Training Manual

June 2008

Foreword

The purpose of this training material is to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the application of integrated water resources management (IWRM) for sustainable management and development of water resources. The training is particularly targeted at the staff of river basin organisations (RBOs).

Sustainable management of water resources is an important goal being adopted at national and international level in a bid to address water shortages, inequity, pollution and many other water problems. One of the key changes being adopted follows from the recognition that upstream/ downstream effects require management using a basin approach. As a result many countries are introducing new institutional arrangements for water resources management, including organizations to manage water resources at the basin level – (RBOs).

Creating new structures, or changing old ones, to meet the goals of integrated water resources management is not easy and there is evidence that the introduction of new river basin organizations does not run smoothly in many countries. In addition there is widespread uncertainty about what it means to implement the IWRM approach to water resources management on the ground.

Following from a series of case studies on River Basin Organisations (see box) Cap-Net has developed a foundation training programme for the management of water resources. The approach has been to focus on the key functions essential for sustainable management of water resources and they represent the core responsibilities of a water management agency. Organisations tasked to carry out these functions at the river basin level may or may not be called RBOs.

The initial target for these materials is the national level as it is believed that progress with trans-boundary water resources management is dependent upon appropriate structures and systems at national level.

To assist in determining progress toward sustainable management of water resources the training is anchored around a draft set of output indicators. These indicators are related to the main water management functions and assist the RBO to assess progress and determine effectiveness of its activities. One particular benefit is the opportunity for the RBO to adjust the indicators to match the priorities and state of development of the basin. These indicators may be seen as supplementary to those developed in South East Asia which focus mainly on organisational performance. (Makin et al, 2004[1])

The manual is presently in its first draft and is structured to address each of the key water management functions. It is expected that this approach will assist RBOs to identify strong and weak performance areas and take appropriate action to continue progressive improvement in water governance.

Paul Taylor, Director, Cap-Net

Acknowledgements

This training manual has been developed by Paul Taylor, Rikard Lidèn, Wangai Ndirangu, and Lee Jin. The programme was developed from a series of case studies in Mexico, Kenya, Sri Lanka and Malaysia and a planning workshop held in Sri Lanka. The case study authors Carlos Diaz Delgardo, Wangai Ndirangu, M.I.M. Mowjood and Lee Jin together with Klaas Schwartz, Paul Taylor, Arlene Inocencio; Eng Jayasinghe; and Vijay Parapinje participated in the planning workshop. Klaas Schwartz and Wim Douven compiled the case study findings into a summary report available on the Cap-Net web site.

The institutions contributing to the case studies and the content of the training materials are UNESCO-IHE, Nile IWRM-Net, LA-WETnet, Lanka CapNet, AguaJaring, SWECO and IWMI.

Cap-Net would like to acknowledge the various contributions mentioned above as well as the feedback from participants of the first training course that served to improve the materials significantly. Any omission or error is the responsibility of Cap-Net.

These materials are freely available for use, adaptation and translation as desired and can be downloaded from the Cap-Net web site or requested on CD together with all of the resource materials and Powerpoint slides. When using the materials please give appropriate acknowledgement to the source.

