows. This is the result of poor infrastructure planning. The CWRAS calls for upstream and downstream communities to be more engaged in preparation for new developments. Kenya’s 1999 water policy identifies catchments as the basic unit for water allocation planning and management. However, this intention has not been translated into practice. The 2002 Water Act also identified the need for a reserve to safeguard basic human and ecosystem needs. However, it too has not been implemented.

Mekong Region

This transboundary CWRAS says that at present there is inadequate coordination of development in the Mekong region, with consequent social and environmental risks. Thus there is great momentum for hydropower development; this will reduce floods and increase dry-season flows. Mainstem dams on the lower Mekong will impede fish movement. However, the document notes that it is possible to have sustainable development of the Mekong’s water resources, while avoiding or minimizing negative impacts on the interests of other riparian countries and on important environmental and social values. Although the environmental flow rule was reduced in status to a guideline (case study 7), the CWRAS sees the intense interest during this debate as a positive sign of engagement over the topic of environmental flows. WATER RESOURCES ASSISTANCE STRATEGIES 161

The Mekong Water Resources Partnership Program Action and Dialogue Priority Framework (which the CWRAS supports) should include projects at subregional scale that promote, among other things, environmental programs and that mainstream environmental and social safeguards. Overall, the CWRAS identifies potential downstream environmental effects of development, but it does not recommend specific actions to avoid these problems.

Mozambique

The CWRAS recognizes the importance of providing an ecological reserve and calls for environmental water requirements to be established in each river basin. However, the major environmental flow issue (and opportunity) facing Mozambique arises from the downstream effects of the Cahora Bassa Dam, which was established in 1975 without any provisions for environmental flows. There has been a decline in downstream fisheries, major changes have occurred in the Marromeu wetlands and other delta and riverside forests, flood-recession agriculture can no longer be practiced, and the estuarine prawn fishery has declined. The CWRAS notes that the change in ownership of the Cahora Bassa Dam opens up the opportunity to modify the operations of the dam so that downstream environmental and social considerations are taken into account. New dams are proposed on the Pungue River to provide water supply to Beira and on the Zambezi River at Mphanda Nkuwa and Cahora Bassa North for multiple purposes. The Pungue Dam needs to provide downstream flows to prevent saltwater intrusion into the delta, with the new developments on the Zambezi River operated to provide the flows needed to reestablish downstream ecosystem services. The CWRAS includes the need for Mozambique to build its capacity for integrated water resources management, including hydrological and environmental monitoring.

Pakistan

Although salinity is seen to be the major water-related environmental threat in Pakistan, the CWRAS also identifies flow-related issues as being important, particularly in the delta of the Indus River. The delta has become degraded from several causes, including the reduction in freshwater outflow and the decrease in accompanying sediments and nutrients. The CWRAS states that “it is important to provide some managed flows to sustain the delta to the degree that this is possible,” although studies were yet to be completed at that time to determine how much flow was required. Wetlands are also under severe threat with reductions in flood flows; upstream infrastructure at Tarbela and Mangla are a primary cause. Embankments have 162 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

now cut floodplains off from their rivers, with the consequent loss of buffering capacity during times of flood. There is also need to rehabilitate a large stock of old infrastructure and to build new infrastructure. However, there is no mention of protecting or restoring downstream environments during this infrastructure investment. The CWRAS pragmatically focuses on the major issues facing Pakistan. Improving flows to restore the ecosystems of the Indus estuary is the only activity where the document explicitly advocates environmental flows.

Peru

The CWRAS does not mention environmental water issues. Although it states that a set of environmental policies were approved in 2002, it is not clear what they included. The major water issues facing Peru include health-rated water quality issues, access to sufficient water supply in dry coastal areas, and institutional reform. Environmental water issues do not appear to be seen as important.

The Philippines

The CWRAS mentions at an early stage that the Philippines faces “overexploitation of groundwater (particularly in and around the larger cities) and overuse of surface water, resulting in inadequate environmental flows for major basins and sub-basins.” There is a strong focus in the document on the need for water resources planning, development, and management to provide for ecological protection and sustain the environment. This planning should make provisions for environmental flows in rivers and coastal zones and for sustenance of ecologically important areas. The environmental water needs of aquifers should also be determined. Although the document also states that there is a need for both new water resources infrastructure as well as better management of existing infrastructure, the specific requirements are not spelled out and there is no mention of the need to ensure that environmental flows are incorporated into the planning of these projects. The Bank was assisting with the River Basin and Watershed Management Project at the time of the CWRAS. The CWRAS proposes that Bank-supported river basin management projects should include environmental sustainability components, including environmental flows for riverine and coastal benefit.

Tanzania

The Tanzanian CWRAS describes a number of occurrences where the neglect of environmental flows during agricultural and hydropower developments has led WATER RESOURCES ASSISTANCE STRATEGIES 163

to downstream issues, especially in the Rufiji basin. The 2002 national water policy includes a requirement for environmental flows. However, the CWRAS states that there are no standards or guidelines for establishing environmental flows, although a program has been designed (but has yet to be implemented) to train water resources staff in environmental flow assessments and implementation. The CWRAS identifies the need to include training in environmental aspects of water planning and management as an area where the Bank could assist. There is also a need to build an understanding among sectoral agencies of the importance of environmental flows.

Republic of Yemen

The Republic of Yemen has been reforming its water sector since the mid-1990s in response to water shortages. The lack of control over groundwater use had led to shortages for both agricultural and urban uses. There is considerable concern over the lack of physical sustainability of groundwater at the current rates of use, but there is no mention of any environmental impacts from the drop in water tables. Surface catchment problems are focused on the evident deterioration of watersheds, with impacts on downstream communities from upstream abstractions and pollution. Environmental issues do not figure in this description. The CWRAS critiques the Yemen National Water Sector Strategy Investment Program and identifies a number of omissions and weaknesses. None of these includes environmental sustainability issues. The CWRAS advocates that the Bank should invest in a watershed management project to balance upstream and downstream water uses and should support basin planning within the current framework. The absence of any mention of environmental flow issues for surface water or groundwater probably reflects the much higher priority being accorded to physical sustainability and equity issues.

Note

1 The Mesopotamian marshes now occupy only about 10 percent of their original area. Apart from the upstream impoundments and diversions, the Sadam Hussein government undertook deliberate engineering works to drain the marshes in retaliation for a revolt by the marsh Arabs following the First Gulf War.

APPENDIX E

Environmental Flow Programs of International Development Organizations and NGOs

SEVERAL PROMINENT INTERNATIONAL organizations, conservation NGOs, and research organizations1 have offered assistance to developing countries seeking to address and undertake EFAs and protect and restore downstream ecosystems. The assistance includes practical, longer-term technical assistance with EFAs for specific infrastructure projects, technical assistance and financial assistance for efforts to include concerns about downstream flow into river basin plans, shorter-term training and capacity building, and provision of resources for water resource and environmental specialists. The Bank is collaborating with development partners at several levels— global, regional, national, and basin—because of their experience, expertise, and comparative advantages as well as their presence on the ground. The Nature Conservancy and the Natural Heritage Institute have produced a technical guidance note for the Bank on integrating environmental flows into hydropower dam planning, design, and operations as a contribution to this ESW (Nature Conservancy and Natural Heritage Institute forthcoming). This has been published as a stand-alone note. The Bank is also collaborating with NHI and GEF to explore opportunities for examining the feasibility of reoperating existing dams and water systems in order to improve their economic and environmental performance. The relevant environmental-flow-related work of the various agencies is described in this appendix to inform Bank staff of the

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types of activities and potential opportunities for future collaboration. It is not intended to evaluate the effectiveness of the various EFA programs of these agencies. The majority of the assistance offered by international agencies and NGOs is for EFAs for river basin planning and project assessment, particularly reoperation of existing infrastructure, and the provision of training courses. Some of these institutions have also developed a wide range of support material, including printed and electronic documents, databases, a newsletter, training courses, Web sites, and an information network. Although the World Bank has worked with some of the specialist international NGOs in developing technical advisory documents, there are opportunities to increase the level of collaboration to combine their experience in EFAs and in training with the Bank’s experience in implementing projects. Contact details of these various partner agencies and NGOs are provided at the end of this appendix. International agencies and NGOs have been active in providing assistance to developing countries for incorporating environmental flows in policy reforms, basin and catchment plans, and assessments of new and rehabilitated infrastructure projects.

Policy and Legislation

A small number of international NGOs have influenced policy and legislation. In the eastern Himalayas in India, WWF is carrying out an environmental flow scoping study that will provide a platform to promote integration of the concept of environmental flows at the policy level. IUCN introduced the concept of environmental flows to the environment committee of the Costa Rican Parliament at the time a new water law was being proposed. Members of an expert network established by IUCN have subsequently been involved in preparing the new law. NHI was an author of a statutory mechanism in California for reallocating existing irrigation and municipal water rights to environment flows. The Environmental Water Account—a “water district for the environment”—is now the largest water purchaser in California.

Basin Planning

Various international agencies and NGOs provide assistance in incorporating environmental flow considerations into river basin plans. IUCN, through its Water and Nature Initiative (WANI), is funding case studies in Mesoamerica, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Africa, including an EFA in the Pangani basin, Tanzania (case study 8). The EFA will contribute to preparation of the basin water resources plan required under the draft Tanzanian water resources legislation and is helping to build capacity in EFA within Tanzania. ENVIRONMENTAL FLOW PROGRAMS 167

IUCN has also conducted a demonstration EFA in the Tempisque River basin in Costa Rica, which has stimulated interest in undertaking an EFA in Costa Rica’s Savgre River basin (Jiménez and others 2005). WWF is working with the USAID-funded Global Water for Sustainability (GLOWS) Program in the Mara River basin, transboundary to Kenya and Tanzania, to help ministries in both countries to carry out an EFA in preparation for basin planning. The EFA includes the environmental flow needs of the Masai Mara National Reserve and the Serengeti National Park, particularly during the dry season. In addition, WWF and DANIDA have initiated an EFA in the Ruaha basin in Tanzania. WWF has also identified a suitable methodology and developed an action plan for estimating environmental flow requirements in the Neretva River basin in Bosnia-Herzegovina. UNDP, as a GEF-implementing agency, is planning to conduct EFAs in two international river basins. One is in the Orange-Senqu River basin (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa), and the other is in the Okavango River basin (Angola, Namibia, South Africa). See box E.1. The EFA will be conducted as part of the transboundary diagnostic analysis required in GEF international waters projects. UNDP has also been working on the Zarka River basin in Jordan, looking at issues of environmental flows as part of the introduction of integrated river basin management concepts. The UNEP Global Programme of Action has developed a protocol for carrying out EFAs in Bangladesh. The protocol has been piloted at the Bakkhali River Rubber Dam, where there was a need to establish a balance between water for irrigation and dry-season flows for fish movement to increase fish production. IWMI has also been active in promoting EFAs within river basins, particularly in Asia. It is working with IUCN and Vietnamese government agencies to develop an environmental flow program in the Huong River basin in Vietnam (IUCN Vietnam 2005). To date, the assistance has been restricted to raising awareness and introducing concepts. IWMI has also applied the Nature Conservancy’s range of variability approach (Richter and others 1996) to three rivers in the East Rapti River basin, Nepal (Smakhtin, Shilpakar, and Hughes 2006), and to the Walawe River basin in Sri Lanka (Smakhtin and Weragala 2005). However, the lack of ecological data (in the Nepal applications) and the high uncertainty in the estimation of the natural flow regimes have limited the applicability of the method. IWMI has also applied the South African desktop method (case study 3) to assess the environmental flows of rivers in India, including the Cauvery, Krishna, Godavari, Narmada, and Mahanadi rivers (Smakhtin and Anputhas 2006). These applications illustrate a general lesson: it is difficult to transfer a method from one region of the world to another without carefully considering 168 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

BOX E.1 Flows in the Okavango Basin The Okavango basin, covering parts of Angola, Botswana, and Namibia, is one of the most natural areas on the African continent. The Okavango River forms a large inland delta, which comprises a large perennial swamp, a seasonally flooded swamp, seasonally flooded grassland, intermittently flooded land, and drylands. The complex includes more than 150,000 islands varying in size from several meters to 10 kilometers in length. This flood- pulse system is driven largely by rainfall in the upper parts of the catchment in Angola. The delta provides unique habitat that supports a rich and diverse biota, including some of Africa’s largest free-roaming herds of Cape buffalo, zebras, antelope, and elephants. The delta also includes between 2,000 and 3,000 species of plants, more than 65 species of fish, more than 162 arachnid species, and more than 650 species of birds. The associated tourism-related activities are the second most important economic activity in Botswana, after diamonds. Several potential sites for the development of hydropower generation have been identified in the upper reaches, and potential irrigation development has been identified in several parts of the basin. During the 1980s, the government of Botswana proposed a water development project to use water from the delta for mining, agriculture, and cattle production. The project was rejected as a result of a wide range of deficiencies relating both to the project itself and to the planning and design process. However, the changing regional political context and the need to ensure socioeconomic development in some of the region’s most remote and under- developed areas mean that there is continuing pressure to develop the waters of the delta. Consequently, there is a newfound urgency to secure environmental allocations to protect the delta’s rich diversity. Increasing development pressures, the need to address development challenges, and increasing peace and stability throughout the basin resulted in establishment of an institutional framework to facilitate joint planning. The three riparian countries established the permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM) in 1994. This is a tripartite institution aimed at promoting coordinated and environmentally sustainable regional water resources development, while addressing the legitimate social and economic needs of each of the riparian states. The OKACOM Secretariat has responsibility for determining and facilitating water allocations within the Okavango basin. However, there has yet to be a rigorous assessment of the environmental flow requirements of the Okavango River basin.

Source: http://www.okacom.org. ENVIRONMENTAL FLOW PROGRAMS 169

the assumptions behind the method and understanding the purpose for which the method was developed and its limitations. IUCN has run a wetlands program since the early 1990s in conjunction with Ramsar. This work included the determination of the water needed to maintain ecological functioning of wetland habitats and the delivery of goods and services to local livelihoods. Although this work was not undertaken for basin planning purposes, it would contribute to basin-level water allocation planning. The term environmental flows was not used to describe this work, but it would be classified under this heading today.

Rehabilitating and Reoptimizing Infrastructure

NHI specializes in reoptimizing major irrigation, power, and flood management systems to add to the supply side of the water balance. (Appendix B contains a summary of the infrastructure design features needed for releasing environmental flows.) The reoperation techniques, which include economic optimization modeling, conjunctive management of surface water and groundwater, reduction of physical losses of water in irrigation, and rescheduling of total hydropower production and system reliability, provide more water to formerly productive downstream river systems in ways that do not significantly reduce production benefits. Demonstration activities are being considered in the Yangtze, Yellow, and Pearl River basins in China, in the Hadejia-Nguru wetlands system in northern Nigeria, and for the Akosombo and Kpong dams on the lower Volta in Ghana. NHI is also helping to optimize surface water and groundwater management in the central valley of California to provide more water for the environment. It is also exploring a variety of economic incentives that can be used to improve agricultural water use efficiency, with the “saved” water being dedicated to the restoration of environmental flow. NHI is working with GEF-implementing agencies to help developing countries to reoperate existing dams. It prepared a project concept to GEF for a project that will pilot the reoptimization of two dams, in Ghana and Nigeria, to enhance environmental flows as well as power generation and water-related livelihoods. The hydrology of the Parana River, Brazil, has been severely altered by 26 large reservoirs. UNESCO, through its Ecohydrology Programme, is helping to restore the ecosystem functioning of this river through a modified procedure for operating the Porto Primavera Dam. This will maintain the biodiversity of a reach of the river and improve local incomes without significant loss of hydroelectric production. 170 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

The Nature Conservancy has worked extensively with dam operators in the United States to modify how and when water is released in order to restore and protect river systems and associated land and wetlands. In particular, its collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at 26 dams in 13 states across the United States has helped to define and implement environmental flows through adaptive reservoir management, and this experience is now being rolled out across other dams operated by the USACE. These studies have resulted in changes in the timing, rather than the volume, of flow releases, thus minimizing the cost to the operators of the dams. In Mozambique, the Nature Conservancy is preparing to assist the Zambezi River Authority to rebuild the river’s health by restoring environmental flows below the Kariba and Cahorra Bassa Dams. WWF has worked with Zambian authorities to improve the operating rules of the Kafue Gorge and Itezhi-tezhi Dams in order to improve the management of water resources in the Kafue flats, which are a wetland of international importance under Ramsar. The aim is to provide a more natural flow regime in order to restore wetland functions and values.

New Infrastructure

NHI and the Nature Conservancy are helping to introduce environmental flows concepts in Africa, China, and Latin America. The Nature Conservancy has been developing a comprehensive conservation plan for the upper Yangtze, while collaborating with World Wide Fund for Nature, which is working on the lower Yangtze. As part of this, it facilitated a meeting, which has led to a draft report that lays the basis for environmental flows in the upper Yangtze. It has more recently been invited to assist the Three Gorges Company in developing environmental flow recommendations. In Latin America, the Nature Conservancy has been conducting an environmental flow assessment for the Patuca III hydropower plant on the Patuca River in Honduras. The river supports globally important aquatic biodiversity and flows through a reserve for indigenous communities and other protected areas. The EFA will provide the information for protecting these important biological and cultural values. The Nature Conservancy’s “payment for environmental services project” at Quito, Ecuador, includes an environmental flows component. The Nature Conservancy is also assisting with environmental flow analyses for rivers in Colombia and Peru, where new water fund projects are following the Quito model.

Training and Capacity Building ENVIRONMENTAL FLOW PROGRAMS 171

A considerable number of international agencies and NGOs offer support for training and capacity building in environmental flows. UNDP promotes capacity building at local, regional, national, and global levels through the Cap-Net Program implemented by UNDP together with the Global Water Partnership and UNESCO’s Institute for Water Education. The program supports 12 regional and national networks of water management capacity-building institutions around the world. In South Africa, a Cap-Net network called WaterNet2 is using its members to develop a regional master’s program in water management. This includes training modules that focus on water for the environment to maintain ecosystem functioning.

BOX E.2 The Huong River Basin, Vietnam The Tam Giang-Cau Hai lagoon at the mouth of the Huong River in central Vietnam is an important asset for local villagers. It provides fisheries and brackish water for agriculture, transport, and harbor facilities and, in recent times, has been used for aquaculture. It is also suitable for tourism development. A number of dikes and barriers have been erected to prevent flooding along the river and dams; the most notable is the Thao Long Barrage. Barriers above the lagoon now prevent seawater intrusion from the lagoon during the dry season. Two new dams—Ta Trach and Binh Dien—have been proposed to provide further flood protection. Provincial officials were keen to develop an ecosystem-based approach to managing the basin and its infrastructure and asked IUCN and IWMI to assist. A rapid assessment EFA workshop was held in Hanoi in December 2004. Prior to the workshop, Vietnamese water managers understood environmental flows to mean minimum flows, which were established through a hydrologic formula. They had set this minimum flow to be 31 cubic meters per second, to be released from the Thao Long Barrage to flow into the lagoon. In their view, it had become the dominant flow requirement. The workshop went beyond the usual rapid hydrological assessment to include ecological assessments of different hydrological scenarios, including the effects of the proposed dams. While this rapid assessment was inadequate for establishing defensible environmental flows, it was successful in raising awareness about the use of a holistic approach to flow assessment. It also succeeded in identifying possible barriers to EFA implementation and ways to overcome these barriers. It will be important to link further work on environmental flows in this river basin to poverty alleviation and livelihoods.

Source: IUCN Vietnam 2005. 172 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

In addition to conducting regular training courses for the USACE, the Nature Conservancy provides environmental flows training at international conferences so that participants from developing countries have opportunities to receive training in environmental flows. Some NGOs have conducted awareness-raising workshops. IWMI has run a national workshop in India on environmental flows that brought together government departments, nongovernmental organizations, and research institutions. IUCN has organized workshops to raise awareness and increase understanding of environmental flows in Vietnam (see box E.2) and Cambodia. IUCN has also run a training course in Mesoamerica to develop a nucleus of champions of environmental flows. Some training is available electronically. The Nature Conservancy will be making its training courses available online, and IUCN has established a distance learning electronic training course3 that has modules designed for decision makers, which explain the benefits of environmental flows, and technical managers,

BOX E.3 Environmental Sustainability in Southern Africa The Southern Africa Development Community—with support from the Southern Africa Research and Documentation Centre, IUCN, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and the World Bank—has published a report on environmental sustainability in water resources management. It contains chapters on the role of aquatic ecosystems in water resources management, valuation of the environment, and the application of EFA in southern Africa. It is a valuable resource for environmental flows in that region. The report identifies 10 challenges facing the introduction of EFA in southern Africa: 1. Lack of political will 2. Poor harmonization of policies for transboundary resources 3. Limited awareness and training in EFA 4. Lack of data on Southern African rivers 5. Inherent unpredictability of complex systems 6. Unknown influence of climate change on runoff 7. Lack of monitoring programs 8. Incompatible dam design with the necessary environmental flow releases 9. Need to rectify poor design of existing dams 10. Need to treat water as a finite resource.

Source: Hirji and others 2002. ENVIRONMENTAL FLOW PROGRAMS 173

which elaborate on methods for assessment, adaptations to existing or proposed infrastructure, and financing of EFAs.

Resource Materials and Awareness

There is a considerable array of electronic and hardcopy resource materials from international organizations and NGOs to assist developing countries (see box E.3). The following resources are available electronically: ■ A global environmental flows network, established by IUCN, IWMI, the Nature Conservancy, and several other development assistance institutions,4 which acts as a central reference point for knowledge and information on environmental flows ■ An environmental flows newsletter (IWMI and the Global Water Partnership) ■ Three publicly available data sets developed by IWMI on (1) estimates of environmental flow requirements in world river basins; (2) environmental flow assessment for aquatic ecosystems; and (3) quantification of hydrological functions of inland wetlands ■ A flow restoration database, which catalogues and organizes case studies of modified dam operations, removal of dams, groundwater pumping, and other strategies to restore river flows (the Nature Conservancy). Finally, two international environmental flow conferences have been held, the first in Cape Town, South Africa, and the second in 2007 in Brisbane, Australia. A third is planned for South Africa in March 2009.

Contact Details

IUCN Rue Mauverney 28 Gland 1196 Switzerland PH: +41 (22) 999-0000 FAX: +41 (22) 999-0002 EMAIL: [email protected] IWMI Headquarters 127, Sunil Mawatha, Pelwatte, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka 174 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS IN WATER RESOURCES POLICIES, PLANS, AND PROJECTS

PH: +94 (11) 288-0000 FAX: +94 (11) 278-6854 EMAIL: [email protected] Natural Heritage Institute Main Office 100 Pine St., Suite 1550 San Francisco, CA 94111 USA PH: +1 (415) 693-3000 FAX: +1 (415) 693-3178 EMAIL: [email protected] The Nature Conservancy Worldwide Office 4245 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 100 Arlington, VA 22203-1606 USA PH: +1 (703) 841-5300 WEB: http://www.nature.org UNDP Headquarters United Nations Development Programme One United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017 USA PH: +1 (212) 906-5000 FAX: +1 (212) 906-5364 UNEP United Nations Environment Programme United Nations Avenue, Gigiri P.O. Box 30552, 00100 Nairobi, Kenya PH: +254 (20) 762-1234 FAX: +254 (20) 762-4489/90 UNESCO 1, rue Miollis 75732 Paris Cedex 15 France PH: +33 (0)1 45 681-000 FAX: +33 (0)1 45 671-690 ENVIRONMENTAL FLOW PROGRAMS 175

WEB: www.unesco.org EMAIL: [email protected] WWF WWF International, Av. du Mont-Blanc 1196 Gland Switzerland FAX: +41 (22) 364-0074 WEB: http://www.panda.org/

Notes

1 The Center for Ecology and Hydrology (Wallingford, UK), University of Cape Town (South Africa), and Florida International University are three prominent research organizations that are active in providing assistance in environmental flows to developing countries. 2 http://www.waternetonline.ihe.nl/default.php. 3 Available at www.waterandnature.org/flow. 4 Stockholm International Water Institute, DHI Water and Environment, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Swedish Water House, and Delft Hydraulics.

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INDEX

Boxes, figures, notes, and tables are indicated by b, f, n, and t, respectively.

A C action agenda, 139–40 Cap-Network, 170–71 agriculture, ix, 3, 16, 27, 30b, 34, 100b, 140, capacity building, 141–42, 170–72 153b, 161, 168b, 171b Caroni swamp, Trinidad and Tobago, 31b Aral Sea project, 94t, 112t, 127 case studies, 4–6, 21, 61–65 major findings from, 95t basin-level, 83–92 assistance. See support challenges, 93 Australia, 6, 20, 28f, 34, 36b, 68t, 69, 75–79, 80t, institutional drivers, 90, 91t 87, 89, 99, 119, 124, 131 lessons, 92 National Water Initiative (NWI), 70–72, 76, criteria for, 62 84b, 91t, influence of, 110 water policy, 68t, 71, 72b, 75, 80t, 84t policy, 67–82 water trading, 36b, 74, 141 challenges, 79 awareness-raising workshops, 171 institutional drivers, 80–81t lessons, 79 B projects, 93–116 challenges, 115–116 Bangladesh, 167 characteristics of, 94t CWRAS, 45t, 47, 155–56 lessons, 115–16 Bank–Netherlands Water Partnership Program major findings from, 95t–98t (BNWPP), 4, 17, 23n, 55 selection of, 61 and environmental flow window, 18b, 21, catchment plans, 5. See also basin plans. 49–50 challenges, 7, 121–22 assistance to World Bank projects, 51t–54t Chilika lagoon project, 94t, 96t, 111t expert panel assistance, 128 China, CWRAS, 19b, 44, 45t, 47–48, basin, 9n 156–57 basin plans, 5, 69, 73, 83–92, 166–69 water storage, 28f BC Hydro, 101, 102, 104b, 108, 112t, 114 climate change, 15–16, 71–72, 85, 140 benefit sharing, 7, 15, 123–24 and evapotranspiration, 122b Berg River Dam project, 94t, 100, 103, 106, ecosystem services, 122–23 107, 111t, 114, 125 water demand and supply, 2 major findings from, 95t collaboration, 55–58 monitoring, 105b, 109 Conference on Water and the Environment, biophysical impacts, 42t, 152 1992 Dublin, 41 Bridge River Reoperation project, 88, 94t, 99, Convention on the Uses of Transboundary 102, 103, 108–10, 112t, 114, 125 Watercourses and International major findings from, 96t Lakes, 29 structured assessment, 104b costs of EFAs, 6, 89, 106–109, 130 Brisbane Declaration, 22n, 139–42 country water resource assistance strategies bypass flows, 105, 114, 151 (CWRASs), 19b, 43, 47–49

183 184 INDEX

by country, 155–63 flow-dependent, 30b–31b inclusion of environmental flows, 43–44, water-dependent, 31–33 45–46t value of, 108 ecosystems, 16, 74–75 D flow impacts, 150–51 dams, 4, 15–16, 57b, 143, 150f. See also foundation of well-being, 139–40 downstream impacts include in EFAs, 133t consideration of upstream/downstream restoration, 99, 120, 131 issues, 43f Ecuador, Hydropower Umbrella Project, 54t fish passage structures, 146–47 EIAs. See environmental impact assessments rehabilitation, 3, 14b, 37, 48–49, 93, enforcement, 62, 76–77, 101, 141 109–110, 112t, 115 Environmental Assessment Sourcebook, reoperating, 36, 57, 108, 165 39, 135 reregulating, 145 environmental flow assessments (EFAs), 3, 13, World Commission on Dams, 29, x 90, 167. See also Downstream Response DANIDA, 55, 167 to Imposed Flow Transformation data sources, 21 apply to noninfrastructure projects, 133t data, use of field data, 88 assessment method and data, 62 decision making, 2–3, 16, 34, 36, 86 policy level,75 allocation plans and benchmarks, 100–101 basin level, 86 chart of process, 39f project level, 103 integration of environmental flows, 124, 129 basin level, 84b integration of environmental, social, and challenges in southern Africa, 172b economic outcomes, 88, 149–50 cost-effectiveness, 89, 106–9 stakeholder participation mechanisms, costs of not conducting, 130 102–03 decision making, 34 development, 15, 168b downstream impacts of projects, 114–15 altering flow regimes, 28 influence of, 89–90 on floodplains, 30b–31b institutional drivers, 62–64 Dominican Republic, CWRAS, 157 integrate into planning and EIAs and SEAs, downstream impacts, 15, 16, 131 133t, 134t assess during planning and design, 39–41 integration of environmental, social, and biophysical, 42t economic outcomes, 88 case studies’ considerations for, 101–2 international and NGO support, 165–175 communities and people powerless, 152 levels of in South Africa, 87b documenting issues, 43, 43f methods, 33–34, 152 economic assessment in LHWP, 107b method development, 121–22 infrastructure project assessments, 114–15 multiple techniques need to be integrate into planning, 133t implemented, 87 restoration of, 99, 100b project implementation success, 131 Downstream Response to Imposed Flow restricted use of and adoption of, 16 Transformation (DRIFT), 6, 35t, 87, 97t, scientific basis for and methodology, 6 126b–127b, 152 times and resource requirements, 35t droughts, 16, 64b, 77 transboundary, 90 whole water cycle considerations, 72b, E 85–86 environmental flows, 33–34, 71, 79. See also East Asia and Pacific Region, CWRAS, 157 flows Ecohydrology Programme, 169 acceptance of, 6–9, 99–100 ecological knowledge, 120–21 debate over, 13, 15, 16 ecological reserve, 84t, 91t, 124, 151 definition of, 1, 13, 142n, 149, 151 economic assessment, 106, 107b estimate needs for future action, 140–41 ecosystem restoration, 99, 114, 127 estuaries, 3, 6, 22n, 32, 71, 101, 119, 122, ecosystem services, 1–2, 13, 69, 101, 122–23 139–40 INDEX 185

focus shift from single species to broader minimum flows and levels, 69, 70, 124 issues, 120 regulation, 28 inclusion drivers, 63b, 64b–65b freshwater ecosystems, 32, 139–40 inclusion in CWRASs, 44, 45t–46t, 155–163 freshwater species loss, 29 IWRM linkages, 13, 14b, 17, 38, 130–31 mainstreamed and institutionalized, 85, 119 G new business model, 17 global action agenda, 140–42 non-infrastructure projects, 30–31, 135 Global Water for Sustainability (GLOWS) provision methodology, 34, 36 Program, 167 role of scientific institutions in Global Water Partnership, 170 introducing, 78 Gorai River Augmentation Project, 156 scientific knowledge of, 120–21 groundwater, 3, 30, 32, 44, 71, 72b, 85 terminology, 151 Tanzania program, 50b H environmental impact assessments (EIAs), 3, 39, 106, 123 holistic approach, 33–34, 35t, 86–87, 120 Environmental Summit, Rio de Janeiro Honduras, 153b, 158 (1992), 41 Huong River basin, Vietnam, 171b environmental sustainability, 29–30, 172b hydrological knowledge, 120–21, 123 environmental water allocation, 2, 70, 84b, 85, hydropower dams. See also dams 125, 131, 151 designing for environmental flows, 57b environmental water priorities, 69 Hydropower Umbrella Project, Ecuador, 54t Equator Principles, 30, 40n equity of water distribution, 13, 34 I escapages, 48b, 151 Ethiopia, implementation, 69, 79, 130 CWRAS, 45t, 157–58 impoundment effects upstream, 22n water storage, 28f India, CWRAS, 45t, 158–59 European Union (EU), 6, 68t, 69, 75–76, 80t indigenous knowledge, 153b evaluative drivers Indus Delta, environmental flows to, 46t, policy level, 64b, 80t, 48b, 161 basin level, 63b, 91t infrastructure, 19, 106 project level, 63b, 111t, 112t development, 3, 27, 47–48 evapotranspiration, 30–31, 122b water release, 143–44 infrastructure projects, 15, 37, 125–28, 170 analysis of, 41–42 F assessing downstream impacts, 114–15 fish passage structures, 146–47 BNWPP assistance, 51t–54t floodplains, encroaching on, 30b–31b drivers for new and restoration projects, floods, 16, 30b–31b 111t–113t Florida, United States, water policy, 68t, high risk/high reward, 17 69–79, 81t inclusion of environmental flows, flow regime, 14, 28, 32, 33f, 101, 150–51 5–6, 63b flows, 2–3. See also environmental flows new business model for, ix allocation, 37 rehabilitation, 93, 108–9 changes, 1–2, 28, 140 and reoptimizing, 169–70 ecosystem impacts, 22, 150–51 through the CWRAS, 48–49 functions, 32–33 reoperation and new, 93, 108, 125 instream, bypass, minimum, natural, and World Bank assistance, 126 compensation, 151 Institute for Water Education, 170 management, 140 institutional drivers, 62–64, 77–79 single species versus holistic approach, basin-level, 90, 91t 33–34 institutional frameworks, 141 minimum, 84b, 101, 127b, 151, 171 instream flow requirement (IFR), 86, 151 186 INDEX

instream flow incremental methodology language barriers, 103 (IFIM), 35t, legislation, 47, 166–67, 169 instrumental drivers lending safeguard policies, 18b basin level, 63b, 91t Lesotho Highlands River, monitoring results, project level, 63b, 111t, 112t 110t integrated water resources management Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), 6, (IWRM), 3, 14b, 38 37, 50, 51t integration of environmental flows, 106, 124 achievements of, 126, 126b–127b framework for action, 132, 133t–134t characteristics of, 94t into land management, 141 drivers for new infrastructure, 112t integration of social, economic, and economic assessment of downstream environmental outcomes, 88 impacts, 107b interception of overland flows, 15, 71, economic rate of return for flow scenarios, 122, 133t 108t international agreements and consensus for lessons from, 131 policy inclusion, 78–79 major findings from, 97t International Hydropower Association, 29–30 Lower Kihansi Environmental Management International River Symposium and Project 37, 50, 51t International Environmental Flows characteristics, 94t Conference (10th), 139 drivers, 111t International Union for Conservation of major findings from, 97t Nature (IUCN), 29, 166–67, 169, 172 monitoring, value of, 101, 105, 109 contact details, 174 Huong River basin, Vietnam, 171b M Pangani basin EFA, 84b, 90, 91t training, 172 Manantali Dam, 93, 144 International Water Management Institute market mechanisms, 73–74 (IWMI), 167, 171 Mekong basin, Southeast Asia, 86, 125 contact details, 173 EFAs, 84b, 91t Huong River basin, Vietnam, 171b Mekong region, CWRAS, 45t, 160 newsletter, 173 Mekong River, 30b Iran, Islamic Republic of, CWRAS, 44, 45t, 159 Mekong River Water Utilization Project, 52t Iraq, CWRAS, 45t, 159–60 Mesopotamian marshes, 163n irrigation, ix methodology, 21, 33–34 Mexico, policy assistance, 53t J Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), 27 Mississippi River, United States, 30b judicial drivers monitoring, 7, 76–77, 110t basin level, 63b, 91t Berg River Dam, 105b, 125 project level, 63b, 111t, 112t, 114 ecological outcomes, 85, 88, 92, 104–5, 114 K flow provisions, 101 Kenya, CWRAS, 45t, 160 for baseline as well as enforcement and knowledge, indigenous, 153b management, 109–10 Kruger National Park, South Africa, 88 Lesotho Highlands Water Project, 127b EFAs, 84b, 87–88, 91t Mozambique, CWRAS, 46t, 161 influence, 89–90 Murray-Darling basin, 71, 72b, 116n Kura-Araz basin, rehabilitation project, 54t N L Nakivubo swamp, Uganda, 31b Lake Taitema, China, 100b National Institutes of Health, 57 land-use change impacts, 122 Natural Heritage Institute (NHI), 55, 57, 165, land-use conflicts, 78b 166, 169 INDEX 187

contact details, 173 projects. See case studies; infrastructure rehabilitation and reoptimization, 169 projects Nature Conservancy, 56–7, 165 public drivers contact details, 174 policy level, 64b, 77, 80t, range of variability method, 167 basin level, 63b, 90, 91t restore and protect river systems, 169–70 project level, 63b, 110, 111t, 112t training, 171–72 Ningbo Water and Environment Project, 50, 53t R nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), 114, ramping, 144 165–175 Ramsar, 169 recommendations, 131–32 O regulatory drivers, 63b Okavango basin, flows in, 168b rehabilitation infrastructure projects, 93, Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du Fleuve 169–70 Sénégal (OMVS), 101–2 reoperation projects, 57b, 93, 125 organizations’ contacts, 173–74 reregulating dam, 145 organizations’ support, international and reservoirs, 144–46 NGOs, 4, 114, 165–68 resource materials, 127–28, 172–74 organizations, collaboration with, 55–58 restoration projects, Tarim basin, 127 Orissa Water Resources Project, 52t Rio Patuca dam, 153b outlet capacities, 143–45 river system, 40n river system management, 150 P rivers, protecting, 141 Pakistan, CWRAS, 46t, 48, 161 Pangani basin, Tanzania, 84b, 91t S Parana River, Brazil, 169 safeguard policies, 18b, 40n, 55, 56b partner collaboration, 55–58 scientific achievements, 120–23 Patuca River hydropower plant, 170 scientific institutions, encouraging Peru, CWRAS, 162 environmental flows in policy, 78 Philippines, the, CWRAS, 46t, 162 scientific knowledge, 120, 152 Pioneer catchment, Australia, 84b, 91t sediment management and bypass planning, 73, 134t structures, 146 achievements, 124–25 sediment trapping, 145 dams, evolution of, 150f Senegal River basin project, 94t, 102b, 144 international and NGO support, drivers for infrastructure rehabilitation, 166–67, 169 113t scientific knowledge for, 152 major findings from, 98t policy, 47, 83, 166 sluice gates, 146 Australian, 71 social decision making, 3, 14, 76 drivers for, 64b–65b societal objectives, 40n summary of lessons, 79 South Africa, 68t, 153n. See also Berg River policy reform, 77–78 Dam political will, 69 drivers for policy reform and inclusion, procedural drivers 80t policy level, 64b, 80t, EFA levels, 87b basin level, 63b, 90, 91t National Water Act, 28, 83–85, 84b, 125 project level, 63b, 99–100, 111t, 112t, water storage, 28f 114professional drivers Southern Africa Development Community, policy level, 65b, 77, 80t, 172b basin level, 63b, 91t species, loss of, 29f project level, 63b, 111t, 112t stakeholder participation, 75, 86, 141 project analysis, 41–42 decision making, 153 188 INDEX

project case studies, 102–3 water allocation, 38, 99 Senegal basin, 102b basin-level planning, 84b strategic environmental assessments (SEAs), decision making, 3, 14, 34 3, 61 equity of, 13 support, 6, 19b, 165–68 overallocated, 74 organizational and collaborative, 55–58 prioritizing, 67, 69 resource material and assistance, 127–28, scientific knowledge for, 152 172–74 Water and Nature Initiative (WANI), 166 Water Apportionment Accord, Pakistan, 48 T water charter, 102b Tanzania, 68t, 70 water cycle, 71, 72b, 85–86 CWRAS, 46t, 162 Water Framework Directive (WFD), EU, 69, drivers for policy reform and inclusion, 80t 71, 124 environmental flows program, 50b reporting, monitoring and enforcement, 76–77 water use conflicts, 78b stakeholder participation, 75 water policy, 47, 68t, 69, 72, 81t, 84t, 85, 91t 124, 162, water impacts on nonriverine components, 122 Tarim basin project, 94t, 113t water management, 47, 74, 90 major findings from, 98t water mechanisms, 73–75 restoration of, 100b, 127 water planning, basin level, 83, 85–90 technical notes, 19b water policy, 38, 71, 134t terminology, 76, 103, 121 achievements of, 124 Tonle Sap, Cambodia, 30b–31b assessment criteria, 62 training, 49, 170–72, 171b assessment of effectiveness, 67–77 transboundary settings, 47, 85, 86 characteristics by country, 68t CWRAS, 160 inclusion of environmental flows, 4–5, 8–9, EFAs, 90 37–38, 134t water policy, 72–73 institutional drivers for, 64–65b, 80t turbine-generator capacities, 143–44 legislation and legitimacy of environmental flows, 70 U lessons, 79 United Nations Convention of Non- transboundary, 72–73 Navigational Uses of International water policy reform, 77–79, 80t–81t Watercourse, 29 water quality, 141, 144 United Nations Development Programme water recovery, 36, 74 (UNDP), 167, 170 water requirements, change of due to contact details, 174 climate, 16 United Nations Educational, Scientific, and water resources, 27, 172b Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 169, planning, 34, 124–25 170 entry points for environmental flows, 37 contact details, 174 water resources management policy (WRMP), United Nations Environment Programme 18b, 41 (UNEP), 167 water resources sector strategy (WRSS), 18b contact details, 174 water rights, 38, 70 United States, water policy, 68t redistribution difficulties, 99 upstream impacts, 42t, 43f water sharing, 72–73, 100–101, 123 water storage, 27, 28f, 145 V water stratification, 144 Vision for Water and Nature, 32 water trading, 36b, 74 water, surplus, 151 W water-use conflicts, 78b WaterNet, 170–71 water access, 15, 27 WFD. See Water Framework Directive INDEX 189

workshops. See training framework for action and strengthening World Bank, 3, 4, x. See also country water capacity, 132, 133t–134t, 135–36 resource assistance strategies lending policy shift, 18 Aral Sea and Tarim basin recovery major contributions, 6–7 projects, 127 policy influence, 124 See also Bank-Netherlands Water project analysis, 41–42 Partnership Programme (BNWPP) project decision-making assistance, 126 China not maximizing assistance, 156 project examples, 18 collaboration with international safeguard policies, 55, 56b organizations and NGOs, 165–68 World Commission on Dams, 29, x EFA implementation success, 131 World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Tanzania, 78b, environmental flow evolvement, 17–20 166, 167 environmental flows integration into contact details, 174 policies, strategies, and resources, WRMP. See water resources management 18b–19b, 129–30 policy environmental sustainability commitment, WRSS. See water resources sector strategy 19, 41 expanding involvement, 7–9 Y ECO-AUDIT Environmental Benefits Statement

The World Bank is committed to preserving Saved: endangered forests and natural resources. • 8 trees The Office of the Publisher has chosen to print • 5 million Btu of total Environmental Flows in Water Resources energy Policies, Plans, and Projects on recycled • 663 lb. of net paper with 30 percent postconsumer fiber in greenhouse gases accordance with the recommended standards • 2,754 gal. of waste for paper usage set by the Green Press water Initiative, a nonprofit program supporting • 354 lb. of solid publishers in using fiber that is not sourced waste from endangered forests. For more information, visit www.greenpressinitiative.org.

“This report addresses one of the greatest shortcomings of water resource development projects: the inadequate protection of environmental flow conditions in rivers, lakes, wetlands, estuaries, and groundwater systems. This deficiency has affected hundreds of millions of people whose lifestyles and well-being depend upon natural ecosystem services provided by healthy freshwater systems. Anticipating that many new water development projects will be built in coming decades for the purpose of alleviating poverty and managing water risks associated with climate change, efforts to mainstream environmental flow considerations into this ongoing water development are of the greatest urgency. The book outlines a clear, cogent, and compelling framework to guide needed growth in the Bank’s support for environmental flow protection and restoration. The authors, and the World Bank itself by extension, are to be commended for addressing these issues in a forthright and constructive manner.” Brian Richter Co-Director of Global Freshwater Program The Nature Conservancy

“This World Bank report significantly advances the discourse on the operational and policy challenges related to environmental flow implementation and will form a substantial contribution to the climate change adaptation agenda.” Dr. Tom Le Quesne Senior Freshwater Policy Advisor World Wildlife Fund, UK

“The [report]… comprises a substantial, well-researched, and well-articulated expression of findings, lessons, and recommendations on mainstreaming environmental flow requirements into water resources investments and policy reforms. The report has identified and reviewed much of the available experience and literature on the topic. It provides a solid and credible base upon which to mainstream environmental flow requirements into water resources investments and policy reforms.” John Scanlon Principal Advisor to the Executive Director on Policy and Programme United Nations Environment Programme

ISBN : 978-0-8213-7940-0

SKU 17940 Paper number 117 ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT PAPERS Natural Resource Management Series Environment Department THE WORLD BANK

1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: 202-473-3641

Facsimile: 202-477-0565 Environmental Flows in Water Resources Policies, Plans, and Projects Environmental Flows in Water Resources Policies, Plans, and Projects Case Studies

Rafik Hirji and Richard Davis

April 2009

Sustainable Development Vice Presidency Printed on recycled paper stock, using soy inks.

cover 117 Env flows.indd 1 4/16/2009 4:56:49 PM The World Bank Environment Department

Environmental Flows in Water Resources Policies, Plans, and Projects Case Studies

Rafik Hirji and Richard Davis

April 2009

Papers in this series are not formal publications of the World Bank. They are circulated to encourage thought and discussion. The use and citation of this paper should take this into account. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the World Bank. Copies are available from the Environment Department of the World Bank by calling 202-473-3641.

Environmental flow 4-9-09.indd 1 4/9/09 12:44:47 PM © The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/THE WORLD BANK 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.

Manufactured in the United States of America First printing January 2008

Design: Jim Cantrell Cover photo:

Gas flaring, natural gas being burned to CO2 during oil production: Simone D. McCourtie/World Bank Photo Library

Manufactured in the United States of America First printing April 2009

Design: Jim Cantrell Cover images: left: Chinese fisher, Shutterbox Images LLC right: The Lower Kihansi Hydropower Plant and bypass release valve, Tanzania; Dr. Fadhila H A Khatibu, National Environment Management Council

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Contents

Foreword v

Acknowledgments vii

Acronyms ix

Summary xiii

I Case Study Criteria 1 Selection of Case Studies 3 Case Study Characteristics 3 Case Study Assessment 5

II Policy Case Studies 9 Australian Water Reform 11 European Union Water Framework Directive 21 South Africa National Water Policy and Legislation 31 Tanzania National Water Policy 41 Florida Water Management Policy 51

III Basin/Catchment Plan Case Studies 59 Kruger National park and Catchments 61 Mekong River Basin 71 Pangani Basin Environmental Flow Assessment 81 Pioneer Catchment 87

IV Project Case Studies 93 Restoration of the Northern Aral Sea 95 Berg Water Project 101 Bridge River Water Use Plan 111 Restoration of Chilika Lagoon 121 Lesotho Highlands Water Project 129 Lower Kihansi Gorge Restoration Project 137 Senegal River Basin 145 Tarim Basin 153

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Tables

A.1 Characteristics of Case Studies 4 11.1 Condition Ratings for the Berg River 102 11.2 The Yield, Cost, and other Implications of Environmental Release Scenarios 108 16.1 Value of Floodplain Production under Pre-dam Conditions 147

Figures

A.1 Location of Case Studies 4 2.1 Status options for water bodies in the WFD 22 13.1 Total Fish, Prawn, and Crab Landings in Chilika Lagoon, 1995–2005 122

Boxes

A.1 Assessment Criteria for In-Stream Flow Programs in the United States 5 A.2 Drivers for Environmental Flows 7 A.3 Drivers for Water Resource Policy Reform and Inclusion of Environmental Flows 8 1.1 ARMCANZ/ANZECC National Principles for the Provision of Water for Ecosystems 12 1.2 Interpreting Environmentally Sustainable Levels of Extraction 15 2.1 Wetlands and Environmental Flows in Spain 27 3.1. Development of Environmental Flow Methods in South Africa 34 4.1 Tanzania Water Management Conflicts 42 5.1 Minimum Flows and Levels 52 6.1 Transboundary Water Management 61 6.2 Instream flow Requirements and the Building Block Methodology 63 7.1 The Tonle Sap Ecosystem 71 8.1 Water Use Conflicts in the Pangani Basin 81 11.1 The Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) 104 12.1 The Stl’atl’imx First Nation 116

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Foreword

nvestments in infrastructure provide opportunities The World Bank’s 2003 Water Resources Sector for economic growth and poverty alleviation. Many Strategy calls for investing in “high risk” infrastructure developing nations face the major development projects (such as dams) in an environmentally and challenge of providing the infrastructure to meet the socially responsible manner. It calls for a new business Igrowing demand for water for domestic consumption, model for developing high risk water infrastructure that agriculture, energy and industry and to buffer against takes full account of both upstream and downstream the vulnerabilities to floods and droughts. Climate environmental and social impacts of the infrastructure change is likely to heavily impact water supply and in a timely, predictable, and cost effective manner. demand and worsen extreme events. Adaptation to Apart from reducing uncertainties associated with climate variability and climate change may require project decision making and financing, this socially a suite of solutions including investments in water and environmentally responsible approach will help resources management policies, plans and institutions, sustain ecosystem services on which many poor people demand management, conservation and protection in developing countries rely. The formation of the of watersheds, lakes, wetlands and aquifers as well as Sustainable Development Network in 2007 has further rehabilitation, upgrading and construction of new elevated environmental responsibility as a core element on-stream and off-stream abstractions, small and large of the World Bank’s work. dams, and interbasin transfers as well as conjunctive use of surface and ground water. The global food crisis has The World Bank’s own analysis and the far-reaching refocused attention on improving agriculture, including report of the World Commission of Dams have investment in irrigation infrastructure among other both shown that dam developments have not always actions in developing nations, while the global energy been planned, designed or operated satisfactorily. crisis has drawn attention to accelerating investments in Even though dams generate considerable benefits in energy production, including hydropower development. aggregate, these benefits have not always been shared The current global financial and economic crisis equitably. Dams have often been developed without is adding weight to the argument for increasing adequate consideration for either the environment or investments in infrastructure in the water, transport, the people downstream of the dam who rely on local and energy and other sectors in both developed and ecosystem based services. developing nations both as a solution to and buffer The World Bank’s knowledge and experience in against the uncertainties associated with the economic addressing impacts upstream of dams has advanced downturn. In all cases, SDN’s challenge will be how considerably over recent decades. However, its experience and at what pace to increase infrastructure investments in addressing the downstream impacts of water resources while maintaining the necessary measures required for infrastructure, although growing, remains limited. economic, social and environmental sustainability.

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Environmental flow work within the Bank has been development. It focuses on the integration of shaped by the evolving global knowledge, practice and environmental water allocation into integrated water implementation of environmental flows. The Bank resources management (IWRM) and so fills a major has also contributed to this growing international gap in knowledge on IWRM. It also contributes to experience particularly through its support for the broadening our understanding of benefit sharing Lesotho Highland Water Project, the restoration of from risky infrastructure development. This report is the downstream parts of the Tarim River, and the an output of an important collaboration between the restoration of the Northern Aral Sea and the Senegal Bank’s Environment Department and Energy, Transport River basin. It has also supported environmental and Water Department to promote and mainstream flow initiatives in Central Asia, China, Ecuador, sustainable development. India, Mexico, Mekong River, Moldova and Ukraine, Tajikistan, and Tanzania, and has produced knowledge products and support material including a series of technical notes on environmental flows. James Warren Evans This report further contributes to international Director knowledge about environmental flows and sustainable Environment Department

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Acknowledgments

his report titled, “Environmental Flows in Water (NHI), Kisa Mfalila (WWF, UNDP, UNEP), and Mike Resources Policies, Plans and Projects: Case Acreman (IUCN, IWMI). studies” was prepared by Rafik Hirji (ETWWA) The authors wish to acknowledge the following staff and Richard Davis (consultant). It is based on and colleagues who commented on the seventeen Tthe economic and sector analysis—Mainstreaming case studies and provided information and materials: Environmental Flow Requirements into Water Masood Ahmad, Greg Browder, Ousmane Dione, Resources Investments and Policy Reforms—that was Jane Kibbassa, Andrew Macoun, Doug Olson, Geoff jointly supported by the Environment Department Spencer, and Mei Xie of the World Bank; and Mike and Energy, Transport and Water Department and Acreman, Fadhila Ahmed (National Environment completed in June 2008. The authors are grateful for Management Council, Tanzania), Harry Biggs the support they received from all individuals within (SANParks, RSA), Cate Brown (Southern Waters, and outside the Bank. Editorial support was provided RSA), Satish Choy (Queensland Department of by Robert Livernash. The cover was designed by James Natural Resources and Water, Australia), Kevin Cantrell. The preparation of this report was funded Conlin (BC Hydro, Canada), Mark Dent (University by the Bank Netherlands Water Partnership Program of KwaZulu-Natal, University, RSA), Saidi Faraji (BNWPP) Trust Fund. (Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Tanzania), A.J.D. The economic and sector work (ESW) team comprised Ferguson (consultant, UK), Sue Foster (BC Hydro, of Rafik Hirji (Task Team Leader, ETWWA), Richard Canada), Dana Grobler (Blue Science Consulting, Davis (consultant), Kisa Mfalila (consultant), and RSA), Larry Haas (consultant, UK), Thomas Gyedu- Marcus Wishart (YP, AFTU1). The team received Ababio (SANParks, RSA), Robin Johnston (Murray overall guidance from Michelle De Nevers, Abel Mejia, Darling Basin Commission, Australia), Sylvand Laura Tlaiye, James Warren Evans and Jamal Saghir. Kamugisha (IUCN, Tanzania), David Keyser (Trans- Daryl Fields provided detailed comments and Stephen Caledon Tunnel Authority, RSA), Jackie King Lintner provided extensive critique and comments on (University of Cape Town, RSA), Josephine Lemoyane earlier drafts of the ESW. (IUCN, Tanzania), Delana Louw (Water for Africa consultants, RSA), John Metzger (consultant, MRC), Case studies 2 and 16 were drafted by Mike Acreman Willie Mwaruvanda (Rufiji Basin Water Office, (consultant, UK); case study 12 by Denise Dalmer Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Tanzania), Bill (consultant, Canada); case study 11 by Marcus Wishart; Newmark (Utah Museum of Natural History, Salt and case study 7 by Kisa Mfalila. Summaries of agency Lake City, United States), Tally Palmer (University and nongovernmental organization practices were of Technology Sydney, Australia), Sharon Pollard provided by Karin Krchnak (TNC), Gregory Thomas (Association for Water and Rural Development, RSA),

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Donal O’leary (Transparency International, US), and Barbara Weston (Department of Water Affairs Geordie Ratcliffe (Freshwater Consulting Group, and Forestry, RSA) for facilitating reviews of three RSA), Paul Roberts (formerly with the Department case studies from Tanzania and three case studies of Water Affairs and Forestry, RSA), Kevin Rogers from South Africa by various staff and professional (University of Witwatersrand, RSA), Nigel Rossouw colleagues from their respective countries, and to Steve (Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority, RSA), Hamza Sadiki Mitchell (Water Research Commission, RSA) for his (Pagani Basin Water Office, Ministry of Water and encouragement and for providing access to research Irrigation, Tanzania), Charles Sellick (Charles Sellick reports from South Africa. & Associates, RSA), Doug Shaw (TNC, Florida), Tente Tente (Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority, RSA), World Bank peer reviewers were Claudia Sadoff, Malcolm Thompson (Department of Environment, Salman Salman, and Juan D. Quintero. External peer Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australia), Pierre de reviewers were Brian Richter (The Nature Conservancy) Villiers (Blue Science Consulting, RSA), Niel van Wyk and John Scanlon (UNEP). Comments were also (Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, RSA), received from Vahid Alavian, Julia Bucknall, Usaid Bill Young (CSIRO, Australia), and Bertram van Ziel El-Hanbali, Christine Little, Stephen Lintner, Glenn (Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, RSA). Morgan, Grant Milne, Abel Mejia, Doug Olson, Stefano Pagiola, Salman Salman, Geoff Spencer, and The authors are especially indebted to Washington Peter Watson (former director of infrastructure in the Mutayoba (Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Tanzania) Africa Region).

