Promoting Integrated Water Resources Management and Improving Water Governance

Water security is fundamental to human lives, society, and economic activities in several aspects, including livelihood, health, food, energy, environment, and resilience against water-induced disasters. In other words, water security has to be ensured at all levels from households to communities, cities, river basins, and national economic sectors for their sustainable development. It has thus become a pressing issue for governments, political leaders, water users, and practitioners alike all over the Asia and the Pacific region. 

Since water security is multifaceted, the list of technical challenges includes but is not limited to increased incidence of floods and drought, degradation of water quality in surface and groundwater, loss of ecosystem services, poor condition of water resources infrastructure, lack of experience and institutional capacity for water allocation, and generally weak governance systems in water services delivery and water resources management. 

Studies carried out during the preparation of the Asian Water Development Outlook 2013 (AWDO) concluded that more than 75% of the 49 countries or regions in Asia and the Pacific are seriously exposed to imminent water constraints. To increase water security for all stakeholders, an integrated water resources management (IWRM) approach is needed that reaches across sectors and jurisdictions as well as coordination within a sector. 

Many of these countries and regions, home to over 90% of the the population of Asia and the Pacific, are faced with water security issues. A core finding of the AWDO is that countries with better water governance generally have higher water security. The region’s water reality and outlook is such that it requires a multipronged approach tackling the issues head on, coupled with greater integration of stakeholders in problem solving. 

The concept of IWRM emerged in the early 1990s and became more accepted through a series of seminal international events and reports including the 1992 International Conference on Water and the Environment in Dublin as well as the 1992 Rio Earth 2 NARBO: A Decade of Achievements Summit (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development) and its Agenda 21 action plan. 

The IWRM concept is based on sound principles and is a vital requirement for water governance. It boosts water security by helping leaders break through the deadlock, spanning boundaries, and creating a positive nexus among water, food, and energy security. Box 1 explains how IWRM is defined and incorporated in policy frameworks. 

The IWRM concept will be a guide for river basin managers to conduct their work on river basin water in an equitable and transparent manner through timely coordination with the right stakeholders. It is important for the practitioners and decision makers within institutions to understand that while one cycle of the IWRM process might look lengthy and iterative, it need not be prescriptive. The IWRM approach will help river basin managers and staff to (i) better understand the basin profile and pay attention to its weaknesses and threats , (ii) define priority and/or demonstrative actions that can be carried out immediately, (iii) build implementable steps to address the most urgent issues and take advantage of opportunities for their implementation (e.g., provisional informal multi sector platforms, investment plans, and capacity building); and (iv) formulate a strategic road map for improving water governance to proceed IWRM. Situation-specific and relevant elements can be isolated to achieve results. Box 2 shows example of IWRM interventions in river basins in Nepal and Indonesia.

For example, water accounting is a valid exercise providing the basis for understanding water productivity and utilization by various sectors. The overall IWRM process requires simplification to increase understanding and to operationalize the process. Other examples of challenges, among others, include difficulty in prioritization, lack of financial inputs, inconsistency within actions or investments, and lack of coordination among relevant sectors and stakeholders. 

The main focus of the Network of Asian River Basin Organizations (NARBO) is river basin management, and river basin organizations (RBOs) play an important role in strengthening the governance of river basin management. Compared to entities organized by geography or sector, RBOs can more equitably and effectively coordinate stakeholders in a river basin concerning water use and river administration. In addition, river basin management knowledge and tools can be accumulated within each RBO and among its staff, making it easy to apply good practice across the whole basin. RBOs are therefore key players in improving IWRM in the basins. With this in mind, NARBO has always prioritized the capacity building of RBOs.