Contents

Module 1: Introduction to Integrated Water Resources Management 1

1. What is Integrated Water Resources Management?. 1

2. Why IWRM?. 2

3. Key Issues in Water Management 2

4. Water Management Principles. 4

5. Water Use, Impacts and Benefits. 5

6. Implementing IWRM.. 7

Web References. 9

Module 2: Water Resources Management Functions at the River Basin Scale. 11

1. Introduction. 11

2. Basic Functions for Water Resources Management 12

3. Water Management Objectives as a Way of Performing the Functions. 13

4. Institutional Arrangements for Performing the Functions. 14

5. Stepwise Approach to Conduct the Functions. 15

6. Lessons. 17

Web References. 18

Module 3: Using Indicators to Measure Progress and Performance. 19

1. Introduction. 19

2. Indicators and their Use. 19

3. Criteria for Developing Indicators. 21

4. Minimum Indicators for Water Management at River Basin Level 23

5. Lessons. 24

Web References. 24

Module 4: Stakeholder Participation. 28

1. Introduction. 28

2. Where and how should Stakeholders be Involved?. 29

3. Stakeholder Inventory and Mobilisation. 30

4. Stakeholder Organisation and Structure. 32

5. Maintaining Active Participation. 34

6. Lessons. 35

Web References. 35

Module 5: Water Allocation. 37

1. Introduction. 37

2. Water Management Objectives in Water Allocation. 37

3. Water Resources System Analysis. 39

4. Water Permits. 41

5. Lessons. 44

Web References. 44

Module 6: Pollution Management 45

Learning Objectives. 45

1. Introduction. 45

2. Legal and Regulatory Framework. 45

3. Planning for Pollution Control 48

4. Planning and Implementation. 52

5. Lessons. 53

Web References. 54

Module 7: Monitoring Systems. 55

Learning Objectives. 55

1. Introduction. 55

2. Why do we Need to Monitor?. 56

3. Monitoring of Water Resources. 57

4. Monitoring of Water Use. 60

5. Monitoring of Pollution and Water Quality. 60

6. Lessons. 62

Module 8: Information Management 64

1. Introduction. 64

2. Information Management Process. 64

3. Information Management Tools. 67

3. Guidelines for the Development of ICT Systems. 69

4. Information Management Outputs. 70

5. Lessons. 71

Web References. 71

Module 9: Economic and Financial Instruments. 73

1. Introduction. 73

2. Explaining Financial and Economic Instruments. 74

3. Water as an Economic and Social Good. 75

4. Applying Economic and Financial Instruments. 76

5. Water Resource Management Goals. 77

6. Economic and Financial Instruments and the RBO.. 79

7. Lessons. 82

Web References. 82

Module 10: Basin Planning for Water Resources. 83

1. Introduction. 83

2. Preparing for Basin Planning. 84

3. Basin Planning Process. 86

4. Implementation of the Basin Plan. 91

5. Lessons. 91

Web References. 91

ANNEXURE 1: Sample Course Programme. 93

Acronyms. 94

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Module 1: Introduction to Integrated Water

Resources Management

Learning objectives

· Appreciate the need for reforms to the way water is being managed.

· Understand the main elements of an IWRM approach to sustainable management of water resources.

1. What is Integrated Water Resources Management?

At its simplest, integrated water resources management is a logical and appealing concept. Its basis is that the many different uses of water resources are interdependent. That is evident to us all. High irrigation demands and polluted drainage flows from agriculture mean less freshwater for drinking or industrial use; contaminated municipal and industrial wastewater pollutes rivers and threatens ecosystems; if water has to be left in a river to protect fisheries and ecosystems, less can be diverted to grow crops. There are plenty more examples of the basic theme that unregulated use of scarce water resources is wasteful and inherently unsustainable.

Could you give more examples where integration can be beneficial?

Integrated management means that all the different uses of water resources are considered together. Water allocations and management decisions consider the effects of each use on the others. They are able to take account of overall social and economic goals, including the achievement of sustainable development. This also means ensuring coherent policy making related to all sectors. As we shall see, the basic IWRM concept has been extended to incorporate participatory decision-making. Different user groups (farmers, communities, environmentalists) can influence strategies for water resource development and management. That brings additional benefits, as informed users apply local self-regulation in relation to issues such as water conservation and catchment protection far more effectively than central regulation and surveillance can achieve.

Management is used in its broadest sense. It emphasises that we must not only focus on development of water resources but that we must consciously manage water development in a way that ensures long term sustainable use for future generations.

Integrated water resources management is therefore a systematic

process for the sustainable development, allocation and monitoring of water resource use in the context of social, economic and environmental objectives. It contrasts with the sectoral approach that applies in many countries. When responsibility for drinking water rests with one agency, for irrigation water with another and for the environment with yet another, lack of cross-sectoral linkages leads to uncoordinated water resource development and management, resulting in conflict, waste and unsustainable systems.