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Acronyms

ANC African National Congress (South Africa) ASBP Aral Sea Basin Program BC British Columbia (Canada) BBM Building block methodology BWP Berg Water Project (South Africa) CC Consultative committee (Canada) CDA Chilika Development Authority (Orissa, India) CCT City of Cape Town (South Africa) CIS Common implementation strategy (EU) CMAs Catchment management agencies (South Africa) COAG Council of Australian Governments CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (Australia) DANIDA Danish International Development Agency DWAF Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (South Africa) IWMI International Water Management Institute DEP Department of Environmental Protection (Florida, U.S.A.) DFO Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Canada) DRIFT Downstream Response to Imposed Flow Transformation EA Environmental assessment EF Environmental flows EFA Environmental flow assessment EFI European Fish Index EIA Environmental impact assessment EMC Environmental monitoring committee EMP Environmental management plan ESW Economic and Sector Work (World Bank) EU European Union FAME Fish-based assessment for European rivers GEF Global Environment Facility GEP Good ecological potential (EU) GES Good ecological status (EU) HES High ecological status (EU) HMWB Heavily modified water bodies (EU) IBFM Integrated basin flow management ICWC Interstate Commission for Water Coordination

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IFR Instream flow requirements IWRM Integrated water resources management ISP Internal strategic perspective (South Africa) KNP Kruger National Park (South Africa) KNPRRP Kruger National Park Rivers Research Programme (South Africa) KST Kihansi spray toad (Tanzania) LAS Large Aral Sea LHWP Lesotho Highlands Water Project LHDA Lesotho Highlands Development Authority LKEMP Lower Kihansi Environmental Management Project (Tanzania) LKHP Lower Kihansi Hydropower Project (Tanzania) MDBC Murray Darling Basin Commission (Australia) MFLs Minimum flows and levels (Florida, U.S.A.) MRC Mekong River Commission MTAC Multisectoral Technical Advisory Committee (Tanzania) NAS Northern Aral Sea NAWAPO National Water Policy (Tanzania) NCC National Competition Council (Australia) NGO Nongovernmental organization NSW New South Wales (Australia) NWA National Water Act (Republic of South Africa) NWC National Water Commission (Australia) NWI National Water Initiative (Australia) NWRCS National Water Resources Classification System (South Africa) NYM Nyumba ya Mungu regulating reservoir (Tanzania) OMVS L’Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du Fleuve Sénégal (Senegal) OWRCP Orissa Water Resources Consolidation Project (Orissa, India) PAD Project Appraisal Document (World Bank) PASIE Plan d’Atténuation et de suivi des Impacts sur l’Environnement (Senegal) RBWO Rufiji Basin Water Office (Tanzania) RFOs River flow objectives ROP Resource operations plan (Australia) RSA Republic of South Africa RWRA Rapid water resources assessment SANParks South Africa National Parks SDN Sustainable Development Network (World Bank) SEA Strategic environmental assessment SFN Stl’atl’imx First Nation (Canada) STAR Stream and River Typologies Project (EU) TANESCO Tanzania National Electricity Supply Company TAP Technical advisory panel TBMB Tarim Basin Management Bureau (China)

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Environmental flow 4-9-09.indd 10 4/9/09 12:44:50 PM Acronyms and Abbreviations

TBWRC Tarim Basin Water Resources Commission (China) TCTA Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority (South Africa) TNC The Nature Conservancy TRC Tarim River Committee (China) TRMB Tarim River Management Bureau (China) TTL Task team leader (World Bank) UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UK United Kingdom UNDP United Nations Development Programme WCD World Commission on Dams WCWSS Western Cape Water Supply System (South Africa) WCSA Western Cape Systems Analysis (South Africa) WFD Water Framework Directive (EU) WMA Water management area (South Africa) WMDs Water management districts (Florida, U.S.A.) WRB Water resources bureau (China) WRP Water resources plan (Australia) WRVs Water resource values (Florida, U.S.A.) WSP Water sharing plans (Australia) WUA Water user association WUP Water Utilization Project WUP Water use plan (Canada) WWF Worldwide Fund for Nature XUAR Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (China) YRBC Yellow River Basin Commission(China)

Note: All dollars are U.S. dollars; all tons are metric tons.

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Summary

nvironmental flows are really about the equitable Climate change is projected to affect the supply of and distribution of and access to water and services demand for water resources; in turn, these changes provided by aquatic ecosystems. They refer to will have an impact on water for the environment. the quality, quantity, and timing of water flows Sea-level rise will cause saltwater intrusion and Erequired to maintain the components, functions, affect estuarine processes that rely on freshwater processes, and resilience of aquatic ecosystems that environmental flows. In some nations, adaptation to provide goods and services to people. climate change is likely to involve more investment in dams and reservoirs to buffer against increased Environmental flows are central to supporting variability in rainfall and runoff. This will further sustainable development, sharing benefits, and affect downstream ecosystems, unless the impacts are addressing poverty alleviation. Yet allocating water for properly assessed and managed. environmental uses remains a highly contested process. Investments in water resources infrastructure, especially The overall goal of this report and the accompanying dams for storage, flood control, or regulation, have report summarizing the findings and recommendations, been essential for economic development (including both based on the economic and sector work (ESW), hydropower generation, food security and irrigation, is to advance the understanding and integration in industrial and urban water supply, and flood and operational terms of environmental water allocation into drought mitigation), but, when they are improperly integrated water resources management. The specific planned, designed, or operated, they can cause objectives of the two reports are the following: problems for downstream ecosystems and communities because of their impact on the volume, pattern, and • Document the changing understanding of quality of flow. While aquatic life depends on both environmental flows, both by water resources the quantity and quality of water, changes in flows are practitioners and by environmental experts within of particular concern because they govern so many the Bank and in borrowing countries ecosystem processes. Consequently, changes in flow • Draw lessons from experience in implementing have led to a diminution of the downstream ecosystem environmental flows by the Bank, other services that many of the poorest communities rely on international development organizations with for their livelihoods. In order to achieve sustainable experience in this area, and a small number of development, downstream impacts will require more developed and developing countries attention by all parties, as countries—through both • Develop an analytical framework to support public and private sector investments—expand their more effective integration of environmental flow infrastructure in many sectors, especially dams for considerations for informing and guiding (a) various purposes. the planning, design, and operations decision

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making of water resources infrastructure projects; decisions should be informed by scientific information (b) the legal, policy, institutional, and capacity and analysis. The causes of changes in river flow can development related to environmental flows; and also be broader than just the abstraction or storage (c) restoration programs of water and the regulation of flow by infrastructure; • Provide recommendations for improvements upstream land use changes due to forestry, agriculture, in technical guidance to better incorporate and urbanization can also significantly affect flows. environmental flow considerations into the The impacts of environmental flow can extend beyond preparation and implementation of lending rivers to groundwater, estuaries, and even coastal operations. areas.

Many methods, from the very simple to the very Environmental Flows: Science, Decision complex, exist for estimating environmental flow Making, and Development Assistance requirements. The process for estimating environmental The provision of flows, including volumes and timings, flow requirements is also referred to as environmental to maintain downstream aquatic ecosystems and flow assessment (EFA). There is an extensive body of provide services to dependent communities has been experience for the main EFA techniques. recognized in developed countries for more than two decades and is increasingly being adopted in developing The Entry Points for Bank Involvement countries. These services include the following: The Bank has four entry points through which to • Clean drinking water support countries seeking to integrate environmental • Groundwater recharge flows into their decision making: (1) water resources • Food sources such as fish and invertebrates policy, legislation, and institutional reforms;1 (2) river • Opportunities for harvesting fuelwood, grazing, basin and watershed planning and management;2 and cropping on riverine corridors and floodplains (3) investments in new infrastructure; and (4) • Biodiversity conservation (including protection rehabilitation or reoperation of existing infrastructure. of natural habitats, protected areas, and national Consistent with its commitment to sustainable parks) development, the Bank should support measures to • Flood protection promote the integration of environmental flows at an • Navigation routes early stage in the decision-making process through dialogue on water resources policy, river basin planning, • Removal of wastes through biogeochemical and programs that entail major changes in land use. processes The World Bank already has supported some projects • Recreational opportunities with successful environmental flow components and • Cultural, aesthetic, and religious benefits. outcomes. But the impacts of development on communities downstream are often diffuse, long term, poorly understood, and inadequately addressed. 1 The word “policy” is used throughout much of the report to include legislation supporting the policy. Assigning water between environmental flows and 2 Different countries use different terminology: river basins, consumptive and nonconsumptive purposes is a catchments, and watersheds. Generally river basins are larger than catchments and watersheds. In this report we use the term basin social, not just a technical, decision. However, to to refer to basins, catchments, and watersheds generically unless a achieve equitable and sustainable outcomes, these particular catchment or watershed is being discussed.

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Environmental Flows, Integrated Water Resources project and basin levels, conducting training courses, Management, and Environmental Assessment and providing information and support material. The Bank has partnered with some of these organizations EFAs are an intrinsic part of integrated water resources to produce analytical material on the incorporation of management. Although it is desirable for EFAs to be environmental flows into infrastructure development integrated into strategic environmental assessments and reoperations. (SEAs) for policy, plan, program, or sectorwide lending, and into environmental impact assessments (EIAs) for project-level investments, the practice of SEA and EIA Environmental Flow Implementation has yet to mature to the point at which it can effectively Case Studies integrate EFA. As a consequence, most EFAs have been Seventeen case studies were selected for an in-depth undertaken separately either in conjunction with or analysis to identify the lessons from incorporating after the EIAs have been completed. environmental flows into water resources policy, basin and catchment plans, new infrastructure projects, Bank Adoption of Environmental Flows and the rehabilitation and reoperation of existing infrastructure. The analysis included eight case studies An analysis of select dam projects found that, until the that were supported by the World Bank. mid-1990s, Bank support for environmental and social work was heavily focused on evaluating and addressing The assessment criteria included factors that influenced the upstream impacts of dams. By the mid-1990s, the case study’s success, as well as the institutional these assessments had expanded to include downstream drivers that initiated and supported the introduction of environmental and social issues with about equal environmental flows. frequency, underscoring the evolving concern about downstream impacts. An analysis of country water resources assistance strategies, however, showed mixed Inclusion of Environmental Flows in results concerning the inclusion of environmental flows, Water Resources Policies with only some countries incorporating them into their An analysis of five policy case studies found that the planning. There is a limited perception of the need to inclusion of environmental flows in policy should include environmental flows within the water policies provide for the following: of developing countries, but a good understanding of the importance of environmental flows in catchment- • Legal standing for environmental water allocations scale water resources planning. The Bank-Netherlands • Inclusion of environmental water provisions in Water Partnership Program has catalyzed some notable basin water resources plans achievements in introducing environmental flows into • Assessment of all relevant parts of the water cycle infrastructure planning, design, and operations in dam when undertaking EFAs rehabilitation and reoperation projects. • A method or methods for setting environmental objectives in basin plans • Attention to both recovery of overallocated systems International Development Organizations and protection of unstressed systems and NGOs • Clear requirements for stakeholder involvement Various international development organizations and • An independent authority to audit implementation nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have been • A mechanism for turning value-laden terms into supporting environmental flow assessments at both the operational procedures.

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Inclusion of Environmental Flows in Basin and • Active monitoring is needed to enforce flow Catchment Plans allocation decisions and undertake adaptive management. Several lessons emerged from the analysis of four basin • It is important to present information in terms that and catchment water resources plans: are comprehensible to decision makers. • Recognition of environmental flows in water • Economic studies can support arguments for resources policy and legislation provides important downstream water allocations. backing for including environmental flows in basin • EFAs are yet to be fully mainstreamed into EIAs. or catchment plans. • The cost of conducting EFAs constitutes a small • There is a need to demonstrate the benefits from fraction of project costs. environmental water allocations after plans are • EIAs have not always or adequately identified implemented. issues associated with downstream water • The term “environmental flows” can be provisions. counterproductive if not explained at an early stage. Mainstreaming Implications • Participatory methods need to be tailored to suit stakeholder capacity. The science underpinning EFAs has advanced • A range of EFA techniques are needed to suit considerably. There are now many more methods for different circumstances. estimating environmental flow requirements, and more • Ecological monitoring is essential to provide information is available on the ecological response to information for adaptive management. different flow regimes. There is also growing experience in integrating information from across a range of Inclusion of Environmental Flows in physical, ecological, and socioeconomic disciplines. Infrastructure Projects In addition, a wide variety of EFA methods have been Four new dams and four restoration projects were developed, backed by considerable field experience, reviewed for lessons in assessing and implementing to suit a variety of levels of environmental risk, time environmental flows: and budget constraints, and levels of data and skills. The Bank’s support for the Lesotho Highlands Water • Engineering improvements usually have to be Project has contributed to the development of a combined with reoperations to provide the volume method known as Downstream Response to Imposed of water needed for major ecosystem restoration. Flow Transformation (DRIFT), which systematically • Inclusion of environmental flows in water addresses the downstream biophysical and resources policy simplifies the application of EFAs socioeconomic impacts. There is also a growing body at the project level. of experience in implementing environmental flows, • Environmental outcomes need to be linked closely including monitoring and adaptation of management to social and economic outcomes. procedures. • EFAs should be conducted for all components of the hydrological cycle. Mainstreaming Achievements • Traditionally trained water resources professionals can find it difficult to grasp environmental flow Developed countries, including parts of the United concepts. States, Australia, New Zealand, and the countries of • Water resources plans provide benchmarks for the European Union, together with South Africa, have water allocations during project assessments. accepted the need to develop and implement catchment

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water resources plans that include environmental flows. • Applying EFAs to land use activities that intercept There is general public acceptance of the importance and exacerbate overland flows of maintaining healthy aquatic environments in these • Including climate change in the assessments countries. In these countries, where environmental • Integrating environmental flow assessments into flows have now been mainstreamed into water strategic, sectoral, and project EAs resources planning, there is an acceptance that the • Understanding the circumstances in which benefit concept of environmental flows should be extended to sharing is a viable approach. groundwater as well as to estuaries and even near-shore regions. Framework for Expanded Bank Engagement with Environmental Flows

Support for Developing Countries The analysis points to a four-part framework for improving the Bank’s use of environmental flows. International development organizations, NGOs, and research organizations have been active in providing First, efforts are needed to strengthen Bank capacity in support in developing countries through assistance assessing and overseeing environmental flows: with EFA and implementation, training programs, and provision of support material and Internet resources. • Promote the development of a common The Bank has collaborated with diverse development understanding across the water and environmental partners. The Bank’s major contribution to global good communities about the concepts, methods, and practice has been its restoration of the degraded Tarim good practices related to environmental flows, basin and Northern Aral Sea, its assistance with the including the need to incorporate EFAs into provision of flood flows in the Senegal basin, its support environmental assessment at both project (EIAs) for the pioneering work on the Lesotho Highlands and strategic (SEAs) levels. Water Project, and its growing influence in introducing • Build the Bank’s in-house capacity in EFA by environmental flows into government water policies. broadening the pool of ecologists, social scientists, In these cases, provision of environmental flows has and environmental and water specialists trained in restored (or retained) ecosystems with demonstrable EFA. benefits to downstream populations; in the Tarim basin Second, efforts are needed to strengthen environmental case, there were also significant benefits to the upstream flow assessments in lending operations through training, irrigation communities. support materials, and access to international experts:

Challenges • Disseminate existing guidance material concerning the use of EFAs in program and project settings Both the Bank and environmental flows practitioners and conduct training for Bank and borrower face many challenges: country staff on this emerging issue • Identify settings, approaches, and methods for the • Overcoming the misperceptions arising from the select application of EFAs in the preparation and term “environmental flows” implementation of project-level feasibility studies • Developing methods for systematically linking and as part of the planning and supervisory process biophysical and socioeconomic impacts • Provide support for hydrological monitoring • Incorporating the whole water cycle (surface, networks and hydrological modeling to provide the groundwater, and estuaries) into the assessments basic information for undertaking EFAs

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• Prepare an update of the EA sourcebook the sectoral changes will lead to large-scale land use concerning the use of EFAs in SEAs and EIAs conversion • Prepare a technical note that defines a • Promote the harmonization of sectoral policies methodology for addressing downstream social with the concept of environmental flows in impacts of water resources infrastructure projects developing countries and the understanding • Test the application of EFAs to include of sectoral institutions about the importance infrastructure other than dams that can affect of considering the impact of their policies on river flows, as well as other activities, such as downstream communities investments in large-scale land use change and • Develop support material for Bank staff on the watershed management, and their effects on inclusion of environmental flows into basin and downstream flows and ecosystem services catchment planning and into water resources • Broaden the concept of environmental flows for policy and legislative reforms appropriate pilot projects to include all affected • Draw lessons from developed countries, which downstream ecosystems, including groundwater have experience with incorporating environmental systems, lakes, estuaries, and coastal regions flows in catchment planning. • Develop support material for Bank staff and counterparts in borrowing countries, such as case Fourth, efforts are needed to expand collaborative studies, training material, technical notes, and partnerships: analyses of effectiveness. • Expand collaboration with NGOs (International Third, efforts are needed to promote the integration of Union for the Conservation of Nature, Worldwide environmental flows into policies and plans through Fund for Nature, The Nature Conservancy, dialogue, instruments such as country water resources Natural Heritage Institute, and others), research assistance strategy (CWRAS), country assistance organizations, and international organizations strategy (CAS), country environmental assessments, (United Nations Environment Programme, and development policy lending, and support material Ramsar Secretariat, International Water for Bank staff: Management Institute, and United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) • Promote basin or catchment plans that include to take advantage of their experience in conducting environmental flow allocations, where relevant, EFAs and building environmental flow capacity in through country dialogue developing countries • Use CASs and CWRASs to promote Bank • Strengthen collaborative relationships with assistance with basin or catchment planning industry associations, such as International and water policy reform so that the benefits of Hydropower Association and private sector environmental water allocations for poverty financing, to extend their recognition of alleviation and the achievement of the Millennium environmental flows as desirable hydrological Development Goals are integrated into country outcomes to include the social and economic assistance outcomes that result from the ecosystem services • Incorporate environmental water needs into Bank delivered by the downstream flows SEAs such as country environmental assessments • Integrate lessons from this analysis into—and and sectoral environmental assessments coordinate the activities outlined above with—the • Test the use of EFAs in a small sample of sectoral ongoing initiative of the World Bank’s Sustainable adjustment lending operations, including where Development Network and Energy, Transport, and

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Water Department for enhancing benefits to local investment in water resources infrastructure, while communities from hydropower projects. reducing the risk of detrimental environmental impacts that threaten the livelihoods of downstream Adoption of this framework will improve the Bank’s communities. ability to implement its strategy of increasing

Institutions and Governance Series xix

Environmental flow 4-9-09.indd 19 4/9/09 12:44:53 PM Environmental flow 4-9-09.indd 20 4/9/09 12:44:53 PM I Case Study Criteria

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Selection of Case Studies

Case Study Characteristics case studies, because these represent the settings where environmental flows have been introduced through The policy and basin case studies were selected to water policies. In these locations, the policies have provide a diversity of institutional settings, geographic now been implemented for a number of years and regions (Figure A.1), and levels of economic thus offer good opportunities for learning lessons. development (Table A.1). The infrastructure project case Australia and the EU also provide opportunities to studies were selected for their diversity of geographic learn from environmental flow provisions in cross- regions, sectoral purposes, and whether they involved border and transboundary policy settings respectively. new infrastructure, rehabilitation, or re-operation The Tanzanian water policy case study provides an of existing infrastructure. Only one example of each example where environmental flows were required in type was taken from a given country, even though the national water policy of a developing country. countries such as Australia, for example, have a number of catchment-scale water plans with environmental Four catchment- or basin-level water planning studies flow components, and there are numerous examples that included EFAs were selected for case studies. They of project-level environmental flow assessments in included one from a developed country—Australia—and European countries and the United States. Five policy- three from developing countries and regions—South level, four catchment/basin plan-level, and eight project- Africa, Tanzania, and the Mekong region. Finally, eight level case studies were selected. Policy, catchment/basin, single and multipurpose projects covering a diversity of and project-level case studies were selected from South sectors—hydropower generation, irrigation, inter-basin Africa—because of its experience in environmental water transfer, water supply, and ecosystem restoration— flows—and Tanzania, a country currently developing were selected for project-level case studies. All but one expertise in environmental flows. were in developing countries, and all but two were supported by World Bank funding. In order to draw on the best available experience, the selection of case studies included both World- The project-level case studies include EFAs conducted as Bank-supported and non-World-Bank cases. Bank- part of the development of a new dam (Berg River Dam, funded case studies were used where there was good South Africa; and Mohale Dam as part of the LHWP documentation in English and staff members were in Lesotho), replacement of old infrastructure (Naraj available for interview. Overall, eight of the 17 case Barrage, Mahanadi River, India; and irrigation canals studies were supported by the Bank. Figure A.1 shows in Tarim basin, China), reconstruction/modification of the locations of the case studies, and Table A.1 describes existing infrastructure (Berg Strait dyke, Aral Sea; Lower the characteristics of the case studies. Kihansi, Tanzania; and Katse Dam as part of the Lesotho South Africa, Australia, Florida (United States), and Highlands Water Project in Lesotho), and re-operations the European Union (EU) were selected for the policy for existing infrastructure (Bridge River, Canada;

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Figure A.1. Location of Case Studies

Location of Seventeen Environmental Flow Policy, Plan and Project Case Studies

Regional Policy Case Studies National Policy Case Studies State Policy Case Study Park/Basin/Catchment Plan Case Studies Infrastructure Project Case Studies

Water Framework Directive, European Union Aral Sea, Bridge River, Central Asia Canada

Tarim Basin, China Florida Water Policy, USA Chilika Lagoon, Senegal, India West Africa Mekong Basin, National Water Policy, South East Asia Tanzania

Pangani Basin, Lower Kihansi Tanzania Power Project, Tanzania Pioneer Catchment, Kruger National Park, Australia South Africa National Water Policy, South Africa Lesotho Highlands Water Project, Lesotho Berg River, South Africa National Water Initiative, Australia DECEMBER 2008 IBRD 36665

This map was produced by the Map Design Unit of The World Bank. The boundaries, colors, denominations and any other information shown on this map do not imply, on the part of The World Bank Group, any judgment on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries.

Manantali Dam, Senegal basin; dams on Syr Darya initially obtained from published sources, including River, Aral Sea basin; and Tarim basin, China). Some of the archives in the case of the Bank-led case studies, the lessons for the rehabilitation and re-operation case and unpublished materials and reports. Interviews studies differ from those for the new infrastructure. were then arranged with the project team leaders who were available, and with other team members where Introducing EFAs into cross-border and transboundary the team leader was not available. The interviews rivers and groundwater systems is particularly were either in person or by telephone. The interviews difficult because of the inherent complexity of dealing particularly focused on the motivations for the study with multijurisdictional issues. There needs to be and its subsequent influence, since this information agreement between the countries of the basin on the was seldom documented. Additional documentation allocation of water for environmental purposes before was collected during these interviews. The draft case environmental water allocations can be made. Six of studies were sent to team leaders for checking before the case studies—two policy-level, one catchment- being finalized. For non-Bank case studies, principals level, and three project-level—provide examples of involved in the case studies were contacted and either cross-border or transboundary EFAs. interviewed or requested to provide information by The case studies were developed from both e-mail. These case studies were sent to the principals for documentation and interviews. Documentation was checking before being finalized.

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Table A.1. Characteristics of Case Studies Country/ GNI per Case Study Region capita (US$)* Institutional Setting Sector Purpose Date Completed Policy National Australia $35,990 Federation of States Multisectoral 1994; revised 2004 Water Initiative Water Framework European Union $4,089–$89,571 Union of countries Multisectoral 2000 Directive Florida Water Policy USA $44,970 (USA) State government within Multisectoral 1972; subsequent federal system amendments National Water Policy South Africa $5,390 Unitary government Multisectoral 1997 National Water Policy Tanzania $350 Unitary government Multisectoral 2002 Catchment and Basin Plans Kruger National Park South Africa $5,390 National Environment, Planning and On-going (with transboundary agriculture, operations component) biodiversity Mekong Basin South East Asia $480–$2,990 Transboundary Multisectoral Planning On-going Pangani Basin Tanzania $350 National and Multisectoral Planning On-going Transboundary but environment- focused Pioneer Catchment Australia $35,990 National Multisectoral Planning 2002 Infrastructure Projects Aral Sea Central Asia $260–$5,060 Transboundary Environmental Re-operations GEF project 2003; Restoration and restoration. World Bank project Dyke upgrading still active Berg River South Africa $5,390 Catchment Water supply New dam In progress Bridge River Canada $36,170 Sub-catchment Hydropower Re-operations 2001 Chilika Lagoon India $820 Sub-catchment Irrigation Restoration and 2004 Flood control re-operations Lesotho Highlands Lesotho $1,030 Transboundary Inter-basin Reconstruction 2006 Water Project transfer of outlet structure (water supply) in old dam, and new dam Lower Kihansi Power Tanzania $350 Sub-catchment Hydropower Reconstruction of In progress Project outlet structure in new dam Senegal West Africa $750 Transboundary Multi-purpose Reoperation and Regional restoration Hydropower Development Project completed 2005 Tarim Basin China $2,010 Sub-basin Irrigation Irrigation canal 2005 reconstruction and re-operations Note: *GDP per capita is from World Bank Doing Business 2008 site, accessible at: http://www.doingbusiness.org/ExploreEconomies/EconomyCharacteristics. aspx

Case Study Assessment environmental flows case studies were developed from these EIA and SEA criteria, since environmental flow Good Practice Criteria assessments are a special type of EA. These criteria have similarities to those proposed by Lamb (1995) to assess Good practice criteria for including environmental the effectiveness of management programs for in-stream aspects in water resources policy, legislation, plans, flows in the United States (Box A.1), although the latter institutions, and infrastructure investments are listed are focused on the implementation of institutional in Appendix A of the recent World Bank ESW on programs rather than EFAs and so are less relevant here. Strategic Environmental Assessment and Integrated Water Resources Management (World Bank, The following good practice assessment criteria were used forthcoming). The criteria used here to assess the for the policy, plan, and project case studies here, largely

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Box A.1. Assessment Criteria for In-Stream Flow Programs in the United States

A number of U.S. states introduced instream flow programs, but there was little information on how well the programs worked. There were a number of reasons why these programs had not been evaluated; one was the lack of evaluation criteria. To remedy this deficiency, Lamb proposed five criteria: (1) public confidence—a good program was one that enjoys public confidence that the program will work; (2) certainty—if the in-stream water use is guaranteed for a long period, the program can be judged to be successful; (3) proper administration—this criterion covers a number of factors, including setting of goals and measurement criteria, systematic implementation process, and appropriate authorization; (4) expense—a measure of the budgetary expense, but not including measurement of the benefits of the program; and (5) outcomes—both the extent of stream protection and the quality of the protection.

Source: Lamb (1995).

based on the criteria used in the ESW on Strategic • recognized methods and reliable data were used in Environmental Assessment and Integrated Water the planning Resources Management (World Bank, forthcoming): • there was integration between environmental impacts and the consequent social and economic • environmental allocations (recognized and required impacts of water allocation decisions as part of water allocation planning) • the EFA methods were cost-effective • a mechanism to identify environmental objectives • the EFA influenced the allocation of water for in water planning environmental purposes within (and beyond) the • comprehensiveness (including all components plan of the water cycle, national and transboundary concerns, and the linkage of environmental flows Project-level case studies were assessed for the extent to to social and economic outcomes) which: • the detail with which provisions assess and implement EFAs, and the handling of • environmental flow considerations were recognized overallocated systems as being legitimate during the conduct and • policy provisions to encourage stakeholder implementation of the EFA participation n formulating environmental • stakeholders were encouraged to participate in the flow requirements and in the making and EFA and their requirements were taken account of implementation of decisions • recognized methods and reliable data were used in • the use of reliable data, high-quality science, and the EFA recognized methods for assessing environmental • there was integration between environmental water needs impacts and the consequent social and economic • monitoring, reporting, and auditing requirements impacts of water allocation decisions • the EFA was conducted in a cost-effective way and Catchment or basin plans were assessed for the extent its recommendations were cost effective, taking to which: account of the overall project costs • the EFA was influential in including downstream • the legitimacy of environmental flows was environmental considerations into the final project recognized when the plan was being formulated deign and operations and implemented • stakeholders with an interest in environmental flow While most of the criteria relate to the conduct of the outcomes were engaged in the planning EFA itself, the effectiveness of a case study requires a

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judgment about its subsequent influence. This is difficult Institutional Drivers for a number of reasons. Some case studies have yet The basin/catchment and project-level case studies to be fully completed and it is difficult to assess their were analyzed to identify the drivers that initiated and effectiveness at this stage. In addition, there are a number sustained them (Box A.2). The six drivers describe the of cases that might have been judged to have had little mechanisms that can initiate an EFA and maintain influence in their early stages, but subsequently were very the momentum for its completion. They are based influential. For example, the early definitions of IFRs in on drivers originally identified for project-level EIAs the rivers flowing through the Kruger National Park were (Ortolano, Jenkins, and Abracosa 1987) and have been not implemented for a number of reasons, and so would modified here to incorporate the additional drivers that have been assessed as having little influence. However, can lead to the inclusion of environmental flows in they subsequently formed the basis of the Reserve water policy and basin planning. determinations of those rivers, and the experience gained in carrying out the IFRs had a significant influence on However, the drivers that lead to the inclusion of the subsequent South African Water Policy. environmental flows into water resources policies

Box A.2. Drivers for Environmental Flows

The classification of drivers in this assessment is drawn from the six types of institutional drivers identified by Ortolano, Jenkins, and Abracosa (1987) for environmental impact assessments.

Judicial drivers. The courts have a formal role in ensuring that government agencies implement EFA provisions in the relevant legislation. Judicial drivers are widely used in the United States, where the judiciary has a constitutionally sanctioned role in reviewing government procedures.

Procedural drivers. Legislation, regulations, and guidelines provide formal drivers over the procedures to be followed when EFAs are conducted for basin water allocation plans or project impact assessments. However, procedural drivers are seldom effective without the availability of other drivers such as evaluative or professional drivers. By themselves, they can lead to well- written EFAs that are ignored. These drivers also include external agreements such as international conventions and regional agreements.

Evaluative drivers. Evaluative drivers exist when there is an institution responsible for assessing the quality of implementation of policy requirements, or plan- or project-level EFAs. These independent assessors may have the power to return catchment or basin plans or EFAs for revision; may be able to fine lack of compliance with policy requirements; or may rely on publicity to generate effective implementation of policy.

Instrumental drivers. The requirements of international development partners provide an additional driver for EFAs. Many development partners have formal requirements for EFAs as part of the due diligence attached to loans. There can also be informal instrumental drivers operating where the development partner advocates environmental flow considerations when supporting water policy reforms. Instrumental drivers can play a central role in developing countries, where legislative and evaluative drivers are absent.

Professional drivers. The considered judgment of planners, professional associations, and other professionals undertaking policy development, catchment/basin plans, or project developments can act as a powerful driver for EFAs. Professionals can be influenced by international developments in EFA or, more broadly, in environmental sustainability.

Public drivers. These drivers rely on informed public citizens, community-based organizations, and nongovernmental organizations who are motivated and confident enough to make their views about environmental equity known to government. They may be more relevant in developed countries, which have a tradition of active public engagement in the decisions of government, but may also be important in developing countries. A stimulus is often provided by local, national, or international NGOs, who make an assessment and then inform the public.

Source: Modified from Ortolano, Jenkins, and Abracosa 1987.

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differ from the ones that operate for plans and and four drivers operated for environmental flow projects. Environmental flow provisions are included provisions (Box A.3). in policy when the policies themselves are being revised, and so the policy drivers need to include both The case studies are reviewed for both their inclusion of those that lead to the policy reforms as well as those environmental flow considerations into policies, plans, that operate specifically to include environmental and projects and the subsequent implementation of flows into the new policies. Three types of policy environmental flow provisions (where there is sufficient reform drivers were apparent in the case studies information on implementation).

Box A.3. Drivers for Water Resource Policy Reform and Inclusion of Environmental Flows

Policy Reform Convening. In a federal system—such as the EU, the United States, or Australia—the federal government can use its influence to convene and lead policy reforms even when the responsibility for the policy implementation lies at a subsidiary level. This convening power is sometimes supplemented with financial assistance from the federal level to help the subsidiary levels of government implement the policy reforms.

Singularity. A singular event—such as a drought—can precipitate policy reforms if it is clear that the current water policy is inadequate to handle the event. While such events act as triggers for reform, there is often a backlog of issues—including provision of water for the environment—that need to be incorporated into the new policy beyond the particular deficiency that triggered the reform.

Public. Public pressure, because of perceived deficiencies in water resources management, can act as a powerful stimulus for reform.

Environmental Flow Inclusion Institutional. Water managers and other professionals within government can support the inclusion of environmental flow provisions in policy because they are aware of the benefits that these flows confer on downstream environments and communities.

Evaluative. A specific organization can be identified in the policy with the oversight of environmental flow provisions to ensure they are implemented. The organization is typically at least partially independent of government since it is overseeing the performance of government agencies. This driver acts to implement the environmental flow provisions rather than to introduce them into policy.

Public. Where the public is concerned about the decline in downstream environments because of water abstractions and other developments, they can exert considerable pressure for environmental flow provisions to be included in policy reforms.

Scientific Professional. Scientific organizations and individual scientists can use their standing in government and in the community to highlight the issues arising from disruptions to downstream flows and to propose policy provisions to help restore downstream environments.

International Developments. The proclamations from major international conventions, such as the 1992 Rio Summit, can exert considerable influence on the content of new policies.

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Environmental flow 4-9-09.indd 9 4/9/09 12:45:00 PM Environmental flow 4-9-09.indd 10 4/9/09 12:45:00 PM Case Study 1. Australian water reform

Background of institutions; (f) re-use of urban wastewater; (g) improved education and consultation procedures; Australia is a federation where, until recently, and (h) allocation of water for environmental benefit. the commonwealth government has had only a The COAG Water Reform Framework was to be coordinating, convening, and funding role in water fully implemented by the year 2001. This date was resources management. The responsibility for water subsequently extended to 2005 for certain components resources management has resided with the six of the reforms, including water allocations and trading. state and two territory governments. Recently, the commonwealth government approved legislation— the Providing water for environmental benefit was central Water Act 2007—that establishes a commonwealth to the reforms (Agriculture and Resource Management government agency that has responsibility for planning Council of Australia and New Zealand and Australian water use in the Murray Darling Basin, the basin with and New Zealand Environment and Conservation the highest population and most heavily used water Council 1996). All governments committed to resources. determining the environmental water requirements for all river systems and groundwater basins using the The southeastern part of the country, where most of best available scientific information. For overallocated the population is concentrated, experienced a severe or stressed systems, governments agreed to provide drought in the early 1980s. This sensitized both urban environmental water allocations that would restore the and rural populations to the overallocation of water health of these systems. The COAG agreement and the entitlements that had occurred in some catchments, 12 principles for the provision of water for ecosystems particularly in the Murray-Darling Basin. By the early (Box 1.1) provide a coherent and unified (although not 1990s, it was apparent that the environmental health uniform) framework for water resources management of the continent’s water resources—its rivers, aquifers, across the country. estuaries, and wetlands—was deteriorating (National Land and Water Resources Audit 2001; Australian The COAG agreement was amended in 1996 State of the Environment Committee 2001). In 1994 to strengthen the groundwater and stormwater the Council of Australian Governments (COAG)— management components, and further extended in heads of the federal, state, and territory governments— 1999. Even so, the timetable to complete the COAG agreed to undertake major reforms of water resources reforms by 2001 proved overly ambitious. In addition, management, including (a) separation of water a number of environmental assessments (Australia State service delivery, water resources management, and of the Environment Committee 2001; National Land regulatory functions; (b) pricing water at its full cost; and Water Resources Audit 2002) made it clear that the (c) separation of land and water titles; (d) a market state of the nation’s water resources was not improving. for water trading; (e) privatization and corporatization Consequently, in June 2004, the federal, state, and

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Box 1.1 ARMCANZ/ANZECC National Principles for the Provision of Water for Ecosystems

Principle 1. River regulation and/or consumptive use should be recognized as potentially impacting on ecological values.

Principle 2. Provision of water for ecosystems should be on the basis of the best scientific information available on the water regimes necessary to sustain the ecological values of water-dependent ecosystems.

Principle 3. Environmental water provisions should be legally recognized.

Principle 4. In systems where there are existing users, provision of water for ecosystems should go as far as possible to meet the water regime necessary to sustain the ecological values of aquatic ecosystems while recognizing the existing rights of other water users.

Principle 5. Where environmental water requirements cannot be met due to existing uses, action (including reallocation) should be taken to meet environmental needs.

Principle 6. Further allocation of water for any use should only be on the basis that natural ecological processes and biodiversity are sustained (that is, ecological values are sustained).

Principle 7. Accountabilities in all aspects of management of environmental water should be transparent and clearly defined.

Principle 8. Environmental water provisions should be responsive to monitoring and improvements in understanding of environmental water requirements.

Principle 9. All water uses should be managed in a manner that recognizes ecological values.

Principle 10. Appropriate demand management and water pricing strategies should be used to assist in sustaining ecological values of water resources.

Principle 11. Strategic and applied research to improve understanding of environmenta water requirements is essential.

Principle 12. All relevant environmental, social, and economic stakeholders will be involved in water allocation planning and decision making on environmental water provisions.

territory governments (except Tasmania and Western territory treasuries now paid attention to the water Australia)1 signed a further agreement, the National reforms because of the linkage between progress and Water Initiative (NWI), to accelerate the water reform tranche payments. There was pressure on the water process. management authorities from their own treasuries to formally meet the terms of the agreement (although The National Competition Policy of April 1995 was they were less interested in achieving the substance of an agreement between the commonwealth, state, the reforms). Unlike the 1994 agreement, the National and territory governments to advance a nationally Water Initiative of 2004 did not link compliance with coordinated approach to microeconomic reform the flow of financial resources. across a number of sectors, in return for a series of national competition tranche payments based upon The NWI provided a more thorough blueprint for the effective implementation of the reform agenda. water reform than did the 1994 agreement, and These microeconomic reforms included the 1994 COAG water reform agenda. Bringing the water

reforms within the National Competition Policy had 1 Tasmania signed the agreement in 2005 and Western Australia a number of consequences. In particular, the state and signed the agreement in April 2006.

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highlighted a number of areas where the reforms were The National Competition Council (NCC) prepared lagging, including provisions for environmental flows assessments of progress with the COAG agreement in where improved environmental outcomes were to be 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and a sixth and final achieved through: assessment in 2005.

• expansion of permanent trade in water, bringing The NWC issued the first biennial assessment of about more cost-effective and flexible recovery of progress with the NWI in late 2007. Although some water to achieve environmental outcomes components of the NWI—water accounting, water • more sophisticated, transparent, and pricing, water trading, and water entitlements—were comprehensive catchment-level water planning progressing well, environmental water allocation dealing with key issues such as the interception aspects were less satisfactory. A number of states of water2, the interaction between surface and and territories were not meeting NWI requirements groundwater systems, and the provision of water to to return overallocated systems to environmentally meet specific environmental outcomes sustainable levels of extraction. It was very difficult • a commitment to return water to overallocated to define the NWI concept of sustainable levels systems as quickly as possible, in consultation with of extraction. Although states had generally made affected stakeholders good progress in rolling out catchment-level water allocation plans, the scientific underpinning of these The National Water Commission (NWC) was plans, especially the links between water and the established to drive the NWI agenda. environment, were weak. In addition, management of water for the environment was judged to be weak. The COAG and NWI agreements had significant Thus, environmental water managers, with authority implications for environmental flows. They required and funding to trade and manage water on behalf of state and territory governments to: the environment, had either not been established or • recognize water for the environment as a had been given inadequate authority and resources. In legitimate use, on the same legal footing as addition, most states did not have adequate institutions consumptive water for auditing environmental outcomes. • draw up water allocation plans for catchments and Because of the lack of progress in returning groundwater areas that provided for environmental overallocated systems to environmentally sustainable flows levels of water extraction, in early 2007 the federal • implement mechanisms that returned water to the government announced a major $10 billion program— environment in surface and groundwater systems the National Plan for Water Security—to acquire water that were overallocated from a sustainability point for the environment through a mixture of irrigation of view water use efficiency improvements and outright • establish water markets where environmental purchases of water entitlements. This program has allocations could be traded subsequently been increased to $12.9 billion through • develop new, or amend existing, legislation to the Water for the Future program. provide for the above requirements

As part of the agreements, each jurisdiction was 2 Interception refers to the (usually unlicensed) extraction of water required to introduce legislation and programs to before it reaches watercourses, primarily through commercial implement the reforms. forestry activities, groundwater extraction, and small farm dams.

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Drivers of environmental flows, were proceeding at too relaxed a pace, partly because there was no institution charged The COAG and NWI agreements were the formal with actively driving the reforms. Consequently, the drivers of the water reforms, including the increased National Water Commission was established as part of prominence of environmental water. However, these the NWI, specifically to drive the water reforms. formal drivers were underlain by other influences. There was widespread public concern about the deteriorating Assessment state of Australia’s water resources, and politicians at the state and national levels were sensitive to these Recognition. Environmental flows were a central concerns. Scientifically credible studies on the state component of the 1994 COAG agreement: “States of the aquatic environment provided legitimacy to would give priority to formally determining these concerns; these studies had been commissioned allocations or entitlements to water, including by governments seeking factual advice. In addition, allocations for the environment as a legitimate user government officials at the state and federal levels of water” and subsequently the NWI. The National recognized the importance of reforming water resources Principles (Box 1.1) were developed through management and added their active support to the negotiation between all Australian governments reform program. Through these multiple influences, the specifically to provide a framework for incorporating strength of concern was strong enough and enduring environmental considerations into water planning. enough to lead to the two rounds of national water reforms over 13 years, together with other reforms to Both the COAG agreement and the 2004 NWI water management, both within the Murray Darling agreement explicitly recognized that water for Basin (MDBC 2004; Independent Audit Group 1996) environmental purposes provided public benefit and nationally (Council of Australian Governments outcomes and that it underpinned the sustainability of 2007; Australian Government 2007). other water uses. A central plank of both agreements was returning water to rivers that were overallocated in Since 2003, many parts of Australia have undergone order to ensure their environmental sustainability. the most severe drought in over 100 years. Many irrigation districts in the Murray Darling Basin are While neither agreement assigned an explicit priority receiving only minimal water allocations. Urban areas, to water for the environment, the NWI implies including six of the country’s eight capital cities, are that water for the environment should have a high on water restrictions. These water shortages have priority by stating that consumptive water uses heightened public awareness of the need to ensure that must be restricted to “environmentally sustainable the country’s water resources are managed carefully and levels of extraction.” This requirement is echoed given support to the water reforms. in state-level legislation. In New South Wales, the Water Management Act (2002) requires that water The financial and convening authority of the federal abstraction must (a) protect the water source and its government was also an important driver. The initial dependent ecosystems, and (b) protect basic landholder COAG agreement relied on implementation by the state rights. This implicitly assigns environmental water governments, initially with oversight from a high-level equal priority with landholder rights. However, steering group and then with periodic assessments by determining the environmentally sustainable levels of the NCC—an institution without specific expertise in extraction has proven to be very difficult in practice, water management. Within a few years it was clear that partly because there is a lack of agreement about the some components of the reforms, including provision meaning of the term and partly because there is a lack

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Box 1.2. Interpreting Environmentally Sustainable Levels of Extraction

In a 2005 self-assessment, the Australian state and territory governments identified only three out of 340 surface water management areas and 19 out of 367 groundwater management units as being overallocated. These estimates are significantly lower than the estimates of overallocation in the preceding 2000 Australian Water Resources Assessment, which identified 26 percent of Australia’s river basins and 34 percent of Australia’s groundwater management units as approaching or being beyond sustainable extraction limits. It is unlikely that this decrease resulted from improved management; rather it arose from changes to definitions of sustainable yield and level of development between the two assessment reports.

The National Water Commission then applied a nationally consistent set of measures of stress on surface and groundwater systems in an independent assessment of 51 representative water management areas. This assessment still relied on self- assessments of sustainable yield by the state and territory governments. The analysis found that:

• Three out of the 51 water management areas had a consumptive use greater than sustainable yield. • Seventeen water management areas had a high level of consumptive use as a proportion of inflows. • Eleven water management areas had a high level of consumptive use as a proportion of the total water resource. • Two groundwater management areas had a consumptive use greater than the total annual inflow.

While this independent assessment was based on data for just 2004–05, it indicates that the 2005 self-assessment by the states significantly underestimated the level of overallocation. State and territory governments need to agree on a consistent set of definitions and assessment procedures before the environmental sustainability of the country’s water resources can be properly determined.

Source: National Water Commission (2007).

of reliable scientific evidence linking river flows and Comprehensiveness. The COAG agreement initially groundwater levels to ecosystem services and human focused on surface freshwater systems (rivers, wetlands, benefits (Box 1.2). floodplains); groundwater systems were not properly incorporated until 1996. Groundwater management Three out of the 51 water management areas had a subsequently became a centerpiece of the NWI consumptive use greater than sustainable yield. —including provision of water for groundwater- dependent ecosystems—when it became clear that Under the NWI, environmental water entitlements restrictions on surface water abstractions in the Murray must be given statutory recognition and be accorded Darling Basin were shifting demand to groundwater at least the same degree of security as water access abstractions. The measurement of connectivity between entitlements for consumptive uses. Water allocation surface and groundwater has become a priority in plans also must have a statutory basis. These recent years. However, groundwater has yet to be fully requirements have now been implemented in all states integrated into water allocation plans, even though there through new or amended water legislation and, in are groundwater management provisions in some plans. principle, environmental water entitlements have equal statutory recognition to other entitlements. The provision of water to sustain ecosystem services in estuaries has received little attention in the COAG and Both the COAG and the NWI agreements pay little NWI agreements. Even so, a number of the catchment- attention to the effects of dams and other water resources infrastructure on downstream flows3.

This is partly because few dams are being built in 3 The COAG agreement requires that assessments have to be Australia, and partly because environmental policies undertaken and the environmental requirements of rivers have to and legislation, rather than water resources policies be met before water is harvested for irrigation, rural water supply or for dam construction. The NWI agreement treats dams as and legislation, provide the primary protection for either mechanisms to hold environmental water entitlements or environmental flows below infrastructure such as dams. as part of interception of surface flows (i.e., as small-farm dams).

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level water allocation plans include provisions for plans have now been approved for about 150 of ensuring flows to estuaries. Australia’s major surface and groundwater systems. For example, 36 WSPs had been gazetted in New South The Murray Darling Basin and the Great Artesian Basin Wales by 2006, covering 80 percent of surface and are the major cross-border water resources in Australia. groundwater use in the state. A further 10 WSPs are The former is subject to separate agreements, which are yet to be completed, and 28 surface water plans and formally recognized in the NWI agreement. However, 5 groundwater plans for less stressed systems (termed there is no explicit mention of the Great Artesian Basin macro plans) are being developed to cover most of the or other cross-border water bodies in the NHI. remaining waterbodies.

Both the COAG and NWI agreements include both The NWI requires state and territory governments water flow and water quality aspects. For example, to establish “environmental and other public benefit the NSW Water Management Act 2002 requires outcomes” for their water allocation plans. All environmental objectives for both water quality and river governments have legislated for these outcomes. flow, and envisages “water sharing plans” (WSP) that For example, the New South Wales government has include water quality aspects and source protection and developed “interim river flow objectives” (RFOs) for rehabilitation. This requirement has been implemented each catchment in New South Wales. in the WSP for the regulated Lachlan River system in New South Wales as a set of rules for a water quality Returning water to overallocated rivers and allocation that may be used for any water quality issue. groundwater systems has proven to be one of the more difficult components of the reforms. Both state The NWI agreement provides for a wide range of and federal governments have mounted well-funded influences on water availability, specifically identifying programs, using subsidies and outright purchases forestry plantations, but also allowing for other of water, but the amount of water returned to influences such as farm dams, groundwater pumping, environmental use has been limited. In addition to and bushfires. The NWI requires water resource the recent Water for the Future Program, some state accounts that include the effects of climate change governments have implemented programs to buy back and also requires that the effects of climate change water entitlements on selected overallocated rivers, are included in water allocation plans. The NSW and the Murray Darling Basin Commission is midway legislation allows the minister to modify a WSP to through a $500 million water recovery program.4 reduce water entitlements as a result of climate change, Nevertheless, there has been public disquiet about the but does not include climate change as an influence to environmental benefits from this returned water, and be included in a WSP. opposition from irrigators who fear that remaining irrigation enterprises will be rendered unviable as Environmental water mechanisms . Legally enforceable irrigation properties are taken out of production. catchment-level water allocation plans with specific environmental water allocations are at the heart of the The NWI accepts that environmental water can be COAG and NWI agreements. These plans have been provided through both a rules basis (such as cease-to- slow to be developed because of the requirements for pump rules during low flow periods) or as an access stakeholder consultations, the difficulty of establishing environmental water allocations, and the time 4 The Living Murray Initiative requires that 500 Gl of water will required to collate best available scientific knowledge be returned to environmental purposes by 2009; to date, 328 Gl in each catchment. Nevertheless, water allocation has been recovered.

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entitlement (environmental water entitlements held in states, in some cases being represented on the decision- a headwater storage). Registers of environmental water making committees. In spite of some disputed decisions entitlements and a reporting system for rule-based about the adequacy of environmental water allocations environmental water are being developed. (leading to a court challenge in one NSW catchment), environmental views have generally been represented in The COAG and NWI agreements emphasize the use of decisions. economic instruments, including market mechanisms, for maximizing environmental water allocations. The Review and Enforcement. Progress with implementing NWI envisages that environmental water entitlements the 1994 COAG agreement was monitored annually will be traded on the market in the same way as by the National Competition Council between 1999 consumptive water entitlements. Although water markets and 2004. From then, the NWC assessed progress of have operated successfully for some years, they have yet initially the COAG agreement and subsequently the to be actively used for buying and selling environmental NWI. The 1999–2005 assessments included sanctions; water entitlements. However, off-market mechanisms, the NCC and NWC could recommend that the federal such as tenders, have been used successfully in NSW and government withhold payments to state governments Victoria for purchasing entitlements for water. where the latter had not met the requirements of the COAG agreement. For example, $28m was withheld The NWI envisaged that environmental water managers from NSW in 2004 for inadequate scientific backing would be appointed to manage environmental for environmental flow allocations and for lack of entitlements, including trading on the water market. transparency in determining these allocations; half Few such managers have been appointed and there is these funds were paid in 2006 and the remainder only limited legislative, financial, and technical support returned in 2007 because of progress with these aspects for them. of the reforms. The NWC biennial assessments, commencing in 2007, are not backed by these Participation. The National Principles (Box 1.1) make it financial penalties. However, the federal government clear that all relevant stakeholders must be involved in has recently decided to reinstate payments to state all decisions on environmental water provisions. On the and territory governments that meet achievement other hand, the NWI commits jurisdictions to include criteria in areas of reform, including water resources consultations with all stakeholders on quite specific management. issues—devising pathways for returning overdrawn water systems to environmentally sustainable extraction The NCC and NWC assessments of the COAG levels, and when water plans are reviewed—but makes reforms provided a uniform policy assessment no mention of involvement on other issues such as the framework across multiple jurisdictions, and the initial preparation of water plans. public nature of the assessment by an independent commission served to maintain impetus for The NWI requires states and territories to provide implementing the agreement. While there is no firm information to all relevant stakeholders on specific topics, evidence available, anecdotal information strongly including the sustainability of water use, and the science suggests that linking water reforms to financial underpinning the identification and implementation of payments in the 1994 COAG agreement was an environmental and other public benefit outcomes. effective motivator of change.

Environmental representatives have played an Data and science. The National Principles (Principle 2, important role in water allocation planning in all Box 1.1) and the NWI both explicitly require that best

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available science is used in establishing environmental Lessons water requirements. The 2004 NCC assessment report 1. Even in a complex federal system, it is possible to (National Competition Council 2004) required that make substantial progress toward water reform, a holistic approach be employed, and defined this as including provisions for environmental water, if (a) a multidisciplinary approach; (b) all components there are strong, mutually reinforcing drivers. of the water system; (c) data that are comprehensive, 2. Widespread concern about environmental relevant, current, and subject to quality control; (d) degradation and overallocation of water resources the entire water regime (that is, variability, duration, recognized in the 1990s was one of the principal magnitude, frequency, and timing); (e) human drivers for water reform. Regular, public assessments use constraints; (f) peer review; and (g) ongoing of environmental health by independent authorities monitoring. served to maintain the impetus for the reforms, All states have now introduced such multidisciplinary, ultimately leading to a new round of more holistic techniques for environmental water assessment, comprehensive reforms in 2004 when it was clear some more rapidly than others. Some states (such as that environmental health was not improving. Queensland) have undertaken scientific field studies 3. The public nature of the reviews of progress in to support catchment-level environmental water implementing the water policy was an important assessments (Case study 8); others have relied on driver for maintaining impetus. It is probable that collation of existing knowledge. Few assessments are the financial sanctions contained in the COAG peer-reviewed, and the monitoring of environmental reforms were effective motivators for change. outcomes is patchy. The use of non-holistic or poorly 4. The initial focus on surface water management led defined environmental assessment techniques in to potential environmental problems, as demand some states was criticized by both the NCC and quickly shifted to groundwater and interception of the NWC assessments (which led to the financial overland flows. The whole water cycle needs to be sanctions resulting in the withholding of funds for included in the reforms. one state government) and may have been a factor in 5. Institutional aspects of environmental water the subsequent adoption of more defensible holistic management—making laws and regulations, techniques in Tasmania and NSW. restructuring institutions—have largely progressed satisfactorily, but actually providing the Monitoring and Reporting. The NWI requires that environmental water has proven more difficult. robust monitoring systems are introduced for assessing Water allocation plans have taken much longer compliance in overallocated surface and groundwater to produce than anticipated; the recovery of systems; less stressed systems require monitoring environmental water in overallocated systems to record progress toward full allocation. National has been slow, contentious, and expensive; states frameworks for environmental water accounting and have been slow to establish environmental water river and wetland health are still being developed. managers; and the framework for monitoring of Some states have introduced monitoring of outcomes environmental outcomes has been slow to establish. from environmental flows—for example, NSW has 6. Scientifically credible information has played an integrated Monitoring of Environmental Flows an important role in supporting the reforms, program—but progress is slow in this area, partly establishing the initial extent of environmental because the definition of environmentally sustainable degradation, assessing environmental water levels of extraction and hence environmental targets requirements in catchment plans, and monitoring remains ill-defined. progress with improvements.

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7. Couching a central part of the reforms in terms of Lamb, B.L. 1995. “Criteria for evaluating state of “environmentally sustainable levels of abstraction” instream-flow programs: Deciding what works.” J. Water placed pressure on environmental science. To date, Resources Planning and Management 121: 270–274. it has not been possible to reach agreement across MDBC. 2004. Intergovernmental Agreement on the states on the interpretation of this concept. Addressing Water Overallocation and Achieving This has proven to be the major impediment to the Environmental Objectives in the Murray-Darling Basin. environmental aspects of the reforms and a stumbling Canberra: Murray Darling Basin Commission. block to wider reforms, since they rely on priority assignment of water to environmental sustainability. National Competition Council. 2004. Assessment of 8. Non-market economic instruments have been Governments’ Progress in Implementing the National successfully used to source environmental water Competition Policy and Related Reforms: 2004. Volume 2: in stressed river systems. However, market-based Water. Canberra: Australian Government. instruments have yet to prove effective for acquiring National Land & Water Resources Audit. 2001. environmental entitlements because parts of the Australian Water Resources Assessment 2000. Surface Water institutional framework—environmental water and Groundwater—Availability and Quality. Canberra: managers, legal provisions in some states—have yet National Land & Water Resources Audit. to be established. National Land and Water Resources Audit. 2002. Australia’s Natural Resources: 1997—2002 and Beyond. References Canberra: National Land and Water Resources Audit. Agriculture and Resource Management Council of National Water Commission. 2007. Australian Water Australia and New Zealand and Australian and New Resources 2005. Level 2 Report. Canberra: National Zealand Environment and Conservation Council. Water Commission. 1996. National Principles for the Provision of Water for Ecosystems. Sustainable Land and Water Resources Ortolano, L., B. Jenkins, and R.P. Abracosa. 1987. Management Committee Subcommittee on Water “Speculations on when and why EIA is effective.” Resources Occasional Paper SWR No 3. Canberra: Environmental Impact Assessment Review 7: 285–292. Australian Government. World Bank. 2006. Agriculture Water Management Australian Government. 2007. A National Plan Initiative. Washington, DC: World Bank. for water security. Canberra: Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. World Bank. 2007. Clean Energy Development Investment Framework. Washington, DC: World Bank. Australian State of the Environment Committee. 2001. Australia State of the Environment 2001. World Bank. 2008. Infrastructure Action Plan. Independent report to the Commonwealth Minister Washington, DC: World Bank. for the Environment and Heritage, CSIRO. Canberra: Department of the Environment and Heritage. World Bank. 2008. Development and Climate Change: A Strategic Framework for the World Bank Group. Council of Australian Governments. 2000. Our Vital Washington, DC: World Bank. Resources: A National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality. Canberra: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries World Bank (forthcoming). Strategic Environmental and Forests. Assessment and Integrated Water Resources Management and Development. Washington, DC: World Bank. Independent Audit Group. 1996. Setting the Cap. Report of the Independent Audit Group. Canberra: Murray Darling Basin Commission.

