Water for people.pdf - WHO Thailand Digital Repository

2 9 8 / M A N A G E M E N T C H A L L E N G E S : S T E W A R D S H I P A N D G O V E R N A N C ESharing Water: Defining a Common InterestBox 12.2: Drought conciliation in JapanThe volume of river flows in Japan varies significantlybecause of climate and topography, and water use fromrivers was historically limited to a steady low levelthroughout the year. Massive population concentrationand industrial development in major cities in the middle ofthe 1960s, however, promoted water resourcesdevelopment that focused on stabilizing river flow to meetnew demands. Success in achieving a stable water supplyaccelerated the pace of economic growth and populationdrift to the cities, which in turn has created new demandand increased water use. Droughts thus pose anincreasingly serious problem as the number ofstakeholders increases.When water resource development cannot keep upwith demand, as is the case in some areas, new waterabstractions are permitted only when extra river flow issufficient to cover existing use. New abstractions are,however, generally for public drinking water supply, andalthough in principle should stop during severe drought, inreality must continue. This exacerbates water shortagesduring droughts.Drought conciliation is therefore essential and droughtconciliation councils have been established in many riverbasins. In theory, the conciliation process takes placeamong the water users themselves. However, conflictinginterests among water users often give rise to difficultieswith the procedure and a river administrator is usuallyrequired to facilitate the process, by providing information,drought conciliation proposals and advice as required.Source: Prepared for the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) by the NationalInstitute for Land and Infrastructure Management (NILIM) and Ministry of Land,Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) of Japan, 2002.Box 12.3: New technology helps share the resource in Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia is located in an arid region where the averageannual rainfall ranges from 25 mm to 150 mm, and theaverage potential annual evaporation from 2,500 mm to about4,500 mm. Faced with a growing population and large-scaleindustrial development, the country has begun to considerdesalination as an increasingly viable option for meeting waterneeds.In addition, the increase in oil revenues from 1975enabled ambitious development in social, industrial andagricultural sectors, prompting a parallel increase in waterdemands. Domestic water demand rose from 6 percent ofthe country’s total water use in 1990 to 10 percent in2000, due to growth in the urban population. The largerrevenues also allowed the government to use irrigatedagriculture to support developments in rural areas and tosettle nomads into prosperous agricultural communities.The cultivated area was thereby massively expanded, andirrigation water consumption still represents the largemajority of national water use. Industrial water demandshave also grown rapidly during the last two decades withsignificant industrial developments.Even though the burden is shared between desalinationplants and renewable groundwater resources, thedependence on non-renewable groundwater has increased.One of the alternatives being developed is the reuse oftreated wastewater. Also, desalination technologies arebeing increasingly exploited and today show great promiseas a partial solution to the country’s struggle for water.Large plants have been constructed on the Gulf and RedSea coasts to produce suitable drinking water, and pipelinesconstructed to transport the desalinated seawater to coastaland inland cities and towns. In 1997, a total of thirty-fivedesalination plants were in place, with capacitiesrepresenting about 33 and 38 percent of the total domesticand industrial demands, respectively. By 2025, desalinatedwater is expected to supply about 54 percent of thesedemands. The new technology is, in effect, helping totransport the resource to those areas that need them, thussharing it across the various sectors.Source: Prepared for the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) byA. Abderrahman, Water Resources Management, King Fahd University of Petroleumand Minerals, 2002.