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2. Why IWRM?

Water is vital for human survival, health and dignity and a fundamental resource for human development. The world’s freshwater resources are under increasing pressure yet many still lack access to adequate water supply for basic needs. Growth in population, increased economic activity and improved standards of living lead to increased competition for, and conflicts over, the limited freshwater resource. Here are a few reasons why many people argue that the world faces an impending water crisis:

· Water resources are increasingly under pressure from population growth, economic activity and intensifying competition for the water among users;

· Water withdrawals have increased more than twice as fast as population growth and currently one third of the world's population live in countries that experience medium to high water stress;

· Pollution is further enhancing water scarcity by reducing water usability downstream;

· Shortcomings in the management of water, a focus on developing new sources rather than managing existing ones better, and top-down sector approaches to water management result in uncoordinated development and management of the resource;

· More and more development means greater impacts on the environment; and

· Current concerns about climate variability and climate change demand improved management of water resources to cope with more intense floods and droughts.

3. Key Issues in Water Management

3.1 Water governance crisis

Sectoral approaches to water resources management have dominated in the past and are still prevailing. This leads to fragmented and uncoordinated development and management of the resource. Moreover, water management is usually in the hands of top-down institutions, the legitimacy and effectiveness of which have increasingly been questioned. Thus, weak governance aggravates increased competition for the finite resource. IWRM brings coordination and collaboration among the individual sectors, plus a fostering of stakeholder participation, transparency and cost-effective local management.

3.2 Securing water for people

Although most countries give first priority to satisfying basic human needs for water, one fifth of the world’s population is without access to safe drinking water and half of the population is without access to adequate sanitation. These service deficiencies primarily affect the poorest segments of the population in developing countries. In these countries, meeting water supply and sanitation needs for urban and rural areas represents one of the most serious challenges in the years ahead. Halving the proportion of the population lacking water and

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sanitation services by 2015 is one of the Millennium Development Goals[2]. Doing so will require a substantial re-orientation of investment priorities, which will be much more readily achieved in those countries that are also implementing IWRM.

3.3. Securing water for food production

Population projections indicate that over the next 25 years another 2-3 billion people will need food. Water is increasingly seen as a key constraint on food production, equivalent to if not more crucial than land scarcity. Irrigated agriculture is already responsible for more than 70% of all water withdrawals (more than 90% of all consumptive use of water).

Even with an estimated need for an additional 15-20% of irrigation water over the next 25 years - which is probably on the low side – serious conflicts are likely to arise between water for irrigated agriculture and water for other human and ecosystem uses. IWRM offers the prospect of greater efficiencies, water conservation and demand management equitably shared among water users, and of increased recycling and reuse of wastewater to supplement new resource development.

3.4. Protecting vital ecosystems

Terrestrial ecosystems in the upstream areas of a basin are important for rainwater infiltration, groundwater recharge and river flow regimes. Aquatic ecosystems produce a range of economic benefits, including such products as timber, fuel wood and medicinal plants, and they also provide wildlife habitats and spawning grounds. The ecosystems depend on water flows, seasonality and water-table fluctuations and are threatened by poor water quality. Land and water resources management must ensure that vital ecosystems are maintained and that adverse effects on other natural resources are considered and where possible reduced when development and management decisions are made. IWRM can help to safeguard an “environmental reserve” of water corresponding with the value of ecosystems to human development.

3.5. Gender disparities

Formal water management is male dominated. Though their numbers are starting to grow, the representation of women in water sector institutions is still very low. That is important because the way that water resources are managed affects women and men differently. As custodians of family health and hygiene and providers of domestic water and food, women are the primary stakeholders in household water and sanitation. Yet, decisions on water supply and sanitation technologies, locations of water points and operation and maintenance systems are mostly made by men.

The Gender and Water Alliance cites the example of a well meaning NGO that helped villagers to install pour-flush latrines to improve their sanitation and hygiene, without first asking the women about the extra two litres of water they would have to carry from distant sources for every flush. A crucial element of the IWRM philosophy is that water users, rich and poor, male and female, are able to influence decisions that affect their daily lives.