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Background its natural waters are highly regulated. Along with most other Mediterranean countries, however, it has relatively The European Union (EU) currently includes 27 weak environmental flow requirements. member states with other countries, such as Turkey, waiting to join over the next decade. Climate and water resources vary considerably across the continent. The Water Directive Framework Southern Europe is dominated by a Mediterranean The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) climate with hot dry summers and mild wet winter. (Council of European Communities 2000) came into Water demand is primarily for irrigated agriculture and force on December 22, 2000. This major legislative domestic supply, with major increases in population initiative is intended to resolve the piecemeal approach along the coast during the summer. In Northern to European water legislation that had developed since Europe, precipitation is more evenly spread throughout 1975, largely because water-related issues— such as the year and water use is primarily for domestic supply pollution, nature conservation and drinking water and industry. High population densities produce standards—had been handled through separate sectors. localized water stress. For example, the Thames basin Directives dealing with these issues were sometimes in southeast England receives around 650 mm of inconsistent. The WFD was intended to bring a precipitation, but houses over 10 million people, unifying framework to these separate water-related yielding less than 1,000 m3 per person per year, the directives. Whereas previous Europe-wide directives had international standard for water stress. been implemented through different legislation in the various European member states, the WFD required In general, European states have strong institutions national legislation to be put in place to complement with well-qualified technical staff. Water-related the directive, with competent agencies selected to issues and policies vary across the continent. Rivers implement it. in Central and Eastern Europe suffered significant pollution during the 20th century due to discharges The Water Framework Directive has two classification from heavy industry, but many restoration projects systems: (1) ecological status, which is an integrated are in place to return these rivers to good quality. system using biological and physico-chemical Northern European countries have tended to have tight parameters and has five classes (Figure 2.1); and (2) controls over pollution of the aquatic environment, as a chemical classification, which is an assessment of well as provisions for environmental flow allocations, compliance with standards for “priority hazardous due partly to more plentiful water resources in these substances,” which has two classes (pass or fail). The regions. In the southern part of the EU, countries final status is defined as the lesser of the chemical and receive limited rainfall and experience high seasonal ecological status and is assessed in terms of the extent water demands. Spain has over 1,200 large dams and of deviation from undisturbed reference conditions.

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Figure 2.1 Status options for water bodies in the WFD

Reference Conditions 1

(nearly) totally undisturbed high OK slight alterations good

moderate alterations moderate measures needed major alterations poor

severe alterations bad 0

The primary means of setting reference conditions is by causes of failure to meet GES. Environmental flows are identifying similar water bodies that are undisturbed, seen as part of the measures needed to restore many with similarity being assessed by classifying and typing rivers to GES or maintain those already at GES. sites according to selected physical variables, from a combination of mapped (catchment area, slope, The WFD does not specify the measures needed to geology) and site-specific (water width, depth) data. restore or maintain GES, as these will be case-specific. Each country is left to define environmental standards, Deviation from ecological reference conditions in any such as maximum abstraction rates or releases from body of water is measured primarily through assessment dams, since these are related to river type and will vary of three elements of the aquatic ecosystem: (1) fish according to reference conditions in different countries. (taxonomic composition and age structure); Furthermore, the WFD does not specify how water (2) invertebrates (taxonomic composition and the may be retrieved from licensees in overabstracted mixture of sensitive and non-sensitive species); and basins. Nevertheless, a “common implementation (3) macrophytes and algae (taxonomic composition and strategy” (CIS) has been established by the European abundance). Commission to achieve some consistency of approach.5 The water directors from government departments Under the WFD, all EU member states agreed to meet every six months to comment on and/or agree achieve the objective of at least “good ecological status” on the recommendations of the CIS Working Groups. (GES) in all bodies of surface water and groundwater Pan-European research projects have been established to by 2015, and also to prevent deterioration in the status allow scientists to work together. of water bodies. Pristine sites are classified as “high ecological status” (HES), and must be maintained at The WFD allows limited exceptions to achieving GES. this status level. Only in the case of HES is the river In particular, an alternate objective of at least “good flow regime a primary quality element and must be ecological potential” (GEP) can be applied where close to natural, along with the biology of the river. For water bodies are designated as “heavily modified” water bodies classified as “moderate,” “poor,” or “bad,” measures must be implemented, such as improving 5 CIS guidance documents are available at http://forum.europa. water quality or removing structures, to remedy the eu.int.

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(HMWB) or artificial because of constraints imposed support the WFD because they saw it as an opportunity by physical modifications to the water body, such as to strengthen their roles in environmental protection. dams. A HMWB is designated if (1) the water body Even some water abstractors have viewed it as a way of is likely to fail to achieve GES because of substantial “greening” their credentials. physical modification for the benefit to society (such as flood protection or navigation); and (2) the beneficial However, the use of natural conditions as the functions would be significantly compromised by benchmark for river restoration means that some restoration measures required to achieve GES, and there cherished characteristics of rivers are under threat. For is no other technically feasible and cost-effective way example, chalk streams, which are one of the most to deliver that function. For example, a dam that is no highly prized river ecosystems in the United Kingdom, longer economic should be removed or operated in a are the result of centuries of river management. The way that will achieve GES. Designation of a water body WFD states that these should be returned to more as HMWB is thus ultimately an economic judgment. natural conditions, which may be less biodiverse and less attractive to local people. The WFD’s focus on ecological outcomes rather than social objectives may Drivers thus be less acceptable to local stakeholders. Harmonization of legislation, policies, and practices was a major driver for the establishment and development Assessment of the European Union. Since the 1970s, EU-wide directives have been drawn up that require member Recognition. The WFD is concerned with river states to change their national legislation in line with a protection and river restoration and is not focused common European goal. The EU has many international on environmental flows specifically. Consequently, rivers, and it is within the spirit of the EU that guidance hydrological modification is not used to assess is issued to promote transboundary basin management. ecological status, except for HES. Thus, even if the flow regime is significantly altered in a water body Until the WFD was initiated, water issues were covered downstream of an impoundment or abstraction, unless under many separate EU directives and sectoral policies the biology is impacted, it could be rated as GES. covering, for example, drinking water, bathing water, flood protection, and river pollution. A key turning Even though the WFD only explicitly requires point occurred in 1988, when those responsible for environmental flows in relation to maintenance of management of ecosystems proposed an ecological HES, appropriate flows are still accepted as a basic directive on the basis that the ecosystem was the best requirement of a healthy river. The flow regime is indicator for sustainable development. The idea was included as a supporting quality element for GES and supported by sectors such as domestic water providers, other lower status levels. This recognizes that GES is who felt that their water treatments costs were increased unlikely to be reached in a water body with significantly because of degraded surface and groundwater. altered flows, as this will result in changes to the river ecosystem through modification of physical habitat Many NGOs supported the introduction of the and alterations in erosion and sediment supply rates. WFD because it recognized the importance of natural Consequently, restoring a more natural flow regime ecosystem functions that provide services to humans. may well be a necessary measure in a river that fails Some ecological advocates supported the concept GES, and so environmental standards have to be set of reference conditions that were broadly natural. for abstractions and for releases from impoundments as Furthermore, some environmental protection agencies part of river management to restore or maintain GES.

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In addition, there is currently uncertainty as to whether river water body. Wetlands fed by aquifers are referred existing tools for assessment of biological quality to as “groundwater-dependent terrestrial ecosystems.” elements are adequate for provisional designation of HMWBs. While there is no provision within the WFD The WFD explicitly links water quantity with water for surrogates to be used when biological assessment is quality and stream morphology as elements that not possible, there is an acceptance within the UK that support the biology of aquatic ecosystems. alteration to the river flow regime can be used for an initial classification in these circumstances (Acreman It is increasingly recognized that climate change will 2007). However, the final classification must be based have a significant impact on the aquatic environment in on biological data. Europe. In particular, there is current debate about how reference conditions will alter under climate change, Each country reports to the European Union on and thus change the targets for management of water progress with implementation of the WFD and can be bodies. However, the WFD currently does not address fined for lack of compliance. This is a powerful lever climate change explicitly. for action by some countries that see noncompliance as politically damaging. Other countries appear less Data and science. Major problems have arisen in concerned. Some countries are finding it difficult to trying to implement the WFD because of the need to implement the directive, but none has yet been fined interpret the practical meaning of general concepts. The because major deadlines for WFD have not been definitions of reference sites, GES, and GEP have been reached. particularly difficult, and there is not yet agreement across Europe on these terms. Comprehensiveness. A key element of the WFD is the development of river basin management plans. Many The CIS for the WFD is producing guidance on some European states are already managing water resources of these interpretations, but interpreting other terms at the basin level, and so anticipate a smooth transition raises fundamental ecological issues that cannot readily to WFD implementation. This includes existing be resolved. For example, if reference conditions for transboundary river basin initiatives, such as those for certain river types (such as lowland rivers, which are the Rhine and Danube. Each river basin must show almost all heavily developed in Europe) do not exist, the current and objective status for each water body how can ecological objectives be defined for these and a set of measures to achieve at least GES by 2015. river types? Another major issue is whether significant However, the WFD does not explicitly identify a hydrological alteration alone can be grounds for priority water allocation for the environment; it merely declaring that a water body is not in good status. Some states that water bodies must achieve at least GES by argue that the WFD is a biological directive and thus whatever measures are necessary. decisions need to be made using biological data; others argue that biological data are often lacking so decisions The WFD is comprehensive in its definition of water need to be made on other grounds, such as hydrological bodies, which include rivers, lakes, canals, reservoirs, alteration. In reality, this is an integrating directive groundwater, and transitional water (estuaries and because the standards for all physico-chemical and deltas). Wetlands are not explicitly referred to as such biological quality elements have to pass the standards to since, under the Ramsar Convention, all water bodies achieve GES. In addition, there is a lack of consistent are wetlands. However, wetlands associated with water tools and data across Europe to measure the degree of bodies are included within the definition; for example, alteration of a water body from reference conditions. floodplains are included as part of the adjacent lake or Pan-European projects have been set up to address

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some of these issues. In the meantime, implementation and Slovenia) are starting the process and have invited has proceeded on a practical basis because the UK experts to present their experiences in start-up arguments have not been resolved and deadlines are workshops. approaching. An additional project was set up, called WFD 82 to Successful implementation of such major legislation provide best practice guidance for setting flow releases needs to be flexible to allow for issues not considered from impoundments. It employed the building block when the legislation was originally established. A good method (BBM) (Tharme and King 1998), which was example is that reference conditions are becoming a developed in South Africa (case study 3), for identifying moving target due to climate change. This complication the elements of the flow regime needed to achieve was not considered seriously 20 years ago. either GES or GEP in river ecosystems. Full application of BBM requires site-specific data. However, the WFD The tools and data for water management differ 82 project produced some generic data sets of flow between countries and, in many cases, between requirements for different species that could be used in provinces within countries. For example, some rapid assessment of flow releases from reservoirs without countries use detailed physical habitat models, such the need to collect site data. The recommendations of as PHABSIM, to define ecologically acceptable flows, this work are currently being tested on a set of water whereas other use expert-based judgment or rules of bodies with reservoirs across the UK. thumb. In France, the environmental flows from dams must be a minimum of 1/40th of the mean annual flow The WFD thus faces some major challenges in its goal for existing schemes and 1/10th of the mean annual to harmonize water management across Europe. The flow for new schemes. These differences cause problems EU has funded various research projects to support when flow requirements need to be established for implementation of the WFD, primarily on methods transboundary rivers and for EU-wide assessments of for predicting reference conditions in water bodies. the ecological status of water bodies. The fish-based assessment method for European rivers (FAME) (Schmutz 2004) is a good example. The UK is leading Europe in the development of FAME supported development of the European Fish methods for establishing the environmental flow Index (EFI), which used environmental variables needed to achieve GES. The WFD 48 project (Acreman (altitude, distance from source, catchment area, slope, and others 2005) focused on setting standards for water wetted width, air temperature, presence/absence of resources, such as the maximum abstraction levels that lake upstream) to predict what fish species could be would maintain GES. This work only covered river expected to be present in reference conditions. Rivers types found in the UK. The project produced two main are then classified into five levels of degradation based outputs: (1) a means of classifying river water body on deviation of observed fish species and abundance ecosystem types based on the characteristics of the river from those predicted by the model. The Stream basin draining to them; and (2) the production of look- and River Typologies Project (STAR) developed a up tables for each river type, specifying the maximum similar procedure for predicting macro-invertebrate abstraction allowable at different flows. The maximum community reference conditions (Sandin and levels of abstraction ranged from 7.5 to 35 percent Verdonschot 2006). In some cases, these methods of the natural flow, depending on river type and flow can suggest the causes of the degradation and suggest rate. No other countries have produced new methods measures that can be implemented. In other cases, or look-up tables explicitly for WFD implementation, separate studies are required to identify causes of failure although several countries (including Norway, Sweden, to achieve GES.

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Participation. The WFD recognizes the importance of consulted with little prospect that their views would be developing effective mechanisms to support public and acted upon, and thus became frustrated. stakeholder participation and encourages involvement in river basin decision-making processes. However, the Implementation. EU member states are required to role of stakeholders in decision making is not explicit; identify a competent authority to implement the WFD. certainly, there is no defined role in environmental flow Many of these authorities have already had experience in assessment within the WFD. balancing the needs of water users and the environment and developing decisions that reflected the different Reviews of participation in five European countries needs of different water bodies. The WFD removes (Portugal, Greece, the Netherlands, the United much of this flexibility, as it specifies a homogenous Kingdom, and Spain) that encompass a range of ecological status target that must be achieved. different political and institutional contexts have The ownership of water is not addressed in the WFD; concluded that there is little real opportunity for the it just requires water bodies to be in at least good active involvement and collaboration of the interested status. Operating rules for most reservoirs have been parties (Videira, Antunes, Santos, and Lobo 2006). agreed between the dam owners (water or hydropower Instead, the engagement, although called participation, companies) and these have to be revised to include is largely an information dissemination exercise for environmental flows. In many cases, especially major government departments or implementing agencies, dams, the owners are required to provide river flow with an opportunity to comment. However, some data to prove that they are operating the dam within stakeholder participation occurs in the development of the agreement. The competent agencies (mainly visions for river basin management plans or for specific environment protection agencies) are then responsible activities, such as environmental impact assessment for monitoring all the relevant quality elements needed and development of measures where water bodies for the ecological classification, including the biology fail to achieve GES. This limitation on stakeholder and physico-chemical quality elements that provide participation is partly because the WFD moves decision the test of whether the water body is at GES. This making to an objectives-based approach, where the target is likely to require adaptive management, since the status of the water body is fixed in advance (at least precise environmental flows required to achieve GES GES), and away from scenario-based decision making, are not known. Releases and abstraction allowances where options are presented and stakeholders can may need to be altered as understanding grows through influence the selection of the most appropriate scenario. monitoring programs. Monitoring for the WFD will The experience in Europe with catchment-based also have to be integrated with other needs, such as stakeholder participation has not always been positive conservation of designated habitats and species and (Box 2.1). In the past, local negotiations led to management of invasive species. different water allocations in different river basins. Many river basins are overabstracted because of weak This was seen to be un-equitable at national scale. license agreements or even lack of licenses. The major Negotiations were often dominated by a few vocal issue for the future is implementing the environmental water users, which led to bias, and sometimes only flows needed to achieve GES in these overabstracted key stakeholders were invited to meetings, giving rise rivers. Some of the approaches being tested in trials are: to conspiracy theories and distrust of the outcomes. In other cases, interaction with stakeholders was • Users are asked to give up some abstraction to counterproductive because the stakeholders were increase their “green” credentials or in exchange for promised participation, but were merely being priority attention in seeking alternative water sources.

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Box 2.1 Wetlands and Environmental Flows in Spain

The Upper Guadiana Basin is located on the Central Spanish Plateau, covering an area of 16,130 km2. Development of the region since 1972 has been achieved through expanding irrigated agriculture. The intensive use of groundwater, especially during long periods of low rainfall, has caused a dramatic decline in groundwater levels and led to the degradation of important groundwater- fed wetlands, such as Las Tablas de Damiel.

In 1994, the La Mancha Occidental aquifer was declared “definitively overexploited” because of unsustainable use.This designation implied restrictions on groundwater withdrawals, a ban on drilling new wells, and the development of a participatory process with irrigation communities. The Guadiana River Basin Authority was established as an independent body to manage the river and aquifers and allocate water between the various stakeholders, including the environment. In addition, the Spanish 1985 Water Code required the authority to prepare a water plan indicating the water available to each groundwater-licensed user in aquifers declared as “overexploited.”

Before the declaration, about 16,000 wells had been drilled; following the declaration, farmers have probably drilled about 8,000 to 9,000 additional illegal wells. It is also estimated that there are in total about 20,000 to 40,000 illegal wells with unknown abstractions. NGOs are not strong in the basin, and most environmental issues have been raised by academics or government representatives.

Hydrological models showed that pumping rates above two-thirds of the maximum historical rate (400 m3/yr) were unsustainable. By 1998, the abstraction rate was 600 Mm3/yr of water per year. When faced with having to reduce abstraction, the farmers took out a legal case against the authority, which effectively stalled the whole water management process.

The process for managing overexploited water resources created considerable mistrust between the different stakeholder groups, and the legislation proved to be inadequate when faced with this level of overabstraction. All the water users and officers of national and regional government were invited to a workshop in May 1998. The goal was to move from confrontation to collaboration, in order to achieve sustainable development by finding a balance between environmental flows to the wetlands and allowing groundwater abstraction for agriculture. This goal was ambitious and parts of the meeting were confrontational.

Several further meetings with stakeholders have been held with a high level of participation. These meetings show the interest by stakeholders in trying to solve the problems through dialogue and by developing a trusting environment. This has been an important step in collaborating to find a solution. While the participatory process required under the legislation is under way, the other required actions—restrictions on current withdrawals and bans on new bores—have not been implemented, primarily due to insufficient manpower in the Guadiana River Basin Authority.

Sources:Acreman and de la Hera 2007; Bromley and others 2001.

• Farmers are increasingly investing in efficient Market mechanisms for this have not yet been technology or on-farm storage of water during established. floods for use during dry periods. To encourage • In most EU countries, water tariffs are set this, licensing authorities may agree to higher total administratively. In some cases, water suppliers abstractions if water is taken during floods, because can increase charges to customers to offset costs of more water is available. In addition, publicity new infrastructure required to reduce abstractions campaigns, free advice, and water metering with from overabstracted water bodies. This has been sliding tariffs have all proved successful. successfully applied in several cases. For example, • Licenses are granted for short time periods, after restoration of the River Kennet in the UK, which they can be revoked or reduced; this gives impacted by water abstractions, was funded by water users time to adjust and find new sources or increases in the component within the water supply implement demand management. costs related to environmental issues. • Some users own licenses they do not exploit. • In some cases, the only solution to implementing Under new laws, licenses may be tradable, environmental flows to achieve GES will be either loaned or sold to other water users. compulsory purchase of licenses from water users

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by the state; that is, provision of compensation guise of true participation can create ill-feeling and payments for lost resource use. can be counterproductive. 5. The implementation of an externally defined However, these approaches to reducing water objective, such as GES, ignores and discards much abstractions from overallocated systems are still being of the local experience that river management tested in trials, and there are few experiences in the EU authorities have accumulated in meeting the needs from which lessons can be drawn. of water users and the environment for different water bodies with different characteristics. Lessons 6. Recovering water in overabstracted river basins remains the most difficult obstacle to 1. Overcoming the major variations in legislation, implementing environmental flows. Various customer law and civil rights, assessment methods are being tried, but recovering water techniques, and data availability to achieve a is likely to remain contentious and will require uniform water management framework within the political commitment. EU requires investment in major R&D programs costing many millions of dollars. Establishing a Acknowledgments consistent environmental flow policy across such a diverse region is expensive and time consuming. The case study was drafted by Professor M. Acreman 2. For the legislation to be effective, many technical and reviewed by Dr. A. J. D. Ferguson. concepts need to be clearly defined and procedures need to be defined for implementing these References concepts. The problems arise partly because scientists do not agree on some biological, Acreman, M.C., M.J. Dunbar, J. Hannaford, A. Black, O. Bragg, J. Rowan, and J. King. 2005. Development ecological, or hydrological issues, and partly of environmental standards (Water Resources). Stage because the implications of implementing the 3: Environmental Standards for the Water Framework directive will create political problems. Directive. Report to the Scotland and Northern Ireland 3. A tool-kit of environmental flow procedures Forum for Environment Research. Wallingford and is needed to implement the legislation, so that Dundee: Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and assessments can be conducted for different issues University of Dundee. and river types. Look-up tables provide a simple Acreman, M.C. 2007. “Guidance on Environmental means of setting environmental flow requirements, Flow Releases from Impoundments to Implement the but are inflexible and uncertain at any individual Water Framework Directive.” Final report to SNIFFER site. Techniques, such as BBM, combine explicit Project WFD82. Wallingford, UK: Centre for Ecology knowledge of the hydrological and ecological and Hydrology. system to provide a site specific solution, but are Acreman, M.C., and A. de la Hera. 2007. “Case Study: costly to employ. the upper Guadiana, Spain.” On Wetlands and River 4. Stakeholder participation is a key requirement if Basin Management. Gland, Switzerland: Ramsar true community involvement is to be achieved. Convention. This is particularly important when water users Bromley, J., J. Cruces, M.C. Acreman, L. Martinez, may have to give up some rights, as experienced and M.R. Llamas. 2001. “Problems of sustainable in Spain. The WFD is weak on specifying groundwater management in an area of over- participative requirements. Consultation under the exploitation: the Upper Guadiana catchment, central

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Spain.” International Journal of Water Resources European rivers (FAME)—a contribution to the Development 17(3): 379–396. Water Framework Directive.” Report to European Commission. Accessible at: http://fame.boku.ac.at Council of European Communities. 2000. “Directive Establishing a Framework for Community Action Tharme, R. E., and J.M. King. 1998. Development in the Field of Water Policy.” (2000/60/EC). Official of the building block methodology for instream flow Journal, 2000. Brussels: Council of European assessments and supporting research on the effects of Communities. different magnitude flows on riverine ecosystems.Report to Water Research Commission, 576/1/98. Cape Town, Sandin, L., and P.F.M. Verdonschot. 2006. “Stream and South Africa: Water Research Commission. river typologies—major results and conclusions from the STAR project.” Hydrobiologia 566 (1): 55–68. Videira, N., P. Antunes, R. Santos, and G. Lobo. 2006. “Public and stakeholder participation in European Schmutz, S. 2004. “Development evaluation water policy: a critical review of project evaluation and implementation of a standardised Fish-based processes.” European Environment 16 (1): 19–31. Assessment Method for the ecological status of

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Background not deal adequately with issues of environment, equity, and downstream water requirements for Until the election of the democratic government human or ecosystem needs. The NWA is based on 28 in 1994, South Africa’s water law was based on the fundamental principles and objectives,7 which included riparian rights principle. Being based on the ownership three principles that were relevant to provision of water of property, this favored a selective portion of the for the environment: population. Legal access to water was thus biased in favor of the interests of the dominant white population. • There shall be no ownership of water, only a right The advent of a democratically elected government in (for environmental and basic human needs) or an 1994 provided opportunities for a new constitution. As authorization for its use (Principle 3). part of that, the government implemented an overhaul • The quantity, quality, and reliability of water of the policies, laws, and institutions governing water required to maintain the ecological functions management.6 on which humans depend shall be reserved so that human use of water does not individually The White Paper, National Water Act, and National Water Resource Strategy 6 Apart from redressing the manifest inequities, there were other The new South African constitution of 1996 laid reasons for overhauling South Africa’s water policy. South Africa is already classified as water-stressed, with just 1,200 3m of available the foundation for an overhaul of water policy by freshwater per person per annum, and is predicted to be water- guaranteeing access to “sufficient water” for all citizens scarce by 2025. The growth of the economy was making demands and the right to an environment that is “not harmful for water in the industrial and urban heartland, which was far from the areas of highest rainfall. It was increasingly expensive to their health or well-being,” as well as the right to build more water storage to meet these demands. Agriculture to have the environment protected for the benefit and forestry were economically important and provided a living for millions of people in the rural areas. Agriculture accounted of present and future generations. The subsequent for about half the nation’s water use, and its use of water needed White Paper on Water Policy (Department of Water to be made more efficient if water was to be shared among all Affairs and Forestry 1997) included these principles by sectors. Water was also important for South Africa’s extensive mining industry; at the same time, mining was a source of water stating that water for meeting basic human needs and pollution that degraded the resource for other users. There was maintaining environmental sustainability would be also obvious degradation of the aquatic environment in many guaranteed as a right. parts of the country where water resources have been polluted, or where changes in flow regimes have affected aquatic ecosystems. Consequently, the focus of water planning and management had This new approach to water management was encoded to shift from development of the water resource to improving in the 1998 National Water Act (NWA). The previous water use efficiency, including conservation and reuse, protection of water sources, and maintenance of aquatic environments. Water Act of 1956 had emphasized riparian ownership 7 Fundamental Principles and Objectives for a New Water Law for and commercially based control of water, and did South Africa, 1996.

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or cumulatively compromise the long term water body, establishing the reserve, and developing a sustainability of aquatic and associated ecosystems water resource management plan. DWAF has developed (Principle 9). its own policy guidelines for participation (Department • The water required to meet the basic human of Water Affairs and Forestry 2001). needs …. and the needs of the environment shall be identified as “The Reserve” and shall enjoy There are a number of provisions in the policy and the priority of use by right. The use of water for all legislation that are relevant to environmental flows. other purposes shall be subject to authorization Principle 7 of the policy states that management (Principle 10). of waters is “to achieve optimum, long term, environmentally sustainable social and economic The 1997 White Paper and the 1998 legislation are benefit for society from their use.” The prominence the fundamental statements of water policy in South given to environmental water requirements in Africa and, as such, cover a variety of topics related the policy, and subsequently in the NWA, was to the objectives and mechanisms for water planning influenced by a recognition from a number of and management. They are consistent with the South quarters—including the Southern African Society of African Bill of Rights, which gives all South Africans Aquatic Scientists (Palmer 1999), DWAF, and Water the right to an environment that is “not harmful to Resources Commission—that there was a need to their health or well-being,” as well as the right to have provide quantitative estimates of environmental water the environment protected for the benefit of present requirements. The role played by aquatic scientists and and future generations. natural resource managers is noteworthy. They took advantage of the opportunity provided by the water It is difficult to strike a balance between, on the one reforms to ensure that both long-term sustainability hand, the fundamental changes needed if previously and more immediate equity issues were incorporated disadvantaged groups are to obtain access to water in the new water policy and legislation. This sense and, on the other, the certainty needed for productive of building expertise and influence and then seizing water-dependent economic activities to continue. the opportunity offered by the water reforms is well Consequently, the policy places considerable emphasis described in a recent paper (Biggs, Breen, and Palmer, on participatory approaches to implementing its in press). provisions (Department of Water Affairs and Forestry 2005). According to the NWA, any decision in water The provision of water for basic human needs and for resource management requires two participatory environmental functions (the basic human needs and processes (Burt and Neves 2006): ecological reserves) are the only recognized rights to water; all other water uses require entitlements that will 1. Relevant stakeholders and water users must be be recognized only if they are beneficial in the public consulted on every step, from establishment to interest. implementation. 2. Before anything can be legally formalized, it The basic human needs reserve is a core obligation—it must appear in the Government Gazette, inviting is immediately effective—for drinking and hygiene written comment from the public. purposes. In principle, it is met using a specific quantity of water, such as the 25l/person/day specified in the The NWA thus requires participation in important Reconstruction and Development Programme, the decisions such as the establishment of catchment development manifesto of the ANC government. management agencies, classification of a particular On the other hand, the act allows for the ecological

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reserve to be phased in over time. The decision on how to be used, following a period of public consultation. much water will be allocated to the environment is The classification system is being progressively location-specific and depends on the environmental implemented. class of the water body. The water requirements of the ecological reserve—both quantity and quality—are South Africa has been a leader in developing determined from a scientific assessment of the water environmental flow techniques for determining the needed to achieve ecological sustainability. In many quantity and quality of water needed to provide cases, this requirement cannot be met if all the current a given level of habitat protection (Box 3.1). The water rights are exercised. In these cases, the decision development and use of these techniques pre-dates the makers (DWAF at present and ultimately the CMAs) water policy and legislation, and provides the country try to meet the ecological reserve through adjustments with internationally recognized technical expertise to to water management rules; where this is not possible, determine environmental water requirements. a decision has to be made on the water allocation that best meets all requirements. These decisions on Some water resources may be already unacceptably overallocated systems are yet to be made in South degraded as a result of overexploitation; in these cases, Africa, but will come to the fore during the formulation the policy states that management will rehabilitate of water resources plans by CMAs. the resource to an acceptable state over a long enough period to allow water users to adjust their activities. As van Wyk and others (2006) point out, the ecological reserve is commonly regarded as being The policy and the NWA also deal with activities that in direct competition with the needs of humans, reduce the quantity of water reaching streams and thus resulting in varying interpretations of the meaning impact on downstream human and ecological processes. and purpose of the ecological reserve. They propose Commercial forestry is specifically identified in the that the reserve should be regarded as contributing NWA as a stream flow reduction activity, although to human water needs by sustaining the ecosystem the minister has the power to declare other land uses functions that support human uses, rather than as stream flow reducing activities. One of the drivers being seen as in competition with human needs. for controlling these land uses is their effect on the While the concept of ecosystem goods and services downstream aquatic environment. is theoretically attractive, the actual delivery of many of these ecosystem benefits is either long term (when The policy and the act require catchment many needs are immediate) or indirect (and hence not management agencies (CMAs) to be progressively always obvious). It requires strong scientific backing, established throughout South Africa, giving priority as well as political support, for these concepts to be to the most stressed catchments. The CMAs are put into practice. to be locally responsible for water management in each catchment, with each CMA being governed The objectives for water use are embedded in a National by a board. The functions of the CMA include the Water Resources Classification System (NWRCS) preparation of a catchment strategy, which includes that is to be applied to all surface and groundwater the water resources classification in the catchment resources throughout South Africa. The NWRCS is a (an ecological, economic, and social exercise to set of guidelines and procedures for determining the identify the management level for each part of a desired characteristics of a water resource (Department river system), the requirements for the reserve, and of Water Affairs and Forestry 2006). The NWA leaves it water allocation plans. Nineteen water management up to the minister to determine the classification system areas (WMAs) were declared in 1999; the National

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Box 3.1. Development of Environmental Flow Methods in South Africa

The early environmental flow allocations were simple hydrological ratios, starting with 1 percent of allocations to be assigned to the environment in the 1970s, later increased to 10 to 15 percent, until there was a realization that simple ratios were insufficient and that environmental flows needed to be based on the water requirements of aquatic ecosystems. Various research projects were undertaken supported by the Water Research Commission and the DWAF, including the trial of the IFIM method in the Olifants River (Western Cape). Overall, IFIM was not suited to the objective of maintaining South African river ecosystems in a healthy condition. The first workshop on “Ecological Flow Requirements for South African Rivers” was held in 1989 following these studies.

South Africa subsequently became a pioneer in the development of holistic techniques, which considered the water requirements of the complete ecosystem, including the source area, river channel, riparian zone, floodplain, groundwater, wetlands, and estuary. South Africa opted for these methods because they are quicker, more consultative methods based more on expert opinion rather than intensive data collection. In addition, they are more suited to the capacity and financial resources available, as well as to situations where there was a greater dependence on natural-resource based livelihoods. Holistic methods were groundbreaking, not only because they integrated consideration of all components of the flow regime, but also because they required the cooperation of aquatic scientists, hydrologists, and managers. The earliest and at that time most widely used holistic technique in South Africa, the building block methodology (BBM), was first introduced in a workshop at the Lephalala River in 1992.

BBM-based methods have been applied systematically to major water resource projects in 14 rivers throughout South Africa and in the Logan River in Australia. Following a workshop on the Sabie-Sand rivers, the DWAF determined that the BBM could meet the legal requirements for quantifying environmental water requirements. As a result, the BBM was formally endorsed by the DWAF and is accepted by other water management and conservation organizations.

The BBM is a prescriptive approach for developing a flow regime that maintains a river in a predetermined condition. However, the habitat flow stressor response (HFSR) method, developed using the BBM as a basis, has largely supplanted the BBM.The HFSR has been applied to about 10 large reserve studies during the last five years.An integrated framework method, SPATSIM, was used for many of the major E-flow assessments (Hughes 2004).The DRIFT method, developed during the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (Case Study 14), has also been approved and has now been used in about two reserve studies.

Sources: King, Tharme, and de Villiers 2000; Liphadzi 2007; D. Louw (pers. comm.)

Water Resource Strategy (Department of Water integrated exercise once the final resource classification Affairs and Forestry 2004a) provides the sequence system is established. for establishing CMAs in these areas. To date, six CMAs—Inkomati, Mvoti-Mzimkulu, Gouritz, Since being passed in 1997 and 1998, the water policy Olifants-Doorn, Thukela, and Usutu to Mhlathuze and legislation have been slowly but progressively CMAs—have been established. Their catchment implemented and have sought to overcome a number strategies have yet to be produced. of significant impediments. First, the new water policy requires a fundamental shift in approach The National Water Resource Strategy required under from water allocations being based on prior riparian the NWA has now been completed (Department rights (usually held by the white minority), to one of Water Affairs and Forestry 2004b). Although it based on negotiation over equitable and efficient does not describe the classification system, because sharing of the resource. This transition has proven that has to be established by regulation after public to be difficult, with opposition from groups who consultation, it does propose that the reserve consist previously had extensive access to water resources. of three classes—natural, moderately used/impacted, Secondly, there has been a reluctance (until recently) and heavily used/impacted. It also proposes that, for a to transfer responsibility for operational management particular system, the determination of the classification from DWAF to the CMAs because of concerns within of a resource, the associated reserve, and resource sections of DWAF and the wider water resources quality objectives will usually be undertaken as an community about the capacity of new agencies to

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manage effectively. Thirdly, the ecological reserve Drivers has proven to be particularly difficult to implement The transition from apartheid to a democratic regime and in catchments where the available water has been the consequent need to redress inequities in the access to fully allocated.8 Reserving water for the environment and allocation of South Africa’s water was the key driver in these catchments will mean reducing current for the reform of water management. While the apartheid entitlements, finding additional sources, or introducing government had recognized the issue of environmental efficiency gains, with the saved water being assigned flows for, at least, key ecosystems, it took the now to the environment. Fourthly, the strong emphasis government to embrace the concept wholeheartedly and on participatory approaches to all stages of decision incorporate it into policy and legislation. making has been onerous to implement because of the limited experience in such approaches among both There were a number of drivers for including an institutional staff and stakeholders (Lotz-Sisitka and environmental water reserve within the new policy. Burt 2006). Finally, some marginalized stakeholder Firstly, it ensured that the basic human needs reserve groups find difficulty in seeing that a functioning was sustainable in the long term, particularly for those aquatic environment can provide ecosystem services on subsistence incomes who were highly dependent that are as important as the use of the water for on the resource. Secondly, it was part of a wider set of purposes such as irrigation and household supply. components of the water reforms, designed to redress Water that is allocated to the environment is seen as the degraded state of a number of the country’s water water that is lost to these stakeholders. resources. Thirdly, it was a response to a number of international developments that emphasized the In the meantime, the minister is authorized under the importance of maintaining the aquatic environment act to make a preliminary determination of the water because of the ecological services provided by the resource classification and the social and ecological environment.9 Finally, it was driven by a need to be a reserve. This power has been used since 2001 to make good neighbor with countries with which South Africa some preliminary determinations of the ecological shared water resources, which, in turn, was driven by reserve. Low confidence estimates of the reserve the higher level political changes following the end of have been produced for all South African quaternary apartheid. catchments for the National Water Resource Strategy. The methodology used for the determination of In addition, a number of professional societies, such the preliminary water resource class and ecological as the Southern African Society of Aquatic Scientists, reserve was established in 1999 (Department of worked with officials from the DWAF to provide the Water Affairs and Forestry 1999). These estimates foundations for environmentally sustainable water are based on a very limited understanding of the functioning of ecosystems or habitat requirements. DWAF has subsequently produced an internal 8 The reserve has not yet been implemented in catchments that strategic perspective (ISP) for each WMA to assist are not overallcoated. 9 The White Paper lists these as: the UN Conference on the Human in their management prior to the establishment of Environment (Stockholm, 1972); the International Drinking the CMAs. These include updated estimates of the Water Supply and Sanitation Decade launch (Mar del Plata, reserves, based on testing the impacts of various flow 1977); the World Conference on Water and the Environment (Dublin, 1992); the UNCED Earth Summit – Agenda 21 (Rio de scenarios on ecological responses and on other water Janeiro, 1992); the Drinking Water and Environmental Sanitation users. An optimized flow scenario is then selected Conference on the Implementation of Agenda 21 (Noordwijk, Meeting of Ministers, 1994); the Global Water Partnership that maximizes ecological outcomes and minimizes meeting (Stockholm, 1996); and the First World Water Forum of impacts on other water users. the World Water Council (Marrakesh, 1997).

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resources development and management in the policy environmental impact requirement because the reserve and the NWA because they recognized the links was seen as being for the benefit of people rather than between maintaining aquatic ecosystems and poverty the environment. reduction and equality (Biggs, Breen, and Palmer, in press). The unity and organization displayed by the The environmental water provisions of the policy— South African aquatic science community was a key including the establishment of the classification factor in including environmental flows in the policy system, the reserve, the formation of CMAs, and their and demonstrating that there were techniques available authorization to produce water allocation plans—are for putting the policy into practice. contained in the National Water Act 1998. Thus, the environmental water provisions of the policy are backed by legislative authority. Assessment

Recognition. The need for maintaining environmental The minister has used the provisions of the act flows, including the setting of water objectives through to establish an interim classification system and the classification system and the provision of an environmental reserve while the CMAs are being environmental reserve, is a central part of the water declared. A program has been commenced to improve policy and its supporting legislation and strategy. the calculation of the reserve (Department of Water The policy is recognized internationally as setting a Affairs and Forestry 2004a). benchmark for incorporating environmental water considerations into national water policy. The policy Comprehensiveness. The policy is very comprehensive, discusses the concept of environmental sustainability with provisions for managing all the main stages of at length, recognizing that the concept includes the the water cycle, including the interception of overland provision of ecological services that support beneficial flow (streamflow reduction activities). At this stage, uses of water, while maintaining enough resilience in only commercial forestry (which is specified in the the system to allow recovery from shocks. Act) has been declared a streamflow reduction activity, but dryland sugarcane is being considered (Warren The ecological reserve is assigned an equal first priority 2000). The ecological reserve applies to both surface with the basic human needs reserve in the policy and the and groundwater; the reserved water is available to act. These quantities have to be established before any support ecosystem functioning rivers, wetlands, and other water use permits are allocated (although there are estuaries. temporary water allocation mechanisms available until the new catchment strategies are established). The policy is intended to take account of the impact of human activities on climate, rainfall, and evaporation, Although the environmental water focus in the policy but the issue of climate change is not mentioned in the is on the establishment of the ecological reserve policy, and the legislation does not include it as one and its inclusion in the catchment strategies, the of the considerations to be taken into account when policy also includes provisions for protecting the strategies and plans are being drawn up. However, the environment as part of project-level developments. National Water Resources Strategy sees climate change Developments “require an assessment of the possible as one of the two factors (the other is land use change) impacts of a proposed project, and the design of that can affect water availability and argues that “it is measures to reduce negative impacts and enhance prudent to anticipate the possibility of climate change positive impacts.” However, it does not specifically and to take this into consideration in the development identify environmental flows within this broader of catchment management strategies.”

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Transboundary obligations are given prominent (King and Tharme 1994). The rapid determination recognition in the policy; in fact, transboundary water also includes low confidence hydraulic modeling and allocations rank third in priority after the social and some limited data collection. The intermediate and ecological reserves, although environmental flows are not comprehensive determinations—which can be based on explicitly included in these obligations to neighboring the BBM, DRIFT, or HFSR methods—involve specific countries. local data collection and hydraulic modeling.10

The policy requires that environmental considerations While the policy, the act, and the National Water are integrated with social and economic Resource Strategy place considerable emphasis on the considerations when catchment strategies and water ecological reserve, they do not specify the mechanisms allocation plans are developed. It states: “The process for implementing the reserve. The implication of of balancing social and economic benefits as well designating the reserve as a right with all other uses as of determining environmental objectives should being conditional implies that the conditions on involve those affected, or their representatives, in these licenses act as the mechanism for achieving the weighing up the options on an informed basis.” social and ecological reserve. There is no mention in Under the act, the catchment management strategy the policy of holding water in reservoirs in regulated must include the water resource classification (which systems for environmental purposes. is based on environmental and social objectives), the requirements of the reserve, and the water allocation The policy recognizes that some systems may already be plan. The latter, in turn, must be based on a range degraded and may need “restoration to a healthy state.” of considerations, including the requirements of the The act assigns the CMA (or the minister) the power reserve and past social inequalities. to undertake compulsory licensing within a specific geographic area that is, or is soon likely to be, under Environmental water determination. While South “water stress.’’ After specified consultation procedures, Africa’s National Water Policy and NWA provide the the CMA or minister can issue water allocations that legislative and policy framework for water allocations, bring the water resource back to sustainable levels. they do not provide detailed strategies and approaches The National Water Resource Strategy amplifies these to promote equity, sustainability and efficiency in circumstances, and describes a gradual return of the water use, or a process to roll this out across the water resource to an acceptable level of health. The country (Department of Water Affairs and Forestry strategy contains preliminary estimates of the total 2005). Thus, the policy does not prescribe a particular volumes required for the reserve in each WMA; these mechanism for establishing the water requirements estimates indicate that about half the WMAs are, in of the ecological reserve. Nor does it or the act or principle, already overallocated (the reserve cannot be the National Water Resource Strategy provide details met from local yield and interbasin transfers), although, on how the ecological reserve is to be determined, in practice, not all water licenses are currently exercised. apart from requirements for consistency with the Putting the provisions for recovery to sustainability into water resource classification and formal stakeholder practice means reducing someone’s allocation of water consultation in the act. To help operationalize and will always be difficult. Given the slow formation the reserve, DWAF has developed four levels for of CMAs and the lack of water resource plans, these determining environmental water needs—desktop, requirements have yet to be tested in practice. rapid, intermediate, or comprehensive. The desktop and rapid determinations are largely based on applications of the BBM to determine instream flow requirements 10 Pers comm., D. Louw, March 2008.

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While the policy recognizes the efficiency of economic board following consultations within the catchment. instruments, including market-based ones, for For example, the Advisory Committee for the Inkomati controlling water use, it does not advocate their WMA proposed that there be 14 seats on the governing immediate use because of the cost associated with board, with one representing conservation interests markets and the possibility of windfall profits for people (Burt, du Toit, Neves, and Pollard 2006). The minister who have inherited water allocations under an unjust then asks these organizations to nominate members system. Instead, regulatory means are proposed as the who he can accept or reject. The minister can also mechanism for allocating water to environmental and appoint additional board members to achieve a other purposes. balanced representation of interests.

In spite of the slow rollout of water allocation plans While the extensive consultation requirements have under the act, South Africa has acquired considerable been introduced to help overcome previous inequities, experience in undertaking site-specific EFAs over many they have proven to be time-consuming to implement years (Case Studies 11, 14). There is thus a pool of because of misconceptions about the role of the reserve, scientific knowledge and scientific capacity, together fears about loss of access to water by those with licenses, with a range of assessment techniques that can be and a limited capacity among the country’s poor to applied to the production of these plans and catchment engage in the consultative processes. The limited strategies when the mechanisms are in place. acceptance by the poor of environmental flows implies that, despite these consultative efforts, it is difficult to 11 Participation. The policy, legislation, and strategy introduce the idea that a healthy environment bestows were developed as a result of widespread consultation sufficient long-term benefits to outweigh the short-term among political leaders, officials, water user groups, gains from additional water for consumption. and citizens in the post-apartheid era, beginning with the distribution of the booklet on water rights for Data and science. The policy and legislation do public comment. A Water Law Review Panel produced not mention the use of best available scientific a set of principles for a new water law, taking into information and methods in establishing and account the comments from the public, and these implementing environmental water provisions. principles were then further refined through public Although not required in law, the National Water consultation, with special attention to including the Resource Strategy does state that resource directed views of the rural poor and the disadvantaged. Other measures—that is, the classification and the reserve— interest groups such as agriculture, industry, mines, should be “technically sound, scientifically credible, municipal users, and environmental groups were practical and affordable.” encouraged to arrange their own meetings to discuss the principles. National government departments and Even though high-quality scientific approaches are not both provincial and local spheres of government were required in the policy or legislation, South Africa has, also consulted. in fact, been a world leader in developing methods for assessing environmental water needs using best available The act includes extensive provisions for consultation scientific information and integrating it with social and during the implementation of the provisions of the economic information (see Case Studies 7, 8, 14). policy. For example, the formation of the governing board of a CMA is a complex process. The minister has

to appoint an advisory committee, which recommends 11 Appendix F of the Water Resource Strategy lists the extensive relevant organizations in each catchment to serve on the consultations carried out.

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The policy emphasizes the need to improve monitoring more direct dependence on the ecosystem services and to ensure that water resources are managed and provided by the reserve. protected on the basis of sound scientific and technical 5. The extensive consultation requirements in the information and understanding. The act states that policy and legislation have proven to be time one of the entities to be monitored is health of aquatic consuming to implement and, because of the ecosystems. An Ecological Reserve Monitoring Program requirements in the legislation, this has slowed is being developed but is not yet implemented. Hence, down the production of catchment strategies and it is too soon to assess whether these monitoring the determination of the ecological reserve. requirements are being implemented effectively. 6. The policy and the legislation do not require that best available scientific knowledge is included in the determination of environmental water Lessons requirements. While this has not prevented 1. A progressive policy and legislation, a strong cutting-edge scientific approaches being used in scientific knowledge base and capacity, and a wide the EFAs that have been carried out to date, it commitment and energy for change, are important may prove to be a limitation when the catchment but are not necessarily sufficient to bring about strategies are being rolled out and difficult fundamental redistribution of water resources, decisions have to be made between water for the including allocations for environmental purpose. environment and water for consumption. There also needs to be widespread social support for the change, and this has been difficult to generate Acknowledgments in the polarized world of water in South Africa. The following assisted with the preparation of this case 2. Scientists can play a key role in introducing study: Dr. Stephen Mitchell, Dr. Dana Grobler, Dr. innovative ideas such as an ecological reserve if they Paul Roberts, Dr. Mark Dent, and Dr. Harry Biggs. are well-organized and able to seize opportunities Drs. Delana Louw, Marcus Wishart, Tally Palmer, when there are major water reforms under way. Kevin Rogers, and Professor Jackie King provided 3. It is difficult to introduce an ecological reserve in helpful reviews of the case study. catchments where the water resource was already fully allocated under the old riparian doctrine. This usually means reducing the allocations to water References users who have held entitlements for long periods. Biggs, H.C., C. M. Breen, and C.G. Palmer. In press. 4. Introducing the ecological reserve has proven to “Engaging a window of opportunity: synchronicity be difficult because there is little acceptance that between a regional river conservation initiative and the reserve is intended to provide the goods and broader water law reform in South Africa.” International services on which poorer segments of society Journal of Water Resource Development (accepted April 2008) depend. There is a perception among some poorer communities that allocations of water to the Burt, J., D. du Toit, and D. Neves. 2006. “Participation environment frustrate their opportunity for access in Water Resource Management: Book One. Learning to water resources, which they had previously about Participation in IWRM: A South African been denied under the apartheid regime. But it Review.” Report No. TT 293/06, Gezina, South Africa: Water Research Commission. has also been easier to explain to the poorer and rural communities than to established farmers the Burt, J., D. du Toit, D. Neves, and S. Pollard. 2006. benefits of the ecological reserve, because of their “Learning about Participation in IWRM: A South

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African Review.” Gezina, South Africa: Water Research implementation: incorporating water quality and Commission Report No. TT 293/06. quantity components for rivers.” Pretoria: Water Research Commission Report No. 1160/1/04. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 1997. “White Paper on a National Water Policy for South King, J.M., and R.E.Tharme. 1994. “Assessment of the Africa.” Pretoria: Directorate Communication Services. Instream Flow Incremental Methodology and Initial Development of Alternative Methodologies for South Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 1999. Africa. Pretoria: Water Research Commission Report Resource Directed Measures for Protection of Water No. 295/94. Resources; Volume 3: River Ecosystems. Version 1.0. Pretoria: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. King, J.M., R.E. Tharme, and M.S. de Villiers, eds. 2000. “Environmental Flow Assessments for Rivers: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 2004a. Manual for the Building Block Methodology.” Pretoria: National Water Resource Strategy: Our Blue Print for Water Research Commission Report No. TT 131/00. Survival. First edition. Pretoria: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. Liphadzi, S. 2007. “Watermark: The Lasting Impression of the Ecological Reserve.” Gezina, South Africa:, Water Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 2004b. Research Commission Report No. TT 307/07. National Water Resources Strategy. Pretoria: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. Lotz-Sisitka, H., and J. Burt. 2006. “A Critical Review of Participatory Practice in Integrated Water Resource Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 2005. “A Management.” Gezina, South Africa: Water Research Draft Position Paper for Water Allocation Reform Commission Report 1434/1/06. in South Africa: Towards a Framework for Water Allocation Planning.” Discussion Document. Pretoria: Palmer, C.G. 1999. “Application of ecological research Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. to the development of a new South African water law.” Journal of the North American Benthological Society Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 2006. “A 18(1):132–142. Draft Position Paper on the Development of a National Water Resource Classification System.” (NWRCS). van Wyk, E., C.M. Breen, D.J. Roux, K.H. Rogers, T. Draft Discussion Document. Pretoria: Department of Sherwill, and B.W. van Wilgen. 2006. “The Ecological Water Affairs and Forestry. Reserve: Towards a Common Understanding for River Management in South Africa.” Water South Africa 32 Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 2001. (3): 403–409. “Generic Public Participation Guidelines.” Pretoria: DWAF. Warren, M. 2000. “Stream flow reduction activities – water use licensing.” Presentation to Course on Hughes, D.A., ed. 2004. “SPATSIM, an integrating Groundwater and the National Water and Water framework for ecological reserve determination and Services Acts. University of Pretoria, South Africa.

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Background resources through a phased approach initiated by the Department of Water Resources in the Ministry of Until the early 1990s, water supply planning and Water, Energy and Minerals: management in Tanzania was based on administrative regions and was focused on provision of urban and • Phase 1: Rapid Water Resources Assessment rural water supply, while irrigation and energy planning (reconnaissance-level study in 1995) were carried out at the national level. At the end of • Phase 2: Management Actions of Specific Basins the Water and Sanitation Decade, water supply targets (supported from 1997; ongoing) were far from being met and even investments in urban • Phase 3: Implement Policy, Interventions and and rural supplies were facing serious problems related Programs sector-wide (ongoing) to the sustainability of those supplies. At the same time, there were growing conflicts over access to and The second track involved development and policy utilization of the water resource in some of the more reforms in the various water-using sectors—rural heavily used river basins. A review of the water sector and urban water supply, irrigation, and hydropower in 1993–94 revealed that more emphasis needed to be development. In addition, the GOT formulated an placed on (a) full involvement of beneficiaries, environmental policy (1996) and implemented a series of (b) involvement of the private sector, (c) a strengthened water-related environmental management projects in all legal and institutional framework, and (d) the the three Great Lakes and in the Lower Kihansi Gorge. management of the basic water resource. A rapid water resources assessment (RWRA), Through the 1990s, a series of well-publicized water undertaken in mid-1994 by the government with management conflicts between hydropower and other support from DANIDA and the World Bank, uses of water—including irrigation, environment, identified major inadequacies in intersectoral and livestock—underscored the need to improve the coordination of water use and management, growing management of the country’s water resources (Box 4.1). These examples and subsequent analysis illustrate how 12 Among the components of the Tanzanian economy, both the country’s economic performance is both vulnerable the largest sector (agriculture) and the fastest growing sectors to climate variability and closely linked to good water (tourism and mining)—as well as traditional sectors such as resources management (World Bank 2006).12 energy, industry, and livestock—are heavily reliant on access to sufficient water of good quality, and individual livelihoods and social well-being depend on well-managed water resources. Given The government of Tanzania (GoT) responded to these the strong links between water and the national economy and the issues with parallel reforms that were loosely linked in livelihoods of Tanzanians, the targets in the Tanzanian National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP) are not the water resources sector and water related subsectors. likely to be achieved if the management of water resources and The first track focused on the management of water the environment is not improved.

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Box 4.1 Tanzania Water Management Conflicts

Mtera Crisis: Hydropower and Irrigation The Mtera Dam on the Great Ruaha River is the main structure regulating the two hydropower plants on the Rufiji River, which generate nearly 50 percent of the nation’s electricity. The Mtera reservoir reached full capacity in 1990, after which the water levels declined, with serious consequences for hydroelectric generation. The consequent reduction in generation caused severe load shedding and rationing of electricity nationwide during 1991–93.

The causes of the decline in reservoir level were strongly disputed. The generating authority, TANESCO, blamed uncontrolled and expanding upstream abstractions for irrigation, while the farmers blamed the low rainfall conditions at the time. Others claimed that poor operations of the reservoirs were the problem. Technical studies were conducted to determine the real causes of low storage levels and inflows. They concluded that the primary cause of the low reservoir levels was reduced rainfall and inflow into the dam, precipitated by uncontrolled and expanding irrigation as well as increased demand for electricity, resulting in ad hoc responses leading to poor operations at Mtera Dam.

Usangu Plains: Irrigation, Livestock, and Environment The drying of the Great Ruaha River since 1993 also resulted in intense competition between irrigators and pastoralists for water, particularly during the dry season, in the Usangu Plains upstream of the Mtera reservoir. Farmers believed that increasing numbers of cattle were placing greater demands on water and forage during the dry season. The gradual expansion of areas under irrigation by farmers decreased land that was previously available for grazing and the availability of water for livestock.

The Great Ruaha River originates in the Kipengere Mountains and flows through the Ruaha National Park—an important wildlife- based tourism site—and into the Mtera Dam, that regulates the river for power production at Kidatu. The regular drying of the river during the dry seasons caused the wildlife to move away from the river, affecting the income from tourists. Wetlands on the Usangu Plain have also been affected. The western wetland has almost disappeared and the eastern wetland—which is important for grazing, game animals, and fishing during the wet season—has shrunk substantially.

