Integrated Water Resources Management Liu Heng, PhD, Professor Vice President, Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute (NHRI) Vice Chairman, Chinese National Committee of UNESCO-IHP Framework of IWRM Course z Concepts and Challenges z Water and River System z Human Interferences and Water Uses z Planning Issue z Operational and Demand Management z Water Tariff and Pricing z Water Allocation z Decision Support System z Institutional Issues UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Concepts and Challenges (what and why and how) UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Concepts z What dose WRM mean ? Different people have different ideas, since they may have different water problems. Too much : Flood Too limited: Drought Too dirty: Pollution UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Understanding from different people z To people in arid countries z To people in wet countries z To the water engineer z To the environmentalist z To the lawyer z To the economist z To the politicians UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Baseline: from WRD to IWRM z Water Resources Development (WRD) z Water Resources Planning (WRP) z Water Resources Management (WRM) z Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 WRD and WRP z WRD means actions, mostly physical, that lead to the beneficial use of water resources for single or multiple purposes. z WRP is planning of the development, conservation and allocation of a scarce resources, matching water availability and water demand, taking account the full set of different level objectives and constraints and the interests of stakeholders. UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 WRM and IWRM z WRM is to ensure the sustainability of the water environment for multiple uses as an integral part of a country’s economic development process. z IWRM includes the whole set of technical, institutional, managerial, legal and operational activities required to plan, develop, operate and manage water resources for sustainable development UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 IWRM Integrated Water Resources Management is the process of coordinating conservation, management and development of water, land and related resources across sectors, in order to maximize the economic and social benefits derived from water resources in an equitable manner while preserving and, where necessary, restoring freshwater ecosystems. UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Relationship: expending WRD (Action) WRP ( Dev. , Cons., Alloc. ) WRM (Environment S., Economic B.) IWRM (Economic/Social B. Equity, Ecosystem) UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 IWRM: Integration Levels Integrated Approach Levels: 1. Surface water - groundwater water quantity - water quality 2. Water in relation to land, soil, climate 3. Water in relation to environment and socio- economic development UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 IWRM: Intergrated parameters z All natural aspects of the water system: surface water, groundwater, water quality (physical, biological and chemical). z All sectors depending on water: agriculture, households, industry, hydropower, navigation, fisheries, recreation, ecosystems. z The relevant national objectives and constraints: social, economic, institutional, environmental. z Institutions at all relevant levels: basin, national, provincial, local. z The spatial variation of resources and demands: upstream- downstream interaction, basin-wide analysis, inter-basin transfer. z The temporal variation: floods, droughts, peak demands, growth patterns. UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 IWRM: How Integrated ? Although the term “integrated” most commonly refers to integration across use sectors, it can also encompass a number of other divisions, including the following: Administrative jurisdictions; Ground and surface water; Upstream and downstream reaches; Environmental and human uses; Supply and demand management; Water quantity and quality; Land and water use; and Transboundary uses etc. UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 IWRM: aim and criteria z The aim of IWRM is to ensure the multi-functional use of water resources for the present and future generations. TheThe threethree majormajor criteria:criteria: z Economic efficient use of natural resources z Equitable sharing of welfare z Sustainability UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 IWRM: Among or Beyond z IWRMIWRM is the management of freshwater systems as part of the broader natural environment and in relation to their socio-economic environment. Links with: z IRBM – Integrated river basin management z ICZM – Integrated coastal zone management UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Challenges: Why we need IWRM ? z some 1.2 billion people are still without safe drinking water z some 3 billion people are without sanitation, which threatens public health and water quality z between 1950 and 1995 per capita water availability has dropped by 38% (in developed countries) to 70% (in developing countries with an arid climate) z many ecosystems are being destroyed z floods occur more often and cause more damage z many conflicts occur between upstream and downstream uses and between different types of water use UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 A single discipline approach can no longer provide satisfactory solutions, because of Strong linkage between different phenomena – land use → erosion → water quality – land use → runoff → peak flows – water use for irrigation → food supply – public water supply & sanitation → human health – water withdrawals → base flows – wastewater & solid waste → water quality – water quality → human health, productivity of ecosystems – flood regulation → downstream land fertility – large-scale infrastructure → environmental integrity – global climate change → regional water availability UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 IWRM and IRBM IWRM is still a relatively new Sustainable concept, focussed on the Development process through which people can develop a vision, agree and management on shared values and of water can be behaviours, make informed achieved by decisions and act together to applying manage the natural resources. Integrated Water Resources IRBM: River Basin Management. UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Elements of IWRM and IRBM 1. Operational management Activities that affect river basins directly. 2. Planning A means to improve and support operational management. 3. Analytical support Support to both planning and operational management. 4. Institutional framework The boundary conditions, the context. UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 IWRM Course Structure Institutional Planning framework Analytical Operational / D. support management Water Resources and Water users UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Water and River System UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Hydrosphere z Water: 1386 million km3 on earth – in which: 97.5% saline water – 2.5% freshwater z Freshwater – 68.9% : ice, snow in the Antarctic, the Arctic and the mountains – 0.3% : lakes, reservoirs and river systems – 29.9%+0.9%: groundwater + others UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Water distribution on the earth UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Three types of water z In the hydrological cycle three types of water can be distinguished: white, blue and green UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Distribution z Renewable global water resources 42,700 km3 per year, however, z Asia 13,500 km3 z South America 12,000 km3 z Europe 2,900 km3 z Australia, Oceania: 2,400 km3 UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Water Availability Continently UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Water Availability Regionally UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 River and Wetland ecosystems z The different types of wetlands. UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Wetland ecosystems and biodiversity z Many environmental problems can be understood better if addressed from an ecological perspective. z Ecology is the scientific discipline that studies how organisms (plants, animals, bacteria) interact in and with the natural world. UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 River basin functions and interactions z A river basin serves as the most appropriate unit for maintaining the health of its functioning and the conservation of freshwater systems z River basins are defined by catchments UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 River basin functions and interactions z Catchments can be defined at different spatial scales Î stream orders: scale up from sub-basin level UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Interactions in river basin systems Water use Land use Industrial Climate change activity River runoff Water quality Base flows Peak flows Public water supply & Food sanitation production Flooding Human Economic Fisheries health development UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 River basin functions and interactions z Functions of river systems: – water supply – sewage discharge – nutrient retention – etc. UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Interactions in river basin systems z A river basin is a complex system. – Many sub-systems – Non-linear cause-effect chains – Feedback mechanisms – Uncertainties z Complex systems can only be understood through holistic analysis. z Complex systems can only be properly managed if one considers the consequences of activities and measures throughout the system. UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Human interferences and Water Uses UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Human interferences z Different cultures have different attitudes towards nature z Market economy and economic growth may lead to overexploitation of resources z Search Balance of Quantity and Quality UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Water Quantity z flood protection z irrigation z drainage z groundwater withdrawal z water supply z sanitation z flow regulation z power generation z navigation UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Water Quality z organic matter and nutrients z sediments z chemical pollution z thermal pollution UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Water-Using Activities z Consumption – Water Supply (domestic and industrial use) – Irrigation (Agriculture use) Non-consumption hydropower navigation recreation and fishery UNESCO-IRTCES 2007 Unit municipal water use China Urban Rural Year L/d capita L/d capita 1980 117