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4. Water Management Principles

A meeting in Dublin in 1992[3] gave rise to four principles that have been the basis for much of the subsequent water sector reform.

Principle 1: Fresh water is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life, development and the environment.

The notion that freshwater is a finite resource arises as the hydrological cycle on average yields a fixed quantity of water per time period. This overall quantity cannot yet be altered significantly by human actions, though it can be, and frequently is, depleted by man-made pollution. The freshwater resource is a natural asset that needs to be maintained to ensure that the desired services it provides are sustained. This principle recognises that water is required for many different purposes, functions and services; management therefore, has to be holistic (integrated) and involve consideration of the demands placed on the resource and the threats to it.

The integrated approach to management of water resources necessitates co-ordination of the range of human activities which create the demands for water, determine land uses and generate waterborne waste products. The principle also recognises the catchment area or river basin as the logical unit for water resources management.

Principle 2: Water development and management should be based on a participatory approach, involving users, planners and policymakers at all levels.

Is stakeholder participation really possible in practice?

Water is a subject in which everyone is a stakeholder. Real participation only takes place when stakeholders are part of the decision-making process. The type of participation will depend upon the spatial scale relevant to particular water management and investment decisions. It will be affected too by the nature of the political environment in which such decisions take place. A participatory approach is the best means for achieving long-lasting consensus and common agreement. Participation is about taking responsibility, recognizing the effect of sectoral actions on other water users and aquatic ecosystems and accepting the need for change to improve the efficiency of water use and allow the sustainable development of the resource. Participation does not always achieve consensus, arbitration processes or other conflict resolution mechanisms also need to be put in place.

Governments have to help create the opportunity and capacity to participate, particularly among women and other marginalised social groups. It has to be recognised that simply creating participatory opportunities will do nothing for currently disadvantaged groups unless their capacity to participate is enhanced. Decentralising decision making to the lowest appropriate level is one strategy for increasing participation.

Principle 3: Women play a central part in the provision, management and safeguarding of water.

The pivotal role of women as providers and users of water and guardians of the living environment has seldom been reflected in institutional arrangements for the development and management of water resources. It is widely acknowledged that women play a key role

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in the collection and safeguarding of water for domestic and – in many cases – agricultural use, but that they have a much less influential role than men in management, problem analysis and the decision-making processes related to water resources.

IWRM requires gender awareness. In developing the full and effective participation of women at all levels of decision-making, consideration has to be given to the way different societies assign particular social, economic and cultural roles to men and women. There is an important synergy between gender equity and sustainable water management. Involving men and women in influential roles at all levels of water management can speed up the achievement of sustainability; and managing water in an integrated and sustainable way contributes significantly to gender equity by improving the access of women and men to water and water-related services to meet their essential needs

Is there anyone here who doesn't pay for water?

Principle 4: Water has an economic value in all its competing uses and should be recognised as an economic good as well as a social good.

Within this principle, it is vital to recognise first the basic right of all human beings to have access to clean water and sanitation at an affordable price. Managing water as an economic good is an important way of achieving social objectives such as efficient and equitable use, and of encouraging conservation and protection of water resources. Water has a value as an economic good as well as a social good. Many past failures in water resources management are attributable to the fact that the full value of water has not been recognised.

Value and charges are two different things and we have to distinguish clearly between them. The value of water in alternative uses is important for the rational allocation of water as a scarce resource, whether by regulatory or economic means. Charging (or not charging) for water is applying an economic instrument to support disadvantaged groups, affect behaviour towards conservation and efficient water usage, provide incentives for demand management, ensure cost recovery and signal consumers’ willingness to pay for additional investments in water services.

Treating water as an economic good is an important means for decision making on the allocation of water between different water use sectors and between different uses within a sector. This is particularly important when extending supply is no longer a feasible option.