Pangani Falls Hydropower Station: Hydropower and Irrigation When the Pangani Falls hydropower station (68MW) was nearing completion in the early 1990s, it was found that inflows into the Nyumba ya Mungu (NYM) regulating reservoir were much lower than predicted because of an increase in the number of uncontrolled upstream abstractions for irrigation. NORAD, the main funder of the power station, had asked the government to put measures in place to manage the water resources before construction commenced. For this reason, the Pangani Basin Water Office was established in 1991. Following the regulation of the river by NYM, the productive fishery in the Kirua Swamp collapsed because the annual flooding of the wetland ceased (IUCN 2007). Decreased flows into the Pangani estuary have also increased saltwater intrusion.

Lower Kihansi Hydropower Plant: Hydropower and Environment The Lower Kihansi hydroelectric plant (LKHP) was constructed on the Kihansi River at the 900 m Kihansi Falls during the mid- 1990s (Case Study 16). Although the project EIA had concluded that there were no significant environmental issues, it did not consider impacts downstream of the proposed dam. Subsequent ecological monitoring studies conducted during project construction in 1996 found an endemic toad, the Kihansi spray toad (KST), in a rare wetland system in the Kihansi Gorge located downstream from the dam. The toad was dependent on the spray created from the water falls. Operation of the underground hydroelectric plant would abstract over 90 percent of the annual river flow and consequently would drastically reduce the spray in the gorge, adversely impacting the spray wetland.

Once discovered, temporary measures were taken to safeguard the ecosystem. The flow required to maintain the ecosystem was not known. The decision to generate power from diverting nearly 90 percent of the total flow had been assumed in the economics of the project. As a consequence, the process of granting a water right for generating power and setting aside water for ecosystem needs was highly contested, largely because at that time there was no policy that recognized the environment as a legitimate user of water and because of the substantial costs from reduced hydropower production. Following extensive scientific studies, a final water right for the hydroelectric plant was granted in June 2004. It stipulates an environmental flow requirement of 1.5–2.0 m3/s to be coupled with other mitigation measures to ensure the conservation of the Kihansi Gorge as stipulated in the environmental management plan, including a specially designed and constructed sprinkler system to generate artificial spray in the gorge wetlands and captive breeding of KST in U.S. zoos for safekeeping (an insurance against ecosystem collapse).

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conflicts between different uses of water (including • recognized the importance of ensuring that water for environment), limited representation ecosystem services are maintained through of stakeholders in decision making, insufficient environmental water provisions incentives for efficient water use, increasing pollution, • assigned the environment second priority for water and limited hydrologic and water use data on which allocation following basic human needs rational allocation decisions could be based in most • required a national water resource classification river and lake basins. The RWRA identified four scheme to be developed out of the nine basins as priority basins. Of these • required public participation in establishing four, the Pangani and Rufiji basins, which generated environmental water allocations most of the nation’s hydropower, faced severe water • recognized that best available scientific information use conflicts; the Lake Victoria Basin—important should be applied to establishing environmental for fishery exports, trade, and navigation—faced water requirements degradation of the lake ecosystems; and the • required an EIA process for large-scale water unregulated Ruvu Basin faced water shortages infrastructure development projects affecting the city of Dar es Salaam, the economic hub of the country, Tanzania took a pragmatic and empirical approach to establishing its river and lake basin water offices, As part of the reforms, a new National Water Policy13 starting with some of the priority basins identified (NAWAPO) was passed in 2002, containing provisions prior to and during the RWRA. Three years after for improved management of water resources and NAWAPO had passed, it had established seven urban and rural water supply. Improvements to both offices.14 Even though all basin boards have been surface water and groundwater management are formally established, not all of them are operationally included in the policy. It places important emphasis effective yet. Their level of effectiveness varies; on environmental water management, including nonetheless, this proactive approach has allowed the provisions for environmental flows, maintenance staff to radjust to their new roles, understand basin of water quality, and protection of surface and issues, and to gain experience through learning in groundwater sources. The environmental flow new and complex procedures such as determining provisions of the policy are grounded on economic, environmental flows (Case Study 9). livelihood, and biodiversity values. The nation’s largest and best-known protected areas, national parks, and South Africa’s experience and expertise have also been game reserves—such as the Serengeti, Lake Manyara, influential at an operational level in environmental Ruaha and Sadani National Parks, and the Selous water allocation. The South African DRIFT method Game Reserve—are all based on water-dependent has been adapted for the pilot EFA in the Pangani basin ecosystems. They not only have very high biodiversity (Case Study 8), and an older South African method, value, but are also high foreign-income generators the building block methodology, is being used in other and revenue providers for the national economy. basins. The design of the Tanzanian environmental Although it was largely driven by local concerns and flows capacity building program was influenced by initiated locally, the policy was, in part, influenced by

the 1997 South Africa White Paper on Water Policy 13 The development of this policy, which includes water resources, (Department of Water Affairs and Forestry 1997), urban water and rural water components, was supported through including its environmental water provisions (Case the World Bank River Basin Management and Smallholder Irrigation Improvement project. Study 3). Thus, like the South African policy, the 14 The Pangani and Rufiji River Basin offices had already been Tanzanian policy: formed in 1991 and 1993 respectively.

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South African and UK consultants (Acreman and Complementary reforms in the environmental sector King 2007). Nevertheless, Tanzania’s experience include the passage of Environment Management Act, differs from South Africa’s in the speed with which it 2004, which mandates an EIA for any application for a has implemented its water policy and the associated water abstraction permit and a strategic environmental environmental water provisions. Nine river and lake assessment for any hydropower or major water project basin organizations have now been formally established (World Bank, forthcoming). The recent wetlands (although they have serious capacity limitations strategy has included provisions for environmental and many are yet to be operational), and several flows, the draft irrigation policy is consistent with the environmental flow initiatives are under way or have provisions of NAWAPO, and a number of ministries advanced in anticipation of (river basin) water resources (Agriculture, and Natural Resources and Tourism) are management plans: engaging in activities to support environmental flow provisions. However, other ministries that depend • The environmental water requirements of the on water resources are yet to fully recognize and Lower Kihansi hydropower plant, stipulated as part integrate the importance of supporting the broader of the final water right, was negotiated on the basis water management reforms, including the provision of economics, national priority concerns, ecological of environmental flows. This is most noticeable in the studies, mitigation measures, and experimental case of the Ministry of Mining and Energy, which does flow release studies. not include water management or environmental flow • Short-term training in EFA has been provided to provisions in its energy policy, even though hydropower University of Dar es Salaam under the LKEMP provides 60 to 70 percent of the electricity generated project. nationally. • A study tour has been organized to South African institutions. • A pilot basin-wide EFA, with capacity building Drivers components, is being conducted in the Pangani Basin with support from IUCN and other agencies NAWAPO was initiated by the Tanzanian government (Case Study 8). because of the clear policy failure of previous attempts • EFAs are being implemented on the Mara River to provide urban and rural water supply without catchment (with WWF/GLOWS support) and the adequate attention to protecting the water resource Wami-Ruvu Basin (USAID/GLOWS support). base and address the pronounced water use conflicts. • Preliminary environmental flows have been Although funding for NAWAPO preparation was recommended for the Ruvu River estuary under supported by donor agencies, the policy development the preliminary EIA for the proposed Kidunda process was largely driven locally and was highly Dam. These recommendations may be revisited consultative. There was a combination of local and through additional studies as part of the EIA. external factors that may have contributed to the • A broad stakeholder forum for an EFA has policy and its requirements for environmental flows. been recently initiated in the Ruaha Basin (with The RWRA, which initiated the water reforms DANIDA/WWF support). including the new policy, was a result of rising local awareness of water resources issues and management Nevertheless, Tanzania needs to put considerable limitations that became evident during the nationwide effort into building its internal capacity to undertake drought and water crises in the Pangani and Rufiji and implement EFAs and apply them in river basin basins. Although some of these issues—the drying of planning and project developments. the Great Ruaha River, the desiccation of the Kirua

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Swamp in the Pangani Basin, and the Lower Kihansi basin plans under the soon-to-be-enacted Water challenge—arose because of a neglect of environmental Resources Bill. water requirements, it is notable that the RWRA was not primarily driven by, nor centered around, Assessment environmental issues. Recognition. The policy has a solid basis in sustainability. An additional driver was the awareness of Tanzanian It recognizes that “environmental flows and levels are water resource professionals of the emerging necessary for riparian biodiversity, wetland systems, and international consensus on responding to water freshwater-seawater balance in deltas and estuaries.” resources challenges and the inclusion of environmental The reasons for maintaining these aquatic environments 15 considerations in this consensus. Environmental include both protection of biodiversity (including rare components were included in the new water resources and endangered species) and the provision of ecological policy because of the range of environmental issues in goods and services such as flood control, sediment the country. The South African policy and law (Case retention, nutrient recycling, and microclimate Study 3) provided a model to learn from and guidance stabilization. on how to respond to these issues. The policy requires that integrated, multisectoral river Public concerns were not a strong motivator for the basin plans are drawn up. After basic human needs, it inclusion of environmental water considerations in the assigns second priority to water for the environment new policy, although some of the issues that had an in these plans. Development of both surface and environmental component (such as the loss of tourism groundwater resources must conform to these plans. in the Ruaha National Park as a result of the drying up In particular, large water schemes—dams, large rainfall of the Great Ruaha River) did raise local public and harvesting schemes, water intakes, groundwater political concern. abstraction, and interbasin water transfers—will be subject to a permit and an Environmental Impact Although the policy itself was primarily motivated Assessment (EIA). The Tanzanian Environmental by forces from within Tanzania, the implementation Management Act (2004) has provisions to support this of the environmental flow provisions of the policy policy. included a strong external influence. Multilateral and bilateral funding agencies and international NGOs In spite of these clear provisions in the policy and have supported environmental flow assessments in the draft legislation, there are varying levels of Tanzania because (a) the country had a suitable policy understanding of the importance of environmental framework, (b) some river basin offices welcomed water allocations within Tanzanian institutions. initiatives to undertake EFAs, and (c) the donors were As a result of the experiences of the Lower Kihansi seeking suitable locations to implement their own hydropower plant, and the Mtera and the Pangani EFA programs. The Lower Kihansi environmental Falls hydropower plant crises, there is now a good flow work, although part of an emergency response, appreciation within the Ministry of Water and was central to the granting of the final water right Irrigation regarding the importance of integrating for the hydropower plant. Implementation of environmental flows has yet to be rolled out and driven systematically by the Ministry of Water and 15 The Dublin Principles were issued in 1992. In 1993, the World Irrigation as part of its water policy implementation Bank issued its Water Resources Management Policy calling for a process and to meet the legal requirements for river more holistic approach to the management of water resources.

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environmental concerns into water resources National Water Sector Development Strategy management. The EFA study in the Pangani Basin specifies the mechanisms for implementing it. The (Case Study 8) and proposed EFA studies in other implementation strategy for the water policy (Ministry basins are being managed by the basin water offices of Water and Livestock Development 2004) specifically rather than the environment institutions. It is requires that environmental flow requirements be important that other institutions (including the determined for all major rivers. The draft legislation National Environment Management Council, the makes provision for a water reserve, which is to be Division of Environment and sectoral Ministries) declared by the minister for each water resource that become more familiar with the environmental flow has been classified according to a water resource provisions in NAWAPO and develop their capacities to classification scheme. But neither the policy nor the help implement these provisions. draft legislation establish mechanisms for acquiring water for either basic human needs or the environment Comprehensiveness. The policy clearly recognizes the in circumstances where the water is already overused. importance of managing the whole terrestrial water cycle from the watershed to the ocean. However, the Nevertheless, in spite of the lack of legislative backing environmental water components of the policy are and the limited knowledge about water-ecological written in terms of surface water—wetlands, rivers, relationships in Tanzania, the government has floodplains, estuaries, and coastal zones—and, in progressed with EFAs in four basins with assistance spite of the importance of groundwater for parts of from external partners.16 These EFAs will be fed into the the country, make only a single mention of the role of water resources plans that will be developed by the basin groundwater in sustaining some ecosystems. However, water boards when the legislation is passed. However, the physical sustainability of groundwater—for because the EFAs are being supported by different example, by protecting recharge areas—is well- external agencies, the approaches and techniques are recognized in the policy. The effect of activities in likely to differ between basins. There is a need for the watershed that intercept runoff before it reaches coordination so that a well-considered set of EFA streams are only considered in terms of erosion and methods and approaches are adopted across Tanzania to sedimentation of water storage facilities. Nevertheless, meet different financial and time and legal requirements. the policy provides a comprehensive justification for providing water for the environment, including Participation. The policy contains some general recognition of the links between water quantity and provisions concerning participation in water planning quality and the role that environmental water plays in (“Planning shall involve all stakeholders and will be providing economic and social benefits. intersectoral in character”)but there are no specific requirements regarding stakeholder participation in The policy recognizes the need for cooperative water allocation planning or environmental water management of transboundary water resources, determination. The draft legislation has some provisions and makes specific mention of transboundary for stakeholder involvement in planning and the environmental management issues such as water minister has powers to establish regulations, including pollution, biodiversity conservation, wetlands and catchments degradation, fisheries management, and water hyacinth control. 16 The EFA in the Pangani Basin is supported by IUCN; the proposed EFAs in the Mara River catchment and the Wami-Ruvu basin are supported by WWF and the USAID GLOWS program; Environmental water status. The policy advocates and the proposed EFA in the Ruaha Basin will receive DANIDA providing water for the environment, while the and WWF support.

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regulations for preparing water resource management the health and viability of riverine and estuary plans and the involvement of persons with “a clear ecosystems,” and “water resources assessment will be interest in water resources.” Overall, there is not the done on the basis of sound scientific and technical requirement for extensive stakeholder participation that information and understanding.” The EFA being is found in the South African policy and legislation. In conducted in the Pangani River Basin has fulfilled this part, this could be because the Tanzanian policy did not requirement, with the assessment being based on a emerge from a constitutional review process designed to detailed scientific analysis of the water requirements of fundamentally address a history of racial discrimination organisms in the freshwater and estuarine parts of the and economic and social marginalisation, as occurred in river. The other EFAs being proposed will also include the case of South Africa (Case Study 3). strong scientific investigative programs in accordance with the policy. The draft legislation contains some provisions for participatory planning. The basin water boards, which The policy also recognizes the need to rehabilitate and draw up the basin water resources management plans, expand the data collection network and improve data are required to consist of representatives from the analysis and storage if well-rounded decisions are to water sectors and other key sectors (including the be made. Data collection and analysis should be at environment), local government, NGOs, women, and the regional (basin) level, since that is where decisions catchment committees. The catchment committees are to be made, and dissemination and storage should comprise private sector, WUA, local government, be at the national level. The policy also sees research, women, and NGO representatives. There are thus data collection, and information dissemination as one opportunities for environmental representation on of the opportunities for improving cooperation in the the boards overseeing the plans through sectoral management of transboundary water bodies. The policy representation. However, the draft legislation does advocates that there should be public access for all to not have any specific requirements for stakeholder the data. participation when basin water resources management plans are being developed. Nevertheless, the In accordance with the policy, some river flow gauging experience to date has been that water management stations were rehabilitated and augmented in the Pangani has been participatory. The RBMSIIP supported the and Rufiji basins as part of the River Basin Management establishment of selected water user associations to and Smallholder Irrigation Improvement Project (World provide a framework for stakeholder participation Bank 2004) between 1997 and 2003. Additional in irrigation water management in the Rufiji and funds and technical assistance for improving the data Pangani basins, and the Pangani EFA study has collection infrastructure and monitoring, enforcement included extensive participation by stakeholders. and compliance activities in all nine Tanzanian river Since the Pangani EFA is being used as a training and lake basins under the Water Sector Support Project opportunity for water resources staff, it can be (World Bank 2007) were approved in January 2007, expected that subsequent EFAs will be more and implementation of this is under way. However, this participatory. monitoring infrastructure will need to be maintained and the data will need to be processed and analyzed by Data and science. The policy has a clear emphasis on the government over the long term for this monitoring the use of scientific information. It notes that “water to be effective. Skills and capacity for interpreting the for the environment shall be determined on the best data will also need to be developed to get the best out of scientific information available considering both the this investment. These critical factors will determine the temporal and spatial water requirements to maintain sustainability of the WSSP investment.

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Lessons 5. The level of understanding of environmental flows varies considerably at policy and 1. The crisis brought about by inadequate water operational levels across ministries. The Water supply planning and enforcement in the Resources Department exhibits the greatest early 1990s led to water reforms throughout understanding and has taken the lead in the remainder of the decade. Although the implementing environmental flows, rather than environment was part of, but not a major sector the environment agencies. The environmental in this crisis, environmental water needs became agencies played a prominent role alongside the increasingly more pronounced once the reform Rufiji Basin Water Office (RBWO) in defining program commenced, in part due to the problems and enforcing the environmental flows for the with providing water to Ruaha National Park and Lower Kihansi Hydropower Project. The ministry the international publicity given to the Lower responsible for hydropower has, however, not Kihansi Gorge issue (Case Study 16). The lesson embraced the environmental flow provisions in is that sometimes a crisis can precipitate positive its 2003 energy policy, in spite of being at the action, even if environmental-flow-related issues center of the controversies in the early 1990s are not central components of the crisis, they and 2000s that highlighted the importance can be incorporated into the crisis response of allocating water to the environment. Such mechanism. sectorally focused, engineering-based institutions 2. It is not necessary to wait for supporting find it difficult to internalize environmental legislation; progress can be made in and social issues such as environmental water institutionalizing EFAs and water resource provisions. management plans and building experience 6. Despite the importance of groundwater for in EFA if there is sufficient political and urban water supply and in the semi-arid parts administrative will, resources, and technical of Tanzania, the environmental sustainability of support. groundwater systems is inadequately reflected in 3. Support from NGOs and international agencies the policy. can be valuable in supporting EFA studies, but the timing and structure of these EFAs should be determined by the government’s implementation Acknowledgments strategy rather than by relying on the initiative Mr. Sylvand Kamugisha, Mrs. Josephine Lemoyane, of basin water offices or the objectives of external Mr. Hamza Sadiki, Mr. Saidi Faraji, and Mr. development partners. The separate EFA initiatives Washington Mutayoba provided helpful comments on need to be reviewed so that lessons are learned for a draft of this case study. broader, more cost-effective applications. 4. There are mutually supporting environmental requirements in the NAWAPO (and the References draft water resources bill) and in the 2004 Environmental Management Act. This policy Acreman, M., and J. King. 2007. “Capacity Building to Undertake Environmental Flow Assessments in harmonization provides for a coordinated Tanzania.” Annex E in: World Bank. 2006. Tanzanian approach across institutions when the Water Resources Assistance Strategy: Improving Water environmental flow provisions are being Security for Sustaining Livelihoods and Growth. Report implemented. No. 35327-TZ. Washington, DC: World Bank.

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Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 1997. Implementation Completion Report.” Washington, “White Paper on a National Water Policy for South DC: World Bank. Africa.” Pretoria: Directorate Communication Services. World Bank. 2006. Tanzanian Water Resources Assistance Strategy: Improving Water Security for Sustaining IUCN. 2007. Pangani River System: State of the Basin Livelihoods and Growth. Report No. 35327-TZ. Report – 2007. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. Washington, DC: World Bank.

Ministry of Water and Livestock Development. 2004. World Bank. 2007. “Tanzania Water Sector Support National Water Sector Development Strategy (Circulation Project: Project Appraisal Document.” Washington, Draft). Dar es Salaam: Ministry of Water and Livestock DC: World Bank. Development. World Bank. forthcoming. Strategic Environmental World Bank. 2004. “Tanzania River Basin Management Assessment: Enhancing Capacity for Integrated Water and Smallholder Irrigation Improvement Project: Resources Management and Development in Tanzania. Washington, DC: World Bank.

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Background thousands of acres of wetlands, fish and bird hatcheries, and waterways. Consequently, there are now programs Within the United States, state governments have to restore some of these damaged aquatic ecosystems responsibility for water resources management. and to protect remaining ecosystems. Unlike some other federated systems—such as the European Union and Australia—there is little national While water management policies have contributed to coordination of this management, so that different the development that has fueled the state’s population water management approaches have developed within growth, they have also taxed its seemingly abundant regions within the country. These approaches, however, water supply. Florida’s water-dependent environment are still subject to national legislation that affects water, needs large quantities of freshwater for its sustained such as the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act health. The interior of south Florida is largely and the 1972 Clean Water Act. agricultural, with additional water demands; the coastal regions require water for urban and industrial Florida, particularly southern Florida, has experienced development. In recent years choices have had to be rapid growth since the 1940s as a result of urban and made regarding assigning water to further economic industrial development, the expansion of recreation and growth, environmental protection, and maintaining an tourism facilities, and agriculture. Unlike many rapidly adequate, safe water supply. developing areas of the United States, Florida as a whole has extensive water resources. The northern part of the state contains the largest collection of springs in Florida water policy the United States. However, there are serious spatial and temporal distribution problems. Seasonal fluctuations Florida has incorporated the water resources policy result in large quantities of water when demand is low, statement from the 1972 Water Resources Act and its and less water in winter months when demand is high. subsequent amendments into Chapter 373.016 of the In addition, the available water is frequently in the Florida statutes. The policy statement has, as two of interior of the state, not on the coast where the demand its aims, the conservation of surface and groundwater is greatest. resources and the preservation of natural resources, fish, and wildlife. Given the issues confronting the state, A system of aquifers supplies 90 percent of the state’s including the spatial disjunction between sources and urban water uses and half its agricultural needs. South the demand for water, the policy emphasizes that water Florida’s development also depends on draining surface sharing between different regions of the state only be water from places it is not needed through hundreds undertaken after all local sources of water have been of kilometers of canals, dikes, and levees. Developing utilized, including desalinization, conservation, reuse, this flood-control and drainage system has damaged and aquifer storage and recovery.

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The 1972 legislation created six water management requirements beyond which significant harm will districts (WMDs), later reduced to five, with territories occur to water resources or ecosystems (Box 5.1). A defined by watersheds rather than political boundaries. subsequent review of the act required that MFLs be The WMDs are responsible for water supply, flood based on best available information, and that recovery protection, water quality, and natural systems as or prevention strategies be developed for any water well as considerable policy-making authority. The body where the MFLs were not currently being met or Florida Department of Environmental Protection where they were likely to be exceeded within 20 years. is responsible for protecting the quality of Florida’s drinking water, rivers, lakes, and wetlands. The Each WMD also has to submit to the department a department establishes the technical basis for setting priority list for the establishment of MFLs within the the state’s water quality standards, conducts monitoring district. The process of setting the MFLs can be subject programs, and coordinates water management across to independent scientific review at the discretion of the state. However, planning and management is the the district or at the request of a stakeholder or the responsibility of the WMDs. One commentator claims department, and the WMD and department must that the resulting two-tiered structure has created give weight to the independent review when making inefficient, decentralized water resource planning and a final decision on the MFL. The WMDs also provide development agencies with little statewide coordination the department with an annual report on progress with (Fletcher 2002). their water management plans.

Each WMD is controlled by a board with nine Apart from MFLs, the districts can also control water members (13 in the case of the SouthWest Florida abstractions by declaring water reservations, where WMD-SWFWMD) chosen for their residency and permits for water abstraction can be subject to quantity technical qualifications, including hydrology and and timing constraints. However, all existing permits at environmental science. Each WMD develops a district the time the reservation is declared are exempt from the water management plan that defines the district’s restrictions. role in water resource management and provides comprehensive long-term direction. Under the 1972 The WMDs also establish “caution areas,” where they act, these plans must establish minimum flows for believe that there are existing water resource problems surface water and minimum levels (MFLs) for surface or where problems may develop in the next 20 years. water and groundwater. MFLs act as minimum This allows permitted quantities of water consumed to

Box 5.1 Minimum Flows and Levels

The Florida Water Resources Act defines MFLs as:

373.042. Minimum flows and levels

1. Within each section, or the water management district as a whole, the department or the governing board shall establish the following:

a. Minimum flow for all surface watercourses in the area. The minimum flow for a given watercourse shall be the limit at which further withdrawals would be significantly harmful to the water resources or ecology of the area.

b. Minimum water level. The minimum water level shall be the level of groundwater in an aquifer and the level of surface water at which further withdrawals would be significantly harmful to the water resources of the area.

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be gradually reduced. If water sources and conservation Drivers efforts will not meet future needs, a regional water- The legislation was passed because of the need to manage supply plan is prepared that provides water for all both the rapid growth in demand for water and the existing and predicted uses and natural systems. need to protect important ecosystems, some—such (Regional water supply plans have now been developed as the Everglades—of international significance. The for all parts of Florida and, in some cases, are in their severe drought of 1970–71 had demonstrated that the second, third, or fourth iteration.) However, the existing water resource management arrangements were WMDs have found themselves in a difficult position inadequate and that reforms were needed. Representative when preparing these development plans because they stakeholder groups also played an important role; urban are responsible for the contradictory tasks of both development, agriculture, industry, and environmental preserving the environmental values of water resources interests were all represented by organized groups who and meeting increases in water demand. In addition, ensured that the legislation protected their interests as the lack of statewide coordination and strong grassroots far as possible. These same groups have remained active political support for “local sources first” means that in promoting changes and improvements since the there are institutional barriers to moving water from legislation was first passed. the water-rich parts of the state to where there is excess demand. Assessment At the state level, the Water Policy Office of the DEP prepares Florida’s Water Plan, which is the DEP’s Recognition. The protection of natural ecosystems principal planning tool for long-term protection of through environmental flows (and groundwater Florida’s water resources. The plan is intended to help levels) was central to the 1972 legislation and the DEP focus on the highest water resource protection implementation rule, making this an early inclusion priorities, organize its own water management of environmental flow requirements in legislation. responsibilities, and build water management Despite this, no significant progress was made by the partnerships. DEP is also required to produce an annual districts to set MFLs for nearly 20 years after the 1972 progress report, based on the reports from the districts act. It was not until a series of lawsuits and subsequent and its own activities, with performance measures legislation in the mid-1990s that the districts began against the plan’s objectives. to set MFLs. The MFLs and the water reservations are intended to protect water-dependent ecosystems. The Water Resources Implementation Rule 62–40 In the 1972 act, there was recognition of 10 water provides guidance on implementing the state and resource values (WRVs),17 which are effectively district plans. It includes requirements for establishing ecosystem goods and services. The maintenance of goals and objectives, implementing the MFLs, and minimum flows for surface water systems is intended reporting and monitoring. For example, it states to protect both the water resource and the ecology of that MFLs should recognize the natural fluctuations the area, but the maintenance of minimum levels in in flows and levels that contribute to ecosystem groundwater systems is linked only to protection of functioning, and that MFLs should be expressed in a way that defines a hydrologic regime. This provision has ensured that MFLs, in spite of their name, are not 17 These WRVs include recreation; fish and wildlife habitat and implemented as simple minimum flow requirements passage of fish; estuarine resources; transfer of detrital material; maintenance of freshwater storage and supply; aesthetic and but as minimum flows that are sensitive to hydrologic scenic attributes; filtration/absorption of pollutants; sediment conditions. loads; water quality; and navigation.

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the water resource and not to groundwater-dependent refuge; (b) breeding, nesting, denning, and nursery ecosystems. In spite of this limitation in the wording, areas; (c) corridors for wildlife movement; (d) food where minimum levels have been set for aquifers, the chain support; and (e) natural water storage, natural levels were chosen to protect connected ecosystems such flow attenuation, and water quality improvements. as springs, wetlands, and lakes. However, it does not include the need to account for There is an implicit first priority accorded to the the impacts of climate change on either the availability provision of water for ecosystem protection in the of water or shifts in patterns of water demand. wording of the MFLs (Box 1). However, the link Nevertheless, some districts, notably SWFWMD, are between issuing water abstraction permits and the incorporating long-term climate variability in setting MFLs is not explicit in either the legislation or the MFLs. implementation rule. Wade and Tucker (1996) state that, when the act was first drafted, it was intended The legislation also includes provisions for inter-district that MFLs were to be protected in the permitting water transfers. While such transfers are discouraged process, but that this was not carried through into the in favor of utilizing the intra-district water resources, act. Under Part II of the act, remaining within MFLs is they are permitted subject to conditions. These not one of the conditions for issuing permits, although include consideration of the costs and benefits and the implementation rule requires that established the environmental impacts on both the supplying MFLs shall be protected during the issuance of permits and receiving areas. The legislation also includes a under parts II and IV of the act. Nevertheless, there compact among Florida, Georgia, and Alabama for are opportunities to make this linkage stronger. Water the management of the transboundary Apalachicola- reservations are the tool for implementing MFLs when Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin. However, the compact issuing water use permits. However, there is little is more concerned with equitable apportionment of political will to establish water reservations, and thus the basin waters among the three states and does not MFLs are not considered when issuing new permits. mention environmental management. The compact broke down in 2003 with Florida refusing to agree to However, the priority accorded to MFLs is illustrated an allocation formula that only gave minimum flows for by the requirement in the implementation rule that the Apalachicola River, whose freshwater flows into the MFLs shall be protected during water shortages, except Apalachicola Bay (Melville 2005). The case will be heard when the drought is so severe that such protection in the Supreme Court; it seems that Florida will have to would compromise public health and safety. be on the side of sound ecological management in order to advocate its position. MFLs apply to infrastructure projects as well as to district plans. The implementation rule states that Environmental water mechanisms. The legislation “Established minimum flows and levels shall be states that goals, objectives, and strategies for water protected during the construction and operation of management are to be contained in the implementation water resource projects.” rule, which, in turn, defines the “protection of the functions of entire ecological systems” as one of the Comprehensiveness. The legislation is very clear on the objectives of water resource planning. The state water need to protect both surface and groundwater sources, plan describes a hierarchy of goals, objectives, and floodplains, and wetlands. It recognizes that uplands, strategies for water management in Florida and the wetlands, and other surface waters provide ecosystem performance measures used in measuring progress. For functions, which include (a) providing cover and natural systems, it describes four goals and two objectives:

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• Maintain the integrity and functions of water on their residency and technical skills; the latter resources and related natural systems. include agriculture, the development industry, local • Restore degraded water resources and related government, government-owned or privately owned natural systems to a naturally functioning water utilities, law, civil engineering, environmental condition. science, hydrology, accounting, or financial businesses.

The two legislated mechanisms for maintaining The implementation rule requires adequate opportunity and restoring natural ecosystems—MFLs and for participation by the public and governments, the water reservations—are instruments for controlling measure of which is public workshops with advance abstractions of water by consumptive users to ensure notice at least 90 days before plan acceptance or that water is left in the systems. The legislation does not amendment by the WMD board. The legislation also provide for legally secure environmental water reserves requires that the WMD board hold a public hearing at to be held in storages for release for downstream least 30 days in advance of completing the development environmental benefit because Florida has very few or revision of the district water management plan. impoundments on its rivers. The legislation and the While these provisions ensure that stakeholders implementation rule are designed around regulatory can comment after the plan is drafted, they do not measures to achieve environmental outcomes; there are promote full engagement in the development of the no provisions for introducing economic instruments to plan. However, some districts, notably SWFMD, go improve water use efficiency and the redistribution of well beyond the legislative requirements for public/ water to the environment. stakeholder engagement in developing their regional water supply plans. The legislation has provisions for returning water to overallocated or potentially overallocated systems; that The legislation also requires WMDs to develop an is, those where MFLs have been exceeded or are likely to information program for the legislature, media, and be exceeded. In these systems, recovery and prevention the general public, although it does not mention strategies are required to describe how the MFLs will environmental information specifically. be achieved through development of additional water supplies and implementation of conservation and other Data and science.The legislation requires that the “best efficiency measures. The legislation and implementation available information” is used when calculating MFLs for rule do not allow for reducing or returning water permits a water body. As noted above, this includes recognition in order to meet MFLs. The performance measures in of the natural fluctuations in flows and levels. While, in the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) principle, it is desirable to use best available information, annual progress reports do not report on progress it has raised some problems in practice (Wade and toward MFLs for systems that are overallocated, and so Tucker 1996). Because it is technically difficult to the success of these measures is difficult to determine. determine all the ecologically related functions that the At present, there is only one water body, the upper water flows and levels support, some managers interpret Peace River, designated as overallocated, and one, the the “best available information” phrase to mean that Loxahatchee River, as potentially overallocated. Both are extensive research programs need to be completed in the very early stages of recovery or prevention strategy before MFL determinations can be made. They are implementation. concerned that the MFLs need to be legally defensible against charges of not being “best available,” particularly Participation. The boards of the WMDs are in areas where water is contested. In some cases, the appointed by the governor of Florida and are selected slow progress in establishing MFLs for 20 to 25 years

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after the 1972 act was passed can be attributed to this progress reports. The 2003 DEP annual report, the conservative interpretation. Since 1992, the districts latest available, shows that 97 percent and 28 percent have established MFLs for 237 separate water bodies, of established MFLs were being maintained in the most of these since 1997. Another 114 are scheduled to St Johns River and South West Florida WMDs, and be adopted over the next two years, so this requirement that 70 percent and 22 percent of new MFLs were need not be an impediment to developing protective established on schedule in these districts. One district, measures based on high-quality science if there is the North West Florida Water Management District, political will to establish these measures. has yet to set a single MFL, despite having most of the state’s most ecologically important rivers and estuaries. A related difficulty with determining MFLs is The report does not comment on the reasons for the interpreting the criterion “significantly harmful” in the shortfall in these and other performance measures, nor definition of MFLs. The implementation rule provides does it recommend remedial actions. some factors to be included in the determination, but stops short of providing a decision rule. This has proven These reports focus on hydrologic outcomes; there is no to be a significant practical impediment to uniformity requirement for measuring ecological outcomes from across the state. However, districts have been quite the MFLs and water reservations activities. conservative in their interpretation of “significant harm,” preferring to err on the side of maintaining Lessons instream flows near natural conditions. 1. It took a crisis in the form of a severe drought to Nevertheless, methods for determining water trigger the development of legislation that provided withdrawal procedures that are consistent with a framework for equitable water allocation. The the MFL requirements have been developed and heightened environmental awareness of the applied. The Southwest Florida WMD has adopted population meant that the legislation incorporated a percentage-of-flow method (typically 10 percent the need for environmental water allocations. with a cutoff to protect low flows) for deciding on the 2. While devolving planning and management impacts of water withdrawals on its un-impounded responsibility to districts, such as river basins, has rivers. This method provides protection to the fresh and many benefits, it can also impede the resolution estuarine portions of these rivers, where the responses of transboundary issues such as inter-district water of key characteristics to flows are frequently nonlinear transfers. State agencies need to retain sufficient (Flannery, Peebles, and Montgomery 2002). authority to coordinate actions and make decisions on transboundary issues. The legislation allows for independent scientific review 3. Restoring overallocated systems to sustainable of the process by which MFLs are established. However, flows and levels is inherently difficult. It seems the review is not an intrinsic part of the process—it unlikely that this can be achieved through just has to be requested. Even so, most districts are being water conservation and development of additional proactive with respect to peer review of MFLs. water sources (which may add further stress to SouthWest Florida and St John’s River WMDs convene other water bodies). Policies to restore these peer-review panels for all MFLs and are responsive to systems would be stronger if there was clear the findings of those peer reviews. authority for districts to revoke or buy back water abstraction permits on an equitable basis. Reporting and Monitoring.Under the legislation, both 4. The policy is proactive in that it requires that DEP and the districts are required to provide annual potentially stressed waterbodies be identified

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up to 20 years in advance, providing time for these same requirements have resulted in some of precautionary actions to be implemented. the best science and most sound approaches for 5. The focus on setting MFLs for stressed and protecting instream flows in the United States. potentially stressed water bodies means that more pristine systems are sometimes allowed to degrade Acknowledgments substantially before any attention is paid to them. This means that degradation may occur before Doug Shaw, TNC, Florida reviewed a draft of this case protections are put in place. study and provided helpful comments. 6. Merely defining MFLs is not sufficient unless a clear link is established between MFLs and References limits on the issuing of water abstraction permits. Although there are mechanisms available, such as Flannery, M.S., E.B. Peebles, and R.T. Montgomery. declaring water reservations (which then require 2002. “A Percent-of-flow Approach for Managing Reductions of Freshwater Inflows from Unimpounded the consideration of MFLs), invoking these Rivers to Southwest Florida Estuaries.” Estuaries mechanisms requires political will. 25(6B): 1318–1332. 7. Implementing MFLs is difficult if there is no defined procedure for quantifying value-laden Fletcher, C.R. 2002. “Florida Water Resource terms such as “significantly harmful.” Establishing Development: A Call for Statewide Leadership.” J. Landuse and Env Law 18(1): 113–144. an MFL is a social, not a scientific, decision and the policy or its associated rules should describe the Melville, D. 2005. “Whiskey Is For Drinking: Recent mechanism to determine the MFL. Water Law Developments In Florida.” J. Land Use 8. In cases where there is a likelihood of litigation 20(2): 493–506. over establishing limits to water abstraction permits Wade, J., and J. Tucker. 1996. “Current and Emerging (through mechanisms such as MFLs), legislative Issues in Florida Water Policy.” Florida Water Law and requirements for “best available information” Policy Program, University of Florida College of Law. may actually impede progress toward establishing Boca Raton, FL: Florida Center for Environmental sustainable limits on water abstraction. Conversely, Studies, Florida Atlantic University.

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Background north. The park is a long strip about 60 km wide and 350 km long, running in a north-south direction. It The Kruger National Park (19,633 km²) is famed for straddles three major basins—the Levuvhu in the north, both its biodiversity and its record of early human the Letaba/Olifants in the middle, and the Incomati settlement, from San rock paintings to archaeological in the south. The Incomati River empties into Maputo sites with evidence of early hominids. It is an important Bay in Mozambique (Box 6.1), while the Olifants and tourist destination and source of foreign income for Letaba Rivers join together on the ark boundary before South Africa. flowing into the Limpopo River, which reaches the The Sabie Game Reserve, the precursor of the park, Indian Ocean to the north of Maputo. The main rivers was proclaimed in 1898. In 1926, the Kruger National passing across KNP are (from north to south) Levuvhu, Park (KNP) was formed from the merging of the Sabie Shingwedzi, Letaba, Olifants, the undeveloped Uanetse, and Shingwedzi Game Reserves under the National Sabie-Sand, and the (highly developed) Crocodile Parks Act. More recently, the KNP has been joined with Rivers. The northern region of the park is mostly arid Mozambique’s Limpopo National Park and Zimbabwe’s and flat, although there are local areas with higher Gonarezhou National Park into the Greater Limpopo rainfall. The central region of the park is grassland Transfrontier Park. plain, stretching west to the Lebombo Mountains, which form the boundary with Mozambique. The The KNP is located in the northeast of South Africa, southern region of the park has higher rainfall and is abutting Mozambique to the east and Zimbabwe to the more densely vegetated.

Box 6.1 Transboundary Water Management

The Incomati Basin is transboundary with Mozambique and Swaziland. The Incomati River dried up in 1982 under drought conditions, leading to widespread public awareness within all three countries about the demands being placed on the river. Impoundments and abstractions had reduced the freshwater and sediments flowing into the estuary, which has changed the flow regime. These changes had detrimentally affected the estuarine ecosystem and shrimp and fish production. It was apparent that plans in all three countries for dams would exacerbate the situation in the lower rivers of the basin, and there was a need for agreed minimum flows. After considerable negotiation, base flow at the border between South Africa and Mozambique was set at 2m3/s in 1991 to satisfy water demands from the border down to the confluence with the Sabie River.

However, within a few years, Mozambique claimed that South Africa and Swaziland were not adhering to the agreement. The Joint Incomati Basin Study (JIBS) was initiated to provide a better factual basis on which the waters of the basin could be assessed and shared. An agreement—the Tripartite Interim Agreement on the Projection and Sustainable Utilization of the Water Resources of the Incomati and Maputo Watercourses—was signed by the three countries during the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 in Johannesburg. Instream flow targets are included in the agreement, although these were not obtained through a rigorous process.

Source: Nkomo and van der Zaag 2003.

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The rivers rise in the high veldt to the west of the park. The threat to these rivers was made clear by the 1992 These rivers are heavily utilized and suffer from water drought, the worst in recorded history (Newenham and depletion and pollution from urban runoff, industry, Chavalala 2003), when many of the rivers ceased to and mining. These rivers already have a number of run. The drought also pointed to the inequities of the impoundments to provide water for irrigation and then-water law. In the Sand subcatchment of the Sabie urban use power generation, and the construction of River, the main agricultural concerns continued to dams is continuing. The Injaka Dam was completed on water crops, while water had to be trucked in to poorer the Marite tributary of the Sabie River in 2002, and the communities for domestic consumption. A single De Hoop Dam is planned for the Steelpoort River, a water-use sector could stop the flow of the river with tributary of the Olifants River. Dam developments also impunity (Pollard and Walker 2000). are under way downstream of the park. Mozambique is planning to raise the walls of two major dams—the Water abstraction for irrigation, coupled with a Massingir and Corumana dams. These projects will drought, has caused the Olifants River to cease flowing flood environmentally important gorges on the Olifant at least twice since 2000. The Levuvhu and Letaba and Sabie rivers within the park. rivers already commonly stop flowing in the dry season because of upstream water demands. With large-scale Meeting water demand is the key issue in the infrastructure planned for the Olifants River, especially catchments feeding the park (Department of Water new mining operations in the Dilokong corridor, the Affairs and Forestry 2004a). This demand arises from Sabie River is the last remaining perennial river in multiple sources, including (a) a huge demand for KNP,18 but it too faces increasing demands, primarily additional water-use licenses by emerging black farmers; from irrigation developments. The Inyaka Dam in the (b) rapid population growth in parts of the Inkomati Mariti River, a tributary of the Sabie River, was recently and Olifants basins, including urban and semi- completed. This dam makes provision for maintaining urban development; (c) international obligations to environmental water requirements in the Sabie River Mozambique to provide minimum flows at the border and therefore in the park, as well as rural domestic from rivers of the Inkomati Basin; and (d) social water water requirements in the local region and some requirements (beyond the basic human needs reserve), irrigation expansion. A considerable amount of water which place water demands on the rivers above the park, (25 million cubic meters per annum) is also earmarked particularly those in the Inkomati and Olifants basins. to be transferred to the stressed adjacent Sand River catchment for domestic water requirements, freeing up Water quality is an issue in some of the catchments. some of the flow of the Sand River for environmental Water quality in the Inkomati is threatened by the water requirements. If properly managed, the presence of coal mines and large coal reserves. There are environmental integrity of the Sabie River can thus be salinity, eutrophication, toxicity, and sediment problems safeguarded for the foreseeable future. in areas of the Olifants Basin and, in the Lower Olifants sub-area, water quality is influenced by discharges from Because of the growing stress on the rivers within the the mining complex around Phalaborwa in the Ga-Selati park during the drought of the 1980s, South African River. The water quality of the groundwater resources National Parks (SANParks) needed to know the flows in the Steelpoort area of the basin is under threat from needed to maintain the park’s biodiversity. In 1988, mining and agricultural activity.

Adequate, good quality flows in these rivers are vital 18 The Waterwheel (January/February 2007). Pretoria: Water to the ecological integrity and biodiversity of the park. Research Commission.

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it initiated a comprehensive multidisciplinary and (Sudlow 2004). Where the information was available, multi-institutional research program, the Kruger these studies provided the baseline information for National Park Rivers Research Programme (KNPRRP), assessments of instream flow requirements (IFR) of to investigate the rivers of the park, in particular the rivers in the park and more widely throughout South polluted Olifants River, the severely degraded and Africa. The last phase of the program has specifically once-perennial Letaba and Levuvhu rivers, and the focused on broadening the base of understanding to ecologically important Sabie River (Du Toit, Rogers, include stakeholder groups (Breen and others 2000). and Biggs 2003). The KNPRRP has been implemented through three phases, with successive phases broadening The KNPRRP successfully raised awareness of the their coverage from scientific knowledge, to predictive vulnerable condition of rivers in the park and provided capabilities that supported management, to capacity researchers with a factual basis for establishing in- building for implementing decisions. stream flow requirements for rivers in the park.

The KNPRRP addressed a wide diversity of topics The Building Block Methodology and KNP (Breen and others 1998), including (a) better predictions of physical processes; (b) better predictions The building block methodology (BBM) (King and of biological processes and responses; (c) integration of Louw 1998) was first introduced into the KNP at a physical and biological understanding; (d) addressing workshop for the Lephalala River in February 1992 problems of scale; and (e) methods for determining and further developed in a series of water resource management objectives. development projects (King, Tharme, and de Villiers 2000). It was designed to provide a rapid first estimate Most of the initial research was undertaken on the of the IFR for rivers in the park, which were subject Sabie River, which is a small but ecologically significant to considerable hydrological stress (Box 6.2). The river with importance for the tourism industry method was subsequently adopted by DWAF for

Box 6.2 Instream Flow Requirements and the Building Block Methodology

The Building Block Methodology (BBM) was developed specifically to provide a relatively rapid, scientifically reliable method for determining instream flow requirements (IFR). The first workshop on the development of an environmental flows method was held in 1987 (Ferrar 1989). The BBM was initially applied to rivers within South Africa where dams were being considered, including in the KNP. It has subsequently been used to determine the ecological reserve as required in the 1998 National Water Act.

The method is based on three main assumptions: (1) riverine biota can cope with naturally variable flow conditions, but atypical flow conditions constitute a disturbance and could cause fundamental changes; (2) management of the most important components of the natural flow regime will contribute to the maintenance of natural biota and ecosystem functions; and (3) flows that most strongly influence channel geomorphology should be included in the managed flow regime.

The BBM approach involves the following sequence: • Current and historical geomorphology, water chemistry, and biotic data are collected. • This information is presented at an IFR workshop together with descriptions of the virgin and present daily flow regimes. The workshop is attended by specialists in relevant disciplines. • Habitat availability, together with the sediment-moving capacity of various flows, form the basis for a recommended modified flow regimebuilt in monthly blocks of water. Each volume of water is characterized with a description of the biological, hydraulic, or geomorphological function it serves.

Hydrological modeling research provides techniques to translate IFR recommendations into reservoir release operating rules for both low flows and flood events.

Source: Palmer 1999.

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determining IFRs, although other methods and more the basic human needs reserve. Thus, in the Inkomati advanced developments of the BBM methodology have Basin, the implementation of the ecological reserve is subsequently been approved as well. likely to have a serious impact on the availability of water for irrigation and afforestation, and in the case of The method was applied to all the rivers within the the Komati River, power stations also, and the reserve park and IFRs were developed for these rivers (Mackay, needs to be implemented gradually (Department of King, and Louw 1999). For example, the maintenance Water Affairs and Forestry 2004b). The situation is flow ecological water requirement for the Sabie River especially serious in the Crocodile River region, where within KNP was determined to be an annual average there is potential for economic growth, and yet where 3 flow of 291.2 million m /yr. the reserve cannot be met even now, given existing water licenses. In the Sand River catchment, there are SANParks required these IFRs to provide evidence for presently insufficient water resources for domestic use the flows needed to maintain the park’s biodiversity. and irrigation requirements let alone for the ecological However, it had little influence over activities that were reserve, and in the Letaba catchment almost all flow is producing the stresses outside the park boundaries, and abstracted during drought and very little is left to meet was reliant on DWAF to implement the IFRs. DWAF the significant ecological requirements of the park. could not initially provide these environmental flows because many of the rivers were already fully allocated The progressive implementation of the 1998 Water Act (or even overallocated) and there was no mechanism to has provided the means to determine the ecological recover water for environmental purposes. There was reserve for the park’s rivers. Catchment strategies, also a lack of understanding in some parts of DWAF which are required under the Water Act (Case Study about the importance of environmental flows (Gyedu- 4), will include determinations of the ecological reserve Ababio 2005). The sections within DWAF that had and the water allocation plans needed to achieve these estimated the water requirements of the reserve had environmental flows. The strategies will be developed no responsibility for implementing the reserve and once the CMAs are established. The Inkomati CMA consequently these environmental water requirements was the first to be established under the National Water were not put into effect. Resources Strategy (Department of Water Affairs and Forestry 2004a) because of the level of stress in that More recently, the “internal strategic perspectives” basin, including in the basin rivers that flow through (ISP) produced by DWAF contained low confidence the southern part of the park. However, even after plans estimates of the ecological reserves for all catchments have been developed and accepted by the minister, in South Africa. Where better information is available, it will require considerable political and institutional such as for some of the rivers within the park, the ISPs willpower for water to be returned to safeguard essential contain higher confidence estimates of the reserve.19 ecological functions. Unfortunately, the delay in implementing the reserve has meant that it is now more difficult to acquire the The reserves for the rivers flowing through the park are water for the environment than it would have been if being determined at present, with different levels of the IFRs had been implemented. confidence for different rivers. Thus, high confidence

It is clear that it will not be possible to meet many of the preliminary ecological reserve requirements for the 19 The Kruger National park is included within the Inkomati, Olifants, and Levuvhu/Letaba WMA Internal Strategic park’s rivers, given the current level of development, Perspectives, published in 2004 by Department of Water Affairs international water obligations, and the requirements of and Forestry, Pretoria, South Africa.

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environmental water requirements have been finalized tourism, especially international visitors, and economic for the Letaba River (Pulles, Howard, and de Lange losses to the surrounding region. Inc. 2006) and Komati River (AfriDev 2006) and an ecological reserve monitoring program is being The concern of NGOs about the threats to the park’s formulated in the Letaba River. This monitoring biodiversity from these developments acted as an program will be applied to other rivers flowing additional driver for action. There was also professional through Kruger National Park. High confidence pressure from leading South African researchers who reserve studies are also being undertaken on the Sabie/ were concerned about the impacts of the upstream Sand and Crocodile systems to complement and development on the park. improve the previous IFR studies. Operating rules The requirements under the 1998 Water Act have been developed for the Olifants River and are subsequently provided a legislative driver for being modified to reflect current developments in establishing the ecological reserve within the park’s the catchment, and rules are also being developed rivers. The recent establishment of the Inkomati CMA for the Luvuvhu and Letaba rivers (Thomas Geyedu- provides an institutional mechanism for bringing Ababio, pers. comm., January 2008). Unlike the IFR about the water reallocation needed to meet the reserve studies, these new reserve determinations include requirements. implementation mechanisms and methodologies.

Assessment Drivers Recognition. SANParks clearly understood from an The drought of the early 1990s was the principal early stage the need to maintain river flows to provide driver for the establishment of IFRs for the park’s the basic ecosystem functions that supported the park’s rivers. The drought highlighted the vulnerability of the biodiversity and tourism industry. They supported rivers to upstream developments, including land use research under the KNPRRP to provide the factual changes (such as increased forestry plantations in the basis for the initial establishment of IFRs for the park’s upper catchments and increased human settlement) rivers. The South African Water Research Commission and the development of dams upstream and also recognized the need to establish environmental downstream of the park. The upstream developments flows in the park and funded much of the biophysical within South Africa had reduced flows in the rivers research carried out during the 1990s in the park, as to the point where only one major river, the Sabie, well as the development of planning and management. remained perennial. The downstream proposals to raise There was also strong support from sections of the the dam walls on the Massingir and the Corumana DWAF, where there was recognition of the need for dams in Mozambique acted as an additional driver, environmental flows. because these proposals would cause additional loss of riverine habitat by flooding gorges on the Olifants and Other parts of DWAF were slower to accept the 20 Sabie rivers. need to conserve the park’s river flows. The DWAF had traditionally focused on the development of SANParks was deeply concerned about the potential the country’s water resources and has taken time to loss of biodiversity from these developments, given that adjust to its new role under the National Water Act maintenance of biodiversity was the major objective of SANParks. Loss of this diversity would not only be an 20 The raising of the Massingir Dam wall has gone ahead and the issue in its own right, but it would lead to reductions in water has backed up and flooded the gorge within the park.

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of custodian and coordinator of the country’s water of the different flow scenarios; rather, the impacts resources, with many of the operational responsibilities of the different scenarios on other water users were (including planning) transferring to the CMAs. incorporated into the reserve determinations. Consequently, there have been different opinions within DWAF about the importance of the reserve. Given the years of disenfranchisement, the capacity While the water reform staff in the Sub-Directorate of local stakeholders needs to be developed so that of Environmental Studies, together with some other they can engage productively in the water allocation parts of the department, have been actively involved planning process. Ensuring that local views and in assessing the environmental reserve within the aspirations are incorporated will be especially catchments feeding into the park, the concept of the important in the overallocated WMAs, where some reserve is still not fully accepted by all staff within the difficult decisions will need to be made on access department. to water. Phase III of the KNPRRP contributed to a common vision for the Sabie and Olifants rivers, Many holders of riparian water licenses in the although the changing management environment catchments above the park, including both traditional with the formation of catchment management irrigators and more recent black entrepreneurs, committees and CMAs partially eclipsed these have had trouble accepting the primacy of the efforts. Similarly, efforts to enhance river forums were ecological reserve and its implicit restrictions on water undercut by the new management structure, which abstractions. There is a concern within DWAF that absorbed the attention of the stakeholders (Breen and these groups would mount legal challenges to any others 2000). Nevertheless, the KNPRRP activities attempt to implement the reserve, and that it would be will contribute to participative management in the better to wait until the compulsory licensing system is longer run. introduced under the Water Act before attempting to recover water for the environment. Other activities include a pilot study in the Crocodile River system to test two methods for capturing local Participation. The first IFRs within the park were perceptions and priorities for management. One of the estimated through use of the BBM method. This underlying reasons for the study is to ascertain how method is essentially a technical exercise (Box 2) with stakeholders understand sustainability, with a special limited stakeholder engagement, apart from SANParks focus on environmental flows and compliance with the itself. This reflects the focus of the IFR process on ecological reserve.22 establishing just the environmental water needs and not extending to a wider assessment of stakeholder Assessment Technique and Data. Over the last decade, requirements for water. Nevertheless, it was recognized the Kruger National Park has been central to the that an EFA cannot be a purely scientific process development of expertise in South Africa in the because these flows also provide some of the ecological goods and services on which local people rely.21 The 21 Subsequent comprehensive determinations of the reserve, such estimations of the ecological reserve through the ISPs as that undertaken in 2004 in the Thukela River catchment of and the more recent high-confidence determinations the Kwazulu/Natal province, pioneered the incorporation of stakeholder involvement, user needs, and social aspects such as of the reserve for the Letaba and Komati catchments goods and services into EWR methodology. (Pulles Howard & de Lange Inc. 2006) include 22 “An exploration of the value of understanding stakeholder considerations of the needs of other water users as well mental models for management of water resources in the Crocodile Catchment, Mpumalanga South Africa. Preliminary as operational constraints. However, these studies did Findings of the Mental Models Working Group.” Report not involve other stakeholders directly in the assessment provided by S. Pollard, February 2008.

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determination of environmental flows. The initial The Ecological Reserve Monitoring Program is still BBM exercises on the Luvuvhu and Letaba covered being established, and it is too early to assess its the whole catchment and were not done as part of progress. the KNPRRP, which focused on the Sabie River. Kruger National Park specialists were involved in these Integration. The BBM method and the subsequent exercises, and this contact led to the IFR on the Sabie FSR method are primarily environmental assessment in partnership with the KNPRRP. The BBM method methods that do not integrate the social and economic was initially used to establish the IFRs of the park’s issues with environmental water requirements. Basic rivers. This technique is an internationally recognized social needs for water are identified through the basic method and was the first technique accepted by human needs reserve. DWAF for determining the environmental water Cost Effective. requirements under the Water Act (MacKay, King, The cost of undertaking the and Louw 1999). determination of the ecological reserve for the rivers of the park is not available. However, an economic study is More recently, the flow stressor response (FSR) method presently under way as part of the reserve determination (O’Keefe and Hughes 2004) has been used for the in the Sabie and Crocodile rivers to estimate the value determination of the reserve for low-flow conditions of the ecosystem goods and services under the different within the rivers of the park. This method is designed flow scenarios. to guide the evaluation of the ecological consequences of modified low-flow regimes using an index of flow- Influential. The application of environmental flows related stress. It can be used within holistic methods, procedures in the park as a result of the concern about such as BBM and DRIFT (Case Study 14); thus, in the water security has been influential in establishing the case of the reserve for the Letaba catchment, FSR was ecological reserve for the rivers of the KNP. Although used for the low flows and a combination of DRIFT the application of the BBM method within the and BBM were used for the high flows (Pulles Howard park did not, at the time, result in environmental & de Lange Inc. 2006). The method is independent of flows, the development of these IFRs helped spread the level of biological knowledge, although the amount awareness about the importance of environmental of knowledge will affect the level of confidence that can flows and formed the basis of the subsequent reserve be placed in the recommendations. determinations. The determination of the IFRs also provided confidence that there were procedures for The BBM assessments of the park’s rivers were assessing environmental water requirements, and this underpinned by the data collected during the contributed to the inclusion of the ecological reserve into KNPRRP. The early establishment of this program was the South African national water policy and legislation. a far-sighted decision. A formal scientific assessment of the BBM method in August 1996 between those Lessons developing the BBM and those carrying out the KNPRRP research on the Sabie River concluded that, 1. Even though there was no policy or legislation in while the BBM could not directly use the full range the early 1990s that legitimized environmental of available scientific data, it could access it indirectly flows, the concern of park officials for quantifying through the knowledge of scientists engaging in BBM the flow needs of rivers in KNP ultimately workshops (MacKay, King, and Louw 1999). The high- contributed to both national legislation and to the confidence assessments also drew on the information implementation of the reserve for the rivers flowing gathered during the KNPRRP. through the park.

