Components of integrated Water Resource Management

According to John & Singh, (2003), Integrated Water Resource Management is best accomplished within a spatial unit called basin or watershed. Integrated water resource management (IWRM) is the process which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to minimize economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystem.

Integrated Water Resources Management is also defined as the practice of making decision and taking actions while considering multiple viewpoints of how water should be managed. These decisions and actions relate to the situations such as river basin planning, organization of task forces, planning of new capital facilities, controlling reservoir releases, regulating flood plains, and developing new laws and regulations. The need for multiple viewpoints is caused by competition for water and by complex institutional constraints (Grigg & Neil, 1996).

Components of Integrated Water Resources Management

Integrated waterresource management (IWRM) is composed of five components namely, Water Resource Management, Purposes and services, Discipline of knowledge, Government and Interested group and stakeholders groups.

1. Water Resource Management

Managing water at the basin or watershed includes integrating land and water, upstream and down streams, ground water, surface water and costal resources. Management instruments will assist institutions in the discharge of their functions. Such instruments are to be used in integrating, in the assessment of the resources and developing allocation tools. According to Steusloff, (2010:383), the pressure on the world’s water resources is steadily increasing and therefore, the competition for the limited water resources is rising as well. To meet these challenges, a water management approach is required that is, putting it simply, balancing the human needs and the ecological requirements that means that the prevailing sectoral approach to water management has to be shifted towards a more interdisciplinary and therefore a holistic one.

2. Purposes and Services

Integrated water resources management considers the viewpoints of water management agencies with specific purposes. Water management considers three aspects: dimensions of water, surface water and ground water, and quantity and quality of water.

Water agencies deal with water supply, waste water and water quality services, storm water and floods control, Hydro-electric power, navigation, recreation and water for the environment, fish and wildlife. Optimizing supply involves conducting assessment of surface water and ground water supplies, analysing water balances, adopting waste water reuse and evaluating the environmental impacts of distribution and use options (Mitchel 1990).

3. Disciplines of Knowledge

The Integrated Water Resources Management requires knowledge of disciplines. Blending knowledge from different disciplines such as engineering, law, finance, economics, politics, history, sociology, psychology, life science, mathematics and other fields can bring about the possibilities, decisions and actions. For instance, engineering knowledge may focus on physical infrastructures system whereas sociology may focus on human. According to Timmerman and Langaas, (2004) as cited by Timmerman, et al, (2008:113), over the last two decades, water management has changed from a focus on distinct sectors, to a more integrated perspective. To construct and select the most suitable alternatives for water management, a holistic approach needs to be adopted. In the water resources management domain, there is increasing interest in integrated assessment that is emerging as a new discipline that integrate different kinds of knowledge to be used in all phases of the decision process. Water management is the complex process involving many actors, with different knowledge and at different levels. The success of management initiatives in such a context depends on their ability to facilitate co-operation between the actors and integration between different sources of knowledge. Thus, the flow of information between the actors, and an analysis of the ways in which networks of actors and institutions communicate internally and externally is vital.

4. Government and Interest Groups

Intergovernmental relationships between government agencies of the same level, include regional, state to state, and interagency issues. Relationships between different levels of government included, for example, state-federal and local state interactions. On the other hand, interest groups range from those favouring development of resources to those favouring preservation. According to UNESCO (2013:139), Interest groups have been tasked to support and facilitate IWRM, but they do not have the required training or guidance. The working group have an understanding of their problems and needs, and of their current water systems, but not of management options, impacts or decision making frameworks. By empowering local technical people with tools and structured collaborative planning process, Shared Vision Planning (SVP) can help interest groups learn about their system and options and jointly move toward sustainable solutions.

5. Stakeholders Group

Basin management requires a clear understanding of stakeholders who are involved in making decisions on water and resources management in a basin and who will be affected by those decisions. Once this is understood, ways of getting the sight mixed stakeholders involved at appropriate levels of basin management can be organized (GWP & INBO, 2009).

In order to ensure the sustainable use of water resources, IWRM stresses the importance of involving stakeholders within one hydrographic basin: the authorities, institutions, the public and private sectors, and civil society, with a special focus on women and marginalized groups.

Decentralized and the subsidiarity principle play key role in this process. The lowest possible unit of management should be fostered (Bruschweiler, 2003).

To identify who is involved and who is affected is useful to draw up a matrix of stakeholders and their roles and responsibilities. This can be useful first step in understanding decision making at adjacent levels in basin management.

Generally, Integrated Water Resources Management is an important approach to ensure water sustainability. It helps to protect the world’s environment, foster development, promote democratic participation in governance and improve human health. Also it is an approach that seeks to achieve balance among the three pillars of sustainable development, namely economic efficiency, social equity and environmental sustainability. However, components of integrated water resources management is a complex issues when these components comes into diversity perspectives. 

REFFERENCES

Bruschweiler, S. (2003). Integrated Water Resource Management: A Way to Sustainability. Info Resource Focus.

Grigg & Neil S. (1996). Water Resources Management Principles, Regulations and Cases. New York: McGraw Hill.

GWP & INBO, (2009). A Handbook for Integrated Water Resources Management in Basins. Sweden: GWP & INBO.

Jain, S. K. & Singh, V. P. (2003). Water Resources Systems Planning and Management. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.

Mitchel, B. (1990). Integrated Water Management. London: Bel-haven Press.

UNESCO (2013). Free flow: Reaching Water Security through Cooperation. De Fontenoy, France: UNESCO.

Timmerman, J. G. et al. (2008). The Adaptiveness of IWRM: Analyzing European IWRM Research. London: IWA Publishing, Alliance House, 12 Caxon Street.

Steusloff, H. (2010). Integrated Water Resources Management Karlsruhe 2010. Karlsruhe Amazon: Scientific Publishing.