5. Water Use, Impacts and Benefits

5.1. Impacts

Most uses of water bring benefits to society but most also have negative impacts which may be made worse by poor management practices, lack of regulation or lack of motivation due to the water governance regimes in place.

Each country has its priority developmental and economic goals set according to environmental, social and political realities. Problems and constraints arise in each water use area, but the willingness and ability to address these issues in a coordinated way is affected by the governance structure of water. Recognising the inter-related nature of different sources of water and thus also the inter-related nature and impacts of the differing water uses is a major step to the introduction of IWRM.

Table 1.1: Impact of water use sectors on water resources
1		Positive Impacts	Negative Impacts
	Environment	· Purification · Storage · Hydrological cycle
	Agriculture	· Return flows · Increased infiltration · Decreased erosion · Groundwater recharge · Nutrient recycling	· Depletion · Pollution · Salinisation · Water logging · Erosion
	Water supply & sanitation	· Nutrient recycling	· High level of water security required · Surface and groundwater pollution

5.2. Benefits from IWRM

Environment benefits

· Ecosystems can benefit from applying an integrated approach to water management by giving environmental needs a voice in the water allocation debate. At present these needs are often not represented at the negotiating table.

· IWRM can assist the sector by raising awareness among other users of the needs of ecosystems and the benefits these generate for them. Often these are undervalued and not incorporated into planning and decision-making.

· The ecosystem approach provides a new framework for IWRM that focuses more attention on a system approach to water management: -protecting upper catchments (e.g. reforestation, good land husbandry, soil erosion control), pollution control (e.g. point source reduction, non-point source incentives, groundwater protection) and environmental flows. It provides an alternative to a sub-sector competition perspective that can join stakeholders in developing a shared view and joint action.

Agriculture benefits

· As the single largest user of water and the major non-point source polluter of surface and groundwater resources, agriculture has a poor image. Taken alongside the low value added in agricultural production, this frequently means that, especially under conditions of water scarcity, water is diverted from agriculture to other water uses. However, indiscriminate reduction in water allocation for agriculture may have far-reaching economic and social consequences. With IWRM, planners are encouraged to look beyond the sector economics and take account of the implications of water management decisions on employment, the environment and social equity.

· By bringing all sectors and all stakeholders into the decision-making process, IWRM is able to reflect the combined “value” of water to society as a whole in difficult decisions on water allocations. This may mean that the contribution of food production to health, poverty reduction and gender equity, for example, could over-ride strict economic comparisons of rates of return on each cubic metre of water. Equally, IWRM can bring

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into the equation the reuse potential of agricultural return flows for other sectors and the scope for agricultural reuse of municipal and industrial wastewaters.

· IWRM calls for integrated planning so that water, land and other resources are utilised in a sustainable manner. For the agricultural sector IWRM seeks to increase water productivity (i.e. more crop per drop) within the constraints imposed by the economic, social and ecological context of a particular region or country.

Water supply and sanitation benefits

· Above all, properly applied IWRM would lead to the water security of the world’s poor and unserved being assured. The implementation of IWRM based policies should mean increased security of domestic water supplies, as well as reduced costs of treatment as pollution is tackled more effectively.

· Recognizing the rights of people, and particularly women and the poor, to a fair share of water resources for both domestic and household-based productive uses, leads inevitably to the need to ensure proper representation of these groups on the bodies that make water resource allocation decisions.

· The focus on integrated management and efficient use should be a stimulus to the sector to push for recycling, reuse and waste reduction. High pollution charges backed by rigid enforcement have led to impressive improvements in industrial water-use efficiencies in the industrialised countries, with benefits for domestic water supplies and the environment.

· Past sanitation systems often focused on removing the waste problem from the areas of human occupation, thus keeping the human territories clean and healthy, but merely replacing the waste problem, with often detrimental environmental effects elsewhere. Introduction of IWRM will improve the opportunity for introduction of sustainable sanitation solutions that aim to minimise waste-generating inputs, and reduction of waste outputs, and to solve sanitation problems as close as possible to where they occur.