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2. The early quantifications of environmental water The Contribution of the KNPRRP.” Pretoria: Water requirements (IFRs) were not acted upon because Research Commission Report TT 106/98. they were not backed by legislative requirements or Breen C., M. Dent, J. Jaganyi, B. Madikizela, implementation mechanisms. They were accepted J. Maganbeharie, A. Ndlovu, J. O’Keeffe, K. Rogers, for planning purposes by the Planning Division M. Uys, and F. Venter. 2000. The Kruger National Park of DWAF, which had asked for them, but were Rivers Research Programme. Final Report. Pretoria: not widely accepted within the department. Water Research Commission Report TT 130/00. Nevertheless, they formed the basis for subsequent Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 2004a. reserve determinations in the rivers of the park. National Water Resource Strategy: Our Blue-Print for 3. The KRRP was undertaken independently of the Survival. First Edition. Pretoria: Department of Water development of the BBM methodology. It was a Affairs and Forestry. visionary decision because it helped provide the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 200b. scientific basis and credibility for the subsequent “Inkomati WMA Internal Strategic Perspective.” BBM applications. Pretoria: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 4. Developing an ecological monitoring program is an important part of implementing environmental Du Toit, J., K.H. Rogers, and H. Biggs, eds. 2003. flows. The Kruger Experience: Ecology and Management of Savannah. Washington, DC: Island Press. 5. Where stakeholders did not have a history of engagement in decisions, their capacity needed Ferrar, A.A.,ed.. 1989. “Ecological flow requirements to be built up through specific capacity building for South African rivers.” South African Nat. Sci. activities, including development of a common Prog. Rep. No. 162. Pretoria: Foundation for Research vision, establishment of local objectives and Development, CSIR. involvement in monitoring activities. Gyedu-Ababio, T.K. 2005. “The Water Crisis in the Kruger National Park, South Africa: Which Way?” Acknowledgments Unpublished Position Paper, SANPark

Thomas Gyedu-Ababio, Sharon Pollard, Delana Louw, King, J.M., and D. Louw. 1998. “Instream flow assessments for regulated rivers in South African using and Steve Mitchell provided documents as well as the Building Block Methodology.” Aquatic Ecosystem comments for incorporation into this case study. Dr. Health and Management 1: 109–124. Jackie King, Dr. Kevin Rogers, and Dr. Niel van Wyk also provided helpful comments. Dr. Kevin Rogers and King, J.M., R.E. Tharme, and M.S. De Villiers. 2000. Delana Louw reviewed a draft of this case study. “Environmental Flow Assessments for Rivers: Manual for the Building Block Methodology.” Pretoria:Water Research Commission Report TT 131/00. References MacKay, H.M., J.M. King, and M.D. Louw. 1999. AfriDev. 2006. “Komati Catchment Ecological Water “Comprehensive Ecological Reserve Methodology. Requirements Study.” Report No. RDM X100-00- Section F: Resource Directed Measures for of Water CONCOMPR2-1205. Pretoria: Department of Water Resources: River Ecosystems.” Pretoria: Department of Affairs and Forestry. Water Affairs and Forestry.

Breen, C.M., M. Dent, J. O’Keefe, N. Quinn, and Newenham, J., and M.S. Chavalala. 2003. K. Rogers. 1998. “Meeting the Water Quantity and “Determining the instream flow requirement Quality Needs of the Natural Environment of Rivers: monitoring protocol.” (Development of monitoring

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methods for the ecological reserve [quantity] for Palmer, C.C. 1999. “Application of ecological research rivers). Pretoria: Water Research Commission Report to the development of a new South African water law.” 1101/1/03. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 18 (1):132–142. Nkomo, S. and P. van der Zaag. 2003. “Equitable water allocation in a heavily committed international Pollard, S., and P. Walker. 2000. “Catchment catchment area: the case of the Komati Catchment.” management and water supply and sanitation in the 4th WaterNet/ WARFSA Annual Symposium: Water, Sand River Catchment, South Africa: description and Science, Technology and Policy: Convergence and issues.” Association for Water and Rural Development Action by All, Gaborone, Botswana. (AWARD), Bushbuckridge, South Africa.

O’Keeffe, J.H., and D.A. Hughes. 2004. “Flow- Pulles Howard & de Lange Inc. 2006. “Letaba Stressor Response approach to environmental flow Catchment Reserve Determination Study.” Main Report. requirement assessment.” In: D.A.Hughes, ed. “ Pretoria: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. SPATSIM, An Integrating Framework for Ecological Reserve Determination and Implementation: Sudlow, B.E. 2004. “Birds as bio-indicators of the Incorporating Water Quality and Quantity ecological integrity of the Sabie River, Mpumalanga.” Components of Rivers.” Pretoria: Water Research M.Sc. Dissertation, Faculty of Natural Science, Rand Commission Report No. TT 245/04. Afrikaans University, Johannesburg, South Africa.

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Background23 size, allowing fish to move into the wetlands to feed and breed, creating one of the most productive, diverse, and The Mekong River is a vital resource that shapes the biologically rich freshwater ecosystems in the world. social, economic, cultural and ecological functions of the six countries through which it flows—China, The river provides livelihoods to people in the basin, Myanmar, Peoples Democratic Republic of Lao (Lao primarily through fisheries and irrigation. Wild fisheries PDR), Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. With a are the major source of low-cost and high-quality total catchment area of about 795,000km2 and about protein, and a major source of employment and income 4,800km long, it is one of the largest rivers in the world. in rural areas. Wetlands that are vital for maintaining Similar to other tropical river systems, the Mekong the fisheries depend on the cycle of dry-season low River has large fluctuations in seasonal discharge. flows and wet-season floods to sustain the ecological It experiences very low flows during the dry season, systems. Rice, the major agriculture product, also yet floods extensively during the rainy season. The depends on flood recession agriculture. most important event of this wet season is the annual flooding of the Tonle Sap in Cambodia, Southeast Asia’s largest natural freshwater lake (Box 7.1). During this 23 This section is drawn from World Bank 2000 and World Bank period, the lake expands to five times its dry-season 2006.

Box 7.1 The Tonle Sap Ecosystem

Tonle Sap, a large shallow lake in the center of the Cambodian plain, is a unique lake-river system. During most of the year, the lake drains into the Mekong River through the Tonle Sap River. This flow provides a substantial part of the dry-season flow in this part of the basin and helps to control salinity intrusion in the delta and conserve mangrove forests. These dry-season flows also allow the cultivation of a second rice crop in the Mekong Delta.

During the wet season, the Tonle Sap River reverses its flow and fills the lake from the Mekong River to cover an area up to 1.6 million ha. The lake basin contains extensive wetlands and flooded forests that are critical to the lower basin fishery and other biodiversity resources. The periodic flooding that carries sediment-rich water from the Mekong River to the lake, combined with the area’s high biodiversity, are the main reasons for the development of this unique and rich ecosystem.

The lake is an important source of fish for the Cambodian population, providing about 138,000 tons annually, while fish migration from the Tonle Sap to the Mekong River represents a crucial re-stocking source for the river. The lake and its floodplain provide a refuge for a wide variety of birds, including a number of breeding colonies of large water birds. Approximately 350,000 hectares of the lake’s floodplain are cultivated. Much of the cultivated crop is rice (450,000 tons p.a.), along with mungbeans, melons, and a variety of other vegetables. Finally, Tonle Sap and the associated cultural heritage of the Angkor complex are central to Cambodia’s national identity.

Source: ILEC 2005.

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The Mekong riparian countries have different economic Basin—ratified an agreement24 that created the Mekong and social development goals, some of which depend River Commission and set out provisions for improving on maintaining existing flows, while others require water resources management in the Mekong River changes to the flow regime. Cambodia plans on Basin. The agreement identifies the need to develop increased irrigation and agriculture, yet must also the basin for the benefit of all four countries while maintain existing freshwater flows to support wild protecting the environment and ecological balance. fisheries and for transit. Lao PDR intends to develop Specifically, the agreement identifies the need to utilize its enormous hydropower potential for export, yet must water resources reasonably and equitably, and to also maintain flows for transport and capture fisheries. develop guidelines to manage the river flows. The four Thailand has ambitious plans for irrigation and agro- countries are the full members of the MRC; Myanmar processing development in the poor regions within and China have observer status to the MRC and are the basin, along with river diversions to northeast active members of discussions on regional economic Thailand and an inter-basin transfer to the Chao development of the Mekong River. Phraya River, which drains central Thailand through Bangkok. Vietnam is concerned about flood protection Institutionally, the MRC comprises a Council (a maintenance of existing river flows for its agricultural ministerial level body for policy direction), the MRC areas, and maintaining flows in the dry season for rice Joint Committee (which implements the decisions of production and salinity control in the Mekong Delta the Council), and the MRC Secretariat (which provides to protect agricultural land and prevent domestic water technical and administrative capacity). In addition, supply problems. China looks to the Mekong River to each country has its own National Mekong Committee, provide hydropower to support its extensive plans for which acts as the conduit for cooperation between the economic growth. MRC Secretariat and their counterparts in the basin countries. The agreement established a comprehensive There are other important environmental issues in the institutional framework to address sustainable use of basin. Severe deforestation in Thailand was contributing the river, not only to meet the needs of the four MRC to increased flash floods in the rainy season. Increased riparian nations but also for informing and guiding abstraction for irrigation in Vietnam and the upstream future upstream developments in China. The agreement dam projects could together exacerbate salinization sets out general principles and procedures, including the of the Mekong by affecting its flow. The Mekong protection of the environment and ecological balance River’s aquatic ecosystems also support a globally of the basin. It does not set specific water allocations for significant level of biodiversity. The Mekong floodplain the four countries, but requires that mutually acceptable ecosystem, which comprises an extensive network of minimum monthly natural flow during the dry season, wetlands, flooded forests, and estuaries, is dependent natural reverse flows to the Tonle Sap during the wet on the annual flood regime to provide nutrients season, and maximum daily peak flows during the flood and floodwaters to support over 1,200 fish species, season be identified and agreed on. including the giant Mekong River catfish, the largest freshwater fish in the world. Many Mekong fish species However, there is an active pursuit of national interests are highly migratory through the basin’s river network, by the lower Mekong countries and the upper riparian which makes them very susceptible to changes in flow country that poses a challenge to the expectations set regimes and barriers.

24 “Agreement on the Cooperation for the Sustainable Development In 1995, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Thailand and of the Mekong River Basin Water and Related Resources.” http:// Vietnam—the downstream countries in the Mekong www.mrcmekong.org/agreement_95/agreement_95.htm

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forth in the agreement. China’s existing dams and plans (4) acceptable minimum flows, and (5) water quality in to construct further dams25 and the Laos PDR’s recently the Mekong River Basin. approved Nam Theun 2 project and further plans for hydropower dams have brought public attention to An environmental flows approach was developed and the need for coordinated development of the Mekong. applied as the technical basis for determining acceptable Active planning by Thailand to pursue water diversion minimum flows in support of the procedures enabling from the Mekong, together with Vietnam’s steps toward Article 6 of the Mekong Agreement, which requires further dam construction, signal the intentions of these (1) that dry-season flows should be “not less than the countries to move ahead with development projects, acceptable minimum monthly natural flows during possibly irrespective of regional considerations. each month of the dry season,” and (2) wet-season flows should “enable the acceptable natural reverse This unilateralism is partly fueled by a perception by flow of the Tonle Sap to take place.” The WUP aimed some outside observers that the MRC is a regulatory to establish interim flow procedures26 by July 2004. In agency imposing rules, instead of (as stated in the addition, the project supported strengthening of various Mekong Agreement and the MRC’s Strategic Plan) a institutional (regional and national) capacity for the river basin organization facilitating mutually beneficial implementation of the procedures for water utilization, and optimal development. MRC itself has not yet fully undertaking basin management functions, coordination acquired the regional credibility—or all of the expertise, with upper riparians and donor agencies, supervision organizational capacity, or analytical tools—to facilitate and monitoring of the implementation of the project, inter-country negotiations, despite good progress in the and financial and procurement management. past seven years to put basic cooperative frameworks and a decision-support system together. In addition, While the MRC had agreed in principle, under the the MRC has no authority and limited ability to WUP, to provide for flows that would sustain the enforce agreements. Compliance with basin scale plans, health of the river system, they lacked the technical including rules for the maintenance of flows, is by expertise to determine those flows. The World Bank, consensus and through recognition of mutual benefits. through the BNWPP Environmental Flows Window, and under the WUP helped develop a three-phase work plan to a work program jointly developed and The Water Utilization Project implemented by the MRC’s WUP and Environment The World Bank was the implementing agency for the Program (EP) entitled Integrated Basin Flow Global Environment Facility (GEF) Water Utilization Management (IBFM). IBFM is the MRC’s custom- Project (WUP), which provided assistance to the MRC made environmental flows assessment approach to to implement some provisions of the agreement (World provide information to Mekong basin countries so Bank 2000). The project is due to reach completion that more informed trade-offs can be made between in 2008. The outputs include the participatory development and social and environmental impacts. development of basin-wide hydrological modeling IBFM activities were agreed and implemented under capability, which was agreed by all member countries the guidance of a technical committee representing to allow predictions of the consequences of various each of the MRC countries. development proposals on downstream flows. The project also supports a process to negotiate and agree 25 on five sets of procedures (initially entitled “rules”) About 16 percent of the Mekong’s flow comes from China. 26 Procedures for Maintenance of Flows on the Mainstream on (1) data and information sharing, (2) water use (PMFM)—one of five sets of procedures agreed to be drafted and monitoring, (3) prior notification and consultation, approved by the MRC Council under the WUP.

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The three IBFM phases can be summarized as follows: World Bank (World Bank 2004) and later refined under the MRC’s Basin Development Program (BDP), 1. An initial phase designed to describe the present- were used to describe a possible range in the general day flow regime of the Mekong basin, make this level of basin development from present day to the information readily available, and propose flows greatest potential level of development over the next based on these as a first step in agreeing acceptable two to three decades. The MRC hydrological models, minimum flows. developed under the WUP, were used to describe the 2. A rapid, yet comprehensive, environmental flows resulting flow regime in a manner that could be readily assessment encompassing not only the biophysical, understood by the multidisciplinary expert team. Each but also the social and economic aspects of possible flow regime was assessed in terms of its ecological, infrastructure development, based on available data social, and economic implications based on current best and information with an international recognized available knowledge. This phase was conducted as a panel of experts paired with riparian specialists. desk study supplemented with limited fieldwork, using 3. Ongoing comprehensive flows assessment based an expert panel of specialists from the lower Mekong on continuing field work, acquisition of data and basin countries and international specialists. This phase information, and broad stakeholder participation. was completed by the end of 2005.

In the first phase, the hydrologic and hydraulic models, Some of its findings include: being developed under the WUP, were used to describe the present-day flow regime of the Mekong based on 1. The Tonle Sap is highly vulnerable to potential historical data. This work resulted in the preparation flow changes. The high-development scenario has of a widely distributed publication providing essential the potential to permanently flood more than 50 information on the origin and distribution of river percent of the flooded forests that circle its dry- flows in the basin (Mekong River Commission season extent, thereby drastically reducing what is Secretariat 2005). The first draft—Technical Guidelines thought to be the main food source for the fishery. for Implementation of the PMFM—was also developed 2. The expected benefits of controlling salt intrusion in under this phase. These guidelines were initially the Mekong Delta from higher HEP-generated low developed to meet the July 2004 WUP deadline for a flows in the dry season would be extremely modest flow plan for the basin, but were not approved. because the extra water flowing down the Mekong would retard draining of the Tonle Sap, and so very These flow rules were one of four rules produced little extra water would arrive in the delta. from the WUP. Three have been enacted by all four 3. The study also illustrated the shift in beneficial member states; that is, the rule on notification of the uses of the Mekong’s waters by country that riparian neighbors in case of interventions in the water would occur as development progressed. Dam system, and rules on standardizing and sharing of data. building countries would increase their proportion However, the rule concerning the minimum acceptable of benefits, while those relying on the natural dry-season flow was only accepted as a nonbinding resources of the river would decrease theirs. guideline in February 2006, because of concerns that 4. The initial economic valuation of beneficial development plans would be restricted too much by uses, although considered to be only a first flows aimed to maintain the present river condition. approximation, provided indications of the magnitude and direction of change and is In a second phase in 2005, a range of development considered to be a useful basis to start the scenarios, initially generated under a study by the discussion of trade-offs between sectors and

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between regions as the MRC seeks to guide future The IBFM was seen in some quarters as anti- development activities in the basin. development because it was seen to be focused on 5. Additional aspects of the flow regime should be maintaining the natural flow regime (Johnston 2007). considered beyond the two nominated in Article 6 This undermined its credibility with some development of the Mekong Agreement. They include advocates, even though it is intended to provide an (a) vegetation in protected areas in southern Lao objective and scientific framework enabling the best and northern Cambodia; (b) bank erosion between “triple bottom line” outcomes—economic, social, Vientiane and Pakse; and (c) maintenance of and environmental returns—from water resources deep pool habitats for the highly productive and development. These concerns have impeded the important Mekong fisheries. implementation of the third phase of the program to the point where a number of reports on environmental This phase was carried out over eight months using water needs have not been published and consultations available knowledge and data, and so confidence levels with stakeholder groups have not proceeded. are low. Nevertheless, it has indicated the need to combine development with protection of important ecosystems. Drivers A number of pressures drove the development of an The third IBFM phase commenced in 2006 and was environmental flows program in the Mekong River. originally scheduled for completion in 2008. It was intended as a comprehensive holistic flow assessment While all basin countries had economic development based on a targeted research program of both riverine plans that used the water of the Mekong River, ecology and socioeconomic factors. In this phase, China’s ambitious plans for dams was seen by the the “Mekong method” of flow assessment, based on downstream countries to pose a particular threat to the DRIFT method (Case Study 14), is intended to their use of the river’s water. The downstream countries provide higher confidence scenarios of the linked flow, were concerned that China’s development plans did biophysical, social, and economic implications of not limit their use of the Mekong for development. development. The Mekong method is designed to be Vietnam and Cambodia, in particular, were concerned highly participatory. This phase of IBFM is intended to about disruptions to their fishing activities, which are include a comprehensive consultation process, although important sources of protein for their people. Lao PDR there are considerable difficulties in developing this had a particular reason to support an environmental process across the diversity of governance structures flow assessment—they were keen to establish an agreed within the basin. Phase 3 was halted in 2007 for a envelope within which they could develop dams to number of reasons, including funding limitations. It export electricity and generate foreign income. may start up again in a different form under the MRC’s new Basin Development Plan. However, environmental flow concerns were not dominant issues for any of the countries, even those Scenarios developed by the MRC will be assessed for downstream within the basin. The requirement their costs and benefits over the next 20 to 30 years of development partners for environmental flow for different stakeholders. The scenarios show the assessments was the primary driver in this case. The implications of different development paths to inform World Bank and GEF supported the development decision making, but it is unlikely that a specific of flow rules through project funding. Bilateral scenario will be selected as providing the optimal assistance agencies also promoted environmental flow development path. assessments.

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NGOs were specifically concerned that changes in the 3. Because of time pressures under the WUP, there flow regimes as a result of upstream dams would inhibit was a need to agree on flow values in a short period the functioning of the Tonle Sap ecosystem. Reductions of time without adequate understanding by all in wet-season flows could limit the quantity of reverse parties. flows into the Tonle Sap, abstractions of water for irrigation and other off-stream purposes could reduce Participation. The first two phases of the IBFM the extent of flooding, and barriers across the river were conducted as technical exercises with limited could limit the upstream migration of fish. Higher dry- stakeholder input. The third phase has been designed season flows from upstream dams would retard drainage to be participatory, with special attention to subsistence of the Tonle Sap in the dry season. users who are generally most at risk from hydrological and ecological change since they are heavily reliant on natural systems. However, comprehensive stakeholder Environmental Flow Assessment participation in a new, multinational institution such as Recognition. Environmental flows as a scientific and the MRC is complex and still in its infancy. This lack of objective basis for flows assessment is central to the experience is complicated by the different approaches of Mekong Agreement. Article 6 requires that mutually the Mekong basin countries toward stakeholder input acceptable minimum monthly natural flow along the to major decisions. For example, the most articulate main stem of the Mekong River be maintained during NGOs are found in Thailand, while there is very each month of the dry season, and that wet-season different stakeholder representation from government flows be great enough to provide for the reversal of and party structures in Lao PDR and Vietnam (World flows into the Tonle Sap. Nevertheless, the MRC was Bank 2006). Thus, stakeholder participation may be attracted to the environmental flow approach, but only expected to be implemented in quite different ways in if implemented in a broad and holistic manner to cover each of the countries. all in-stream and on-stream water uses, including those Consultations on environmental water requirements essential to protect the ecological conditions on which were held with government agencies, local and some populations relied. international NGOs, and academics during 2006 and While the concept of a holistic environmental flows further consultations were planned with provincial approach is accepted in principle by the lower Mekong agencies and local communities during 2007 (Guttman countries, there remains considerable tension and 2006). However, these latter consultations have now misunderstanding both between countries and within been delayed because of concerns within the MRC countries over its application in support of the Mekong that they may lead to undue weight being given to the Agreement. This is because: requirements of traditional water users rather than to development proposals. As a consequence, one NGO 1. The enabling, rather than the restrictive or (Dore 2006) has complained that “public engagement regulatory, aspects of the flow procedures and to this point has been practically nonexistent. guidelines as intended by the Mekong Agreement Moreover, it has been a struggle to get the reports into are not yet well-understood by all parties. the public domain.” 2. The IBFM approach and the results based on environmental flows assessments were necessarily Assessment Technique and Data. IBFM occurred in three complex due to their multidisciplinary nature, and phases spanning the period of 2004–09. The first phase therefore difficult to communicate and agree in a of the IBFM was essentially a hydrological assessment. multinational context. The outcomes of this work were a publication on the

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hydrology of the Basin (Mekong River Commission These three phases represent a graduated response to 2005) and the initial technical guidelines describing implementing an environmental flows approach in this hydrology in relation to the provisions of Article 6 cases where there is very limited expertise, data, and of the Mekong Agreement. These outputs provided an time. The first phase met the need for some immediate important contribution to the understanding of flows flows to provide interim protection while more detailed in the Mekong Basin and the basis for further analysis assessments were being carried out. The second phase of flow components. allowed the existing data and knowledge to be explored so that a targeted research plan could be drawn up The second phase went beyond hydrology by assessing and also helped increase local awareness and capacity the individual environmental, economic, and social for EFAs. The third phase, based on field data and benefits and costs of a number of possible future flow stakeholder objectives will, if it proceeds, provide a regimes. Due mainly to time limitations imposed by more defensible set of environmental flow assessments the WUP, it was essentially a demonstration run, and designed to provide sound information to decision was limited to a desk study using already available makers on possible trade-offs in moving forward with information supplemented by limited field work. It was infrastructure development. carried out by a multidisciplinary team of specialists in environmental flow impact assessment, hydrology, Integration. The IBFM is holistic in that it requires hydraulic and hydrodynamic modeling, geomorphology, the understanding of the interaction between water quality, botany, aquatic invertebrates, fisheries, changes in flows within the basin as a result of herpetology, ornithology, sociology, and economics. It human activities and the resulting environmental represents a major achievement in that the methodology impacts and social and economic benefits and costs. was agreed with the member countries at different levels Because of the need to integrate the analysis of of development and applied over a large river basin at an water and ecological resources, water quantity and early stage of infrastructure development. quality, and transboundary issues and concerns, the knowledge base and modeling package of the WUP The third phase, based on the DRIFT procedure, project incorporated components to allow the direct is designed to overcome both the methodological assessment of transboundary impacts on ecological, and data limitations of the second phase. The expert social, and economic resources and conditions. This panel approach will be replaced by verifiable modeled integration of environmental issues with social and predictions, and the limited data of the second phase economic development was central to the acceptability will be augmented by a specially designed, 4-year of the IBFM program. The term “environmental” biophysical and socioeconomic research plan based on in describing environmental flows as applied at the the outcomes of the first two phases. The additional MRC generated much misunderstanding. It was research includes hydraulic modeling of selected river viewed by some to be restrictive and limiting of future reaches, sediment transport modeling, studies of river development, rather than facilitating and enabling bank stability and erosion, the dynamics of deep pools, better and objective decision making about future studies of fish, the increased inundation of SiPanDone development. (a proposed Ramsar site within Lao PDR), and better information on the how the river functions and of Influential. The EFA was technically proficient and its importance in the lives of its people. Almost all of well-designed. It produced several important outputs, this work remains to be done; the development and but has fallen short of influencing the operations of calibration of the physical models within the MRC is the countries in the basin. The now widely distributed the most advanced. description of the hydrology of the basin was produced

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under phase 1 and, under phase 2, the initial assessment sufficient wet-season flows to reverse flows into indicating there is room for future development if Tonle Sap. The subsequent analyses showed that attention was paid to the impacts of changes in flow on this was too simplistic and that a wider range downstream water users. The new Basin Development of flow components needed to be considered in Plan, which started in 2008, is based on the results of the full third phase analysis. For example, the the IBFM. establishment of a minimum dry-season flow may be too simplistic—upstream developments The third phase has been restricted in its stakeholder that increase dry-season flows may be just as consultations and production of technical reports environmentally disruptive as development that because of misunderstanding by some countries and reduce dry-season flows. individuals who believe that environmental flow rules 4. The integration of environmental issues with social will restrict development. Even if it is completed, it is and economic development was central to the not certain that the MRC has sufficient standing with acceptability of the IBFM program; an analysis the governments of the basin to lead to the results that was focused just on environmental outcomes being implemented in basin planning and management would not have been accepted. operations. 5. A broadly based environmental flows assessment Nevertheless, these EFAs have helped widen the using participatory methods in the member understanding within the MRC and, to a lesser extent, countries is highly complex and difficult to within the basin countries of the importance of communicate in a multinational context. Adequate retaining sufficient flows in the river to maintain vital time and mechanisms are required to communicate ecosystem functions. and enable understanding of the enabling aspects of the approach, and ownership and mutual benefits by all participants. Lessons 6. A phased approach can be effective in establishing 1. The term “environmental flows” can be EFAs when there is limited expertise and few data misunderstood to mean the protection of the available. Interim flow management assessments environment at the expense of development and can be developed and established while skills are human needs. This can bias development agencies developed and data needs are identified and met. and the private sector against the concept to the 7. Developing a stakeholder consultation process, point where the EFA is ineffective. including the production of information in 2. Technically thorough and scientifically credible multiple languages, in transboundary river basins EFAs are not sufficient to bring about decisions where there are major differences in government and implementation of flows for truly sustainable attitudes toward inclusion and generally a low development if there is not strong political and level of education is extremely difficult and slow. senior managerial support. This is especially true Technical studies, with only limited stakeholder for transboundary rivers, where there is a need engagement, may be a sensible interim step while a for trust among the riparian countries, along with properly inclusive study is developed. technical competence and a mandate for decision by the transboundary authority. Acknowledgments 3. The Mekong Agreement included the maintenance of just two components of the Dr. Robyn Johnston, Dr. Jackie King, and Mr. John flow regime—minimum dry-season flows and Metzger provided comments on a draft of this case study.

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References and Stakeholders.” Kusatsu, Japan: International Lake Environment Committee Foundation. Dore, J. 2006. “Response by IUCN to river flows and development in the Mekong River Basin.” Mekong Mekong River Commission Secretariat. 2005. Update and Dialogue 9(3): 5. Australian Mekong “Overview of the hydrology of the Mekong Basin.” Resource Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, http://www.mrcmekong.org/download/free_download/ Australia. Hydrology_report_05.pdf

Guttman, H. 2006. “River flows and development in World Bank. 2000. “Water Utilization Project Project the Mekong River Basin.” Mekong Update and Dialogue Appraisal Document.” Washington, DC: World Bank. 9(3): 2–4. Australian Mekong Resource Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. World Bank. 2004. “Modelled observations on development scenarios in the Lower Mekong basin.” Johnston, R. 2007. “Integrated water resource Mekong Regional Water Resources Assistance Strategy. management in the Mekong.” Paper presented http://www.mrcmekong.org/download/free_download/ at “A Greater Mekong? Poverty, Integration and LMB-Development-Scenarios.pdf Development,” Australian Mekong Resource Centre, University of Sydney, September 26–27, 2007. World Bank. 2006. Mekong Water Resources Assistance Strategy: Future Directions for Water Resources ILEC. 2005. “Managing Lakes and their Basins for Management in the Mekong River Basin. Washington, Sustainable Use: A Report for Lake Basin Managers DC: World Bank.

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Background recently, the PBWO has received technical assistance from a multiagency program (elaborated below), The Tanzanian Water Utilization and Control including for a pioneering basin-wide environmental Act (1981) proposed devolution of management flow assessment (EFA). This case study describes responsibility to the river- and lake-basin level. The the conduct of the Pangani basin EFA, which will 2002 National Water Policy (Policy Case Study 4) contribute to the water resource management plan for reinforced that requirement. Among other things, it the Pangani Basin. requires that basin-level water resource management plans be developed taking into account “land use- water-environmental linkages.” The bill implementing The Case Study Description the recommendations in the policy is expected to be passed by the Tanzanian Parliament in 2008. The The Pangani River has two main tributaries; the bill confirms that water resources management plans Kikuletwa rises on the slopes of Mount Meru, and the should be developed at national, basin, catchment, Ruvu rises on the eastern slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. and subcatchment levels and that environmental These rivers join at the Nyumba ya Mungu (NYM) concerns should be incorporated into the plans. reservoir. About 90 percent of the flow of the Pangani River originates from the slopes of the two mountains. Tanzania has nine river and lake basins. The first river Springs in the Kilimanjaro region are an additional basin office established in the early 1990s, the Pangani source of water. Some of the basin’s larger springs River Basin Office, with support from NORAD was contribute as much as 20 m3/s to the NYM inflows. further strengthened during the World Bank-funded This proportion becomes vital during the dry season, River Basin Management and Smallholder Irrigation when rainfall contributions diminish. A small part of Improvement project because of the severe water the basin (about 5 percent) is transboundary, where use conflicts facing this river basin (Box 8.1). More the Lumi River flows into Kenya before returning to

Box 8.1 Water Use Conflicts in the Pangani Basin

When the Pangani Falls hydropower station (68MW) was nearing completion in the early 1990s, it was found that inflows into the Nyumba ya Mungu (NYM) regulating reservoir were much lower than predicted because of significantly increased uncontrolled upstream abstractions for irrigation. NORAD, the funder of the power station, asked the government to take strong action to better manage water resources in the Pangani basins. As a result, the government initiated actions to establish the Pangani Basin Water Office. Following the regulation of the river by NYM, a large portion of the largest wetland in the basin—the Kirua swamp—dried up, with loss of fisheries and recessional agriculture. Flows into the estuary have also been affected, but the environmental consequences are not known.

Source: IUCN 2003.

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Lake Jipe in Tanzania. Currently there is a dialogue Environment Facility through UNDP. IUCN has project that promotes cross border cooperation in the selected this basin as one of the 10 demonstration management of this ecosystem.27 sites for its global Water and Nature Initiative, which has the goal of integrating an ecosystem approach The largest use of water in the basin is for smallholder into catchment policies, planning, and management. irrigation, although electricity generation in the The EFA is used to explain the ecological and social lower part of the river is of national importance and outcomes of different ways of allocating water. A contributes nearly 17 percent of the total electricity particular scenario represents a chosen trade-off generated nationally. Fishing and urban and industrial between resource protection and development. The demands are important additional uses of the basin’s flow regime within that scenario is the environmental water. Important wetlands in the basin include Lakes flow needed for ecosystem maintenance. To date, Jipe and Chala and the NYM reservoir, all of which eleven development scenarios have been tested. This support fisheries. The basin contains wetlands, notably information, and the tool, will be used subsequently the Kirua swamps to the south of NYM reservoir, when the Pangani Basin water resources management although little is known about their biodiversity or plan is developed to help illustrate the implications for their hydrological contributions (IUCN 2003). The the environment of different flow scenarios. Mkomazi Game Reserve, a protected area, is located within the basin. The study is using the downstream response to imposed flow transformation (DRIFT) method (see Case Principal concerns are the loss of river flow from Study 14), modified to suit the limited data, funds, uncontrolled irrigation and urban demands and the and technical capacity available in the Pangani Basin. consequent likelihood of conflict between water The team undertaking the assessment comprises staff users. In particular, these upstream water demands from a number of basin water offices, the National have reduced the quantity of water available for Environment Management Council, the Ministry of the downstream hydropower generation. Flows Water, and academics from the University of Dar es into Lake Jipe have been reduced, partly because of Salaam and other institutions. The team is led by South overabstractions for irrigation in Kenya. Fisheries in African consultants. An important objective of this the NYM reservoir are under considerable stress due effort is also to strengthen the capacity of local staff in to overfishing, and large portions of the Kirua swamp EFA in Tanzania. have dried up as a result of the regulation of water flows issuing from the NYM dam. In addition, reduced The EFA is currently well-advanced, with the river, inflows plus increased nutrient loads into Lake Jipe have estuary, and social baseline situation assessments encouraged excessive Typha growth, which restricts completed. The ecological, social, and economic fishing and access for stock watering. There has also effects of the eleven flow scenarios have also been been a drastic decline in estuary condition and fishery. completed. Tanzanian water resources and environment professionals have been trained in undertaking EFAs, Although the water resource management planning and stakeholder groups—the basin board, staff of required under the bill is yet to commence, the relevant ministries, water user groups, local government government of Tanzania is conducting a pilot EFA in officials, policy makers—have been kept informed of the Pangani Basin under the direction of the Pangani Basin Water Office and with support from the IUCN

Water and Nature Initiative through a grant from the 27 The dialogue is being financially supported by InWent, an government of the Netherlands, as well as the Global international NGO.

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progress with the EFA so that they will be ready to Management Council) are supporting the study and interpret results when they are available. have provided staff to join the study team to develop skills in EFA. As a consequence of this EFA, there is The activity has a budget of about $500,000 and will growing understanding among the various water-using take between 2 and 3 years to complete (mid-2005 to sectors in the basin about environmental flows. late 2008). Although there are some transboundary aspects to flow Drivers management in the Pangani Basin, the scope of the pilot EFA is confined to the Pangani River and its main The study resulted from a conjunction of an existing tributaries within Tanzania and does not extend to the policy requirement, an impending legislative driver—the transboundary part of the basin. Water Resources bill—and the opportunity for financial and technical support by an international NGO. Participation. The NAWAPO calls for participation IUCN, as part of its Water and Nature Initiative, was of stakeholders in decision making, planning, looking to undertake a demonstration EFA study management, and implementation of water resources in a basin where there was considerable pressure on plans. The modified DRIFT methodology developed water and environmental resources, biodiversity and in the Pangani Basin is participatory. Major stakeholder ecosystem goods and services were threatened, people groups (including members and staff from the basin and institutions were willing to act, and there was a board, ministries, water user groups, local government, capacity to support the implementation of an EFA. policy makers, and the environment sector) have The government of Tanzania was keen to support the been consulted to identify their dependence on river project, given that it was seeking to build its capacity flows. They have provided input to the scenarios to for undertaking EFAs as part of its basin-level water be tested, and the services and goods they receive resources planning. from the river have been valued through a specific activity. Consultations were carried out during the There was also strong institutional support from social economic studies at two levels within five the PBWO for the EFA, given the need to include socioeconomic zones. Focus groups were conducted environmental water allocations in the proposed basin- with old people, village leaders, smallholder irrigators, scale water resource plans. and extension officers in the area. River health assessment included consultation with residents on Assessment ecological information such as fish catches and types.

Recognition. Environmental flows are recognized as Subcatchment forums are being established across an important part of the river basin planning process the basin, starting with the Kikuletwa Subcatchment in both the National Water Policy and the draft Forum.28 These forums will provide opportunities for legislation. The Ministry of Water supported the on-going local participation in water resources decision development of an EFA in the Pangani Basin, even making (Pangani Basin Water Office 2007). before a water resource management plan process was commenced, in an attempt to develop an e-flows Environmental objectives. The modified DRIFT methodology for use in other Tanzanian river and lake is exploratory with the objective of assessing the basins. Both the water management agency (Ministry of Water and Irrigation) and the environment 28 This work is supported with funds from the Netherlands management agency (National Environment Development Organization (SNV).

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environmental effects of different scenarios based on to provide information for the assessment. They possible changes in both water supply (climate change include studies on macroeconomic issues, hydroelectric and catchment management) and water demand power generation modeling, climate change, hydraulic (allocation options, irrigation and hydropower modeling, fisheries in the basin, fish and invertebrate development, efficiency, population growth). By life histories, and vegetation. October 2008, eleven flow scenarios are planned to be evaluated. It is anticipated that the outputs of the EFA Integration. DRIFT was specifically designed to integrate work will strongly inform the environmental objectives environmental outcomes with their social and economic and outcomes in the final river basin plan required impacts and so is well-suited to developing countries under the upcoming Water Resources Act and guided where there is a high dependence on environmental by the national policy that assigns environmental goods and services from rivers. Each scenario assessed objectives second priority after basic human needs. during the EFA allocates a different priority to each use (such as hydropower generation, agriculture, and urban Assessment technique. The DRIFT method is holistic and industrial water). The scenarios are not limited to in that it includes many components of the aquatic environmental considerations. However, the integration ecosystem. In the case of the Pangani Basin, this of environmental water needs with other demands for means that the environmental water requirements water use in the basin can only occur properly during of rivers, lakes, swamps, and estuaries are included a planning exercise when all stakeholders can be fully in the assessment. Although the important role involved. This is best undertaken after the relevant of groundwater in the upper basin has not been legislation is passed so that the basin water office specifically included, the springs in the Kikuletwa River has a mandate to require the participation of these have been taken into consideration as they strongly institutions and communities and make decisions about affect surface water flow in that river. water allocations.

The assessment relies on site-specific hydrological, Cost Effectiveness. The project has a budget of $500,000 environmental, social and economic data collected in over 3 years—a high cost if the EFA is a model of what the basin over two years. A simple hydrological systems is to be carried out in the country’s other eight river model, WEAP, based on available data from gauging and lake basins. However, there are a number of factors stations and from water use, is used to predict the flow that may have inflated the cost of this assessment, such regimes under the different scenarios and the ecological as the training component to build Tanzanian capacity responses to these flows. A river and estuarine health for carrying out EFAs, and the establishment costs for assessment has been conducted, once during the dry the country’s first EFA, including the development of season and once during the wet season, to provide the modified DRIFT method. Although the cost is the baseline conditions for the river. A socioeconomic substantial, EFAs are still only a small percentage of situation assessment was also undertaken to determine total development costs for a basin such as the Pangani. the type and extent of use made of the aquatic They provide a factual basis for making water allocation ecosystems by people living in the catchment. The decisions that share the basin’s water equitably. application was designed and organized by recognized international experts from South Africa, who led a team The project has yet to be completed and so its of Tanzanian water managers and academics. achievement of objectives within the limits of available information, time, resources, and methodology and In addition, a number of specialized scientific reports its influence on the final river basin plans cannot be from experts outside of the team have been completed assessed yet.

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Reporting. To date, the project has produced various conducting the EFA, legitimizing the assignment draft reports from specialist studies and reports on the of staff from both water and environment hydrological nature of the basin, basin delineation, agencies to the study team. scenario selection, river health, estuary health, and 2. There needs to be firm direction at the national socioeconomic assessments for the Pangani Basin (IUCN level when conducting donor-funded trials of 2007), as well as a summary of all these that synthesizes EFA in a developing country, to ensure that understanding of the basin. A scenario report is the locations chosen and the methods used suit completed in draft form showing the options and trade- the needs of the country. At present, there are offs involved for a range of development and climate no guidelines or regulations in place in this change scenarios. The report that provides the river and case to guide the design of these EFA projects. estuarine health assessment has been summarized in an The Pangani EFA work is expected to provide easily understood “state-of-the-basin” report. important input into the future river basin planning process and will be an important Influential. Given that the EFA study is yet to be learning model for informing future EFA work in completed, and the basin planning exercise has yet to Tanzania. be carried out, it is too early to assess whether this study 3. EFA projects in developing countries can provide has influenced the provision of water for environmental opportunities to develop technical skills for benefit or not. However, it has helped develop capacity undertaking further EFAs (including for project within Tanzania for conducting EFAs and has helped developments) within the country. The Pangani raise awareness within environmental and water EFA is specifically designed to build these skills resource agencies of the importance of providing across government institutions at the national environmental flows. and basin levels, as well as academic institutions. Staff trained under the Pangani EFA are now being They are now being utilized in two further EFA used both in the recently commenced EFA for the studies. Wami River and in the proposed EFA for the Ruaha 4. The method employed for the EFA in a data-poor Basin. However, since these recent EFAs are being developing country needs to balance the cost supported by other NGOs, they may follow different of implementation with the need to produce EFA methods and procedures. While this is not a environmental flow recommendations that reflection of this specific EFA project, it illustrates are based on data and defensible. In this case, that the influence of the project has been limited the experience of the international consultants at national coordination levels. It is important for allowed them to devise a procedure that included a critical review to be conducted of these different the major requirements while limiting the cost. methods so that Tanzania benefits by identifying a The applicability of DRIFT to less-well-funded small number of methods that are both suited to the basins is yet to be determined. different circumstances across its river and lake basins and are cost-effective for a nation that faces enormous Acknowledgments budgetary constraints. Mr. Sylvand Kamugisha, Ms. Josephine Lemoyane, Mr. Hamza Sadiki, Mr. Saidi Faraji, Mr. Washington Lessons Mutayoba, Dr. Jackie King, and Dr. Cate Brown 1. The National Water Policy and proposed provided helpful comments on a draft of this case legislation provide a firm foundation for study.

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References Pangani Basin Water Office. 2007. “Pangani River Basin Management Project.” Technical Progress Report IUCN. 2003. The Pangani River Basin: A Situation (January–December 2007). Analysis. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN.

IUCN. 2007. State of the Basin Report – 2007. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN.

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Background Case Study Description

Under the 1994 Council of Australian Governments The Pioneer planning area (encompassing the Pioneer (COAG) and subsequent National Water Initiative River, Sandy Creek and Bakers Creek) is a small area, (NWI) agreements, state and federal governments of about 2,200 km2, on the northeast coast of Queensland. Australia agreed on wide-ranging reforms to Australia’s Sugarcane is the predominant form of agriculture water management, including the development of (although there are other horticultural activities), as well water allocation plans for all Australian catchments as cattle grazing. Mackay is the major town. Apart from and major groundwater systems. The water allocation an estuarine wetland, there are no significant wetlands plans were to include provisions for environmental in the area. Four endangered and three ‘of concern’ water. ecosystems, 18 rare or threatened plant taxa, some macroinvertebrate and fish species, and two mammals Under the Water Act 2000, the state of Queensland (the water mouse and the Irrawaddy dolphin) occur has drawn up a state-wide water allocation plan and within the study area. Eungella National Park occupies has adopted a 2-level approach within each of its a small part of the northwest of the Pioneer catchment, 35 catchments—a Water Resources Plan (WRP) and Mt Kinchant Conservation Park covers about specifying the objectives for meeting the social, half of the Sandy Creek catchment in the southeast environmental, and economic needs of the catchment, of the study area. There are two dams, Teemburra and and a resource operations plan (ROP) providing the Kinchant, in the planning area. Mirani, Marian, and details of how water resources will be managed from Dumbleton Rocks weirs control flows and levels within day to day to meet these objectives. A monitoring the Pioneer River. The Teemburra Dam and downstream strategy for assessing the ecological outcomes of flow regulators were completed for irirgation useage flow management has also been developed and about 3 years before the study was carried out, and the implemented. These catchment plans are subsidiary water licenses were still being taken up as the dam filled. legislation under the Water Act and so their provisions The Pioneer River is not overallocated and the study carry the force of law. area is not regarded as being under stress.

As of April 2008, Queensland has completed 18 WRPs, The environmental flows study assessed the potential and has four more in preparation; it has completed environmental impacts of increased water abstractions nine ROPs and 10 are being drafted. The Pioneer WRP in the Pioneer catchment. Environmental water was approved in December 2002 and the ROP was requirements were assessed by a panel of experts approved in June 2005. through an environmental conditions study (Technical

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Advisory Panel 2001a) and an environmental flows Although not as prominent as other drivers, public report (Technical Advisory Panel 2001b). The former opinion was one of the forces behind the inclusion of assessed the current environmental conditions, the environmental concerns into these catchment plans. likely conditions if all present water entitlements In the early 1990s, there had been widespread public were utilized, and the key knowledge gaps. Specialist dismay over the degradation of the waterways in the reports were produced on geomorphology, hydrology, southeast of Australia, especially the Snowy River habitat, water quality, aquatic vegetation, riparian and the Murray Darling Basin, leading to the COAG vegetation, macroinvertebrates, fish, other vertebrates, agreement. Ten years earlier, a federal government had estuarine, and marine environments. The flow regime been defeated largely on environmental issues and under current and full water abstraction entitlements politicians were sensitive to public opinions about the was modeled with the IQQM model (Technical environment. This public interest in environmental Advisory Panel 2001c). The environmental flows report water issues was maintained throughout the 1990s as quantifies the associations between changes in the flow shown by the public engagement in water allocation regime of the waterways and their geomorphological planning. and ecological impacts. The Water Act 2000 requires the minister to report This environmental assessment was then used to annually on the progress of implementing the plan inform the decisions in the WRP about water and the results of monitoring for ecological outcomes. allocation between environmental and various These public reports provide a driver for putting the consumptive uses. environmental water provisions into practice.

Drivers Assessment

Two procedural instruments—the 1994 COAG Recognition. The Water Act 2000 requires that water agreement and the Queensland Water Act 2000—acted resource plans (WRPs) include environmental flows as the primary drivers for the WRP. The NWI was by requiring the minister to consider the “duration, signed two years after the Pionner catchment WRP was frequency, size and timing of water flows necessary to completed and so was not an influence in the conduct support natural ecosystems” when developing these of the WRP. Oversight by the National Competition plans. However, the act does not state a priority to be Council (NCC), and subsequently the National Water accorded to environmental water allocations. Thus, Commission (NWC), of progress with the water the need to assess environmental flow requirements reforms, including the production of water allocation was inherently part of the preparation of the plan, plans, acted as a realistic evaluative driver for the and a technical advisory panel (TAP) was appointed Pioneer WRP. to carry out the environmental flows assessment at an early stage. Professional drivers were also important. While professional associations were not specifically involved, By the time the Pioneer Valley WRP was being water managers and aquatic scientists throughout produced, sectoral departments were accepting the Australia were concerned about the state of the concept and implementation of environmental flows country’s water resources. There was a widespread and there was no significant institutional opposition. acceptance of the need to ensure that environmental The major sectoral institutions (Department of services were maintained through environmental water Primary Industry and Fisheries, Environmental delivered through water allocation plans. Protection Agency, National Parks and Wildlife Service,

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Pioneer Valley Water Board) had input into the plan Environmental Objectives.The WRP states both the formulation. general outcomes sought in the plan and eight specific environmental outcomes: Participation. The catchment planning exercise was led by the Queensland Department of Natural Resources • to maintain habitats of native plants and animals and Mines (now Department of Natural Resources in watercourses, lakes and springs and Water), and involved other relevant departments, • to maintain riparian systems and their functions stakeholders, and interest groups. The planning process influencing the riverine ecosystems was highly participatory, with submissions being sought • to maintain and favor native plants and animals from the general public when the intention to prepare associated with watercourses, lakes, and springs the plan was first announced and again on release of the and riparian zones draft WRP and ROP. A number of information sessions • to provide wet-season flow to benefit native plants and meetings were also held with various interest and animals in estuaries groups in the plan area to allow face-to-face feedback. • to maintain long-term water quality suitable for A separate Community Reference Panel, containing riverine and estuarine ecosystems environmental representatives, was formed. It reported • to maintain existing geomorphic features and directly to the minister. processes • to maintain the capability of one part of the river However, the work of the TAP in assessing the effect system to be connected to another through the of different flow scenarios on the aquatic environment flow of water (a) throughout the watercourse was treated as a technical scientific exercise that did network, and (b) within the riparian zone, not require stakeholder input. The scenarios were floodplain and watercourses, lakes and springs established by the lead department with stakeholder • to maintain ecosystem food chains, their balance input through the Community Advisory Panel. The and the movement of carbon energy TAP’s reports were publicly available on the internet and were available for comment during the public Although these objectives solely deal with fresh consultation phase of the planning. The TAP’s reports and estuarine surface waters, the plan also includes provide extensive detail on how environmental provisions for maintaining ecosystems that are sustainability was assessed from both fieldwork, existing groundwater-dependent and have been subsequently data and information, and from comparision with addressed separately. comparable rivers in other catchments. The reports were not independently peer reviewed. Assessment technique and data. The environmental flows assessment method used in the plan development—the A total of 226 submissions on the ROP were received “benchmark” method (Brizga and others 2002)—is by an independent referral panel formed by the chief regarded as comprising best practice. It is holistic in executive of the department. The panel considered that it considers contributions from all stages of the the submissions and made recommendations to the hydrograph and their role in sustaining the major chief executive on each submission. This process was organisms and habitats in the river system. The transparent with a public report being produced assessment covered freshwater and estuarine systems, (Department of Natural Resources and Water 2005) including river pools and wetlands, and groundwater. detailing each submission, the recommendation of the referral panel, and the chief executive’s decision with The benchmark method relied upon a mixture of data reasons. collected during field assessments of the river system,

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together with data on the responses of biota to flow procedure has subsequently been used in other conditions in comparable rivers in the region. The Queensland surface water catchments where a WRP flow regime under the two development scenarios has been drawn up. Environmental flow studies was modeled using a daily flow calibrated for the have increased in effort through the EFAP and the catchment. appointment of regional biologists.

The technical advisory panel that undertook the Reporting. The Environmental Conditions Report and EFA comprised eight professionals with scientific the Environmental Flows Report, together with the backgrounds in hydrology, geomorphology, and various hydrological modeling reports, provide an extensive and speciality fields within aquatic ecology. The panel transparent base of scientifically credible information commenced work two years before the decisions were on which to make decisions. These reports are made and so was able to report in time to influence the understandable by non-technical people, with the key development of the WRP. information contained in maps and diagrams illustrating the predicted impacts of the development scenarios on The ecological outcomes of the WRP are monitored key organism groups in each river reach and estuary. through the Environmental Flows Assessment Program (EFAP). Rather than monitoring general parameters, While the ROP specifies quite clearly the the EFAP process identifies specific ecological assets in environmental water requirements—such as minimum each catchment that have critical links to flow. It then flows at different seasons of the year at strategic develops conceptual and numerical models of the links locations—the way in which these operating rules between the relevant elements of the critical flows and were derived from the environmental water study, and the ecological assets that are to be protected. the extent to which the environmental assets would be protected using these rules, is not clear. This is Integration. Only two scenarios were assessed in being addressed through EFAP and annual reporting the environmental study—(1) the current water requirements. abstraction, and (2) the level of abstraction if all licenses were utilized following the completion of the Studies are being undertaken to fill some of the key Teemburra Dam. While, on the surface, this is quite a knowledge gaps so that a better information base is limited selection of scenarios, it does represent the outer available when the plans are revised in 10 years. limits of the range of likely levels of water abstraction and so was approriate in this catchment. The scenarios The ROP requires ecological monitoring and did not include the impacts of climate change on assessments that will be used to establish whether the water resources of the catchment. The EFA was the ecological assets with critical links to flow in the restricted to assessing the environmental aspects of the catchment are protected with the environmental flow allocation rules and did not include the social and flow regime in the WRP and ROP. This monitoring economic aspects. However, the environmental, social, program was developed separately using a risk and economic aspects were considered together when assessment approach (Cottingham and others 2004). the water allocation decisions were made during the The implementation of the ROP and WRP are reported WRP preparation. annually by the minister responsible for water. The latest report (Department of Natural Resources and Cost effectiveness. The cost of conducting the EFA and Water 2007) for 2006–07 identifies five priority WRP is not available. However, there are indications ecological assets (four fish and one amphibian species) that the program is regarded as cost-effective. The for monitoring because they are at greatest risk from

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water development activities. The ecological monitoring Acknowledgments strategy will be presented for public consultation within Dr. Satish Choy of Queensland Department of Natural the next year. Resources and Water provided comments on an earlier Influence. The minister is required to take notice of draft. the study when making his final water allocation decision. In that formal respect, it was influential. References The environmental reports, including the EFA, were a significant input to the decision-making process. Brizga, S.O, A.H. Arthington, B.J. Pusey, M.J. Kennard, S.J. Mackay, G.L. Werren, N.M. Craigie, and S.J. Choy. However, the recommended environmental flows 2002. “Benchmarking, a ‘top-down’ methodology for were only partly included in the WRP because of assessing environmental flows in Australian rivers.” In: stakeholder and public feedback on future possible Environmental Flows for River Systems. An International allocations. Working Conference on Assessment and Implementation, incorporating the 4th International Ecohydraulics Symposium. Conference Proceedings. Cape Town, South Lessons Africa: Southern Waters.

1. This case study illustrates how multiple drivers Cottingham, P., G. Quinn, R. Norris, A. King, B. operate at different time scales and different levels Chessman, and C. Marshall. 2004. “Environmental of visibility. Thus, the formal procedural drivers of flows monitoring and assessment framework.” intergovernment agreements and legislation were Canberra, Australia: CRC Freshwater Ecology. actually driven, in turn, by public pressure and, Department of Natural Resources and Water. 2005. to a lesser extent, by professional recognition that “Pioneer Valley Resource Operations Plan: Community action needed to be taken on environmental water Consultation Report.” Brisbane, Queensland, Australia: management. Department of Natural Resources and Water. 2. The Water Act 2000 legitimized the inclusion of Department of Natural Resources and Water. 2007. environmental flows in the WRP. Water Resource Plan Annual Report. Brisbane, Australia: 3. While the EFA was a competent, focused and Department of Natural Resources and Water. well-reported activity in its own right and there was a legal requirement for the minister to consideer its Technical Advisory Panel. 2001a. “Environmental findings when drawing up the WRP and ROP, and Conditions Report.” Pioneer Valley Water Resource the flow management rules in the ROP are clear, Plan. Brisbane, Australia: Department of Natural Resources and Water. there is no easily discernible link between these rules and the environmental outcomes identified in Technical Advisory Panel. 2001b. “Environmental Flow the WRP. Report.” Pioneer Valley Water Resource Plan. Brisbane, 4. The EFA does not need to be participatory to Australia: Department of Natural Resources and Water. provide acceptable input to the plannning process. Technical Advisory Panel. 2001c. “Hydrology However, the EFA feeds into a highly participatory Assumptions Report.” Pioneer Valley Water Resource planning and decision-making process and this Plan. Brisbane, Australia: Department of Natural may compensate for the absence of stakeholder Resources and Water. input to the EFA. 5. The monitoring and public reporting requirements of the Water Act provide drivers that promote the environmental outcomes of the WRP.

