Integrated River Basin Planning – Replicable ... - India Water Portal

Integrated River Basin Planning: India and the EU share experience on policy and practice
SUMMARY
The Pamba Basin IWRM pilot project has been implemented through targeted
training/working sessions, consultations, a broad stakeholder forum as well as a
final dialogue on the IWRM Roadmap for the Pamba River Basin. Moreover the
press were invited at several occasions assuring that the process towards IWRM in
the Pamba Basin reached an even broader group of stakeholders. The end result
was a so-called IWRM Roadmap for the Pamba River Basin that was presented
in a stakeholder dialogue by the Government of Kerala in December 2010. The
Pamba Pilot Project has been seeking assurance that these authorities have access
to current international best practice on integrated river basin management. The
present document aims at providing relevant background information on global
experiences in IWRM approaches as well as experience gained in river management
planning in Kerala State that may be replicable in other parts of India.
Integrated Principles and Planning Processes
The basic premise of IWRM is that different uses of water are interdependent.
Good water governance, the implicit objective of IWRM, ensures wise water
use that contributes to economic development, social equity and environmental
sustainability. The IWRM Roadmap developed by the European Union and the
Government of Kerala for the Pamba River Basin enables the government to transit
from ‘sector restricted’ outlook to ‘sector integrated’ water resources management.
The IWRM Roadmap implies that water sector requirements for domestic supply
and sanitation (water for people), for irrigation and fisheries (water for food) and for
nature conservation (water for nature) etc. are weighed against each other in their
water allocations and potential impacts. Therefore, the Roadmap that has been
developed visualizes a conceptual framework and a vision for a long-term process
of introduction of a number of water management reforms and practices.
Water and Environmental Policies in India
A move towards an integrated approach in India is evident in the formulation
of national and state water policies by the Ministry of Water Resources and the
Water Resource Department of the state, respectively, and River Action Plans by
the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and the enactment of numerous
regulations in support of water resource and quality improvement policies and
directives. However, in most cases a significant gap remains with respect to the
ability of present institutional frameworks to implement IWRM effectively.
The Pamba River Basin Pilot Project
IWRM is still in its embryonic stage in Kerala but important steps towards a
commitment have been taken by the Government through the Water Policy, and
the Pamba Basin Authority Act provides the enabling environment to establish
an operational River Basin Authority. The Pamba River Basin was selected for
the pilot project as a result of a focus group discussion held at the Central level.
This basin was identified as a suitable location for a pilot as the Pamba River is
relatively small and as it flows in one state only. The Government of Kerala (GOK)
showed its commitment towards IWRM by enacting the Pamba River Basin
Authority in 2009. This Pilot Project has developed a Roadmap for the development
of an IWRM Roadmap for the Pamba River and, at the same time, to support
the newly set up Pamba River Basing Authority in devising a management plan
for future priority actions. The Roadmap has been developed in collaboration with
stakeholders from various sectors of the Government of Kerala, the Centre for
Water Resources Development and Management and civil society represented by
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) active in the Basin. A ‘Roadmap’ is the
transition to a sustainable water resources management practice which is crosssectoral,
decentralized, and considers the entire catchment of a river basin as a
single management unit. The current project has provided first of all, a framework
for exploring the following questions:
1. Where is the state (Kerala) in the IWRM planning process in the Pamba River
Basin?
2. What are the constraints in the state to the planning process?
3. Which actions should be taken to prepare the IWRM plan for the Pamba
River Basin?
4. What will the actions require?
The Pamba Pilot Project analyzed water resources management practices currently
being applied in the state according to the three IWRM pillars: (1) the existence
of appropriate policies, strategies and legislation for sustainable water resources
development and management; (2) putting in place the institutional framework
through which to implement the policies, strategies and legislation; and (3) setting
up the management instruments required by these institutions to do their job.
A first attempt to integrate public participation in the creation of an Action Plan
for the Pamba River was carried out by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board
in 2002. A comprehensive Action Plan was developed for pollution abatement for
the River Pamba. The document is an attempt towards solving water pollution
issues in the River Basin but, according to IWRM principles, this is a piecemeal
approach. In order to come to an integrated management plan for the Pamba River,
various factors need to be considered. Those issues in need of attention have been
explored in this document.
IWRM in Kerala is more advanced than in other states in India. Kerala already has
a vision which is encapsulated in the Water Policy of 2008 and in the enactment
of the Pamba River Basin Authority which is represented by stakeholders from 11
different governmental sectors as well as autonomous research institutes. However,
water management is still sectoral and inclined towards service delivery with a bias
towards the strong irrigation sector. Stakeholder participation is starting to exist
with the recent resurrection of the Pamba River Basin Authority that has been called
back into existence in the past year.
Water related issues identified were accounted to the increase of pilgrims travelling
to the area during the Sabarimala annual pilgrimage, to which an estimated 45–
50 million devotees come every year, lack of awareness, continuous increase of
contamination due to urban waste, sand mining, encroachment and sedimentation.
On the other hand, management problems were identified to ranging from
legislations and policies not being enacted, lack of enforcement of existing legal
framework, adjustment of existing legal water framework for Kerala state, setting-up
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