· At a practical local level, improved integration of water resource management could lead to greatly reduced costs of providing domestic water services, if for instance more irrigation schemes were designed with a domestic water component explicitly involved from the start.

6. Implementing IWRM

The case for IWRM is strong – many would say incontestable. The problem for most countries is the long history of sectoral development. As the Global Water Partnership puts it:

“IWRM is a challenge to conventional practices, attitudes and professional certainties. It confronts entrenched sectoral interests and requires that the water resource is managed holistically for the benefits of all. No one pretends that meeting the IWRM challenge will be easy but it is vital that a start is made now to avert the burgeoning crisis.”

IWRM is, above all, a philosophy. As such it offers a guiding conceptual framework with a goal of sustainable management and development of water resources. What it does demand is that people try to change their working practices to look at the bigger picture that surrounds their actions and to realise that these do not occur independently of the actions of others. It also seeks to introduce an element of decentralised democracy into how water is managed, with its emphasis on stakeholder participation and decision making at the lowest appropriate level.

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All of this implies change, which brings threats as well as opportunities. There are threats to people’s power and position; and threats to their sense of themselves as professionals. IWRM requires that platforms be developed to allow very different stakeholders, often with apparently irreconcilable differences to somehow work together.

Because of the existing institutional and legislative frameworks, implementing IWRM is likely to require reform at all stages in the water planning and management cycle. An overall plan is required to envisage how the transformation can be achieved and this is likely to begin with a new water policy to reflect the principles of sustainable management of water resources. To put the policy into practice is likely to require the reform of water law and water institutions. This can be a long process and needs to involve extensive consultations with affected agencies and the public.

Figure 1.1: IWRM and it linkages to the subsectors

Implementation of IWRM is best done in a step-by-step process, with some changes taking place immediately and others requiring several years of planning and capacity building.

6.1 Policy and legal framework

Attitudes are changing as officials are becoming more aware of the need to manage resources efficiently. They see too that the construction of new infrastructure has to take into account environmental and social impacts and the fundamental need for systems to be economically viable for maintenance purposes. However, they may still be inhibited by the political implications of such a change. The process of revising water policy is therefore a key step, requiring extensive consultation and demanding political commitment.

Water legislation converts policy into law and should:

· Clarify the entitlement and responsibilities of users and water providers;

· Clarify the roles of the state in relation to other stakeholders;

· Formalise the transfer of water allocations;

· Provide legal status for water management institutions of government and water user groups;

· Ensure sustainable use of the resource.

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Bringing some of the principles of IWRM into a water sector policy and achieving political support may be challenging, as hard decisions have to be made. It is therefore not surprising that often major legal and institutional reforms are only stimulated when serious water management problems have been experienced.

6.2 Institutional framework

For many reasons, developing country governments consider water resources planning and management to be a central part of government responsibility. This view is consistent with the international consensus that promotes the concept of government as a facilitator and regulator, rather than an implementer of projects. The challenge is to reach mutual agreement about the level at which, in any specific instance, government responsibility should cease, or be partnered by autonomous water services management bodies and/or community-based organisations.

The concept of integrated water resources management has been accompanied by promotion of the river basin as the logical geographical unit for its practical realisation. The river basin offers many advantages for strategic planning, particularly at higher levels of government, though difficulties should not be underestimated. Groundwater aquifers frequently cross catchment boundaries, and more problematically, river basins rarely conform to existing administrative entities or structures.

In order to bring IWRM into effect, institutional arrangements are needed to enable:

· The functioning of a consortium of stakeholders involved in decision making, with representation of all sections of society, and a good gender balance;

· Water resources management based on hydrological boundaries;

· Organisational structures at basin and sub-basin levels to enable decision making at the lowest appropriate level; and

· Government to co-ordinate the national management of water resources across water use sectors.