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Background efficiency about two to three times lower than that of a well-managed system (World Bank 2001). The Aral Sea is situated in Central Asia. Its catchment lies in seven countries—Tajikistan, Afghanistan, The annual inflow from the Amu Darya progressively Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Islamic declined from 56,000 Mm3 before 1960 to 43,000 Republic of Iran, and the Kyrgyz Republic—with Mm3 in the 1960s, to 17,000 Mm3 in the 1970s, two, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, bordering the lake. and to 4,000 Mm3 in the 1980s (International Lake The Amu Darya and the Syr Darya are the two major Environment Committee 2004). This precipitous rivers feeding into the lake. Until the 1960s, the Aral decline in inflows caused the lake to dry out. The Sea was the world’s fourth largest inland water body surface area dropped to 17,000 km2 by 2003, with a with a surface area of more than 67,000 km2. The loss of volume of approximately 90 percent. Salinity lake was brackish and supported a major fishery and increased to 34 g/l, about equal to seawater. The sea functioned as a key regional transportation route. split into a number of parts with the Northern Aral Sea The extensive deltas of the two major inflowing rivers (NAS) and the Large Aral Sea (LAS) being the largest sustained diverse flora and fauna, irrigated agriculture, components. A channel has intermittently connected animal husbandry, hunting and trapping, fishing the two with flow from the NAS to the LAS. Inflows and harvesting of reeds. The deltas and wetlands also from the Syr Darya reduced salinity in the NAS to 19 provided extremely important foraging and breeding g/l by 1997. The LAS, however, has continued to shrink habitat for birds, with the basin being located at the and salinity has continued to rise above 40 g/l, with convergence of the Central Asian, Indian, and East the sea becoming almost biologically dead except in the African flyways for north-south migratory species. immediate delta area of the Amu Darya.

During the Soviet era, the Amu Darya and Syr The desiccation of the Aral Sea has brought significant Darya were progressively developed for hydropower environmental, economic, and social problems (World and irrigation. Water withdrawals almost doubled Bank 2001, Global Environment Facility 1998). The between 1960 and 2000, with irrigation accounting environmental problems include: for 92 percent of the water use in the basin.29 These agricultural developments stabilized food production • shrinkage and salinization of the lake has led to a in the region and created employment and incomes loss of fish and other aquatic species, with the 24 for some 8 million people who settled in the new endemic fish species all becoming extinct area. The water control and irrigation infrastructure still constitutes a major economic asset of the region. 29 Scientific Information Center, Inter-State Coordination Water However, the majority of the irrigation and hydraulic Commission 2002. Quoted in International Lake Environment infrastructure is very inefficient, with on-farm water use Committee, 2004.

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• health and environmental damage from wind- upstream irrigation areas. The only realistic option is blown salt and sediment from the lake bed into the to increase inflows using a mix of infrastructure and surrounding district improved operations and use these flows to restore • soil erosion in the upper basin, which threatens the potentially productive or ecologically important parts of operation of the irrigation infrastructure the Aral Sea. • loss of wetlands and their biodiversity in the deltas of the inflowing rivers because of greatly reduced The World Bank and GEF Projects flows, the virtual elimination of spring floods by the river operations, and the lowering of the NAS UNEP, the basin countries, and the World Bank level, which has resulted in river bed erosion and developed the Aral Sea Basin Program (ASBP) lowering of river water levels, making diversions to support the ICWC. The GEF’s Aral Sea Basin of water for filling of inland delta lakes difficult or Program Water and Environmental Management even impossible Project (1998–2003) and the $64.5 million World • declining groundwater levels because of the Bank-supported Syr Darya Control and Northern falling Aral Sea affecting groundwater dependent Aral Sea Phase-I Project (approved May 2001) ecosystems contributed to the ASBP. Because of the difficulty of developing coordinated programs with basin countries, The legal basis for cooperation between the countries the World Bank and other donors have funded a is embryonic, with no agreement for cost sharing number of independent projects to rehabilitate of operations and capital and no agreement for irrigation infrastructure within the Aral Sea Basin and information exchange. The Interstate Commission for thereby increase safety for downstream populations, Water Coordination (ICWC) was formed following improve irrigation efficiencies, and provide for better the breakup of the Soviet Union to manage annual environmental outcomes within the irrigation districts allocation and scheduling of water releases throughout and in downstream areas. This case study focuses on the the Aral Sea Basin. However, the member countries GEF-funded Water and Environmental Management do not always abide by the decisions of the ICWC. It Project and the World Bank-funded Syr Darya Control is very difficult to operate the basin coherently under and Northern Aral Sea Project. these circumstances and there are regular disagreements on water sharing. There have been tensions between The Water and Environmental Management Project countries in the Syr Darya Basin over the management had the objectives of (a) stabilizing the environment; of the water stored in the Toktogul reservoir, the largest (b) rehabilitating the disaster zone around the sea; storage in the basin. Kazakhstan and Uzebekistan give (c) improving the management of international waters; priority to irrigation, while the Kyrgyz Republic and and (d) building the capacity of regional institutions. Tajikistan give priority to electric power generation. The project was completed in 2003 (World Bank It is technically and politically impossible to revive the 2004). Analyses conducted under the project showed Aral Sea to its former extent. Even if the full flow of that additional water of suitable quality can be made the Amu Darya and Syr Darya were allocated to the available to restore the deltas of the Amu and Syr Aral Sea, it would take many decades to refill because Darya by improving water management throughout of the shallowness of the sea and its high evaporation the basin. In addition, Lake Sudoche (a 40,000 hectare rate. Politically it was not possible to divert significant delta lake on the border of the LAS), which had quantities of water to the restoration of the sea because become desiccated due to poor water management, of the large number of people now dependent on the was restored through engineering works that diverted

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a mix of saline drainage water and fresh river water the NAS from the highly saline LAS, together with to the lake. The restoration appears to have fully rehabilitation of hydraulic infrastructure and improved met its biodiversity and social/economic targets, operations of upstream dams. The project design with the wetland attracting various birds, including included a series of subprojects to increase freshwater some endangered species. Economic benefits were inflows by 1,300 Mm3 to the Syr Darya delta wetlands also gained as the local population is able to use and lakes through the construction and rehabilitation the restored area for fishing, hunting, and grazing. of infrastructure along the Syr Darya; in fact, the The success of the Lake Sudoche restoration led the actual inflows turned out to be much larger because government of Uzbekistan to continue the program of excess water that was previously diverted to the desert wetland restoration with three new projects in the Amu was retained and passed on to the Aral Sea, and winter Darya delta. flows that had previously caused flooding were able to be retained within the channel and delivered to the However, the project was overly ambitious in other Sea.30 areas where its objectives were not consistent with its modest financing. Thus, the project identified a target The dyke was completed in August 2005. It was of a 15 percent reduction in the water withdrawn originally predicted that it would take 5 to 10 years to for irrigation as one of its targets. Such a significant fill the NAS. Instead, the NAS’s level has risen more reduction in water use would require a major swiftly than expected to 38m, from a low of less than investment in rehabilitation of irrigation and drainage 30m, because of the additional water. The additional systems as well as capacity building, public awareness, inflows eliminated the flooding that used to occur and technical assistance, well beyond the $9.1million along the Syr Darya and contributed to improved budget of this project. relations between Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic. The returning waters have allowed fishing to expand The subsequent World Bank-funded Syr Darya in the lake, including an export-oriented commercial Control and Northern Aral Sea Project provided a fishery. The new and rehabilitated infrastructure along $64.5million loan to the Republic of Kazakhstan, with the Syr Darya has also improved irrigation of riparian the objectives of: farmlands and partially restored lakes in the Syr Darya delta, which are important for fishing. • sustaining and increasing agriculture (including livestock) and fish production in the Syr Darya Overall, the restoration of the NAS has proven to be Basin in Kazakhstan remarkably successful in spite of the initial widespread • securing the existence of the NAS and improving publicity about the impossibility of restoring this the ecological/environmental conditions in the heavily degraded system. The partial recovery of the delta and around NAS, leading to improved ecosystem has received extensive press coverage.31 human and health and conservation of biodiversity

The first objective is being achieved through 30 An ice cap formed on the Syr Darya during winter and, when it rehabilitation of the deteriorating hydraulic broke because of fluctuations in flow rates, formed large blocks of infrastructure within the basin and providing reliable ice that blocked the channel and caused lateral flooding. Once the upstream dams were rehabilitated, they could be operated to allow water to irrigated agriculture; the second is to be the ice cap to be formed high enough to permit large volumes to achieved by creating a permanent dike across the flow at a continuous rate so that the ice cap did not break up. 31 “As a Sea Rises, So Do Hopes for Fish, Jobs and Riches,” New Berg Strait between the NAS and the LAS to capture York Times, April 6, 2006; “Kazakhs get Loan to Save Aral Sea,” inflows through the Syr Darya Delta and isolate BBC, April 9, 2007.

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Drivers increased flows were regarded as simply an improved water allocation. There had been numerous ineffective investigations and studies prior to the Syr Darya Control and Participation. The GEF-funded Water and Northern Aral Sea project. The main driver for Environmental Management Project was a this project came from the determination of the transboundary project requiring the participation of local populations to restore their livelihoods and five governments. However, there were difficulties in the support of the government of the Republic of getting adequate cooperation between the regional Kazakhstan. governments and, in some instances, between governments and donor partners. The national Widespread publicity, led by international NGOs, components of the project, including the restoration of about the deterioration of the Aral Sea raised awareness Lake Sudoche, were more successful partly because they of the plight of the Aral Sea. However, the NGOs did did not require cooperation between governments. little to actually bring about the restoration.

The projects triggered a number of World Bank The ICR for the GEF-funded project noted that the safeguard policies, including the EA policy (OP/ project design did not place much emphasis on public BP4.01). However, in this case these safeguard participation, except in the components that sponsored policies did not act as drivers for the development of a competition for innovative water savings proposals environmental flows because the restoration of these from farmers, and attempted to change water users’ environmentally degraded areas were already primary behaviors by creating public awareness of the urgent objectives for the projects. need to conserve water. However, neither component worked well. The first had such high overhead costs that it was terminated early, and the second was ineffective Assessment because the major causes of inefficient water use Recognition. The need for flows to maintain the Aral Sea were dilapidated infrastructure and poor government ecosystem and all the productive activities that depended policies. Consequently, the second component was on it was not recognized by the Soviet government at the scaled down and the level of public involvement was time the upstream developments were being undertaken. reduced to be more commensurate with the capacities The potential problems were recognized by some of people who had little experience of individual scientists, but their views were ignored. contributions to national issues.

However, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, The Syr Darya Control and Northern Aral Sea the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan was project included a component to increase the fully aware of the benefits of restoring the NAS. The capacity of national authorities and agencies in river environmental flows component of most projects is basin management, including promotion of public designed to mitigate some deleterious aspect of the participation in water allocation and management main objective of the project. However, this project was process in the Kazakhstan part of the Basin through quite different. Its main objective was to use increased a Basin Consultative Group. The group was intended downstream flows to restore the NAS ecosystem. to ensure stakeholder participation in water allocation However, the increased flows were not labeled as decisions affecting the major water users, such as environmental flows because there was such a close irrigation command areas, fresh water lakes, hayfields connection between restoring the downstream aquatic and the NAS. In fact, the group was not formed environment and restoring people’s livelihoods that the because the authorities were able to undertake the

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necessary consultations without the need of a special contribute to biodiversity conservation” (ARCADIS committee. Euroconsult 2000).

The project itself was developed through extensive The environmental assessment recommended that a consultation, meetings, and workshops with monitoring program be instituted both during project government institutions. Consultations were also implementation and subsequently to track the recovery carried out with civil society and stakeholders at progress. The program would monitor primarily local and regional levels, with sector institutions, hydrological indicators and some social/economic environmental representatives, media, local and indicators. Impacts on biodiversity and fisheries catches international NGOs, and with representatives of are the recommended biological indicators. However, international organizations such as UNDP. The PAD the newly formed Kazakhstan Ministry of Natural comments that there was very strong ownership of the Resources and Environmental Protection, which project at the local level and that the local population would be responsible for monitoring and enforcement became frustrated at what they saw as too much activities, was recognized to be weak and to lack the consultation and too little action on the ground. capacity to monitor project activities. A $500,000 management and training program has been included Assessment. In most projects, environmental flows are in the project to help improve skills within the ministry. included to mitigate the deleterious downstream effects of a development proposal. This project is different in Integration. The environmental assessment predicted that the return of flows to the Aral Sea was one of the social and economic improvements for local prime project objectives because of the environmental, populations following the recovery of some of the NAS social, and economic benefits from restoring the and delta ecosystems. However, these benefits were sea. EFA techniques, which are designed to identify not analyzed in depth and were not closely integrated environmental flow requirements in the face of other into the environmental assessment. In spite of this lack proposed uses of the water, were not directly relevant of analysis of the integration between the biophysical for this project. Even so, the EIA that was undertaken as outcomes and the social and economic benefits, the part of project preparation predicted the likely changes social and economic benefits were qualitatively clear in lake level (an additional average inflow of 1,300 and the lack of detailed analysis did not constitute a 3 Mm /year and a water level between 39.2 and 42.0 m significant deficiency. asl) and effects on fish species composition. It predicted that the NAS fisheries production will be dominated by Cost effectiveness. While the recovery of the NAS has species that at present are largely confined to delta lakes occurred faster than anticipated and there have already and the Syr Darya, provided that the fish could migrate been some environmental and economic benefits, it is from the NAS to the spawning grounds in the delta and too early to assess the cost effectiveness of the project. its wetlands and lakes. Consequently, the regulatory structures between the NAS and the spawning grounds Influential. The successful restoration of Lake Sudoche were revised to allow for fish passage. The effects on has been influential in encouraging the government other environmental components were only predicted of Uzbekistan to extend the number of lakes to be in general terms “The effects on biodiversity in the NAS rehabilitated. The rehabilitation of the NAS has will be mainly positive: desalinization, restoration of contributed to improved water sharing between flora and habitat for resident and migratory birds and Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic, and the discharge other species in combination with the restoration of of the winter flows from the dams in the headwaters of the NAS as a staging area for migrating birds, will all the Syr Darya to the Aral Sea has overcome the tensions

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that used to arise from flooding within Kazakhstan 4. The widespread publicity generated by when the Syr Darya became blocked with ice. The rapid international NGOs turned the problems of the success of the project has also contributed to an increase Aral Sea into an international cause. However, it in confidence within Kazakhstan to tackle other was the determination of the local population, environmental degradation. supported by the government of Kazakhstan and the World Bank’s funding, that really drove the rehabilitation. Lessons

1. The NAS was restored through a mixture of Acknowledgments infrastructure (the Berg Strait dike); improved operations (avoiding ice blockages and spillage to Masood Ahmad of the World Bank reviewed this case the desert); and rehabilitation of dam operating study. structures. With a project of this size it is not possible to provide the volumes of water needed References without combining engineering with improved ARCADIS Euroconsult. 2000. “Syr Darya Control and efficiency of water use. Northern Aral Sea Project: Environmental Assessment.” 2. Success breeds confidence. The successful Executive Summary. Arnhem, the Netherlands: restoration of Lake Sudoche and the clear Euroconsult. benefits to the local people have encouraged Global Environment Facility. 1998. “Aral Sea Basin the government of Uzbekistan to unilaterally Program (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, undertake additional lake restoration projects. Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan).” Washington, DC: The partial, but rapid, restoration of the NAS has Global Environment Facility. also encouraged the government of Kazakhstan to consider other restoration. International Lake Environment Committee. 2004. 3. The environmental restoration of Lake Sudoche “Lake Basin Management Initiative. Experience and Lessons Learned.” Brief No 1. Aral Sea. Kusatsu, Japan: and the NAS has brought about obvious social International Lake Environment Committee. and economic benefits and so received strong support from local populations. The impact from World Bank. 2001. “Syr Darya Control and Northern the degradation of these resources was so profound Aral Sea Phase – I Project.” Project Appraisal that there was no dispute about restoring the Document. Washington, DC: World Bank. aquatic environment—in fact, the flows were World Bank. 2004. “Implementation Completion regarded as economic/social flows rather than Report: Water and Environmental Management environmental flows. Project.” Washington, DC: World Bank.

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Background Heritage Site due to its incredible diversity and levels of endemism. Comprising only 6 percent of the area of The Berg Water Project (BWP) was the first large southern Africa, it has more than 9,000 plant species, water resources infrastructure development project in 70 percent of which are endemic, accounting for half South Africa to be designed, constructed, and operated the species on the subcontinent and almost one in five within the framework of the National Water Act of all plant species in Africa. This makes it the smallest (No. 36, 1998), requiring that water be provided for yet most diverse of the world’s six plant kingdoms. human needs and an ecological reserve (Case Study Similar levels of endemism are observed among other 3), and in accordance with the guidelines of the World groups. The major vegetation types found in the area Commission on Dams. It represents the culmination of the Berg Water Project are well-represented within of a detailed options analysis carried out by the the Cape Floral Kingdom and their status is classified as Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) least threatened. over a 14-year period to identify appropriate measures to address the water requirements of the Western Cape The Berg River Dam watershed is not pristine and has of South Africa. Impounded on July 26, 2007, it is the been intensively utilized in historical and prehistorical first bulk water resource development project directly periods. Since the 19th century, the area was used linked to water demand management in South Africa. for stock farming, while in prehistorical periods the indigenous Khoekhoe used the valley for grazing. In The Berg River32 is the only major river within the Berg 1903, a state pine forest was established and covered Water Management Area (Berg-WMA), an area of 13 the entire valley. In addition to the forestry and a trout 000 km2 in the southwestern corner of South Africa that farm located within the dam basin area, there was also supports a strong and diversified economy. The gross economic production of the Berg WMA was R63,8 bn

in 1997, 12 billion of which came from the Berg River 32 The Berg River may be divided into a number of major catchment (2.5 percent of RSA’s GDP). Economic geomorphological zones: (1) Source Zone, including cliff waterfalls activities are dominated by industrial and other and sponges; (2) Mountain Headwater Stream, with steep, rocky slopes; (3) Mountain Stream, with fast-flowing streams with a activities in the Cape Town Metropolitan Area, intensive rapid fall; (4) Transitional River, which is an intermediate zone vineyards and fruit growing under sophisticated between mountain stream and upper foothill river; (5) Upper irrigation in mountain valley’s and foothills, and dryland Foothill River, where the riverbed is less steep, more stable, and comprises mixed cobble and instream vegetation; (6) Lower wheat cultivation in the lower reaches. Foothill River, which is similar to the upper foothill river, but has significantly more sedimentation comprising mainly quartzitic The Berg-WMA is situated within the Cape Floral sand; (7) Lowland River, where the river now adopts a shallow gradient with cobbled runs being replaced with a soft-bottomed Kingdom, which covers an area of approximately system made up of sand and/or clay. The Berg Water Project is 90,000 km2. It was recognized in 2004 as a World located within the source and upper foothill river zones.

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water resource infrastructure within the area prior to Upper Berg River. The Berg River estuary is the the construction of the Berg River Dam. Thus the area second most important in South Africa in terms of has been extensively transformed. At the time of the national conservation importance, providing important implementation of the Berg Water Project, the area was recreational and tourism opportunities. entirely and densely covered in alien vegetation.

Despite the area being exposed to historically intensive The Berg Water Project land use, the conservation status of the quaternary The BWP is considered essential if the Greater Cape catchment is rated as very high. The conservation value Metropolitan area continues to experience strong was based on the underpinning ecosystem processes and economic and population growth and predicted water the likely presence of particular bird and amphibian shortages are to be avoided. The yield of all existing species, but particularly fish species, which is a priority sources within the Western Cape Water Supply System conservation group for this area. Of the 19 indigenous (WCWSS) is 475 Mm3/a. The ZAR1.55 billion BWP fish species in the Cape, 16 are endemic and four (including the Dam), located in the upper reaches of are historically found in the Berg River catchment. the Berg River, is designed to capture winter rainfall The Berg-Breede White Fish (Barbus andrewi) is now and store it for supply to the City of Cape Town extinct in the catchment, while the Berg River redfin (CCT) during the dry summer months, augmenting (Pseudobarbus burgi) is critically endangered, and the the available yield in the WCWS by 81 Mm3 (18 Cape galaxias (Galaxias zebratus) and Cape kurper percent) to 523 Mm3/a. Total unrestricted water use (Sandelia capensis) are near threatened. The upper in the 2005/06 year was estimated to be 465 Mm3/a reaches of the Berg River along with a limited number and predicted to grow to 560 Mm3/a by 2011 under a of tributaries are the last refuge areas where indigenous high-growth scenario. The catchment above the Berg fish are still relatively abundant. River dam site, although constituting only 7 percent of the WMA, contributes 14 percent of the runoff because An assessment of the state of the river (River Health of the high rainfall in the upper mountainous area of Program 2004) shows that, although the river is the WMA. The dam’s capacity is equivalent to the mean moderately modified (Table 11.1), the overall condition annual runoff. is “good”.Since the 1980s, cumulative impacts associated with encroachment of alien vegetation, The BWP includes the Berg River Dam, a 2.5 urban and agricultural development, and a number km pipeline from the dam to the Dasbos inlet, of diversion weirs have resulted in deteriorating allowing water to be pumped from the dam into the water quality, and elevated summer flows as a result Riviersonderend Tunnel System, and the supplement of water transferred from the Breede River into the scheme. Water will be pumped either directly into the

Table 11.1 Condition Ratings for the Berg River CONDITION RATING INDEX Above Dam Below Dam Jim Fouche Paarl Hermon Lower Berg Habitat integrity Natural to Fair Good to Poor Fair Poor to Poor Fair to Poor Fair to Poor In-stream geomorphology Natural Good Fair Poor Fair Fair Riparian vegetation Poor Poor Poor Poor Fair Poor Invertebrates Natural Good Fair Poor Fair Fair Fish Good Fair Fair Poor Poor Poor Water quality Natural Good Good Poor Fair Fair Desired health (overall) Natural Good Fair Fair Fair Fair Source: River Health Program 2004.

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Riviersonderend Tunnel System where it can be gravity “damage control” instream flow requirements33 (IFR), fed to the City of Cape Town or pumped into the that any changes in the magnitude of the IFR require Theewaterskloof Dam in the Breede River catchment the authorization from the DEAT and the DEAT’s for storage. The dam’s design also includes a 63m high approval of the detailed water release patterns. Further multilevel inlet tower that allows for environmental provisions were included in the RoD to accommodate releases of up to 200m3/s to mimic floods and the any subsequent revisions of the reserve based on the management of downstream water quality. The streams findings of the monitoring program. and runoff flowing into the Berg River Dam provide a sustained yield of approximately 56 Mm3/a. The In April 2002, the cabinet approved the supplement scheme will increase this yield from 56 to 81 implementation of BWP. The original proposal had Mm3/a through a weir, 4ha balancing dam, and pump been withheld while the national government assessed station that allows pumping of a portion of the winter water conservation, demand management, and flows to the Berg River Dam via a 10km pipeline. alternative supply options. The decision to augment supply was conditional upon the CCT reducing the The process of identifying appropriate measures to demand for water by 20 percent by the year 2020. address the water requirements of the Western Cape The BWP Raw Water Supply Agreement between the of South Africa started in 1989 when the DWAF DWAF and the CCT specifically commits the CCT to initiated the Western Cape Systems Analysis (WCSA) achieving the “low water demand curve.” to determine future needs, water resources availability, and appropriate measures to address water shortages. In response, the CCT has been implementing a The options identified underwent public consultation Comprehensive Water Conservation and Water in 1996 from which 12 additional schemes were Demand Management Programme. This includes the identified for further investigation. One of the reuse of effluent from wastewater treatment works, options considered was the development of the Berg water conservation and demand management measures, River Dam (then called Skuifraam Dam) and the restructuring of water tariffs, and bans and restrictions “supplement scheme.” on nonessential water uses. As part of the demand measures, the TCTA awarded a ZAR21 million, eight- Environmental impact reports were completed for year contract to the Working for Water Programme the Berg River Dam in November, 1996, and for the to facilitate the removal of alien vegetation from the supplement scheme in October, 1997. These included Berg River catchments. This is expected to significantly a preliminary reserve determination for the river increase the amount of runoff available for storage downstream of the dam but not for the estuary. On in the dam. In 2005/6, the targets established by the the basis of these submissions, a Record of Decision DWAF in terms of the “low water demand curve” was issued by the Department of Environmental were exceeded by 13 percent. Continued success in Affairs and Tourism in May 1999 with a seven-year implementing water demand measures could delay any authorization period. The RoD provides authorization further interventions until 2015. subject to three sets of conditions. These include six general conditions, seven relating to the environmental

management plan (EMP), and six relating specifically to 33 The term instream flow requirement (IFR) is commonly the ecological reserve, defined in the RoD in accordance used in South Africa, while other international terms such as with the National Water Act (Act No. 36, 1998). environmental flow and ecological flow are also used. All these terms are used synonymously and refer to the collective amount This included a requirement that the design did not of water needed to sustain healthy, natural ecosystems based on foreclose the option of releasing floods in excess of the scientific studies.

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In May 2002, the Minister of Water Affairs and and change of natural habitat and biota have occurred, Forestry directed the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority but where the basic ecosystem functions are still (TCTA) to fund and implement the BWP as an predominantly unchanged. Preliminary determination implementing agency of the DWAF (Box 11.1). of the reserve was set at 31.1 percent of the mean annual runoff of 141.683 Mm3. A comprehensive The issue of environmental flows was addressed determination of the reserve, including that for the at various stages during design, construction, and estuary, is expected following finalization of the three- operation of the dam. Preliminary assessments of the year Berg River monitoring program. environmental flow requirements were carried out in 1992/93 as part of prefeasibility investigations for Drivers the Skuifraam Dam and again in 1996 as part of the feasibility studies. These initial approaches were based Professional drivers were important in both the early on early versions of the building block method (Case and later stages of planning for the Skuifraam Dam. Study 7) and relied on specialist studies to explore the During the late 1980s and early 1990s, there had impact of flow reductions on the riverine environment. been an increasing recognition among water resource A series of workshops and specialist meetings during planners and ecologists of the need for scientifically the following decade focused on more detailed specialist based approaches to determining environmental flows inputs and the assessment of different scenarios (Case Study 4) and this had led to the initial estimates undertaken by a range of stakeholders. of instream flow requirements for the upper Berg River.

This process resulted in the recommendation of a The political transition in South Africa provided a reserve determination based on a high confidence, unique opportunity for translation of these professional preliminary determination for the Upper Berg. The drivers into legislative provisions that provided stronger preliminary ecological category was set as category C. protection for aquatic ecosystems. The 1998 National This represents a moderately modified state where a loss Water Act gave legal standing and legitimacy to the

Box 11.1 The Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA)

The TCTA is a public entity established in October 1986, with the signing of the Treaty between Lesotho and South Africa, to facilitate ancillary developments in South Africa associated with the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP).

TCTA was legislatively incorporated into the National Water Act in 1998 as a body established under Section 103(2) to implement international agreements in respect of the management and development of water resources shared with neighboring countries, and on regional cooperation over water resources. Under the act, the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry can allocate additional functions insofar as these do not compromise the ability to discharge primary functions, including, but not limited to, management services, financial services, training and other support services.A Revised Establishment Notice published in March 2000 amended the TCTA’s mandate to assume responsibility for all additional projects in the water sector. In May 2002, TCTA was directed in terms of Section 103(2) of the National Water Act to fund and implement BWP as the agent for the DWAF.

In 2004, TCTA was further directed to fund and implement the ZAR2.5 billion Vaal Pipeline Project to meet the rising water demands of Eskom and Sasol in the Mpumalanga Highveld region. In August 2005, DWAF presented to the Parliament Water and Forestry Portfolio Committee the business case for the creation of an agency for the management and development of national water resource infrastructure. This may lead to the merger of TCTA with the DWAF’s National Water Resource Infrastructure Branch to form the National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency. The NWRIA is intended to have responsibility for the operations and maintenance of South Africa’s major national dams and water transfer schemes and the implementation and funding of social and economic bulk water infrastructure

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professional judgment and methodologies developed Downstream irrigators have historically held riparian over the previous decade. The legal framework along water rights and have had to adapt to the changing with progressive leadership was central to maintaining legal framework governing water use and primacy of the momentum and ensuring compliance with the ecological reserve. There have also been significant environmental water requirements during the design, challenges for DWAF to reorient itself in line with the construction, and operation. rights-based approach that recognizes the reserve as a primary right (the only right in law), while continuing The global significance of the Cape Floral Region to ensure the development of water resources in support has also been an important indirect driver in the of social and economic growth. The initial motivations development agenda of the Western Cape Region. from the ecologists for the proposed peak flood flows Although the development of the Berg River dam did were deemed by the DWAF to be not technically not directly threaten the Floral Region, the public feasible. Similarly, the ecologists have been forced to awareness of the importance of good environmental refine the methodologies for determining environmental management produced an enabling environment for flows. This is acknowledged through the adoption conservation-oriented measures such as those contained of scenario-based approaches that allow weighted within the environmental flow assessments. Government consideration of the options to address sometimes authorities, local and international conservation competing social needs and economic demands. agencies, water resource professionals, and local NGOs have invested significant efforts into providing a solid Participation. Arrival at the decision to proceed with scientific basis that highlights the importance of the the BWP, and the project itself, has been through a Cape region, including its rivers and estuaries, and detailed consultative process. This was initiated through the benefits that these have at the community level the WCSA, and the BWP has since established a through tourism and natural-resource-based activities. number of participatory mechanisms to include a wide Recognition of these important linkages has increased range of stakeholders. An Environmental Monitoring public awareness, both locally and internationally, on Committee (EMC) was established to encourage the need to ensure environmentally sustainable solutions participative monitoring of the conditions specified to development needs and an enabling framework for in the RoD and the performance and implementation environmental flows. of the EMP. The EMC includes representatives from the DWAF, TCTA, civil society, water users, local Assessment communities, and consultants for the project. Recognition. Although there was broad recognition Broad-based participation in the reserve determination of the need to provide water for downstream itself was limited. The initial process of determining the environments, agreeing on the reserve has not been reserve through the BBM-based approach focused only easy. Using a scenario-based approach to facilitate on water for the environment and involved specialist discussion among principal stakeholders, the inputs facilitated through a series of workshops. preliminary reserve reflects a negotiated agreement These were limited to professionals within the DWAF, among the principal stakeholders on the allocation of water resource engineers, and ecologists. However, as water to ensure sustainable allocation among competing methodologies for reserve determination developed demands. This agreement included reductions in and scenario-based approaches were adopted, these the recommended peak flood flows and increases in came to reflect negotiated agreements among a larger summer low flows intended to facilitate a compromise number of stakeholders on the allocation of water. This among prior established uses. wider participation was also facilitated by the increased

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recognition of the reserve following the provisions of conservation importance. While the recommended flow the act and the explicit requirement to address the regime was similar to that previously recommended, social component within the same planning framework. it proposed slightly higher flood requirements, with a medium-sized flood of 70–100 m3/s in June and a larger The increased participation of a range of diverse release of 100–220 m3/s between July and September. stakeholders has often been complicated by the exclusionary nature of professional dialogue. Engineers Subsequent hydrological yield analyses identified that and ecologists have had to adapt to different terminology the IFR could not be met without affecting the yield and approaches, accept differences in the resolution of and relative costs of the water supplied from the scheme. their respective science disciplines, and reach agreement Consequently, scenario meetings were held to compare on the principles encapsulated in the provisions of the flow regimes more suited to off-stream users with the legislation. This process has often been facilitated by recommended IFR and assess the affects of these on one, or a small number of, professionals who are vital to the river ecosystem. A “damage control” scenario was bridging the disciplinary divide and facilitating a mutual adopted where environmental flows were reduced from understanding. For example, ecological arguments for the recommended IFR in a way that was thought to flood flows to maintain important ecosystem processes have the least impact on the river ecosystem. Changes within the system were more successful once translated included a reduction in the volume of the recommended into more engineering orientated, sediment transport flood flows and an increase in the frequency and models and associated with sedimentation and the duration of summer irrigation releases that were up to frequency and magnitude of flood risks. four times the capping flows, resulting in permanently elevated flow conditions in the Berg River. Assessment Technique and Scientific Data. Preliminary determination of the ecological reserve was built on Two additional workshops were convened in 1998 and a number of earlier estimates of environmental water 2001 to assess the design criteria for the outlet works requirements. The method for determining the IFRs after it was acknowledged that additional work was in the early 1990s was based on an early version required to deepen the scientific understanding of the of the building block methodology that was under relationship between ecological processes and a particular development in South Africa at that time (Case Study flow magnitude or frequency. Concerns had also been 6). The recommended flow regime from that assessment raised on the potential impact of the recommended 3 included three freshets per annum and four controlled flood releases (200m /s) on the project costs and dam floods. However, the IFR was only determined for one safety. The Record of Decision specifically required that “critical reach” and lacked hydraulic data that had been the design be such that it did not foreclose the option of specifically designed to help determine the IFR. releasing floods in excess of the “damage control” IFR flood regime, and so this information was necessary to A workshop was undertaken at the feasibility stage in inform the design of the dam. Consequently, provisions 1996 to reassess and/or refine the recommended IFRs. were included in the design of the dam and the diversion Three characteristic reaches were identified, although conduit for both low flow and flood releases. A 5.5m only two were assessed due to the extreme degradation diameter concrete tunnel through the dam wall, which of the third. Determination of the reserve was based on was used during construction for river diversion, is now specialist studies undertaken for vegetation, fish, macro- used for peak flood releases. The operating rules provide invertebrates, water quality and geomorphology. Data for the required volumes, frequency, and variability of inputs to the determination process were also provided water to be released from the dam to maintain the flow on the hydrology, habitat integrity, and biodiversity and integrity of the Berg River downstream of the dam.

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Consultations conducted in 1996 also recognized the monitoring provides the baseline against which the need for a detailed monitoring program to provide project’s environmental allocations are assessed, and will the basis for an adaptive management framework be used to establish a comprehensive reserve for both to facilitate implementation of the reserve. This was the river and the estuary. The issue of appropriate flood reflected in the conditions outlined in the RoD, releases is now under discussion in the light of advances which required sufficient baseline information to be in environmental flow assessment methodologies, the collected prior to completion of the dam to assess information available from the three-year baseline the effectiveness of the environmental flows. If the monitoring program, and concerns over water quality monitoring demonstrates that the BWP has an (salinity is a key issue in the lower reaches of the Berg unacceptable ecological affect on the river or estuary, the River). RoD requires that the environmental flows be revised. Integration. The environmental flow determinations The baseline monitoring program, initiated in 2002, were integrated with the environmental assessments included eight specialist studies for the riverine during the feasibility stage and the RoD issued by the environment, nine specialist studies for the estuary, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and a series of general catchment reports that included in 1999 covers implementation of the EMP and the groundwater elements. The aim was to monitor the reserve determination. Following initial determinations, effects of the artificial flow regime imposed downstream there was an ongoing process of consultation on of the dam as required under the conditions laid forth integrating the recommended flow regime into the in the RoD. The objectives of this program were to: design parameters for the dam.

• confirm compliance with the IFR The preliminary freshwater requirements for the Berg • verify the nature and accuracy of the changes to River estuary were investigated at a workshop in 1993 the ecosystem that were predicted as a result of the as part of the Western Cape System Analysis. While it dam was acknowledged the estuary was an important and • determine the effectiveness of the environmental integral part of the Berg River, it was not included in flow releases in terms of their predicted effects on the preliminary determination because of inadequate ecosystem processes baseline data and information available and because • facilitate implementation of adaptive management the workshop concluded that the contribution of flows where undesirable and/or unpredicted changes from the upper reaches of the Berg River to the estuary in ecosystem characteristics are detected; such was low enough for the BWP not to impact on the adaptive management would seek to minimize the estuary significantly (in comparison to the contribution impacts of these changes of flows from the tributaries and the middle and lower reaches). Subsequent concerns have seen the estuarine Data collection was completed in 2005 and a environment included under the broader monitoring conceptual model was developed for determining program and included in the comprehensive and managing changes brought about by the BWP. determination, which included estimates of the The program focused on the flow regime and the estuarine reserve in 2008. physical, chemical, and biological characteristics that the environmental flow is intended to support. Cost Effective. Several concerns were raised during Among other elements, the program included sediment feasibility studies in 1996 that the cost of incorporating transport monitoring and hydraulic and salinity the required environmental flow requirements into the modeling of the Berg River estuary. This comprehensive dam’s design and operation would reduce the effective

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yield, reducing the number of users and increasing the in South Africa. While the legal provisions providing for unit cost of water. This would reduce the availability the access to information ensures that this is available of capital to fund other social needs and bring forward upon request, specific reports and detailed information is the date for new schemes. However, ecologists and difficult to track and trace and so not readily accessible. geomorphologists identified the deterioration of the Recognizing this, and the value of the lessons that can river condition in the absence of adequate sediment- be derived from the process for determining the reserve, sorting floods and argued for inclusion of provisions the TCTA will commission as part of the project closure enabling flood releases of at least 160m3/s. Estimates at reporting process a detailed review to reflect on the the time suggested that the additional cost to address experience and derive the lessons learned. the recommended peak flood flows of 160m3/s would result in an additional 20 percent to the overall cost of Influential. The determination of environmental flows the dam. A detailed project completion report is being for the BWP has had a direct influence on the design prepared, including a detailed cost breakdown, and will and operation of the dam. However, the process of be issued by the end of 2009. arriving at an environmental flow regime has also had broader significance. First, the BWP is the first large, To facilitate determination and setting of the reserve, water resources infrastructure development project in an economic analysis was undertaken to assess the South Africa to be designed, constructed, and operated impact of four scenarios on the yield and relative cost within the framework of the National Water Act. The of water (Table 11.2). Final agreement on the design provisions of the act are viewed globally as being at the parameters and acceptance of the peak flood flows was forefront of efforts to ensure sustainable water resources facilitated by recognition that these floods would help use through recognition of the reserve, and so will have remove sediments and therefore reduce the potential an important global impact. for flooding of urban and industrial areas downstream, particularly in the Paarl area. Lessons Reporting. The process of arriving at and then 1. The Berg Water Project was implemented implementing the BWP has produced a large number within the framework of renewed focus on the of specialized reports covering a wide range of different development of bulk water supply infrastructure topics relating to the sustainable development and use provided by the World Commission on Dams, and of the water resources in the Berg-WMA. This process within the inclusive environment of progressive has been linked to a detailed options assessment for governance created by the democratic transition in providing water to the CCT and developed over a South Africa. unique period of political transition. This in itself has 2. A strong bottom-up process, driven by the scientific brought about significant changes in the legal framework community and progressive technocrats in water for the management and development of water resources affairs, can provide important professional drivers.

Table 11.2 The Yield, Cost, and other Implications of Environmental Release Scenarios Urban Years Additional capital Illustrative Relative Env Release Effective yield Equivalent people before next expenditure water cost (Mm3 a–1) Scenario (Mm3 a–1) hectares1 provided for scheme (ZARm) cost of water 0 No IFR 88 13,500 800,000 5.9 0 65 1.00 19 Drought IFR every year 73 11,200 667,000 4.9 50 74 1.14 43/19 Damage control IFR 61 9,400 560,000 4.0 89 85 1.30 51/19 Full maintenance IFR 54 8,300 493,000 3.6 112 94 1.45 Source: DWAF 1996b.

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However, legislative provisions are important Work Session. Pretoria, South Africa: Department of for maintaining momentum and ensuring Water Affairs and Forestry. commitment to the development of specific policies Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 1996a. and procedures to ensure determination and Skuifraam Feasibility Study: Berg River IFR Refinement implementation of the reserve. Workshop 31 Jan. 31, Feb. 1–2, 1996. Pretoria, South 3. Design parameters need to be carefully integrated Africa: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. into the determination of environmental flows. The process of determining the reserve is a Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 1996b. data-intensive, capital process that requires time, Skuifraam Feasibility Study. Berg River IFR Refinement Workshop Proceedings. Southern Waters report to sufficient resources, and a long-term commitment. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. DWAF Three years of data-intensive monitoring followed Report No PG100/0/1296. Pretoria, South Africa: two previous determinations to ensure adequate Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. inputs. The results reveal additional complexity and highlight the need for adaptive measures Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 1996c. to respond to changing context and ensure Skuifraam Dam Feasibility Study: Environmental Impact Assessment. DWAF Report No appropriate data feedback loops. PG100/00/0496. Pretoria, South Africa: Department 4. Reaching agreement requires comprehensive of Water Affairs and Forestry. analysis of the full costs and benefits associated with water use within the system. Environmental Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 1999. flows are an integral, legislated component of an Skuifraam Dam Feasibility Study: Outlet Works Flood allocation framework that should be extended to release Workshop Proceedings. DWAF Report No PG100/00/1198. Pretoria, South Africa: Department of encompass a full economic analysis of the value of Water Affairs and Forestry. water and the services that it supports. Fick, L. 1999. Skuifraam Dam: Outlet Works-DWAF Discussion report submitted to the World Commission Acknowledgments on Dams. London: Earthscan. The authors would like to acknowledge the cooperation Freshwater Consulting Group. 2001. Skuifraam Dam of Dana Grobler (Cape Action for People and the Outlet Works Design Workshop: Ecological Rationale Environment), Bertrand van Zyl, Tente Tente, Nigel for specific floods in the Instream Flow requirements Rossouw, Pierre de Villiers, Geordie Ratcliffe, and Cate for the Berg River foothill zone. Zeekoevlei, South Brown in the preparation of this case study. Africa: Freshwater Consulting Group.

PDNaidoo & Associates Consulting Engineers. References 2000. Skuifraam Dam: IFR Maximum Flood Release Independent Review. Report to DWAF, Pretoria. Department of Environmental Affairs and Pretoria, South Africa: Department of Water Affairs Tourism.1999. EIA Authorisation for the Skuifraam and Forestry. Dam and Skuifraam Supplement Scheme in the Upper Reaches of the Berg River Catchment to the River Health Programme. 2004. State-of-Rivers Report: Riviersonderend/Berg River Government Water Berg River System. Department of Water Affairs and Scheme. Pretoria, South Africa: Department of Forestry, Pretoria. ISBN No: 0-620-32075-3. Pretoria, Environmental Affairs and Tourism. South Africa: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. 1993. Instream Flow Requirements for the Berg River Second

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Roberts, P. 2005. Dealing with water project risks: and Water Requirements. Cape Town, South Africa: Berg Water Project: South Africa. ICOLD Paper No: Southern Waters Ecological Research and Consulting 0193-S1, 73rd Annual Meeting, Tehran, Iran. Paris: International Commission on Large Dams. Southern Waters. 2001. Berg River Intermediate Reserve Determination Specialist Starter Document. Roberts, P. 2005. The Berg Water Project, South Africa: i. Methodology for evaluation of the IFR determined A CWD Test Case. Unpublished Paper. in the IFR workshop of 1992/93; and, ii. Berg River Instream Flow Assessment Future Desired State of the Southern Waters.1993. Water Requirements of the Berg River. Cape Town, South Africa: Southern Waters Berg Estuary. Vol 1, 43.4 Estuarine Importance Rating Ecological Research and Consulting.

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Background channel and whether they may construct fences, screens and fish or game guards across streams for the purpose Hydroelectric power has been the engine of economic of conserving fish or wildlife.35 While the province is growth in the entire Pacific Northwest of North delegated authority to manage natural resources under America and remains a vital and integral part of the the British North America Act,36 including the fish- culture, economy, recreation, and identity of its people. related works just noted, there continues to be some Within this economy, energy, forestry and mining- challenges over who has the ultimate responsibility for related activities (such as large pulp mills, lumber managing fisheries resource—British Columbia, or milling, mining, metal refining) have been the greatest Canada under the Fisheries Act.37 contributors to gross domestic product. In the late 1990s, BC became a significant exporter of Hydropower is developed and managed within British electricity to the rest of Canada and the United States. Columbia by BC Hydro, a Crown corporation enacted As a result, the integration of economies across borders under the Hydro and Power Authority Act. BC Hydro became even more tightly tied. In general, electricity is owned by the government of British Columbia and by extension the people of British Columbia. Pre-1980, most development decisions were made and directed by 34 For the most part all of BC Hydro’s water licenses have no end government. Compared to a privately owned utility, its date and therefore an indefinite approval to use water for the purpose of hydroelectric generation has been given. Crown corporation status gives BC Hydro substantial 35 The Water Act requires “beneficial use of water,” which only access to relatively inexpensive capital. In 1980, the recognized power generation, agriculture, and flood control. As Utilities Commission Act came into force and provided a result, there was a culture shift required within the provincial Ministry of Water, Lands and Air Protection (now Ministry of a level of regulatory oversight for rate-making purposes Environment) that would ensure a multiple interest perspective and ensured an adequate rate of return to shareholders when considering changes to the water license terms and conditions. (the people). Permission to construct and operate 36 The 1867 BNA Act serves as a base document for the Canadian hydroelectric plants in British Columbia is governed constitution, which is not a single document but rather a set of by water licenses that are acquired from the provincial documents known as Constitution Acts and just as importantly a set of unwritten laws and conventions. comptroller of water rights under the Water Act. 37 The Fisheries Act dates back to the British North America Act. However, the focus of much of the department’s work up to the A license specifies the terms and conditions of use, late 1970s was on oceans-related fisheries management (stock assessment, quotas, fish fleet management, etc.). In fact, British including the quantity of water diverted, the time Columbia did not have a Pacific Office until the early 1990s. period over which the diversion is allowed,34 whether In 1977, Section 35 of the act was passed and was followed by storage is permissible, and the kinds of works that may the department’s “Policy for the Management of Fish Habitat” (including the “no net loss” working principle) in 1986. Since be constructed, maintained and operated; and whether the adoption of the “no net loss” policy, there has been increased the licensee is permitted to alter or improve a stream or pressure on BC Hydro to resolve fish/power issues.

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has been a catalyst for much of the trade relationships In addition, the federal Department of Fisheries and between British Columbia and Alberta in Canada and Oceans (DFO) has worked with BC Hydro at several Washington State, Oregon, California, Idaho, and facilities to negotiate flow releases. DFO has collected a Montana since the 1960s. considerable amount of fish habitat and flow data and the analysis of these data raised awareness of potential Most water licenses granted for large hydroelectric habitat restoration opportunities. Habitat restoration developments were granted before 1962. During was seen as being beyond the scope of BC Hydro’s this era, public values leaned heavily and almost responsibilities because it was not required under the exclusively toward economic development (power licensing rights. However, water management grew in generation) and flood control. Environmental and importance and federal and provincial governments social assessments were cursory, at best, as the focus took a stronger stance on the management of fish and was on providing energy to feed the rapid growth of fish habitat, particularly at power facilities. the post-war Vancouver and the Pacific Northwest of North America. In addition, most water licenses did Bridge River Hydropower Complex not have sunset clauses and did not have provisions for dealing with other values—such as fish and fish The Bridge River Basin is in the rain shadow of the habitat, recreation interests, water quality, First Nations’ southern coastal mountains about 200 km northeast traditional use, and transportation—which were of Vancouver in British Columbia. The Bridge River considered incidental to the growth-oriented objectives hydroelectric project consists of three reservoirs of the day. The assessment of environmental, social, (Downton, Carpenter, Seton), three diversions (La Joie, and cultural effects as it is known today did not exist Terzaghi, Seton) and four powerhouses (La Joie, Bridge in a robust form and public involvement was almost 1 and 2, and Seton). It generates 466 MW (2,479 nonexistent. As well, First Nations were only beginning GWh/year), representing 4 percent of BC Hydro’s total the legal process to establish rights and title and generating capacity of about 12,000 MW. authority within their traditional territories. The source of Bridge River is the Bridge Glacier in the Rivers are central to the identity of many BC Coast Mountain Range. The glacier comprises about communities. Most importantly, the salmon resources of 140 km2 of the 998 km2 watershed area above La Joie many of BC’s large rivers, including the Bridge River, are Dam. The Bridge River is about 120 km long and flows significant cultural and economic assets. The province’s southeast from the snowfields of Monmouth Mountain. coastal communities rely on salmon to derive their Tributaries to the Terzaghi sub-basin below La Joie livelihood, and coastal First Nations have a 10,000-year Dam drain 2,691 km2. history and heritage centered around salmon. The Bridge River development was one of the most In the late 1980s, there was an increasing public complicated engineering projects in North America, concern about declining or endangered fish stocks and with impacts that were not well-understood at the aquatic habitat, in part been driven by more active time of its construction in 1948. The La Joie Dam, the role taken by local public interest groups. These local most upstream structure, impounds Downton Lake (regional small scale and provincial) interest groups and Terzaghi Dam impounds Carpenter Lake. The La are a key characteristic of British Columbia’s activist Joie generating station has a maximum discharge of history. Given the large province and small population, 48.1 m3/s and the turbine is equipped with a pressure interest groups were able to have a direct influence on release valve, which is also used to maintain fish flows. public opinion and government decisions. All releases from the La Joie facility discharge into the

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Middle Bridge to Carpenter Reservoir, which is in turn In 1991 and 1992, BC Hydro spilled water from the impounded by Terzaghi Dam. Spills from Carpenter Terzaghi Dam into the Bridge River in response to Reservoir occur through spill release structures at major inflows to the reservoir. These spills removed Terzaghi Dam into the Lower Bridge River, which gravel and hence had a fisheries habitat impact. DFO subsequently joins the Fraser River. charged BC Hydro for the 1991 and 1992 spills under three sections of the Fisheries Act. Charges for the 1991 From Carpenter Reservoir, water is diverted by two spill were heard in court and BC Hydro was found tunnels and penstocks through Monmouth Mountain to have acted appropriately under the circumstances to the Bridge River generating station (1 and 2). Each and with respect to the gravel replacement and fish station houses four turbines and discharges in the mitigation actions. Seton Reservoir. At Seton Dam, 23 km below the Bridge River stations, water is diverted along a 3.7 km In May 1996, because of public concern over impacts to power canal to the Seton Generation Station located the fisheries resources and the draining of the Downton on the banks of the Fraser River. Spills from the Seton reservoir, the province of British Columbia appointed Lake Reservoir occur through release structures at a special environmental auditor to review actions taken Seton Dam into the Seton River, which joins the by BC Hydro. The auditor’s report acknowledged that Fraser River upstream of the generating station and BC Hydro had made credible and ongoing efforts to downstream of the Lower Bridge River. The Seton Lake address fisheries issues, and that trade-offs made during Reservoir has a very narrow operating range and is only operations were acceptable in terms of mitigating risks. capable of providing daily flow regulation. The dam The report also noted that fines under federal Fisheries has a fish-water release gate and a fish ladder. These Act can only be imposed after damage has occurred facilities are operated in various combinations during and that the monetary value of fines does not act as spills and to provide fishery requirements. an effective deterrent to future outcomes.38 The report recommended that “BC Hydro and the Ministry of The Terzaghi Dam does not have a minimum flow release Environment establish an independent, multistakeholder mechanism. Since construction, the facility operated process to complete a proper [process], which would with water releases into the Bridge River only during gather the environmental and other information spill events (apart from some brief test releases in the necessary to fully assess options for management 1980s). Consequently, there was often a dry riverbed strategies that would balance power, flood control, social, for approximately 4-km downstream of the dam until recreational, and environmental impacts.” the river receives groundwater and tributary inflows to provide a surface flow. Historically, habitat improvement In 1997, BC Hydro spilled water once again under work consisted of gravel placement and was undertaken the same conditions as in 1991 and 1992 and despite by BC Hydro to replace lost spawning gravel areas due to progress made on addressing many of the DFO’s issues, spill events. The gravel was well-used by spawning salmon. concerns and requested changes to accommodate fish A release of flows (approximately 0.56 3m /sec) was and fish habitat, the federal Department of Fisheries provided in 1988 to test the release structure itself and to and Oceans charged BC Hydro for destruction of fish assess the improvement in habitat in the river as a result of habitat on the lower Bridge River. the increased flows. The test indicated that the flows were not sufficient to improve fish habitat since most of the water flowed sub-gravel in the dry part of the riverbed, 38 Fines only highlight a concern/behavior, but do not necessarily and did not appreciably increase the depth of water or the lead to good solutions as the “fix” is usually short rather than long term and not necessarily based on good science or a full wetted width in the lower portion of the river. assessment of possible options.

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In 1998, BC Hydro decided to remove the issues In addition, advisory teams assisted the management from the federal court. It and DFO agreed to a committee and the program in five key areas: settlement involving release of water into the Bridge First Nations, fisheries, resource valuation, power River downstream of the Terzaghi Dam. Included modeling, and communications/engagement. These in the agreement was the provision of habitat teams maintained a system-wide perspective, and in restoration/improvement through channel shaping to some cases (such as fisheries and resource valuation) accommodate the flow regime, monitoring programs, provided a forum for scientific review and assurance and development of a yearly water budget that would that methods used were consistent across individual provide for a minimum flow and operational plan. The WUPs. Each team included representatives from increased interim flow release was negotiated pending DFO,40provincial agencies, BC Hydro, and, where the completion of a water use plan. appropriate, other external experts.

The WUP had a BC Hydro Project management team, WUP Management Structure and a consultative committee (CC), and advisory teams. Bridge River WUP The role of the CC members was to participate in good The Bridge River Water Use Plan attempts to balance faith according to the following seven principles: environmental, social, and economic values over (1) recognition of multiple objectives; (2) no change the entire complex (3 reservoirs, 3 dams, and 4 to existing legal and constitutional rights and powerhouses). The plan was designed over 3 years; responsibilities; (3) collaborative, cooperative, and BC Hydro was responsible for the management of the inclusive process; (4) recognition that trade-offs planning process. (choices) have and will occur; (5) embodies science and continuous learning through information gathering There were three committees: (1) a WUP and analysis; (6) focus on issue resolution and long- Management Committee, comprising staff-level cross- term benefits; and (7) paid compensation if rights are government (inter-government and intra-government) voluntarily diminished and there are financial impacts and BC Hydro; (2) a WUP Steering Committee on the licensee. (assistant deputy minister level and BC Hydro vice president); and (3) a WUP Policy Committee (deputy The outcomes of the WUP were a set of minister/director general level and BC Hydro vice recommendations contained in a consultative president/president). The management committee committee report that documented process, issues, was responsible for overall program coordination. objectives, performance measures, trade-offs, and The steering committee provided guidance to the management committee and resolved outstanding process issues. The policy committee provided 39 Participation in the collaborative process was paid for by BC policy and direction on public interest issues and Hydro, except for government agencies who continued to pay staff salaries and travel costs. First Nations sat at the same table as concerns as part of making trade-offs generally at the overall WUP Management Committee and provided strategic the program level as well as support to a facility- advice and input to ongoing program design and delivery issues as was necessary. specific consultative committee, as required. Federal 40 DFO’s participation in the process was dependent on their and provincial government agencies and BC Hydro understanding that some incremental changes and adjustments to were members of the management and technical flows would occur in order to improve conditions for fish, thus allowing them to feel comfortable within the context of their committees of the WUP. First Nations provided input obligations under the Fisheries Act and meeting requirements of on an advisory level.39 the national policy for the management of habitat, as previously noted in the text above.

