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

Integrated River Basin Planning: India and the EU share experience on policy and practice
IWRM Principles and Planning Processes
Figure 2
Cross sectoral water resource management
Figure 3
The three IWRM pillars
Cross sectoral water resource management
1 Enabling
Environment
Economic Equity Environmental
2 Institutional
Framework
Water for People Water for food Water for nature
Water for industry and
other use
3 Management
Tools
Management
Instruments
Assessment
Information
Allocation
instruments
Enabling
Environment
Policies
Legislation
Institutional
Framework
Central–Local
River Basin
Public–Private
the environment and thus as an important step on the road towards integrating
water into overall sustainable socio-economic development.
IWRM is the “integrating handle” leading from sub-sectoral towards cross-sectoral
water resources management and at the same time providing a framework for
provision of water services.
The following definition by GWP has proven to be a useful definition of IWRM
widely supported in an international context:
IWRM is a process which promotes the coordinated development and management
of water, land and related resources, in order to maximize the resultant economic
and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability
of vital ecosystems.
An important aspect of IWRM is to enhance cross-sectoral water resources
management in order to replace what is considered to be inefficient sub-sectoral
management within the different individual water use sectors.
IWRM is not a goal in itself. The specific goals, interests and challenges will vary
from place to place depending on the specific ecological, social and economic
situation. IWRM is the process of balancing and making trade-offs, in a practical,
scientifically sound way, between economic efficiency in water use; social justice
and equity concerns; and environmental and ecological sustainability. The specific
details of these goals will have to be balanced in the IWRM process. Implementing
IWRM is a political process that involves allocating resources between competing
uses and users. Sometimes, it is possible to come up with win-win solutions.
However, more often, compromises and trade-offs have to be negotiated.
Agreeing to social, economic and ecosystem sustainability goals and finding the
right balance between them lie at the heart of this process.
As illustrated in Figure 3, concurrent development and strengthening of three
elements is needed in order to pursue IWRM: an enabling environment, an
appropriate institutional framework, and practical management instruments.
Balance “water for livelihood” and “water as a resource”
The enabling environment sets the rules; the institutional roles and functions
define the players who make use of the management instruments.
IWRM must not be interpreted as a universal blueprint for water resources
management worldwide. Certain basic principles underlying IWRM may be
commonly applicable, but they must be seen in the specific context and stage
of economic or social development. The nature, character and severity of water
problems, human resources, institutional capacities, and the relative strengths
and characteristics of the public and private sectors, the cultural setting, natural
conditions, and many other factors differ greatly between countries and regions.
Practical implementation must reflect such variations in local conditions and
should, consequently, take a variety of forms. The most appropriate mix of IWRM
elements will change over time for a specific country and region due to internal or
external developments.
IWRM involves managing water resources at the basin or watershed scale,
managing demand and optimizing supply including assessments of available
surface and groundwater supplies and evaluating the environmental impacts of
distribution and use options. IWRM principles are based on equitable access to
water resources, broad stakeholder participation, an inter-sectoral approach to
decision making based on sound science, and usually require establishment of
adequate regulatory and institutional frameworks. The planning process should
result in an IWRM plan endorsed and implemented by the government, more or
less detailed depending on the situation and needs of the country.
The institutional arrangements needed to bring IWRM into effect include:
• water resources management based on hydrological boundaries;
• a gender-balanced consortium of decision-makers representing all
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