Web References

Cap-Net, 2003. Integrated Water Resources Management. Tutorial available at:

http://www.archive.cap-net.org/iwrm_tutorial/mainmenu.htm

GWP Background paper No. 4. Integrated Water Resources Management available at: http://www.gwpforum.org/gwp/library/TACNO4.PDF

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Module 2: Water Resources Management Functions at the River Basin Scale

Learning Objectives

· Learn the main basic functions for water resources management which need to be performed at the river basin scale to implement IWRM.

· Discuss institutional arrangements and introduce a process-thinking to conduct the water resources management functions.

· Appreciate that it takes time to fully perform water resource management functions and that the goals have to be set in relation to what can realistically be met.

1. Introduction

Most countries try to decentralise water resources management by delegating responsibility and resources. The reason is that local organisations and communities have better knowledge of the water and socio-economic situation and also are the most affected by decisions taken on how to manage the resource. Centralised national or regional governments have difficulties to allocate and regulate water in a river basin as they are unaware of local interests and priorities. Government should, however, provide the rules and establish a framework for the water management in a river basin (GWP, 2003).

What is the state of water governance in your country?

How is it being

decentralised?

The boundaries for a river basin provide a natural unit for water resources management. A river basin is a closed region where water management directly affects the inhabitants and other stakeholders of the basin. Although, the river basin may cover different administrative units there are thus incentives for these units to cooperate. A basin society with local know-how and with representatives of all stakeholders, including governmental bodies, is thus the ideal governing institution for

de-centralised water resources management.

Water resources management is one part of the overall management of the environment and the preservation of ecosystems, which is a prerequisite for sustainable development. Water resources management therefore needs to be coordinated with other disciplines and sectors that affect the water resources or are affected by how well the water is managed.

Which actors impact the quality of surface water?

Is there any other essential function that should be included based on your experience?

On the river basin scale there are thus many actors that have roles and responsibilities for management of the environment and society, which are all linked to the status of the water resources. For successful implementation of IWRM all these actors have to be involved.

It is therefore logical that IWRM on the river basin scale should be focussed on a set of basic water resources management functions. This module thus includes a description of the basic water resources management functions (Section 2) and introduces water management objectives as a way for performing these functions (Section 3). These functions and water management objectives are further elaborated in Modules 4-11. This module further discusses the institutional arrangements options that exist for conducting the functions

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(Section 4) and gives a stepwise approach for building the institutional capacity for this (Section 5).

2. Basic Functions for Water Resources Management

The suggested basic functions for water resources management in a river basin are presented in Figure 2.1, and Table 2.1 gives a definition of these functions. To illustrate the functions a number of activities have been exemplified for each of the functions. Flood and drought management are not addressed in these materials and have been given separate attention by Cap-Net.

Table 2.1: Functions of water resources management in a river basin

Function	Example of activities
Stakeholder participation – Implementing stakeholder participation as a basis for decision making that takes into account the best interests of society and the environment in the development and use of water resources in the basin. [Module 4]	· Develop and maintain an active stakeholder participation process through regular consultation activities. · Provide specialist advice and technical assistance to local authorities and other stakeholders in IWRM.
Water allocation – Allocating water to major water users and uses, maintaining minimum levels for social and environmental use while addressing equity and development needs of society. [Module 5]	· License of water uses including enforcement of these.
Pollution control – Managing pollution using polluter pays principles and appropriate incentives to reduce most important pollution problems and minimise environmental and social impact. [Module 6]	· Identify major pollution problems. · License and manage polluters.
Monitoring of water resources, water use and pollution – Implementing effective monitoring systems that provide essential management information and identifying and responding to infringements of laws, regulations and permits. [Module 7]	· Carry out hydrological, geographical and socio-economic surveys for the purposes of planning and development of water resources. · Develop, update and maintain a hydrometric database required for controlling compliance of water use allocation.
Information management – Providing essential data necessary to make informed and transparent decisions for development and sustainable management of water resources in the basin. [Module 8]	· Define the information outputs that are required by the water managers and different stakeholder groups in a river basin. · Organise, co-ordinate and manage the information management activities so that the water managers and stakeholders get the information they require.
Economic and financial management – Applying economic and financial tools for investment, cost recovery and behaviour change to support the goals of equitable access and sustainable benefits to society from water use. [Module 9]	· Set fees and charges for water use and pollution.
2 River basin planning – Preparing and regularly updating the Basin Plan incorporating stakeholder views on development and management priorities for the basin. [Module 10]	· Conduct situation analysis with stakeholders. · Assess future developments in the basin.