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areas of agreement and disagreement. BC Hydro positive impacts on environmental and social indictors incorporated the recommendations into proposed while increasing power benefits. Relative to current amendments to water licenses, but reserved the right to operations, outcomes of the final recommendations will reject some recommendations. As a result, the extent of likely benefit wildlife habitat, fish conditions, power consensus within each CC report became an important generation, aesthetics, and flood management consideration; the higher the degree of agreement on proposed changes, the more difficult it was for BC Drivers Hydro to reject recommendations. The process and recommendations did not fetter the discretion of any The effects of the spills from the Terzaghi Dam (1991, regulatory decision maker (for example, the comptroller 1992, 1997) and the impacts on fisheries habitat acted of water rights, minister of fisheries and oceans). The as the primary drivers for the Bridge River WUP. In degree of consensus also influenced the decisions of addition, the DFO was either threatening to press regulators in much the same fashion as BC Hydro. charges or was pressing charges for destruction of fish habitat at other BC Hydro facilities (Cheakamus, Hugh The final recommendations for the Bridge River Keenleyside, John Hart). BC Hydro had two choices: it hydroelectric system reflected a balance between the could negotiate or litigate, and decided that the former 41 dominant fish and wildlife interests in the reservoirs, was a more productive and cost-effective approach. while protecting and enhancing other values in the rivers. Specifically, minimum and maximum elevations Other related drivers include the results from the 1993 were targeted to mitigate entrainment risks in Downton Electric System Operations Review;42 1996 Ward Reservoir and enhance fish and wildlife conditions Report;43 the 1994 Stave Falls Minister Order, which in Carpenter Reservoir, respectively. A tension included a requirement for the development of a WUP; between fish and wildlife benefits became apparent in increasing concern over the health of salmon stocks; determining the final operating strategy, resulting in a increased presence of DFO in British Columbia; a recommendation for a five-year revegetation program to government with strong environmental policy focus; and enhance riparian habitat in Carpenter Reservoir. increased activism by environmental groups on water- related issues. All these actions occurred in the space Maintaining flexibility in the main reservoirs was of 5 years and provided the impetus and momentum required in part to manage spills and flows in the necessary for the implementation of the WUP program. Middle Bridge, Lower Bridge, and Seton Rivers. Spill events were of most concern in the Lower Bridge River for fish and wildlife reasons. Consequently, 41 The trade-off analysis process focused on flows, not operations. the recommended operating strategy set a priority to As well, the process deliberately looked at dominance objectives and the costs and benefits of changes that would have the most spill first at Seton River and limit spill events in the positive outcomes at the least possible cost to flows and foregone Lower Bridge River. For the Middle Bridge River, power generation. In fact, preferred outcomes were all neutral to flow constraints were specified. Determining a flow positive with respect to power generation. 42 ESOR was prompted, in part, by historic complaints about regime in the Lower Bridge River proved difficult reservoir impacts, primarily from the Columbia–Kootenay because regular flows had not been monitored there region. Driven by provincial and federal agency concerns, the prior to 2002 and the understanding of flow needs province was concerned that BC Hydro was not operating its system in a manner that gave adequate consideration to non- and ecosystem response was extremely poor. A flow power resource values. These non-power resource values included shape and magnitude was specified for the Seton not only fish and fish habitat but also recreation, flood control, aesthetic values, wildlife, economic activity, etc. River. The final recommendations also included 43 The report concluded that BC Hydro was operating out of elimination of operational constraints that have had compliance at six of the ten facilities examined.

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Assessment Initially, BC Hydro took the position that, since it had been given water licenses that conveyed the rights Recognition. While the actual development of facility to use water for power generation, it did not need to WUPs began in 1998, the pre-planning for the WUP accommodate requests for environmental flows. As a program began in 1993. In the end, the WUP process result, there was a need to build support for the WUP generally and specifically was accepted as legitimate by process within BC Hydro itself. all participants—at the management and facility specific level (i.e., stakeholders). However, the process to build Environmental groups were also skeptical of WUPs this understanding and support occurred gradually because they feared that it was just another government and required a concerted and considerable effort to process that would not provide a transparent vehicle build trust among government agencies, First Nations, for considering their interests and desires. Almost environmental groups, and within BC Hydro over all environmental and community groups in the many years. It was a different approach to the historic Bridge River area and in general supported the and practiced tradition of an adversarial, position-based implementation of a minimum flow. Building trust process for resolving natural resources challenges. through the principles of the WUP process was critical. By the end of the process, however, there was In relation to the Bridge WUP, First Nations widespread support from both government agencies participation was the most challenging. The Stl’atl’imx and the community. First Nation (SFN) (Box 12.1) are very independent and had been negotiating with BC Hydro for For the Bridge River project there were no many years on past grievances. The SFN preferred transboundary impacts as the river is contained entirely government-to-government discussions and at first within the geography of British Columbia. saw the WUP process as undermining that more political relationship. In concluding comments, Participation. The Bridge River WUP consultative however, the SFN were “impressed with the results process was initiated in September 1999 and completed of the consultative committee.” While they did not in December 2001. The consultative process followed “sign” off for political reasons, they provided positive the steps outlined in the provincial government reinforcement of the process and outcomes. guidelines (Province of British Columbia 19968).

Box 12.1 The Stl’atl’imx First Nation

The SFN is made up of 11 communities, each of which is represented at the Chief’s Council Table. The total population is about 6,000 people. The governance vision statement includes a continuing and renewed relationship between Stl’atl’imx people (ucwalmicw) and the land (tmicw), employing the following four principles:

• respects Stl’atl’imx cultural traditions—using the ways (nt’akmen), laws (nxekmen) and standards of our people as passed down through the generations • respects nature—putting the health of water, air, plants, and animals and the land itself before all else • is under Stl’atl’imx authority—letting the people collectively decide how the land and resources of the Stl’atl’imx territory will be managed • serves the Stl’atl’imx communities—recognizing that resources continue to provide sustenance in old and new ways to our people

The SFN have asserted their claim to the ownership of this tribal territory since the signing of a 1911 Declaration of the Lillooet Tribe in 1920. Three of the SFN communities are currently engaged in a treaty negotiations process and have an agreement in principle signed and are working toward a final agreement.

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The CC comprised 13 members representing power Hydro made extra efforts to ensure SFN views could generation, recreation, cultural use and heritage sites, still be incorporated into the final CC report. fish, wildlife, water quality, socioeconomic interests, and First Nations. All participated in the process on In addition, documentation of areas of agreement an equal footing. The CC chose their facilitator, who and disagreement played a critical role in ensuring the was paid for by BC Hydro. Observers could attend but views of all CC members were heard. CC meeting could not participate in the discussion process unless minutes were produced after each meeting and each invited to do so through a member of the committee. participant saw themselves reflected in the discussion and ultimately in the final recommendations. The SFN participated in the process at the main table, then at a separate First Nations table, then not Assessment Method. The structured process followed at all in 2002. They returned to the table at the final in the Bridge River WUP program was one of the meeting but only as observers, even though they had keys to its success. The consultative process consisted “accepted” the final recommendations of the CC. of six key steps, based on multi-attribute techniques Reasons for this are noted above in relation to their and value-focused thinking (Keeney 1992). The desire for government-to-government relationships steps begin with clear articulation of objectives and and concern that the WUP process would undermine performance measures, which describe the extent to negotiations. which each alternative operating regime contributes to or detracts from each objective. Usually quantitative, The CC was supported by several technical working the performance measures force specificity on the groups, including fisheries, wildlife, and recreation. objectives, better educate each participant on the BC Hydro provided the technical support on power needs of others, and create a basis on which to collect modeling. The CC met regularly over the 3-year period. decision-focused information. Additional meetings were held with SFN in order to ensure their unique issues and traditional knowledge The CC agreed to the following objectives for the was considered. The committee’s work required all Bridge River WUP: members to keep an open mind and understand the perspectives of others on the committee. Group • Fisheries: maximize the abundance and diversity of discussions were structured to identify and explore fish in all parts of the system a range of alternative operating regimes, and to seek • Wildlife: maximize the area and productivity of compromises across interests while remaining within wetland and riparian habitat regulatory and other boundaries. • Recreation and Tourism: maximize the quality of recreation and tourism experience in all parts of In general, the members of the CC worked well the system together. They participated in the discussion and • Power: maximize the value of the power produced analysis of very complex issues, within a large set of at the Bridge, Seton and La Joie facilities inter-related alternatives and asked questions of BC • Flood Management: minimize adverse effects of Hydro and government officials that forced better focus flooding on personal safety or property on the real issues and interests. BC Hydro’s support for • Dam Safety: ensure that facility operations meet good science, transparent information sharing, strong requirements of BC Hydro’s dam safety program project management, and defined timelines provided an • Water Supply/Quality: preserve access to and important structure to the process. The SFN reticence maintain the quality of water for domestic and to participate did not delay CC deliberations and BC irrigation use

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Where possible, performance measures were modeled graphs, and graphics. Furthermore, since not all quantitatively. modeling was intended to monetize performance but rather to incorporate natural units of measure, where Operating alternatives were then developed to possible, the CC had a higher level of acceptance than address the various objectives. In total, more than 20 would have been the case had the outputs been strictly alternatives were run through BC Hydro’s operations mathematical. model, and the consequences for each objective were discussed by the consultative committee against the The CC recommended that the Bridge River WUP agreed-to performance measures. Preferences and be reviewed in 2012, which at the time was the end values were documented and areas of agreement date of a proposed adaptive management program. It sought. With the exception of one non-First Nations further recommended that a formal review based on the member (who abstained), the CC members eventually results of the monitoring programs be conducted after agreed on a single recommended operating alternative. the fifth year of implementation. A recommendation may be forwarded to the comptroller of water rights to A total of 23 technical studies were completed during trigger an earlier review of the water use plan if there the 3-year process. These studies improved the is evidence of significant unexpected and unacceptable knowledge base on the Bridge River system and helped impacts at that time. calculate the performance measures for the CC. A clear, deliberate, and time-bounded process set the framework Integration. The objectives, which represented different for completion of the studies. Expert judgment was social, environmental, and economic values, were also used to fill information gaps, including explicit brought together through the deliberations of the CC. recognition of First Nations values as part of a Decision methods included both intuitive response and traditional ecological knowledge study. ranking using technical methods (paired comparisons, consequence tables, etc.). In each round of assessments, An operations model using commercially available key trade-offs and uncertainties were discussed to software was used to evaluate system operating enhance understanding and allow participants to make alternatives. The model optimized the Bridge River more informed choices. facility operations for power production within specified constraints using 39-year inflow data. The It became clear early on in the process that active primary model outputs were daily reservoir levels and adaptive management would be needed. This was releases from dams, along with daily power production. driven by the complexity of the system, the desire for These data were used as input to an environment more information than could be collected during the model and a power values model. The former used timeframe of discussions, and a constrained budget. a Visual Basic program to simulate environmental Sources of uncertainty associated with each outcome and social performance measures,44 while the latter were discussed by the CC. Determining a flow regime model calculated the annual value of power based on information about energy prices, dispatchability, and plant characteristics. 44 A series of Excel spreadsheets was used to store model parameter, physical characteristics of the system (e.g., reservoir Overall, the model outputs provided data that many surface area as a function of elevation, etc.) and the hydrological CC members had little experience with. However, scenarios (e.g., schedules of discharge and reservoir elevations associated with each alternative). Output, the performance BC Hydro was able to synthesize the model outputs measures and various diagnostic indicators, are viewed as data into a variety of understandable forms, such as maps, sets, time series graphs, and/or maps.

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in the Lower Bridge River proved particularly difficult. also increasing power generation. More broadly, it Because the Lower Bridge River did not have regular improved the capacity for environmental management flows until 2002, the understanding of flow needs within BC Hydro. It led to the development of new and ecosystem response was extremely poor. An tools for assessing operating issues and it illustrated adaptive management program was proposed to test the importance of monitoring. The monitoring multiple alternative water management policies over committee—made up of government (federal, specified periods of time. These trials were intended provincial, and local), BC Hydro, First Nations, and to be complete by 2012, but at this point have not public representatives—will be a vehicle for ongoing been approved due to additional SFN concerns. dialogue. When these flow trials are initiated, the monitoring data will be evaluated and subsequent discussion The Bridge River WUP is now the new benchmark held with regulators about a long-term flow release for sustainable management. The WUP process, of program. The adoption of an adaptive management which the Bridge WUP is one of 23 completed plans, approach to implementation was a significant factor has made a positive impact on policy and regulatory in allowing some CC members to support the final intervention at BC Hydro’s facilities. The WUP process recommendations as it allowed them to accept model has now been adopted in multiuse planning in several outputs that had considerable uncertainty. non-hydropower watersheds throughout BC.

Cost Effective. There were three components of cost Lessons for the Bridge WUP: the cost of plan production, cost of infrastructure improvements, and ongoing cost of 1. A structured decision-making process is important implementation. for ensuring an organized approach to identifying and evaluating alternatives. The full costs of plan production are unavailable, 2. Data and information (both science based, but the technical studies cost about $600,000. The traditional knowledge) and models can provide recommended infrastructure improvements cost up to a valuable foundation for building agreement in $6 million (the annualized costs of constructing and complex decision-making environments. operating a new 12 MW facility at the Seton generating 3. Adoption of an adaptive management approach station). The implementation costs, including the proved crucial to reaching a final decision when annual costs of the monitoring plan, average about there was inadequate information. $520,000 per year (undiscounted) over the period of 4. Prosecutions, or the threat of legal action, may the plan. initiate action but will not, in the end, result in Overall, the costs of developing the plan and effective, long-term solutions. implementing the actions were estimated to be less than 5. Clarity of scope and a clear understanding of what the costs of the court proceedings as a result of charges issues are inside and outside of the process are being laid by the DFO. As an offset to these costs, the essential for progress. chosen alternative allowed BC Hydro to generate an 6. Time is needed for “airing” concerns. extra $1.8 million in electricity. 7. Regulatory requirements are helpful but should not constrain the deliberations. Influential. The Bridge River WUP resulted in 8. It was important to have participation of the changed operational procedures that enhanced traditional owners (First Nations) and to integrate environmental, social, and cultural outcomes, while their ecological knowledge with the scientific

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knowledge. It takes time to “capture” and translate Acknowledgments this information. This case study was written by Denise Mullen-Dalmer, 9. While the upfront development costs may DMD Management Ltd., and reviewed by Sue Foster seem large, the costs of not dealing with issues and Kevin Conlin of BC Hydro. or concerns are higher and will involve a more adversarial, court-oriented process. 10. It takes time to build trust, especially with respect References to complex modeling methodologies. Keeney, Ralph. 1992. Value-focused Thinking. Boston: 11. It is important to provide documentation and Harvard University Press. information in a form that is understandable and useful to all process participants and the public. Province of British Columbia.1998. Water Use Plan The experience that this lesson comes from is not Guidelines. Province of British Columbia, Canada. mentioned above. http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wsd/plan_protect_sustain/ water_use_planning/cabinet/wup.pdf

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Background inflows to the lagoon. Smaller rivers and streams from the catchments along the western side of the lagoon Chilika Lagoon, located on the east coast of India in the contribute the remainder. The lagoon is primarily state of Orissa, is the largest brackish lagoon in Asia. The connected to the Bay of Bengal through a channel in lagoon runs parallel to the coast of the Bay of Bengal, the north. The exchange of water through this channel, separated by a 60 km barrier spit that varies from 0.5 together with freshwater inflows and evaporation, to 2.0 km wide. The lagoon is a biodiversity hotspot, controls the salinity of the lagoon. especially for waterbirds and other aquatic species. Over 160 species of waterbirds—totaling up to 2 million The productivity of the lagoon declined significantly individuals—can be found at the peak migratory times during the 1990s, primarily due to declining salinity during some seasons. The lagoon supports many aquatic as a result of reduced interchange between the lagoon species and is home to the Irrawaddy dolphin, which is and the ocean because of the northward littoral drift of listed as an endangered species by the IUCN. the channel. There was an increase in sediment loading from the western catchments and irrigation areas of the The Chilika Lagoon ecosystem and surrounding Mahanadi Delta. These sediments are believed to have catchment provides income for about 200,000 people largely deposited within the lagoon itself, as well as near who are directly or indirectly dependent upon the and along the mouth of the lagoon. As a result of the fish, crab, and prawn catch. There is intensive farming closing of the lagoon mouth, the salinity level of the around the lagoon, mainly for cashews, with rice lagoon dropped dramatically from 20–30g/l to 2–3 g/l production taking place in fringe wetland areas. These during May as the freshwater buildup continued. areas also support grazing for over 50,000 cattle and provide fuelwood as well as for other products for The hydrologic and water quality changes affected home consumption and income generation. Chilika Chilika’s biodiversity and productivity. Fish catches has a growing ecotourism industry due to the abundant declined from 6,000 tons in 1980 to 1,641 tons in wildlife; it also has numerous temples that draw large 1997/98 (a reduction of nearly 73 percent); crab and local populations. shrimp catches also declined by over 90 and 80 percent, respectively, during the 1990s; several sponge species The lagoon’s ecosystem depends on the water, sediment, became extinct; other species became endangered, and salt balances of the water body. The lagoon lies including the Irrawaddy dolphin; and aquatic weeds within the Mahanadi Basin. The Mahanadi River flourished in the lagoon. The 1999 super cyclone further reaches the ocean to the northeast of the lagoon. The added large inflows of freshwater. The blockage of the Daya, Nuna, and Bhargavi branches of the river delta lagoon outlet led to flooding and waterlogging of large provide between 50 to 65 percent of the freshwater areas of paddy crop in lakeside villages, with consequent inflows and between 50 to 75 percent of the sediment sanitation problems and outbreaks of disease.

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In 1992, the state government of Orissa formed the Oceanic exchange through the new channel has led Chilika Development Authority (CDA) to manage to a remarkable recovery of the lagoon. Salinity rose conservation efforts for the lagoon, oversee research, almost an order of magnitude, sediment flushing from and develop a management plan. It coordinates the the lagoon increased, the area under aquatic weeds was activities of the various state departments that work in substantially reduced, and the lagoon’s productivity the Chilika lagoon catchment. The chief minister of recovered. Fish catches rose eight-fold between Orissa is the chairperson of the CDA. 1999/2000 and 2002/03. Total fish, prawn, and crab catches rose from 1,900 tons in 2000 to about 12,000 Following widespread concern about the declining tons between 2002 and 2005 (Figure 13.1). A survey fish catches and biodiversity, the lagoon has been of local fisherman reported that they had earned, on rehabilitated through a combination of immediate average, an additional 50,000 rupees (about $1,040) and longer-term actions. The most important per year. immediate actions were the cutting of a new exit to the ocean and the dredging of a new channel between Chilika Lagoon had been placed on the Montreux the Mahanadi Delta and the new mouth to facilitate Record (Ramsar’s list of sites undergoing ecological tidal influx and freshwater outflows, which helped degradation) in 1993. It was taken off the list and restore the balance of freshwater, sediments, and awarded the prestigious Ramsar Wetland Award in saltwater. The new exit was completed in September 2002 in recognition of these improvements. 2000. The longer term actions included control of sediment The decision to open the new exit was based on both fluxes from the western catchments through promotion extensive stakeholder consultations and scientific of income-earning, good agricultural practices; studies. Detailed 1- and 2-dimensional modeling of the reductions in sediment from the irrigation areas feeding lagoon hydrodynamics had predicted that the new exit into the lagoon; and improvements in flows through would lead to a rapid return of higher salinity within the Mahanadi River Delta into the lagoon. A number the lagoon. These predictions were confirmed when the of international organizations—including Wetlands exit was opened. International, JICA, Ramsar, DHI, JFGE and the

Figure 13.1 Total Fish, Prawn, and Crab Landings in Chilika Lagoon, 1995–2005

Total Landings 16 14 12 10 8

(,000 MT) 6 4 2 0 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Year

Note: The solid line marks the opening of the second channel to the ocean.

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World Bank—assisted with these restoration activities. into Chilika Lagoon that complemented the CDA’s in- The World Bank provided assistance for determining lagoon monitoring. the environmental flow needed to sustain the lagoon in the longer run through the Orissa Water Resources During the course of the OWRCP, the State Water Consolidation Project (OWRCP) 1995–2004, with Resources Board adopted a State Water Plan that specialist expertise being provided through the Bank- included requirements for environmental flows, administered BNWPP Environmental Flows Window. environmental guidelines for all water resources While the increased exchange with the ocean has clearly projects, and a Strategic Environmental Policy for led to immediate and widespread benefits, it will not the water resources sector. Although the Department be sustainable if the natural flow regime from the of Water Resources had made a commitment to Mahanadi River is not at least partially restored and modify the operating rules of the Barrage to include if sediments continue to enter the lagoon and silt up environmental water requirements, it was apparent that the entrance. This case study focuses on the attempt to the department was having difficulty understanding introduce environmental flows so as to help maintain the concepts of environmental flows. Departmental the salinity dynamics of the lagoon. staff members were more concerned with reducing the quantity of water reaching the lagoon from the Barrage to reduce the sediment flux from the Mahanadi Delta The OWRCP and BNWPP Assistance than increasing it to allow for environmental outcomes. The OWRCP included various environmental management activities, including support for the Between 2002 and 2005, the BNWPP Environmental restoration of Chilika Lagoon, the construction of Flows Window provided specific training on EFA a new barrage across the Kathajori branch of the concepts, methods, and applications to help the Mahanadi River to replace the old Naraj weir; the DOWR and the CDA determine the environmental development of a Strategic Environmental Policy for flow requirements. The window funded a specialist Water Resources Planning and an Environmental consultant to conduct workshops on EFA for Action Plan; and strengthening the Department of both managers and technical specialists; develop Water Resources (DoWR) in technical and managerial hydrologic and sediment models for environmental areas. The Environmental Assessment for the OWRCP flow applications; assist with community consultation (Orissa Department of Water Resources and SMEC processes; provide advice on the application of 1995) identified Chilika Lagoon as a critical natural the hydrodynamic model for assessing in-lagoon habitat below the Naraj Barrage, and recommended water quality changes; and assist with biological- that investigation be undertaken to guide the operation environmental modeling. As a result of this assistance, of the barrage. Consequently, through the BNWPP the CDA and the Department of Water Resources Environmental Flows Window, the Bank provided developed a draft set of Barrage operating rules that assistance in incorporating environmental flows into the included environmental flow releases designed to operational rules for the new Narraj Barrage. benefit Chilika Lagoon. However, the rules could not be finalized because the environmental and With OWRCP support, the CDA produced an socioeconomic components were never completed integrated management action plan for Chilika Lagoon during the OWRCP. The BNWPP support was in July 1999. The plan was drawn up following extended after the OWRCP was closed to complete the extensive consultations with government departments technical work on the flow assessment, but the rules and fisherfolk communities. In addition, the OWRCP have not yet been operationalized by the Department of supported a monitoring program in the rivers feeding Water Resources.

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The modeling that was carried out showed that, had also become effective at voicing the concerns of unlike many other environmental flow cases, there these disadvantaged groups. was no conflict between releasing water for the downstream environmental benefits and providing The inclusion of the lagoon on the Montreaux Record water to the irrigation farmers in the delta, because of deteriorating Ramsar sites brought international these water demands occurred at different times of attention to the poor management of Chilika Lagoon, year. However, the Department preceived a conflict causing embarrassment to the state and national between environmental flows and downstream flooding governments and providing an additional driver for of irrigation farms within the delta. In fact, studies by restoring the lagoon. Wildlife International showed that small to medium The state water plan acted as a procedural driver that floods delivered net benefits to these farms and that it gave legitimacy to the EFA. However, it was not was only the large floods that caused financial losses. decisive; the need to provide for environmental flows Nevertheless, departmental staff remained wary of was not accorded high priority within the Department releasing significant environmental flows through the of Water Resources, let alone other state departments. delta and into the lagoon. However, the new state water policy may act as a driver In 2007, the government of Orissa adopted a for future determinations and implementations of progressive new state water policy. This policy, unlike environmental flows. either the National Water Policy of India or most Although the reconstruction of the Naraj Barrage other state water policies in India, recognized the was primarily driven by safety factors (World Bank environment as a legal use of water and granted it 1995), the environmental assessment for OWRCP second priority in the allocation decision making. The highlighted the need to address the protection and new water policy opens up opportunities—through management of Chilika, a critical natural ecosystem. the Orissa Water Sector Improvement/Mahanadi The reconstructed barrage had to be designed to Basin Project, currently in preparation—to further the ensure that appropriate environmental flows were understanding within government departments of the provided to Chilika Lagoon. The restoration of importance of environmental flows to the welfare of the lagoon became an explicit objective later. The downstream communities and to assist the inclusion World Bank’s safeguard policies were instrumental of these flows in the operational rules for the Naraj in identifying the need for managing this important Barrage. downstream ecosystem even though an environmental flow assessment, to guide the development of the Drivers operating rules for the Naraj Barrage, was undertaken much later. There were multiple drivers for restoring in-flows, and improving oceanic exchange and water quality in the lagoon. The disastrous effect on the local economy of the reduced interchange between the lagoon and the ocean was the primary driver. The social and economic 45 The hardship from the decline in fish catches was accentuated by a change in government policy, which resulted in fishing costs led to pressure from fishermen, tourist operators, rights in the lagoon being put up for tender. The resulting loss and conservationists for the restoration of the lagoon’s of access by traditional fishermen, coupled with investments ecosystems. The publicity from riots some years earlier by wealthy businessmen in cultured prawns farms, led to riots. The deaths of four fishermen during protests in May 1999 led and the deaths of some rioters had put extra pressure on to widespread publicity and embarrassment for the Orissa state the government to act45. Local and international NGOs government.

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Assessment with representation from the departments of Water Resources, Fisheries and Animal Development, Recognition. The need to restore the lagoon’s hydrologic Forestry, and Agriculture and the CDA, as well as regime had been recognized for some years prior to floodplain and fishing community representatives. the OWCRP. However, officers of the Water Resources Although it only met twice, it was crucial to Department had an expectation that these flow the visibility and acceptance of the EFA within requirements could be specified through a technical government. exercise that resulted in a precise flow being calculated through hydrologic modeling. They were unable to There had been extensive stakeholder engagement in appreciate—and found it difficult to understand—that the preparation of the integrated management action establishing environmental water needs was necessarily plan and, as a result, there were good linkages between a social exercise that balanced the conflicting the CDA and the fishing community at the time of interests of different stakeholder groups along with the EFA. Two workshops were held with fisherfolk environmental needs. and villages from the floodplain, where water-related problems were discussed, including issues related In addition, calculating and implementing directly to the Narraj Barrage. Although they discussed environmental flows required the collaboration issues very actively, their understanding of the operation of government departments that represented of the barrage was limited, and it was not possible to sectors dependent on the services provided by the discuss technical options with them. environment—agriculture, tourism, fisheries, etc. However, the state government departments did not The lagoon communities exhibited great interest in have a culture for—or experience in—engaging in such the opening of the new channel to the ocean, because collaborative exercises. Departments were focused on the benefits from increasing the exchange between the their sectoral objectives and did not assign a priority to lagoon and the ocean were immediately apparent to investigations into environmental flows. them. The erosion control projects under the OWCRP to reduce sediment inputs from the western catchments These difficulties were never properly overcome during also included extensive community involvement. the time of the OWCRP and the BNWPP assistance and were a major factor in the reluctance to implement Assessment technique. The environmental water environmental flow recommendations. requirements below the Naraj Barrage were estimated Participation.The difficulty in getting active using models. A hydrological model was developed participation from state government agencies, to predict water flows and sediment loads from the apart from the CDA and the Department of Water barrage into the lagoon; a hydrodynamic model of the Resources, is described above. Apart from their silo lagoon was used to predict salinity under different flow mentality, there was a regular turnover of senior staff regimes; and a simple fish catch model was developed within these government agencies. The purpose of the based on salinity levels. While lagoon levels, which EFA had to be explained to each new appointee and could be predicted by the hydrodynamic model, it was impossible to build up any momentum for the provided an estimate of water bird nesting potential, study outside of visits by the international consultant. actual bird breeding events could not be estimated because global factors determine the occurrence of A stakeholder executive committee (SEC) had breeding events. There was insufficient information been proposed at the outset of the EFA study. It for the response of other important species, such as was finally constituted toward the end of the EFA dolphins and shrimps, to be modeled.

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The models were applied to four environmental flow The EFA integrated key water quality concerns— scenarios, based on the community consultations particularly salinity within the lagoon—with flows and economic assessment of scenario impacts. Thus, because of the importance of these parameters for the the models suggested that a 60 percent reduction functioning of the lagoon ecosystem. in freshwater flows would result in a net annual incremental cost of €138 million ($131 million) There was some integration at a technical level of flows through losses to floodplain agriculture and fisheries46. and other considerations. However, more importantly, Conversely, by maintaining the present levels of there was little integration at a management level of freshwater flows and reducing high intensity floods, an environmental flows with other management initiatives overall annual incremental benefit of €8,465 million for the restoration of the lagoon, such as erosion control ($8.04 million) would be realized through enhanced programs in the western catchments. agricultural and fish productivity. Cost effective. The EFA was completed technically, Different institutions developed the different models for but was never put into effect. There were some CDA. The Central Water and Power Research Station benefits, such as an increase in understanding about (CWPRS) at Pune developed the hydrodynamic model, environmental flows among some technical staff while the Orissa Department of Water Resources was of the relevant Orissa state departments, but this responsible for the hydrological and sediment models, understanding was never properly internalized by and the CDA was responsible for the ecological response the organizations. Consequently, the project has not models and for coordinating the different institutions. been cost effective at this stage. However, there is an This arrangement proved to be too complex, and opportunity for building on this initial understanding there was poor coordination between the CWPRS, through a subsequent Bank-funded project. the DOWR, and the CDA. Although the CDA had successfully coordinated the contributions of NGOs Reporting. The analyses carried out clearly illustrated the and government agencies to the immediate response to environmental and social trade-offs to the CDA and the the lagoon’s problems under the auspices of the national Department of Water Resources and, later in the project, government, they did not have the necessary influence the members of the stakeholder executive committee. when required to coordinate input to a technical The Chilika restoration program is supported with assistance project for a long-term response. a monitoring program—in both the lagoon and the While the CWPRS modelers were readily able to develop inflowing rivers—that tracks changes in key physical the hydrodynamic model, they and DWR modelers were and biological parameters. However, this monitoring less familiar with catchment runoff models and could is not designed to distinguish the contribution not easily grasp the concepts behind ecological and social of environmental flows from the barrage to the response models. Consequently, these latter models were sustained recovery of the lagoon; instead it integrates not developed until late in the project. improvements arising from all the actions contained in the integrated management action plan. Integration. The EFA included modeling of the social and economic impacts of different flow scenarios. These Influential. The EFA was undertaken too late in the models were not intended to be integrated with the OWRCP to be influential when the operating rules for existing physical models. However, the assessments of different flow regimes did integrate these physical, 46 Flow Scenarios for Chilika Lagoon, India. Millenium ecological, and social components. Ecosystem Assessment.

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the barrage were being established. It was concluded after downstream flows and increased sediment inputs the OWRCP was completed. While it has not succeeded into Chilika Lagoon, is sometimes necessary to in influencing the operation of the barrage at this point, precipitate action. there remains a possibility that it may still be influential 2. When environmental flows concerns are through the follow-on project now being prepared. introduced late in project implementation where the implementing institution has no background The high level of senior staff turnover (which is a or mandate for environmental and social issues, generic issue within the Indian civil service) meant then environmental flows are likely to be treated that there was little opportunity to embed a strong as just a bureaucratic hurdle that needs to be understanding of environmental flows within the water overcome with minimal effort, rather than an resources bureaucracy, and this affected the seriousness integral part of project implementation. with which the technical findings of the EFA are 3. It is difficult to introduce concepts that rely on treated. While the EFA was accepted as providing an social, economic, and environmental knowledge important input to management of the barrage by the that do not have exact solutions; and require CDA, it was never given a high priority by the Orissa collaboration across multiple disciplines into Water Resources Department (Young 2005). The sectoral, and in particular, engineering organizations. department has retained a strong orientation toward 4. In spite of a recognized institution (CDA) with irrigation development and expansion, and not on responsibility for coordination, departments that water resources management or ecosystem services. were not directly responsible for water resources management continued to focus on their sectoral The EFA for the barrage has not, to date, resulted in the interests and did not engage in cross-sectoral inclusion of environmental flow assessments in other management. development projects. However, it provided training 5. The inclusion of environmental flows in the state and improved understanding of EFA procedures within water plan provided legitimacy to the conduct state government agencies, although the improved of the EFA, but was not decisive in gaining the understanding is still not deep enough for further EFAs priority that was needed to ensure that staff were to be carried out without expert assistance. There is assigned to carry out the agreed tasks. not yet a widespread understanding of environmental 6. The high turnover in senior staff in the Water flows among senior managers. Given the rotation of Resources Department required continual senior staff experienced in this project, it is likely that justification for the EFA and contributed to the the senior managers responsible for future water-related low priority assigned to the activity within the development projects would need to be educated afresh department. about environmental flows. However, the clear priority 7. The stakeholder executive committee was available given to water for the environment in the recent Orissa only toward the end of the project. The project State Water Policy is very likely to have been influenced would have progressed more effectively if this by the awareness of this issue as a result of the EFA assistance was available earlier. conducted for the barrage. 8. The level of participation of villagers and fisherfolk needs to be tailored to their capacity. They were Lessons able to articulate problems and discuss general solutions, but were not equipped to engage in 1. A crisis, such as the severe social disruption and technical discussions concerning the provision of economic hardship brought about by reduced environmental flows.

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9. Good science, even backed by a state water plan, Acknowledgments cannot guarantee good decisions. It needs to Dr. Bill Young, CSIRO, reviewed the case study. receive high-level bureaucratic support and have access to coordinated technical expertise across relevant government institutions. References 10. To be effective, the EFA process needs to be Orissa Department Water Resources and SMEC. 1995. embedded in an existing planning process, such as Orissa WRCP (Revised). Washington, DC: World Bank. a project EA or water resources allocation plan. 11. EFAs must address livelihood concerns if they are World Bank. 1995. “Staff Appraisal Report.” Orissa to be relevant in water allocation in developing Water Resources Consolidation Project. Annex 12. countries. Washington, DC: World Bank. 12. There needs to be functioning water resource Young, W. 2005. “Lessons Learned from the Provision management frameworks before environmental of Advice for the Lake Chilika Environmental Flow flow issues can be addressed effectively. Assessment.” Report to World Bank’s Environmental Flows window of the Bank-Netherlands Water Partnership Program. Washington, DC: World Bank.

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Background financing47 (under Phases 1A and 1B), but its role and participation was crucial to obtain broad international In 1986, the governments of Lesotho and the Republic support and ensure that the project met sound of South Africa signed a treaty to implement the economic, technical, dam safety, and environmental Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP). The project standards. The project was implemented by the Lesotho was intended to meet the growing demand for water in Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) under the the heartland of the Republic of South Africa (RSA); to Lesotho Highlands Water Commission, a binational produce hydropower to reduce Lesotho’s dependence commission headed by permanent representatives from on imported energy; and to apply the project-generated the governments of Lesotho and South Africa. export revenues to development-oriented programs within Lesotho. The project was largely funded by the Phase 1A involved the construction of the Katse Dam government of South Africa. At the time, Lesotho had a (185 meter) and the Muela Dam (55 meter), tunnels per capita income of around $440. Close to half of this to transfer water from Katse to Muela and from Muela came from remittances of 150,000 Lesotho nationals to the RSA (18m3/s), and an underground hydropower working in the gold and coal mines in South Africa. station at Muela. This phase ran from 1992 to 1998. With possible mechanization of the mining industry, Phase 1B comprised the Mohale Dam (145 meters), employment growth for Lesotho workers was uncertain, a transfer tunnel connecting the Mohale and Katse and so the project offered Lesotho an opportunity for reservoirs, a 19m high concrete diversion weir on job creation, infrastructure development, and a stable the Matsoku River, and a 5.6km long tunnel. It was revenue source to support the country’s development. completed in 2006.

The LHWP (a transboundary, inter-basin water transfer At the time of the project, Lesotho did not have a project) was thus of considerable economic importance water resources or environmental policy that either for both RSA and Lesotho. recognized environment as a legal use of water or that mandated environmental flow requirements in The Lesotho Highlands Water Project infrastructure projects. The environmental assessment was carried out according to World Bank requirements. The five-phase LHWP was to be progressively There were few general provisions for environmental implemented over a 30-year period starting in 1990. protection in the 1986 treaty. The treaty provided Phase 1A and 1B of the project were supported by for minimum downstream compensation flows of 11 donor agencies, four export credit agencies, four 0.5 m3/s from Katse Dam and 0.3 m3/s from Mohale European commercial banks, four regional capital markets, and the government of Lesotho. The World Bank contributed only about 3 percent of the project 47 Total project cost of Phases 1A and 1B was $ 2.9 billion.

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Dam, representing about 3 percent of the mean annual 2. Treaty releases—the releases provided for in the runoff of the respective river systems; the remainder 1988 treaty (about 3 percent of MAR) was to be diverted and exported to RSA. These flows 3. design limitation—maximum releases possible were stipulated without adequate understanding of the consistent with the design of Phase 1 structures implications on downstream water uses. 4. intermediate—flow releases between the design limitation and the treaty requirements The social and environmental assessment for Phase 1A concluded that the project did not present The EFA study highlighted that: any insurmountable environmental obstacles to development, and detailed baseline studies for Phase 1A • nearly 39,000 people were estimated to be impacted were conducted after construction of the project had directly or indirectly downstream of the dams, already started. compared with a few thousand impacted upstream • sites close to the dams would be severely impacted The contractors for Phase 1A were willing to continue under all but scenario 1 with Phase 1B without any major interruption • significant losses could occur to downstream and thereby avoid substantial mobilization costs. communities under all scenarios; even under Consequently, the government of Lesotho requested the scenario 1, losses amount to over $2 million World Bank to avoid delays in commencing Phase 1B annually and to approve the Phase 1B environmental assessment • while increasing environmental flow releases would (which had largely focused on upstream issues and improve the condition of downstream users, impacts) and agreed to carry out an instream flow adopting the fourth (intermediate) scenario would requirement study (essentially an EFA) during the cost Lesotho about $17 million in net present initial construction phase of Phase 1B. The Bank agreed benefit compared to the treaty minimum scenario, to this request, subject to an EFA being conducted a 3.3 percent loss in revenue (Watson 2006) and the implementation of measures to provide • the benefits from the LHWP are large enough for “compensation” releases from the Matsoku, Katse and the economic rate of return to not be substantially Mohale dams prior to commencing impoundment affected by increasing the downstream flow of water in Mohale Reservoir. This requirement was stipulated as a legal covenant to the Bank loan in Agreeing on environmental flow releases proved to be the project appraisal document. In fact, the EFA was difficult. This was partly because (a) the LHDA and substantially delayed, and so the environmental flow the funding partners had different expectations of the releases were not agreed with the World Bank before EFA; (b) the treaty was seen to have already stipulated the date of impoundment. minimum flow releases (that were 3 percent to 5 percent of the total mean annual runoff); (c) of the absence A new method—the downstream response to imposed of a clear policy and legal framework in Lesotho that flow transformations (DRIFT)—was developed for the recognized environment as a legitimate user of water; EFA, specifically to integrate the environmental, social, (d) of the inherent uncertainties in the study predictions; and economic impacts on populations downstream of (e) of the delayed decision-making process; and (f) the the Lesotho Highlands dams. The EFA considered four scientific results were complex and not presented in ways flow release scenarios: that could be easily grasped by decision makers.

1. minimum degradation—60 to 65 percent of MAR After intensive negotiation, the LHDA agreed on a maintained for downstream ecosystems flow release policy with environmental water releases

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that were three and four times the treaty minimum Drivers for Mohale and Katse dams respectively. The Mohale The World Bank’s environmental assessment safeguard Dam outlet valves had to be re-sized to accommodate policy was the principal driver for the EFA. Lesotho the anticipated higher flows, and a new valve had did not have policy or legislative requirements for to be added to Katse Dam to accommodate higher EFAs and there was no evaluative oversight from a EFA releases. Although costly in terms of lost revenue Lesotho government agency. In fact, the Environment from water diversions, these larger environmental Ministry from Lesotho was absent from any debate water releases should substantially reduce downstream over downstream effects. The implementation of Phase environmental impacts and the size of compensation 1A raised awareness about the need to better define, payments. These costs, however, did not entail any understand, and address the downstream issues. significant changes in the project’s economic rate of return. The professional drivers for the EFA in Lesotho were weak. When the EFA was being designed, there was Downstream river health targets were established as part no in-house capacity in environmental flows within of the EFA study, together with agreed compensation the LHDA. The environmental adviser at LHDA payments for the remaining losses in ecosystem services. contributed to discussions about the need for an EFA Local community development projects would be and supported the preparation of terms of reference funded with villages in the proximal river reaches, for such an assessment. Although local NGOs were while compensation would be provided through active in pursuing compensation and resettlement broad development programs in the distal reaches. issues, they were not influential in driving the EFA In both cases, the present value of 10 years predicted process itself. losses would be paid up front. Actual losses, based on monitoring data, would then be used to determine the The other partner in the project, the RSA, on the amount of a second compensation payment that would other hand, had not only been a world leader in cover another 40 years. developing EFA techniques during the 1990s, but had adopted a progressive water policy and legislation that The collection of environmental monitoring data was recognized and mandated water for environment as meant to commence in 2001 but actually commenced a very high priority in its allocation decision making in 2004, largely due to delays internally within (Case Study 3). Further, the professional capacity for LHDA. The program has now been established and both advancing and implementing EFA was also strong early indications are that, under the agreed flow in RSA. Thus, there were strong procedural as well as release policy, the river health targets have been met professional drivers for EFA in South Africa. or exceeded in all except two reaches. While people in the proximal reaches received the agreed initial Although there was, at times, reluctance by LHDA compensation packages, the authorities have delayed to provide water for environmental flows in a timely paying any compensation to those in the distal reaches manner, the implemention of the environmental flow because of the uncertainty regarding the potential policy and associated operating rules for the dams have losses in these reaches. The lack of monitoring data eventually resulted in good downstream environmental may mean that it is impossible to demonstrate losses, outcomes, although the social and economic outcomes exposing the authorities to a serious reputational are less certain. The latter is in part due to the absence risk if the affected people mount a challenge to their of adequate socioeconomic data and information on position. downstream communities.

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Assessment Bank safeguard policies filled this gap and became the guides for participation. Recognition. One of the major difficulties in implementing the EFA was the absence of any policy Although an ambitious program of development or legislative framework in Lesotho for recognizing support (based on the experience of Phase 1A) environmental flows as a legal use of water. was designed for the highlands during Phase 1B to Consequently, the discussion about the EFA had to deal offset upstream impacts and disruptions, none were with both, not just the immediate issue of the quantity designed for the downstream communities affected and timing of water needed, but even the legitimacy of by the dams. At that time, there was no knowledge the concept of environmental flows. Thus, even after about the extent and severity of downstream impacts. the government of Lesotho had accepted the need to Moreover, downstream issues and impacts were assessed provide adequate environmental flows, there was some much later in the decision-making process (during reluctance on the part of managers and dam operators the construction of the dams) compared to upstream to release valuable water, particularly when the benefits impacts (which were reviewed before the appraisal of were not obvious and the financial loss associated with the project). such releases due to reduced export of water were quite obvious. Scientific method. The DRIFT technique remains a cutting edge method for systematic integration of Undertaking the EFA concurrently with the environmental, social, and socioeconomic effects from construction of the Phase 1B infrastructure exacerbated changes in river flows. It is holistic in that it considers this problem. It proved difficult to alter the earlier all relevant components of the flow regime. It was treaty minimum flow release, even when it became developed during the LHWP and so met the project’s apparent that the treaty minimal flows were inadequate, requirements of allowing the impacts of different because of the costs involved in re-engineering the potential flow regimes to be analyzed. The four flow dams’ offtake structures. scenarios described above were augmented with others as decision makers moved toward a decision. Participation. The DRIFT method was developed to ensure that the effects of flow changes on populations The DRIFT technique required extensive fieldwork to were measured. Thus, DRIFT included social and collect the environmental, social, and economic data. economic studies that identified the populations While this ensured that its environmental and social dependent on the river and assessed the effects of predictions were well-founded, it also meant that it different flow scenarios on these populations (or the was time-consuming and expensive to apply. However, populations at risk). In the socioeconomic analyses, the given that there was no baseline data, that the LHWP social implications associated with resource quantity will entail several other phases, and that the LHDA and quality loss or alterations were translated into was skeptical about the value of EFA and required the costs of mitigation and compensation for the convincing evidence, it was appropriate to design and affected population. The impacted population was kept implement such a comprehensive method. informed of these decisions, but were not part of this decision-making process. DRIFT was designed and implemented by expert groups with international standing. In addition, a panel The lack of government policy on environmental flows of international experts was appointed to oversee the also meant that there was no in-country guidance on process. They contributed to the content of the flow the purpose or extent of participatory activities. The release policy, the monitoring protocol, a program to

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protect the endangered Maloti minnow, and designing The lesson here is that much more needs to be done by and establishing the Lesotho Biodiversity Trust. the scientists to simplify and translate environmental flows information to ensure that political decision Overall, the project resulted in the development and makers can access and absorb the scientific findings and application of a world-class EFA methodology. make appropriate use of them when making decisions.

Cost effective. The EFA (which included the assessments Influential. The comprehensiveness of the EFA analysis for both the Phase 1–1A and 1B, and the proposed and its recognition globally was a major factor in the Phase 2 project) cost approximately $2 million. It was LHDA’s eventual acceptance of the need to provide relatively expensive, but in comparison with the scale for downstream flows. The study findings resulted of the project, it was not that expensive. The cost of in the Mohale Dam outlet valves being re-sized to the EFA amounts to only 0.07 percent of the total accommodate the anticipated higher flows, and a new project costs, while the downstream compensation valve being added to the Katse Dam to accommodate costs ($14 million) amounted to 0.5 percent of the higher EFA releases. The EFA also provided the total project costs (Watson 2006). In comparison, the information for the development program to cost of upstream resettlement alone was $68 million. compensate affected communities downstream of the Given that there was no baseline data for the region dam. However, there has been reluctance by the LDHA and that the LHWP will entail several other phases, this to provide agreed compensatory development packages initial investment provides a solid foundation for future for the affected communities in the distal reaches investments. And as noted above, the EFA includes an (reaches further downstream from the dam) until it is assessment of the future Phase 2 project impacts as well. demonstrated that impacts on distal communities are measurable and significant.. Reporting. The four chosen scenarios provided situations that were readily understandable to the In principle, the experience during Phase 1B of decision makers. However, the results of the EFA the project will lead to easier adoption and better were less understandable, at least initially. The acceptance of EFAs in subsequent stages of the LHDP; comprehensiveness of the DRIFT method meant that in fact, as noted above, the EFA for the Phase 2 extensive information and data were generated, making development was included in the EFA. However, the it almost impossible for a decision maker to understand lower-than-expected demand for water from RSA has how an individual expert’s predictions had been built meant that there has been no further development of into aggregate weighted indices. While decision makers the highlands water, although studies for Phase 2 are could easily understand the financial implications of already under way. Nevertheless, the knowledge and exporting less water to South Africa, they could not experience gained during the EFA has contributed to easily grasp what it meant to move from one “river environmental flows capacity in Lesotho and is being condition” class to another. used both in the planning and design of the Metalong Dam on the Phuthiatsana River, southeast of Maseru, Given these difficulties, a decision framework was as well as in the LHWP Phase 2 studies. devised to summarize the EFA outputs in a form that the decision makers could understand. While this According to the independent audit supported by illustrated diagrammatically the trade-offs between LHDA, the LHWP environmental flow policy water users and river condition, it still required the development and implementation experience decision makers to understand the implications of represents the most complete, most analyzed, and changes in river condition. best documented project-level environmental flows

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case globally. It contains the key steps in the decision- 3. Continuing dialogue and sharing of knowledge making process—from the science of assessing between project proponents and funding agencies ecological impacts under different flow scenarios, can lead to a convergence of views on the to the integration of biophysical and social issues importance of environmental flow assessments in with the ecological impacts, the incorporation of countries without a history of environmental flow early study findings into the decisions about sizing assessments. dam outlets valve, the economic analyses of the four 4. To put the EFA determinations into effect, it is flow scenarios, a decision framework that led to the essential to have a well-defined decision-making environmental flow recommendations and policy, and process. to implementation and monitoring. The EFA process 5. Downstream impacts can be significant. When the (as noted above) was also subjected to an independent EFA was carried out in this case, it revealed that audit which identified important lessons. the number of people affected downstream was, in fact, greater by an order of magnitude (nearly The LHWP experience has also contributed to 39,000 people) than the number affected upstream environmental flows practice elsewhere, primarily of the dams. through the application of the DRIFT method. DRIFT 6. Full-scale EFAs (such as the one undertaken in this remains one of the few EFA techniques that integrates case study) take considerable time to complete. environmental, social, and economic concerns. Thus, Biophysical data need to be collected, affected the Mekong Basin and Pangani Basin environmental communities need to be identified, social impacts flow assessments (Case Studies 7, 8) use modified need to be predicted and explained, and economic versions of DRIFT, and the technique has been applied analyses need to be undertaken. The EFA needs within South Africa in establishing the ecological to be designed and data collection needs to reserve. commence as early as possible. 7. Science needs to be made more accessible. Unless Lessons scientists can present their findings from such a complex environmental, social, economic study 1. Without policy and legislative backing, a project- in a readily understood format, decision makers level EFA will likely struggle to be readily accepted will not be able grasp the full implications of by development-oriented managers. Developing alternative decision choices. Decision makers such a policy simultaneously with the project-level should be educated in the science and the EFA can lead to delays, confusion, and conflict. It methodology at an early stage and provided with is advisable to have a policy and legal framework in continuous feedback as the study progresses to place to guide EFA. ensure that they are not surprised by unexpected 2. The values of stakeholders should be made as outcomes. explicit as possible as early as possible in the 8. A decision framework should be established that process of assessing and determining EFRs. shows the benefits and costs of a range of decisions This is most easily accomplished if there is a using financial, environmental, and social metrics. catchment-level water allocation process or plan in Presenting them with a framework rather than place where the values of stakeholders are already specific predictions gives decision makers control defined. This provides a baseline of water sharing over the choices. against which the changes resulting from a project, 9. The EFA process should make specific predictions such as a dam, can be assessed. that are able to be subsequently tested through

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a monitoring program. The budget for the References project should include funds for the monitoring Watson, P.L. forthcoming. Managing the River, as well program and there should be opportunities for as the Dam. Assessing Environmental Flow Requirements-- the monitoring results to feed back into the Lessons Learned from the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. operational plan for the infrastructure. Washington, DC: World Bank.

Acknowledgments

This case study drew from Watson 2006. Andrew Macoun of the World Bank provided additional information.

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Background the EA for the LKHP on the assumption that the downstream was uninhabited and unlikely to possess The Lower Kihansi hydroelectric plant was constructed significant environmental value. The steep terrain and on the Kihansi River within the Rufiji Basin in difficult access may have contributed to the inadequate Tanzania during the mid-1990s (World Bank 1993) attention to the downstream gorge area in the EA. To to augment the country’s limited electricity supply address this gap, NORAD, a cofinancier of the project, generation capacity.48 The hydropower plant had been commissioned in the mid-1990s a series of baseline and designed as a 180MW run-of-the-river development ecological monitoring studies. with provision for expansion to 300MW in the future, making it a significant power source for the energy- It was during these subsequent ecological monitoring strapped country. The Lower Kihansi site was an studies (by Norplan consultants during project attractive site for a hydropower plant because of the construction in 1996) that led to the discovery of the availability of high head in a short stretch of the river endemic toad, the Kihansi spray toad (KST), in a rare and the favorable hydrology with a good reliability of wetland system in the Kihansi Gorge downstream from flows (Mkhandi and Birhanu 2007), coupled with the the dam. The hydropower plant was designed to divert absence of settlement below the dam site. water from a small reservoir above the gorge through an underground tunnel to drive turbines in a power The catchment above the dam site is 584 km2 in area plant located below the gorge. Thus, operation of the and is characterized by hilly terrain. Mean annual hydroelectric plant would drastically reduce flows rainfall in the catchment is 1944mm. The high- through the gorge and consequently the spray that biodiversity Udzungwa Forest Reserve covers the land sustains the wetland. to the east; the rest of the catchment is covered with small forest reserves, grassland, and bush. Most of the Once discovered and classified as a critically endangered lower parts of the catchment are under agriculture. species under IUCN’s red book, temporary measures Downstream of the hydropower site, the Kihansi River had to be taken to safeguard the downstream Lower drops some 800 m through a narrow gorge cut into the Kihansi Gorge ecosystem, including a captive breeding escarpment, with difficult physical access.

Although the EA for the Lower Kihansi Hydropower 48 Project (LKHP) (based on a 1991 EIA) had concluded Around 10 percent of Tanzania’s population has access to electricity. that there were no significant environmental issues 49 Environmental studies found the Lower Kihansi hydro site arising from the proposed hydropower plant49, it did preferable to other potential sites because of the smaller size of the reservoir, and a relatively uninhabited catchment meant that the not include an assessment of impacts downstream project would disturb less land area, and there were not expected of the proposed dam. The Bank initially accepted to be serious social and resettlement issues.

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program for the spray toad in the United States, the disappearance of the spray toad are not known, although design of special nozzles that could generate fine spray introduced chytrid fungus (known to have caused and construction of an irrigation sprinkler system extinctions in amphibians world-wide and detected in to generate fine artificial spray in the gorge, and the the gorge), and pesticides (endosulfans have been found implementation of an environmental management in concentrations 13 time the concentrations known to plan. The environmental flow required to maintain be lethal to amphibians) or some combination of the the ecosystem was not known, and as a consequence, two factors are possible causes under the heavily stressed the granting of a final water right for generating conditions of the gorge. Chytrid fungus could have hydropower was difficult and delayed. At the time, been introduced through human traffic in and out of Tanzania did not have a water or an environment the gorge, whereas pesticides may have been introduced policy that explicitly recognized the environment during the flushing of the dam or during the high-flow as a legitimate use of water (like other uses of water studies or even via the bypass flow releases. Although such as drinking, agriculture, or energy), did not have the population of spray toads held in captivity in the legislation requiring EIAs for development projects, United States declined from the 499 initially transported and had no technical capacity to undertake an to about 72 in March 2004, more recently, as a result of environmental flow assessment or institutional capacity good animal care, it has recovered and increased to over to facilitate and negotiate an environmental flow 1,000 individuals. requirement for complex water resources investments.

The Lower Kihansi power plant came on-stream The Lower Kihansi Environmental in 2000, only 6 months later than the original Management Project commencement date. The plant met its objective The Lower Kihansi Environmental Management of helping meet rising demand for hydropower and Program is a restoration project aimed at conserving reducing the amount of thermal plant use. Since the unique Kihansi Gorge ecosystem, while at the 2000, the 180 MW Lower Kihansi power plant has same time balancing the nation’s electricity needs. It is been supplying between one-third and one-quarter of centered around the water needs of the Kihansi Gorge. Tanzania’s electricity production (World Bank 2003). The Tanzania National Electricity Supply Company A year elapsed between the diversion of the river flow (TANESCO) applied for the final water right as the and the installation of the emergency measures. During construction of the dam was nearing completion. The this time, the available habitat of the spray toad was provision of this final water right, after the Kihansi spray dramatically reduced and the spray-dependent ecosystem toad was discovered, was highly contested. A provisional was at great risk of extinction. The various mitigation water right had been granted when construction started measures (including a specially designed irrigation with the condition that the dam be constructed with sprinkler system to generate artificial spray) restored a provision for a bypass flow structure of capacity 7 limited amount of spray-dependent habitat, and the m3/s—to release the minimum historical flow that was Kihansi spray toad population subsequently increased. on record. The Rufiji Basin Water Office (RBWO) The artificial spray appeared to stabilize the population monitored the provision of these bypass flows. in the areas where it was installed. Unfortunately, in August 2003 the spray toad population crashed, with In July 2000, in response to a complaint filed by the last documented sighting of a spray toad in May Friends of the Earth, an international environmental 2006. Subsequent biannual surveys since 2006 have not organization, the World Bank launched an documented any spray toads. The exact cause(s) of the environmental review of the circumstances surrounding

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the LKHP and the steps needed to mitigate its the LKEMP, TANESCO has retrofitted the low-level downstream impacts. The review found that the power discharge pipe from the dam to provide additional head plant was being operated for baseload generation and so that bypass flows now meet the requirements of the not peaking purpose as it had been designed50 and water right. found that the installed bypass pipe capacity to release environmental flows was between 1.5–1.9 m3/s. The In spite of the flows through the gorge being less review recommended that, in addition to the actual than required during both the construction and interim bypass flow of between 1.5 and 1.9 3m /s, operational periods of the dam, the flows, together further mitigation measures be investigated. with the artificial spray system, have stabilized the gorge’s spray wetland vegetation to the point where it In 2001, the World Bank approved an emergency loan may be possible in the future to reintroduce the spray to protect the Kihansi Gorge ecosystem and improve toads from the populations held in the United States. Tanzania’s water resources management (World Bank This will however require other factors, such as the 2002). The Lower Kihansi Environmental Management chytrid fungus and pesticides, to be controlled and the Project (LKEMP) funded studies into the conservation of establishment of a captive population in Tanzania. the Gorge ecosystem; developed a catchment conservation plan for the area upstream of the dam; supported capacity The LKEMP also assisted the Tanzanian government building in conservation biology and environmental in revising its environmental legislation. A new and water resources management at University level; Environmental Management Act was passed in 2004, developed a process for establishing the final water right containing specific provisions for EIAs, inclusion for operating the power station; formulated an EMP of environmental flows in basin plans, and strategic for the gorge, including an environmental monitoring environmental assessments for hydropower and major plan, as part of the final water right; and supported the water projects. improvement of the legal and institutional structure for environmental management in Tanzania. The LKHP however faces new challenges. There are now growing concerns about the threat from Following extensive scientific studies and negotiations deforestation and uncontrolled bottom valley between TANESCO, the RBWO, NEMC, and cultivation of the catchment above the dam. Clearing LKEMP, a final water right for the LKHP was granted of forests for agricultural activities is common and to TANESCO by the Rufiji Basin Water Board in June is being extended to the hills. Most of the lower 2004. It included an EMP that stipulated environmental accessible areas are cultivated because the valleys are flows of 1.5–2.0 3m /s, coupled with other measures to wet and valley bottom cultivation is a growing practice ensure the conservation of the Kihansi Gorge, including in the dry season. This practice has the potential to ecological monitoring, the continuation of the artificial increase erosion rates, bringing more sediment into sprays in the most ecologically sensitive parts of the the reservoir and into the spray system in the gorge. gorge, and measures to quarantine the gorge from the The increase in agriculture may also lead to an increase entry of further fungal infestations. in the use of pesticides, adding further pressure on the gorge if the spray toads were to be reintroduced. However, implementation of these conditions on the A landscape-wide conservation plan (LWCP) for the final water right has not been easy. Monitoring by the Upstream Kihansi Catchment was completed in 2005 RBWO showed that the bypass flows were about 30 percent less than the flows that TANESCO reported 50 This means that there is much less water spilling over the dam it was providing. As a result of an audit requested by and flowing through the gorge than originally envisaged.

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as apart of the LKEMP project (SMEC 2005) to There were few institutional drivers from within provide the basis for controlling this threat. Additional Tanzania at that time, partly because there was no policy threats include flood flows from spills over the dam or legislative requirement for either recognizing water and mudslides during periods of heavy rain that have needs for the environment or EIA, and partly because recently caused damage to the sprinkler system and the value of the spray toad appeared to be small or was related infrastructure in the gorge. intangible compared to the very high economic value of the electricity generated from the waters of the Kihansi Additional funding for the LKEMP was approved in River. The DOE, NEMC, and the RBWO played a key September 2007 and commenced in March 2008. Its role in highlighting the complex issues, but had limited objectives are (a) to maintain the captive populations technical and institutional capacity in environmental flow and the gorge ecosystem, and re-introduce the spray work, as this was the first such case nationally. In fact, toad to the gorge; (b) to implement the LWCP to internationally, it was also the first environmental flow protect the upper catchment from further degradation; case of a wetland with a specific micro-climate dependent and (c) to further strengthen capacity for environmental on the spray from the falls instead of river flows. management and compliance in Tanzania. The RBWO acts as the driver for enforcement of the environmental flow requirements of the TANESCO Drivers water right. The RBWO grants the water right and The Lower Kihansi work has occurred in three distinct actively monitors and enforces the conditions of the phases. The initial construction of the LKHP and water right as part of its responsibility for managing belated discovery of the Kihansi Gorge ecosystem water allocations within the Rufiji Basin. An additional occurred under the Bank-funded Power VI project professional driver has arisen in recent years. Because between 1993 and 2001; the LKEMP project of the publicity arising from the discovery of the commenced in 2001 to respond to the emergency rare ecosystem and the Kihansi Spray Toad and the arising from the discovery and stabilize the gorge development of national pride in this unique ecosystem ecosystem and safeguard the spray toad population; and species, Tanzanian environmental and water and additional funding for LKEMP has extended agencies are now actively engaged in supporting the the project to 2010 to facilitate the reintroduction of recovery efforts. the spray toad and improve the management of the catchment above the dam. This section deals with Assessment the last two phases where the environmental flow assessment and implementation occurred. Recognition. The crisis over the Lower Kihansi hydropower plant arose from a lack of recognition of Once the Kihansi spray toad was discovered, the the importance of water needs for the environment safeguard policies acted as a powerful driver for action, and of maintaining downstream environmental flows. and the Bank funded mitigation and protection The environmental assessment carried out at the measures. This instrumental driver was accompanied by time of the Power VI loan, like similar EAs at that a powerful public driver in the form of pressure on both time, concentrated on the upstream impacts of the the government of Tanzania and development partners development. funding the project—including the World Bank and the governments of Norway, Sweden, and Germany—from Nevertheless, the LKHP lessons have improved the international environmental organizations to save the understanding of the importance of environmental spray toad and its associated ecosystem. flows within Tanzanian institutions, partly driven

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by this internationally recognized case. The 2002 Although there were no legal requirements that National Water Policy and the draft Water Resources determined the breadth and types of consultations Act (Case Study 4) provide for environmental flow required, the consultations were conducted in the spirit determinations and, more importantly, among water of national priority that surrounded this complex issue. resources professional there is now an internalization of the need to provide for flows that maintain downstream Assessment technique. The environmental flow assessment environments. Thus, NEMC, DOE, and the Ministry was, on the one hand, relatively simple spatially in of Water are all much more aware of the need to that the environmental values were concentrated in take downstream effects into account when assessing the Kihansi Gorge. But on the other hand, it was infrastructure development applications. also complex and novel in that the gorge ecosystem was driven by the micro-climate—spray form, Participation. Extensive consultations were held with size, distribution, humidity, wind patterns, and key sectors of the government between 1996 and temperature—generated by the falls, rather than 2003 once the threat to the downstream ecosystem directly by the river flow. Therefore, none of the and the KST were recognized and publicized. These known EFA methods were applicable for the LKEMP. consultations included DOE and NEMC, the Ministry New scientific techniques, based on experimental of Energy and TANESCO, the Ministry of Water and work—ecological studies and flow tests—had to be the RBWO, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the developed and applied to model the spray fineness, Forestry Department. Under LKEMP, the discussions size, concentration and distribution, humidity, wind were conducted at intergovernmental meetings through direction and speed, and temperature in order to the Multi-sectoral Technical Advisory Committee assess the effects of different flow regimes on the (MTAC) and overseen by a high level inter-ministerial gorge habitat. High-flow trials during the dry and wet steering committee. seasons—both prior to and after the commissioning of the dam—established the area of gorge ecosystem The case study is unusual in that there are no wetted by different levels of flow. communities downstream of the dam in the Kihansi Gorge. The only affected people were essentially Financial and economic evaluation studies of various environmentally concerned people in the international flow regimes provided estimates of the costs of foregone community, initially represented by Friends of the power production. The final flow recommendation Earth. The government of Tanzania had a responsibility, was based on the flow trials, economic studies, and through the International Convention on Biodiversity, the efficacies of the mitigation measures such as the to protect the KST and its habitat. No public artificial sprinkler systems. consultations were held, but extensive consultations have taken place among the many government agencies, Data and science. Following its discovery, extensive the academic community, and development agencies. ecological studies were mounted in the Kihansi Many debates have also taken place in the Parliament Gorge ecosystem, with a focus on the spray toad and over the development challenge facing the country the Kihansi Gorge ecosystem. The habitat, feeding, from the project related issues, including the electricity reproduction, behavior, and predation and disease challenges facing the nation, the contribution of characteristics of the spray toad were established LKHP in the national electricity grid, the cost of the (Channing and others 2006). Ironically, the Kihansi conservation effort, the value of KST to the nation and spray toad is both Africa’s most well-studied amphibian its people, and who is benefiting from the conservation and its most endangered, yet knowledge of the overall of the Kihansi Gorge ecosystem and the KST. Kihansi catchment remains patchy at best.

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These studies showed that the KST is dependent upon the EFA and the establishment of the flow requirements the spray wetlands, which in turn are maintained by of the final water right. Thus, the cost of the EFA spray that is generated by the waterfalls within the and implementation was approximately $8m. The Kihansi Gorge. Humidity and temperature are two intangible benefits have not been costed. important factors for KST’s survival. The toad’s thin skin restricts it to cool, humid areas, where it lives on This is clearly an expensive restoration project. Some the vertical rock faces within the direct spray zone of the costs, such as the establishment of the flows of the various falls. Food is mostly small insects that needed to generate certain levels of spray, would have themselves feed on the vegetation in the spray wetlands. been incurred if the environmental flows had been The extent of spray from the falls, and hence the established as part of project preparation. Other costs, extent of habitat suitable for the toads, was established such as the retrofitting of the increased bypass flows through high-flow trials during both the wet and the and the protracted negotiation of the final water right, dry seasons (World Bank 2004). were incurred because of the delayed recognition of the importance of the downstream ecosystem. Integration. The results of the environmental Overall, the project illustrates that delaying EFAs can investigations—the bypass flows plus the engineered significantly increase the total project costs as well as solution of an artificially generated spray—were the reputational costs. integrated with economic/financial assessments in order to arrive at a minimum flow from the dam. Social values Reporting. The environmental management plan was the were difficult to incorporate because of different value key document produced by the first phase of LKEMP. systems. The intangible value of an endangered species It was well-written and its conclusions were clearly was high to people external to Tanzania, but not to based on scientific studies. However, the value of the Tanzanians. Nonetheless, the government of Tanzania downstream ecosystem was not established in this (as a signatory to the International Convention on report, and so the trade-off between flows for electricity Biological Diversity and under pressure from external production and flows for the downstream environment interests) agreed to protect these values. The other could only be established through protracted relevant social value was the loss of amenity by negotiations. Tanzanians, who would forego electricity consumption if some flows were assigned to environmental Influential. The EFA was specifically commissioned to protection. This value was represented through the loss establish the flow requirements for the downstream of revenue by TANESCO resulting from a decision to ecosystem and its outcome and mitigation measures provide water for the downstream ecosystem. were highly influential in establishing the final water right for the power plant. Although the flow Cost effective. It took some years to establish the requirements in the provisional water right were not environmental flow requirements because of both the adhered to by TANESCO, the EFA provided a solid complexity and novelty of the situation and the need basis for the necessary mitigation measures and for the to conduct the scientific studies, and the extended oversight agency (RBWO) to require the company to negotiations required to achieve a balance between enforce the water right and to increase bypass flows ecological sustainability and electricity generation. when the final water right was not being enforced.

Most of the original LKEMP project ($6.3m) and its The belated discovery of the spray toad in 1996 subsequent extension ($3.5m) were devoted to the highlighted the limited understanding of the conservation of the Kihansi Gorge ecosystem, including environmental water needs in operational terms and

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also exposed the limitations of institutional and legal 5. International pressure can sometimes play a structures for environmental protection and the lack powerful role in ensuring that critical ecosystems, of capacity within Tanzania for carrying out EFAs. It including those downstream of infrastructure also highlighted weakness in the project planning and developments, are protected from damage. preparation process. 6. Monitoring is essential to ensure that the agreed environmental flows are adhered to, especially The LKEMP lessons and experience have contributed to when there is pressure to favor critical economic major policy and legal reforms in Tanzania’s water (Case water uses such as hydropower production Study 4) and environment sectors. Thus, as a result of and when production-oriented authorities are LKEMP, the new environmental legislation mandates reluctant to understand or accept the need for EIAs for major projects, there is an improved awareness environmental flows. of environmental flows within water and environmental 7. Ecosystems can have indirect as well as direct institutions, as well as for specialist tertiary-level training dependence on flows; in this case, the ecosystem in environmental conservation (Acreman and King depended on the spray from the Kihansi 2005). While these advances have yet to be used for an Falls. None of the traditional EFA methods EFA of a new project, the resulting wider understanding were applicable in these circumstances and of environmental flows has played a significant role in new technical methods based on on-site and the conduct of EFAs for basin water resources plans experimental fieldwork and testing had to be being developed in the Pangani (Case Study 8), Rufiji, developed. and Wami-Ruvu basins in Tanzania. The case has also 8. The restoration of the spray-dependent ecosystem contributed to improved awareness within the Bank depended on both high-quality scientific studies about downstream impacts and environmental flows. and engineering solutions, as well as government commitment to conservation. Lessons 9. The government of Tanzania took the opportunity offered by lessons learned from the crisis over the 1. Unique and spatially limited ecosystems can easily Kihansi Gorge ecosystem to incorporate them be vulnerable to collapse with additional pressure into the new environmental act legislation. It because they have little resilience. strengthened the environmental aspects of its 2. Neglect of environmental flow considerations water policy and built capacity for environmental at an early stage of project preparation can lead assessments, including EFAs. to substantial monetary costs during project 10. This difficult case has also contributed to implementation because of limited options improved awareness within the Bank about available to alter the project design and operations, environmental flows and the need to systematically to retrofit already constructed infrastructure, and address downstream impacts of water resources to carry out additional studies. developments. 3. There are significant reputational costs arising from the omission of or delaying the recognition Acknowledgments of downstream effects from the assessment of development projects. Willie Mwaruvanda, Bill Newmark, Jane Kibbassa, 4. International obligations (such as the CBD) and Fadhila Ahmed provided comments on an earlier provide a means of (and are an important driver draft. for) protecting unique and fragile ecosystems.

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References SMEC. 2005. “Landscape Wide Conservation Plan for Upstream Kihansi Catchment.” SMEC Project No Acreman, M., and J. King. 2005. “Capacity Building 58708. SMEC, Tanzania. to Undertake Environmental Flow Assessments in Tanzania.” Annex E to Tanzanian Water Resources World Bank. 1993. “Power VI Project.” Project Assistance Strategy: Improving Water Security for Sustaining Agreement. Washington, DC:World Bank. Livelihoods and Growth. Report No. 35327-TZ. Washington, DC: World Bank. World Bank. 2002. “Lower Kihansi Environmental Management Project.” Presidential Memorandum. Channing, A., K.S. Finlow-Bates, S.E. Haarklau, and Washington, DC: World Bank. P.G. Hawkes. 2006. “The Biology and Recent History of the Critically Endangered Kihansi Spray Toad World Bank. 2003. “Implementation Completion Nectophrynoides Asperginis in Tanzania.” Journal of East Report (IDA-24890), Tanzania Power VI Project.” African Natural History 95(2): 117–138. Washington, DC: World Bank.

Mkhandi, S., and B.Z. Birhanu. 2007. “Hydrological World Bank. 2004. Lower Kihansi Environmental Study for Kihansi Catchment.” Report to Lower Management Project (LKEMP) (CR 3546 – TA). Kihansi Environmental Management Project Mid-Term Review Mission. Final Aide Mémoire. (LKEMP). Washington, DC: World Bank.

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Background The objectives of OMVS are to (a) stabilize and improve the livelihoods of the inhabitants of the basin The Senegal River Basin (290,000 km2) is shared by and adjacent areas; (b) maintain an ecological balance Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal and has three within the basin and promote its sustainability within distinct zones: the mountainous upper basin lying the sahelian zone; (c) render the member states less mainly in Guinea and partly in Mali; the river valley vulnerable to climatic variations and external factors; and its associated floodplain, which varies between 10 and (d) accelerate the economic development of the to 20 km wide and forms the border between Senegal member states through intensive regional cooperation. and Mauritania; and the delta where the river empties A key element of the plan of OMVS includes the into the Atlantic Ocean. Flows in the 1,800 km river, implementation of a regional infrastructure, including one of the largest in Africa, originate almost entirely in (a) the Manantali storage reservoir and hydroelectric the upper watershed from the monsoonal rains between project; (b) the Diama saline intrusion and irrigation April and October. Historically, the river has produced barrage with embankments along the lower river; (c) a two-month flood, bringing water and life to the delta the construction of ports at Saint Louis and Kayes, as and the valley, which is mainly in a desert and arid well berthing facilities at nine locations between the two landscape. Management of the Senegal River Basin is towns, and (d) the development of a navigable channel. vital to the economies of the four riparian countries, whose inhabitants depend upon the river for their The structure of OMVS has also evolved over time. It livelihood in the form of agriculture, animal husbandry, has been reorganized to meet the changing requirements and fisheries. of the initial construction of infrastructure, followed by its management, operation, and maintenance. The During the 1970s and 1980s, the Sahelian region present structure provides an institutional framework experienced an extended period of drought. for transboundary river basin management that is Compounded with the high natural inter-annual essential for implementing environmental flows in an variability in rainfall and in river flows, the drought led international river basin. OMVS allows basin-scale to a chronic water deficit in the region. In response to water management and allocation of benefits between this situation, Mauritania, Mali, and Senegal signed the basin states, such as irrigation water and electricity a treaty in 1972 to establish the Senegal River Basin generated from hydropower. Authority (L’Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du Fleuve Sénégal – OMVS) with the mandate of In addition, OMVS developed an inclusive framework “securing countries’ economies and reducing the that set the legal provisions for inclusion of Guinea vulnerability of peoples’ livelihoods through water into OMVS and established a joint Basin Development resources and energy development” (World Bank Program, which has reoriented the strategy for the 2006). Guinea joined OMVS in 2006. development of the basin. The present OMVS’s vision

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is to “implement a joint basin development program station was postponed pending further studies, which that reinforces regional integration, yields benefits and were carried out in the early 1990s. Under the original sustains growth among the four associated riparian project, irrigation has been developed on about countries.” 100,000 hectares of the potential 375,000 hectares of land suited for irrigation. A fishery has developed on the Manantali Reservoir, leading to settlement. Senegal River Infrastructure

The following description will focus on World Bank- The decision to proceed with the 200 MW power plant supported projects for water resources development at Manantali Dam and associated transmission works in the Senegal River basin. However, a number of was finally taken in 1997 and construction began in other donors, including the African Development 1998, with the power generation and transmission Bank (regional infrastructure development and sound equipment being funded with World Bank assistance environmental management), Agence Francaise de through the Regional Hydropower Development Developpement (water resource management tools), the Project (1997–2003) (World Bank 1997). The Netherlands Cooperation (environmental mitigation transmission lines to Bamako were commissioned and restoration, and water-weeds removal and the in 2002, with the inter-connections to Dakar and rehabilitation in the delta), and the European Union Nouakchott shortly thereafter. The navigation project (preparation of the Senegal River Master Plan) are also has not been implemented due to lack of financing, but supporting the OMVS. OMVS is still planning to proceed with a scaled-down version of the original concept. The Bank agreed to The Diama Barrage was constructed at the mouth of participate in the Regional Hydropower Development the river between 1981 and 1986 to stop saline water Project because the dams being funded would have a entering the river, thus making the river a reservoir of large influence on the economies of the three countries freshwater for irrigation. About 375,000 hectares of in OMVS at that time. The Bank was able to help land are under irrigation. Embankments were built coordinate the development across the countries from the dam upstream on both banks in the early because of its existing experience in a number of sectors 1990s to store water in the river at an elevation that in all three countries. allowed gravity feed to the floodplains and provided sufficient depth for year-round navigation along the The project provided an opportunity to address some river into Mali. The barrage also provided water supply of the difficult environmental and social issues that for stock and for Dakar. accompanied the original project, especially impacts of altered flood regimes. Prior to construction of the The construction of the upstream storage reservoir Manantali Dam, natural inundation of the floodplain at Manantali on the Bafing River was undertaken of the Senegal valley supported up to 250,000 hectares during the period 1982–87 with funding from a of flood recession agriculture, forests which provide consortium of banks and international agencies. The fuelwood and construction timber, fishing, grazing for World Bank declined to be involved. The reservoir, livestock, recharge of groundwaters, wildlife habitat, with a capacity of 11,270 Mm3, was filled over the and maintenance of wetlands in the Senegal River Delta three subsequent years. The purpose of the dam was (Table 16.1). While there is considerable debate about to generate 800 GWh/year of electricity (90 percent the actual values derived in Table 16.1, the principle has certainty) and to provide water for irrigation. The been accepted that the floodplain ecosystem has a high dam site controls 50 percent of the flow on average value that was not recognized in initial planning of the and 70 percent in dry years. The hydroelectric power river basin.

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Table 16.1 Value of Floodplain Since installation of the turbines in 2001 through Production under Pre-dam Conditions the Regional Hydropower Development Project, the Activity Value ($/ha) economics of environmental flows changed. The release Recession agriculture 56–136 Fishing 140 of water for managed floods reduced the amount of Grazing 70 power that could be generated. Even the minimum TOTAL 266–345 environmental flood flow release reduces the mean annual energy from some 800 GWh by an amount varying from 140 to 190 GWh depending on the hydrological regime. The value attached to each kWh in The construction of the Manantali and Diama dams the justification of the energy project was of the order created significant environmental and social impacts. of $20 to $0.05/kWh. A primary impact was the loss of flood-recession agriculture, fuelwood, and grazing on the floodplain. Assistance under the Regional Hydropower Project There was a 90 percent drop in the productivity of was conditional on the basis that OMVS retained the fisheries of the Senegal Delta, which relied on the managed floods as a possible long-term option. inputs of freshwater from upstream. In addition, the A Plan for Mitigating and Monitoring Impacts on character of the vegetation in the Djoudj National the Environment (Plan d’Atténuation et de suivi des Park, adjacent to the river, changed significantly as the Impacts sur l’Environnement – PASIE) (Adams 2000) periods of saline water intrusion into the river, which was undertaken during the implementation of the used to occur during the dry season, were replaced by a Regional Hydropower Development Project to mitigate regime of continuous freshwater. For example, the river the environmental and social issues that had occurred channel became chocked with typha australis, which as a result of the construction of the original dams. had previously been controlled natural by saline water, Among other activities, PASIE included a program for and led to increased incidence of bilharzia and malaria. optimizing management of the Manantali Reservoir, so The Diama Barrage and embankments along both sides as to restore some level of benefit to downstream farmers. of the river led to severe degradation of the delta and loss of biodiversity in the Diawling National Park in Further environmental flow programs were Mauritania and also in the Senegal River Delta. implemented to release water through the embankments to re-inundate the Diawling National Park in the north The release of a managed environmental flood of the delta. Such releases were possible from the water flow was made in each year following the filling of stored within the river embankments immediately Manantali Dam in 1991 (Acreman 2003). Because of behind the lower Diama Dam, and thus did not the delay between dam construction and installation require additional water from Manantali and so did of turbines, OMVS agreed that managed floods should not impact on electricity generation. In addition, since be released for a transitional period of 10 years to development of intensive irrigation was considerably benefit people undertaking flood-recession agriculture, less than planned, the releases did not compromise the herding, and fishing. Although the environmental agricultural sector. These environmental flows led to a flows included in the plan were small and inundated major revival in fish stocks, particularly mullet; birds, only around 50,000 hectares (20 percent of the such as white pelicans; and revitalization of traditional original area), they had impressive benefits. Fishermen handicrafts. The total costs of the restoration over 12 in the Senegal River at Mauritania saw their annual years was around $100 per ha, while the added value of catch rise from 10 tons to 110 tons once the annual annual natural resource production was $65 per hectare floods were re-established. (Hamerlynck and others 2006).

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The GEF-funded Senegal River Valley Water and • fisheries will be assisted through a technical Environmental Management Project, which included modernization program and training in sustainable IUCN, commenced in 2003. The aim is to develop fisheries management a basin-wide framework to integrate national water • waterborne diseases, which have increased since resources activities within an environmental action the flow regime was modified, will be tackled program. Along with strengthening monitoring through a program to improve water management networks and building technical capacity, the project techniques, treat affected communities, and will assess the impacts of the seasonal floods from provide advice on disease prevention changes to the flow regime due to Manantali Dam. Drivers In 2002, the governments of Mali, Senegal, and Mauritania signed a Water Charter that guarantees A succession of drivers helped propel the provision an annual artificial flooding (Article 14) and minimal of environmental flows within the Senegal River environmental flows (Article 6), except under basin. The initial driver was the realization by Senegal extraordinary circumstances. The objective of the that the belated development of the dams would Water Charter is to “provide for efficient allocation of cause significant economic and social disruption to the waters of the Senegal River among many different the floodplain communities. This was reinforced by sectors, such as domestic uses, urban and water supply, academic research (Horowitz and Salem-Murdock irrigation and agriculture, hydropower production, 1990) that emphasized the importance of the navigation, fisheries, while paying attention to flows to the floodplain agricultural system, as well minimum stream flows and other ecosystem services.” as NGO studies that introduced the importance of environmental flows to the delta ecosystem Implementation of the charter is being assisted through (Hamerlynck and Duvail 2003). the $341 million Senegal River Basin Multi-Purpose Water Resources Development Project, which was Initially OMVS took a water engineering approach approved by the World Bank Board in 2006 (World with objectives focused on hydropower, irrigation, Bank 2006). The project will strengthen existing and navigation. Pressure was applied by IUCN to monitoring and information networks and lay the take a more integrated approach to development that foundation for an expansion of hydropower generation included conservation of ecosystems that provide in the Senegal River valley by preparing a comprehensive goods and services to local communities and for these master plan for the basin, completing the hydropower communities to be involved in decision making. feasibility study for the Gouina hydropower site, OMVS invited IUCN as an independent organization and undertaking preliminary technical studies at the to initiate community participation. The Permanent Gourbassi, Koukoutamba, and Balassa sites. Water Commission of OMVS, which makes water allocation decisions, was originally made up of water In addition, the project will mitigate some of the engineers, but now includes representatives from local downstream problems that have arisen from the dam coordinating committees that provide stakeholder developments: input and embraces the environmental flow concept. NGO input is now coordinated under an umbrella • recessional agriculture and irrigation in the mid- organisation (CODESEN), which was expanded from valley will be improved through the development its initial membership of Senegalese NGOs to include of small-scale hydraulic structures and assistance those from Mali and Mauritania. Input from national with irrigation management agencies has also improved.

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The World Bank safeguard policies, triggered during the main principle followed is one of sharing the benefits of appraisal of the Regional Hydropower Development infrastructure operation between countries, not sharing Project, acted as an additional driver for environmental the water itself. For example, Mali does not receive flows. The project included the provision of a specific share of water, but a share of the electricity environmental flows as a condition after the installation generated at Manantali. OMVS decides on the trade- of the turbines. offs between the various sectors: electricity production, commercial irrigation, subsistence farming, and nature conservation; in this way, it addresses the integration of Assessment environmental, social, and economic issues. The sharing Recognition. OMVS did not initially recognize either of costs, such as the downstream environmental/ the importance of maintaining either flood flows or economic costs of upstream development, was not dry season flows to water users downstream of the considered explicitly. As yet, climate change issues Manantali Dam, or the potential environmental have not been mainstreamed into policy and decision impacts from the exclusion of seawater into the estuary making, but its impacts on future water resources of the Senegal River by the Diama Barrage. Subsistence availability are beginning to be studied. farmers, who did not contribute to the national economy, were not considered in economic decisions. The annual flood is seen as the most important aspect The infrastructure development plan was driven by of the natural flow hydrograph for the river valley economic development considerations (Sir Alexander ecosystem, supporting floodplain vegetation and Gibb and Partners 1987). Once investigations took habitat for fish breeding. Releases from Manantali for place, it was realized that the traditional flood-recession hydropower also maintained high river levels for gravity agricultural practices on the floodplain had significant irrigation and deep water navigation. These elevated economic and social importance. These floodplain levels were thought to support the in-river ecosystem; communities were not part of the original plan because no consideration was given that elevated flows and they were considered subsistence farmers who would levels during the dry season might be inappropriately not be impacted by the developments. high for some species at this time of year. Minimum flows are also an issue, but unlike most managed river Environmental flood flows could be provided relatively systems, low flows in the Senegal River are often higher easily during the period prior to the installation of than natural because of the need to maintain water the turbines. It was hoped that, eventually, economic depth for navigation and gravity irrigation. However, it development brought by the dams would provide is increasingly being recognized that too much flow is as alternative employment for floodplain communities, detrimental to the ecosystem as too little flow. such as through intensive irrigation schemes, so that Various analyses have been undertaken to calculate the flood releases would not be required in the long term. best economic option for use of water in Manantali The concept of environmental flows is now accepted dam. Horowitz and Salem‑Murdock (1990) concluded within OMVS, through recognition of the need for that a combination of environmental flood flow releases floodplain inundation and for appropriate ecologically and generation of some hydropower was the most low flows. efficient economically. Hollis (1996) reviewed the original consultancies’ reports and suggested that an Comprehensiveness. Because management of the water environmental flood release could be made that would resources of the Senegal basin is coordinated by OMVS, inundate 100,000 hectares while retaining sufficient transboundary issues are automatically included. The water to generate 912 GWh of electricity with a 95

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percent certainty, complying with the original terms of patterns, but an optimal environmental flow was teference of the management plan. These studies were achieved by negotiation through stakeholder workshops noted by OMVS, but taken more seriously when they and discussions with individuals facilitated by IUCN. were supported by recognized international bodies such The release of water through the embankments was then as IUCN. approved by OMVS.

Environmental water status. The existence of two national Participation. OMVS was established as a top-down parks in the Senegal River floodplain/delta—and organization driven largely by the Council of Ministers the recognition that these areas provide essential and High Commission. OMVS operates consultative ecosystem services for local communities—means that bodies, such as the Permanent Water Commission, but environmental flows are included implicitly in decision these also comprise government officials from member making. Environmental objectives take the form of the states and are charged with allocation of resources. size of the area inundated by flood releases and various There is no forum for local communities’ participation scenarios (50,000, 75,000 and 100,000 hectares) have in the policies or implementation work of OMVS. been considered. However, a decision on the precise Local resource users only had influence on decisions environmental flood flow release from Manantali Dam, through participation in studies and workshops run by as in many other situations, depends on trade-offs outsiders such as IUCN. It is likely that without IUCN among a wide range of issues. For example, a release facilitating local resolutions, OMVS would have been is less acceptable if a higher certainty of hydropower unable to resolve differences of opinion and that top- electric power is required. OMVS considers the supply of down decisions would have led to disputes. This can be power to Mali, which does not benefit directly from an a generic problem with top-down approaches, in which environmental flow release to the floodplain and delta. the aim is to act in the national interest regardless of the A further political issue within Senegal and Mauritania distributional impacts on local people. concerns the distribution of benefits. Electricity benefits the urban elite, commerce, and industry (there being The Water Charter extended stakeholder involvement little rural electrification), while environmental flood within the Senegal basin to include farmers and NGOs. releases primarily benefit the rural poor. The expansion Further stakeholder participation was stimulated by of irrigation is potentially in conflict with flood-recession the GEF project, which included participation in its cropping in terms of space. However, the irrigation has design and implementation. Now local coordination not been particularly successful, with much irrigated committees exist throughout all countries of the basin. land already abandoned due to salinization and the resultant increase in diseases, such as bilharzia and Rift Data and science. OMVS has supported a wide range Valley fever. of consultancy studies over the management of water resources, such as the work of Sir Alexander Gibb and Further environmental flow programs were implemented Partners. This included hydrological models of the basin to release water through the embankments to re- to study the implications of different release patterns inundate the Diawling National Park in the north of from Manantali on inundation extent on the floodplain the delta. The precise timing and volume of flows was downstream. The hydrological studies were integrated derived through participation of local resource users. with economic analysis of natural floodplain goods and The return of freshwater flows revised the fishery and services, intensive irrigation, hydropower generation, the growth of grasses (Sporobolus robustus) used by local and navigation. This work produced a series of scenarios women to make mats (their main source of income). under which different areas of the floodplain would be Different users initially requested different flow release inundated, different amounts of electricity generated,

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and different degrees of irrigation could be achieved. ecosystem in Senegal and Mauritania. It also allows The relationship between surface and groundwater for the needs of the rural poor to be balanced in the Senegal valley has also been studied in some against the developed sectors. OMVS allows basin- detail (OMVS/USAID 1990). The environmental flow scale water management and allocation of benefits releases from Manantali were based on these studies. between the basin states, such as irrigation water and electricity generated from hydropower. Independent research has also been undertaken, such as 2. Certain elements of the river flow hydrograph can the hydrological, ecological and socioeconomic studies be the most important aspect of environmental of the Diawling Park (Duvail 2001); these studies flows. In the Senegal basin, it is floodplain defined the environmental flow releases through the inundation that supports an ecosystem that embankments to the delta. provides goods and services for local livelihoods. On the other hand, the delivery of flows that are In general, OMVS did not move radically from its beneficial for navigation during the dry season may original primary objective of delivering economic have harmful environmental consequences. development to Senegal, Mali, and Mauritania through hydropower generation, with the benefits 3. Environmental economics and social economic shared between the countries. The second priority justifications can be used to make a powerful case was to manage the downstream dam at Diama to for environmental flows in many cases. The reports maintain high water levels for irrigation and navigation. commissioned by OMVS identified the economic Concessions were made to release environmental flood value of the functions of the floodplain, which flows to inundate 50,000 hectares (20 percent of the were previously not appreciated by senior decision original area) until the turbines were installed. The makers in the Senegal basin states. This encouraged distributional effects were not seriously considered (i.e. the inclusion of flood releases from Manantali Dam which communities benefit or lost out); the objectives to maintain the floodplain ecosystem at least in the were focused on national and regional economic short term; without these social economic data, growth. Pressure from IUCN, the World Bank, and releases from Manantali would have been restricted others enabled small-scale environmental flow releases purely to the needs of the power generation, to continue, such as releases through the downstream intensive irrigation, and navigation sectors. embankments to the delta. These were largely to avoid 4. Release of freshwater to the coastal zone, such political conflict rather than recognition of economic as deltas and estuaries, can be as important as value of the ecosystems to local people. environmental flows to freshwater ecosystems. The original plans of OMVS did not allow for any flow releases below Diama Dam, as it did not Lessons recognize these as important. However, the IUCN 1. The structure of OMVS, with its membership studies recommended the release of water through of basin countries, provides an institutional the embankments immediately around Diama framework for managing water resources of to restore the delta ecosystem and its dependent the transboundary Senegal basin. The principle livelihoods, and this was approved by OMVS. followed is one of sharing the benefits (electricity, 5. There are many issues to consider when making a irrigable land, and navigation) rather than the decision about implementation of environmental water itself. It allows for transboundary mitigation flows, such as wider transboundary agreements of ecological impacts, such as releasing water from and distribution of benefits to different members the Manantali Dam in Mali to support the river of society. Research and studies by independent

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organizations should be assessed in addition to Valley.” Contributing Paper to Thematic Review I.1. those commissioned by a river basin authority. World Commission on Dams. London: Earthscan. OMVS was established to support economic Duvail, S. 2001. Scénarios hydrologiques et modèles development of the Senegal River basin through de développement en avl d’un grand barrage. Les electricity production, intensive irrigation, usages de l’eau et le partage des ressources dans la delta and navigation. It adapted its operational plan mauritanien du fleuve Sénégal. Unpublished PhD (and made environmental flow releases from Thesis. Strasbourg, France: Louis Pasteur University. Manantali) based on its own consultancy reports, Hamerlynck, O., and S. Duvail. 2003. “The but was reluctant to accept results of independent rehabilitation of the delta of the Senegal River in studies as they were considered too radical. Some Mauritania.” IUCN Wetlands and Water Programme results—for example, environmental flow releases Blue Series. Gland, Switerland: IUCN. to the delta—were eventually accepted when Hamerlynck, O., S. Duvail, B. Messaoud, and M. supported by international organizations such as Benmergui. 2006. “The restoration of the lower delta IUCN. of the Senegal River in Mauritania.” Proceedings of 6. OMVS was organized as a top-down institution the Symposium on Coastal Ecosystems of West Africa, focused on national and regional objectives; the Brussels, Belgium, February 2005. involvement of local communities as stakeholders Hollis, G.E. 1996. “Hydrological inputs to was not embraced. It was largely through the management policy for the Senegal River and its actions of international organizations, such as floodplains.” In: M.C. Acreman and G.E. Hollis, eds. IUCN, that impacts on local communities were Hydrological management and wetlands in sub-Saharan considered. Subsequently, the Water Charter Africa. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. recognized the rights of communities, including Horowitz, M., and F. Salem‑Murdock. 1990. those affected by flood flows, and a network of “Senegal River Basin Monitoring Activity Synthesis.” local coordination committees was established to Binghampton, New York: Institute for Development represent their views. Anthropology.

OMVS/USAID. 1990. Groundwater monitoring Acknowledgments Project. Vol II: “Hydrogeological synthesis of the Senegal river delta.” Dakar, Senegal: OMVS. Ousmane Dione of the World Bank provided comments on this case study. Sir Alexander Gibb and Partners. 1987. Etude da la gestion des ouvrages communs de l’OMVS: Rapports Phase 1, vol 1B – Optimisation de la crue artificielle References (rapport définitif). Dakar, Sénégal: OMVS.

Acreman, M.C. 2003. “Environmental flows: flood World Bank. 1997. “Regional Hydropower flows.” In R. Davis and R. Hirji, eds. Water Resources Development Project (Mali-Mauritania-Senegal).” Staff and Environment Technical Note C.3. Washington, Appraisal Report. Washington, DC: World Bank. DC: World Bank. World Bank. 2006. Project Appraisal Document. Adams, A. 2000. “Social Impacts of an African Dam: Senegal River Basin Multi-Purpose Water Resources Equity and Distributional Issues in the Senegal River Development Project. Washington, DC: World Bank.

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Background51 Taklimakan Desert, feeding oases and tributaries that flow into the Tarim River, which runs from west to east Feeding China’s population is a continuing challenge across the basin for over 1,300 kilometers. for the government of China (GOC). As of 1998, the annual consumption of grains was about 480 Historically there has been continual expansion of the million tons and was expected to grow to about 700 irrigated agriculture upstream along the tributaries to million tons by the year 2020, partly due to the the Tarim River to meet China’s needs for food and increasing population and partly due to the increased fiber without consideration of the ecological balance or consumption of grain for animal feed resulting the needs of other water uses. from increasing meat consumption as incomes rise. To meet these needs, the government’s long- The abstraction of water for irrigation in the upper term policies and strategies are designed to support reaches of the Tarim Basin has had severe detrimental increased food production by improving irrigated environmental effects, including soil alkalinity, decline agriculture, increasing incomes and rural employment in downstream water flow, loss of trees, desertification, opportunities, and promoting the development of the and declining downstream agricultural productivity. western region. One particular area the government The reasons for these unsustainable water use practices targeted for increased agriculture production is the included (a) ineffective water-allocation institutions, Tarim River Basin (198,000 km2) in the Xinjiang (b) below-cost water prices, (c) inefficient water Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), China’s largest transmission and irrigation systems, (d) inappropriate autonomous region located in northwestern China.52 agricultural practices, and (f) lack of management and information systems for water allocation, water pricing, Despite an average rainfall of just 50 millimeters and crop production at the local level. per year, the basin’s farmers produce 80 percent of Xinjiang’s cotton, or one-sixth of China’s total cotton Flows in the Tarim River, which traditionally flowed production through irrigated agriculture. Other into the terminal Taitema Lake, had progressively agricultural products include grains, fruits, nuts, silk, diminished during the 1960s. The river ceased to flow and wool. The gross regional product is approximately in the lower reaches during the 1970s because of the $4.3 billion, agriculture being the main economic excessive upstream withdrawals of water for irrigation. activity. The key to the basin’s productivity lies in the water, which starts as glacier and snowmelt in the high mountain ranges surrounding the basin on three 51 This section was drawn from World Bank (1998) and Hou and sides—the Kunlun Mountains to the southwest, the others (2006). 52 In addition to its agricultural importance, the region is Tibet Plateau to the southeast, and the Tien Shan strategically important to China because of its transport links Mountains to the north. This water runs into the with Central Asia.

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The only agriculturists in the region relying on natural coordination body, while the TRMB was established as systems are the Uygur herders, who free-range their the operational body responsible for operating hydraulic sheep on the over-bank flow areas of the Tarim River. structures, investigating water management options, These areas support a savannah woodland with an and monitoring and controlling water allocations. understory dominated by tough grasses of very low The project was successful in increasing agricultural feed value. The woodlands include a wide range of production. The downstream impacts of the agricultural medicinal herbs and other useful species. The survival water abstractions were addressed in the EIA and of this ecosystem is totally dependent on periodic flood provisions were included to release water to maintain the flows in the Tarim River. Reductions in flows have been downstream vegetation. However, these provisions were directly associated with reductions in the area of the inadequate and the green corridor on the lower reaches riverine forest over the last 40 years. As a consequence, of the Tarim River continued to decline. the natural riverine “green corridor” in the 300 km of the Tarim River upstream of Taitema Lake became The Tarim Basin II Project (1998–2004) addressed ecologically stressed, reducing the vegetative barrier to the environmental issues that had arisen in the basin encroachment of the Taklamakan and Kukule Deserts, by helping establish sustainable water resources which border the river in that area. The advance of development and management. The project’s objectives the deserts and the threat that they would link up and were to: sever the transport links was a significant concern to the • increase incomes of poor farmers through irrigated national government. agriculture development Administratively, the management of water in the • establish institutional mechanisms for sustainable Tarim basin is based on a provincial/regional structure. use, development, and management of water The regional water resources bureau (WRB) is located resources and land in the Tarim Basin in the provincial capital. There are prefecture-level water • partially restore and preserve the “green corridor” resources departments (WRD) located in each of the in the lower reaches of the Tarim River five prefectures (Aksu, Bayingol, Hotan, Kashgar, and Improved environmental sustainability and economic Kisilzu). Each WRD reports to the respective prefecture development could be jointly achieved by an approach government, rather than to the WRB. Management of based on “beneficial consumptive use,” where investing the basin’s water resources, including the coordinated in improved water use efficiency and reducing management of upstream and downstream areas, nonbeneficial consumption provided water savings has been handicapped by this poorly coordinated that could be allocated for downstream environmental management system. benefit. An estimated 3,400 Mm3 of non-beneficial evapotranspiration occurs in the areas affected by the The Tarim Basin II Project Tarim II project. The intention was that increases in agricultural consumptive use would be more than The Tarim Basin Project (1991–97) (World Bank offset by decreases in non-beneficial evapotranspiration 1991) focused on expansion of the area for irrigated through canal lining, drainage improvements, and crop production, improvement of agricultural services, water management improvements. promotion of livestock development, and the setting up of basin institutions. The Tarim River Committee (TRC) The project also improved management arrangements and Tarim River Management Bureau (TRMB) were for the basin’s water by establishing the Tarim Basin established under the project for managing water in the Water Resources Commission (TBWRC) and main stem of the Tarim River. The TRC was a policy and strengthening the TRMB, which was established

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during the implementation of Tarim Basin I project. Half of the water saved in the project will be delivered The TBWRC is a participative river basin commission downstream to the green corridor. The remaining comprising regional government water-related water will be consumptively used by grazing land, agencies, the five prefecture-level administrations, forest areas, irrigation, and through non-beneficial and the central government-controlled State Farms evapotranspiration. During the project, 41,462 hectares in the basin, in a partnership (Millington, Olson, of new land were developed; all new land development and McMillan 2006). It has the responsibility for was halted after that. The major production benefits coordinating and managing water across the basin from the project came from increasing yields and the (Radosevich and Olson 1999). value of production per unit of water consumed.

The TBWRC was the first multiple prefecture water Environmental flows to restore the riverine ecology resource management agency with recognized authority and Taitema Lake are not required on a continuous to be established within a single province in China. flow basis, but can be delivered in slugs over short Previous cross-jurisdictional river basin agencies, such as periods. This mimics the historical hydrograph that the Yellow River Basin Commission(YRBC), had been only produced flows in the lower reaches of the river established for the major rivers that crossed provincial during annual high-flow months. During project boundaries and had narrow responsibilities. Hence the implementation, the total volume of environmental TBWRC represents a shift toward more integrated and water released to the green corridor was 1,700 Mm3 participatory water management within provinces. from six releases over four years. The TBWRC now has a firm commitment to deliver 300 million cubic meters Water use efficiency and the productivity of irrigation annually to this area. The Taitema Lake, which had water were increased through a mixture of institutional not received water for 30 years, expanded to a surface improvements, on-farm efficiency measures, agricultural area of 200km2. The areas alongside the river with support activities, and engineering means (Davis groundwater levels within 4m of the surface expanded and Hirji 2003). The institutional improvements from 4.7km2 before these flows to 20.5km2 afterwards. included strengthening the TBWRC, improving the Riverine vegetation showed dramatic improvement in monitoring system, forming water user associations growth. Subsequent monitoring studies show that the and decentralizing decision making, and improving the vegetation coverage has increased gradually each year, financial basis of the management. A volumetric quota the desertification area has decreased, some sand areas for water diversions for agriculture was also established have obviously retreated, and the ecology of the lower in 1999 for each prefecture that was less than historical reaches of the Tarim River has improved (Zhenglong diversions. During project implementation, control of and others 2007). water use (based on quotas) was instituted at different levels of water use down to individual water users. The on-farm improvements included improved crop Drivers types, extension services land leveling, improvements The central government’s desire to solve the to on-farm irrigation systems, and mechanization. desertification problem—with its threat to transport The water supply canals were concrete lined with an links and attendant production and health costs—was underlying waterproof geomembrane to reduce leakage the principal driver for the release of water to the lower that contributed to high water tables and non-beneficial reaches of the Tarim River. One of the objectives of water consumption from capillary flux. As a result of the the Tarim Basin II project was to “partially restore canal lining, seepage losses are estimated to have been and preserve the ‘green corridor’ in the lower reaches 3 reduced by between 600 and 800 Mm per annum. of the Tarim River.” Environmental flows were not

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an activity added to the project to remediate impacts Once it was clear that the TWBRC was serious about of development activities within the project; rather enforcing the quotas,53 there was a change in attitude they were a central objective, along with improved leading to a genuine understanding and commitment by productivity of the project. Environmental flows irrigators and government officials within the basin to achieved this centrality because the environmental controlling water use and an acceptance that water must degradation of the lower Tarim River was leading to be allocated both for productive and environmental obvious and costly impacts. purposes. Water users have learned to increase yields and the value of production with less water consumption. While the project objective of restoring the downstream The introduction of a transparent system of volumetric environments was consistent with the 1998 National quotas and volumetric-based irrigation water charges Water law (revised in 2002), which requires effective helped considerably in changing farmer attitudes. measures to protect and preserve water resources and Accurate and transparent water measurement at all levels the environment with specific reference to arid areas for the point of diversion through to the farmer level (Radosevich and Olson 1999), it was not driven by this was a key success factor. legal requirement. Not all government institutions were supportive of the Neither international NGOs nor the growing project at the beginning. There had been considerable international environmental awareness were major confusion over responsibilities under the institutional influences on the provincial officials. The restoration of structure established in the Tarim I project. The TRC the green corridor was basically a provincial government was not taken seriously by the decision makers of the objective, strongly driven by the central government. province; it had no clear link with the TRMB and The major international influence arose indirectly neither had any legal standing for managing water through Australian-funded technical assistance from the allocation. The TRMB was responsible only for the Murray Darling Basin Commission. Provincial officials mainstream of the Tarim River. Most importantly, and key staff carried out a number of study tours to they had been set up in parallel to the provincial water Australia that influenced their thinking on IWRM and resources bureau (WRB) which, by law, was responsible environmentally sound river basin management. for water management (Xie, Jiang and Spencer 2006).

Assessment The general approach followed in the Tarim II project was to expand the TRMB and the TRC from “river” to Recognition. The importance of re-establishing flows “basin” institutions and to clarify the confusion of water in the lower Tarim River was recognized by the management responsibilities. In 1997, the Xinjiang XUAR government prior to the project commencing. People’s Congress passed “Regulations for Tarim They specifically sought a mechanism to restore the Basin Water Resources Management” to establish the downstream riverine environments in the Tarim TBWRC as the sole authority for water management in Basin II project while also improving the productivity the entire basin. The previous TRMB was changed to of irrigation within the basin. However, the WRBs and irrigation professions and irrigators initially saw the project, especially the quotas on diversions, as 53 The enforcement was through both fines and rewards. The a regulatory measure that would result in decreased monetary value of the fines and rewards was quite low; however, productivity and production potential. This resulted the publicity accompanying them was the main inducement as there was considerable prestige in being publicly acknowledged in considerable tension at the beginning of the for achieving the quota or public humiliation in being identified project. as not achieving it.

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the Tarim Basin Management Bureau (TBMB), which made available from the upstream institutional reforms, became the technical secretariat for the commission. on-farm practices, and engineering improvements to restore the environment. The delivery of water was Participation. The establishment of water user made experimentally during implementation and the associations (WUAs) was a fundamental part of the results evaluated to determine how much water should institutional reform component of the Tarim II project be delivered downstream in future to achieve beneficial and provided a focal point for communication and ecological outcomes. The TBWRC developed specific understanding by the farmers of their individual water-share quotas for each of the five prefectures within and collective responsibilities in efficiently using and the basin, on the basis that, over the long term, if annual managing water for irrigation. The WUAs encouraged diversions were held at these levels, the level of water farmer participation in local irrigation management, flowing to downstream areas would restore the green and demonstrated the functions and roles to the corridor to an acceptable level of health. In this way, the participatory management for development of irrigated situation was changed from an unsustainable continually agriculture. The WUAs were responsible for water decreasing downstream water delivery to a sustainable delivery and measurement within the established management system based on enforced water quotas. quotas, water charge calculation and collection, representing the views of irrigators in the planning One legacy of the previous fragmented approach to and management processes, and providing incentives water management is that there was not an effective and information for improving water-use efficiency basin-wide monitoring program. The TBWRC has and water conservation. The WUAs, in turn, were established a data collection and monitoring plan represented on the TBWRC through irrigation district (Radosevich and Olson 1999). The Tarim Management committees, which had been established under the Bureau now has in place an effective basin-wide Tarim II project. monitoring program that is used to monitor and report to the TBWRC on how well the prefectures have stayed Data and Science. During project preparation, within their quotas. In this way, the TBWRC is able to preliminary modeling studies were carried out to enforce the quotas. There is also at the prefecture level assess whether the project development activities a system of monitoring and delivery of water down would adversely affect the commitments to deliver to individual farmers, although the amounts in many water to downstream areas, to select the development cases are estimated based on rudimentary measurement alternatives with minimal impact on river flows, and systems. to develop models for future use in evaluating different developments and strategies. These models included In addition, there has been monitoring of the surface and groundwater models and salinity models effectiveness of the increased flows to the downstream within the irrigation areas. The modeling showed parts of the basin. Changes in vegetation responses have that the development components of the project will been established through tree ring analysis of riparian improve water management and would not adversely vegetation, water table levels have been monitored, affect the flow deliveries in the Tarim River. and the response of birds and other wild life have been assessed. These models did not extend to the river downstream of the irrigation areas and so the project did not use any Integration. The Tarim Basin II project established scientific assessment technique to estimate the water integrated water resources management through both needed for restoring the environment in the lower “top-down” and “bottom-up” activities. The top- reaches of Tarim Basin. Instead, sufficient water was down aspects included (a) establishing policies, laws,

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organizations, and regulations for managing water; use efficiency, acceptance of the importance of (b) defining the availability of water and determining downstream flows, and responsibility for operations broad water allocations within river basins and aquifers and maintenance. People now largely accept that for different sectors and political administrative entities; an ecology- and equity-based approach that decrees (c) setting water quality standards; and (d) establishing limits on water use through quotas does not have to an effective forum for cross-sectoral cooperation and compromise production and incomes. coordination. The “bottom-up” approach involved the participation and empowerment of water users and The project has led to tangible improvements in the their representation on the TBWRC through irrigation environment of the downstream parts of the river basin, district committees. leading to an improved buffer against desertification and dust storms without penalizing upstream water Consequently, the environmental water provisions were users. A number of delegations, including one fully integrated with the changes in the consumptive from Pakistan, have visited the Tarim Basin and are water provisions and the changes in responsibilities for considering similar programs. water management.

Cost effective. The economic analysis for the project Lessons demonstrated that the agricultural project benefits 1. The national importance of arresting the spread of justified all of the project costs without taking into the desert and its threat to strategically important account the environmental benefits. However, it transport links acted as a powerful driver for the is difficult to estimate the costs and benefits of return of environmental flows to the lower Tarim the environmental aspects of the project. The two River. project components that contributed to the water 2. The project illustrates the importance of savings (water conservation and environmental integrating technical (e.g. geomembrane) improvements—$133.7million) and the delivery of improvements with institutional and social water to the downstream areas also resulted in other improvements in order to deliver water for local benefits, which confound the measurement. In downstream environmental benefit. addition, the environmental benefits should include 3. The project’s success in providing environmental intangibles such as increases in national security flows was largely due to the delivery of both through maintenance of strategic links between China tangible benefits to the irrigators, in terms of and Central Asia. improved productivity, and benefits to downstream Influential. The institutional arrangements have populations. provided a precedent within China in forming basin- 4. Well-designed institutional structures, backed wide water resource management organizations. The by legislation, need to be established for major TBWRC is the first to include responsibility for all changes in water management to be effective in aspects of integrated river basin management and to providing the river flows needed for downstream have broader responsibilities than just specific tasks environmental benefits. such as flood control or pollution abatement found in 5. When the environmental benefits are readily other Chinese river basin commissions. apparent and integrated into the project objectives, the term “environmental flows” with Within the basin, the project has successfully changed its connotations of remedial actions, does not the attitude of different stakeholders toward water need to be used.

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6. Rules without enforcement are of little use. The Tarim River Basin and the Tarim Basin Water Resources rules to limit consumptive water use and ensure Commission, People’s Republic of China.” Washington, environmental allocations need to be backed up by DC: World Bank. a monitoring program and a willingness to reward Radosevich, G.E., and D.C. Olson. 1999. “Existing and punish transgressors. and emerging basin arrangements in Asia: Tarim Basin Water Resources Commission case study.” Third Workshop on River Basin Institutional Development. Acknowledgments Washington, DC: World Bank.

Doug Olson, Geoff Spencer, and Mei Xie of the World World Bank. 1991. “Staff Appraisal Report. Tarim Bank reviewed the case study. Basin Project, China.” Washington, DC: World Bank.

World Bank. 1998. “Project Appraisal Document: Tarim References Basin II Project, China.” (P046563). Washington, DC: World Bank. Davis, R. and R. Hirji, eds. 2003. “Irrigation and Drainage Development.” Water Resources and Xie M., L. Jiang, and G. Spencer. 2006. “Case Studies Environment Technical Note E.1. Washington, DC: on Integrated Water Resources Management. China: World Bank. Water Management in the Tarim Basin.” Training material. Washington, DC: World Bank Institute. Hou, P., R.J.S. Beeton, R.W. Carter, X.G. Dong, and X. Li. 2006. “Responses to environmental flows in the lower Tarim River, Xinjiang, China: Groundwater.” Zhenglong, Y., H. Qiang, T. Huifang, and J. Xiaochun. Journal of Environmental Management 83(4): 371–382. 2007. “Remote sensing analyses of spatio-temporal changes of the ecological environment in the lower Millington P., D. Olson, and S. McMillan. 2006. reaches of the Tarim River.” New Zealand Journal of “Integrated River Basin management. Case Study 3 Agricultural Research 50: 679–687.

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