The water resources management functions comprise a general framework for implementing IWRM for any river basin in the world. For any specific country, region or river basin some of the functions may be more relevant than others. However, for an inhabited river basin with competing water demands all these functions need to be performed to achieve sustainable management of the water resource and to improve livelihoods. In most countries the water resource management functions are guided by the national water laws and policies. Typically these are regulatory functions. Water allocation and pollution control in Table 2.1 are direct examples of such regulatory functions. The other functions may be partly regulatory but also serves as support for each other. For example, the functions of financial and information management are essential to enable the implementation of all regulatory functions.

3. Water Management Objectives as a Way of Performing the Functions

Functions of water resources management are very complex tasks and may involve many different activities conducted by many different players. They can also be implemented to a different level of ambition. To successfully perform these functions with limited resources therefore requires careful planning.

An important step for conducting the functions is to formulate relevant water management objectives related to each function. These water management objectives should delineate the functions into more manageable and understandable parts. Whereas the functions are general, the objectives should take the specific conditions of the river basin and the institutional resources into account. The water management objectives thus set the goal for the water resources management in the basin and lay out the strategy for how to implement the functions.

The water management objectives guide the activities to be carried out and the roles and responsibilities to be given (Figure 2.2). The activities and roles determine the needed capacity to meet the objectives.

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Because of often limited financial and human resources of the institutions responsible for water resources management the process may be constrained by the institutional capacity, which means that the capacity governs the possible activities to carry out and thus which objectives that can be fulfilled. A water management objective that is not realistic to fulfil within a reasonable time frame is not serving any purpose.

Need

Institutional

Capacities

Activities

and

Roles

Water

Management

Functions

Functions

Figure 2.2: The process for conducting and measuring progress of the water resources management functions

Output

Indicators

Have you set

objectives for any of these functions in your RBO?

The water management objectives should further be formulated to be measurable so that output indicators can be linked to each of them. Through regular monitoring of these indicators there will be feedback on how well the objectives are being fulfilled and whether the performance of the function is proceeding according to plan. The setting of water management objectives should therefore also take into account the physical possibility and institutional capacity to monitor these indicators.

4. Institutional Arrangements for Performing the Functions

There is no blue-print for designing an organisational framework to meet the water management objectives and to exercise all the water resources management functions. An important aspect is that there are many institutions as well as water authorities that must be involved in conducting water resources management (Figure 2.3).

Environmental, land and

infrastructure management functions

Status of water resources

River Basin

Organisation

Other regional authorities

Other Ministries

Ministry of

Water

Water resources

management functions

OUTPUT

FUNCTIONS

DECENTRALISED

ORGANISATION

CENTRAL

GOVERNMENT

Figure 2.3: Institutional arrangement for performing the water resources management functions

The structure and organisational framework are dependent on the national policies. Normally a river basin organisation (RBO) has regulatory functions as discussed in Section 2. Regulatory responsibilities related to the water resources management functions may, however, also be given to other institution than to the regional water authorities. Examples are pollution control that may be the responsibility of the Ministry of Environment or flood and drought management that may be within a general disaster management framework run by Local Government.

For an RBO it is therefore important to avoid dual responsibilities. If other institutions have the regulatory responsibility the RBO should act as a stakeholder and interact with these institutions in the best way possible.

2

As indicated in Figure 2.3 there are also related management areas, which directly influence the water resources but which are not part of the basic water resources management functions. An example is land management guiding agricultural fertilizer usage and soil conservation measures, both of which affect quality of the water resources. Also in this case the RBO must act as a strong stakeholder and interact with the relevant ministry or institution.