Category: Integrated Water Resources Management

Interview with Kamal Kishore

Post author By Vidya Rehman Rana
Post date December 1, 2021

Kamal Kishore, Member, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), India, is also serving as the Indian Co-Chair of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

ADPC recently held an exclusive ‘Climate Talks’ discussion with this esteemed disaster risk and resilience expert on India’s efforts towards strengthening disaster and climate resilience.

https://youtu.be/A-A7mZFwKTI

Which natural hazards or climate-induced threats have the highest impacts in India?

Let me start with cyclones. We traditionally invest more in cyclone resilience for the eastern coast of India, but we’ve noticed increased cyclone activity on the western coast as well in the last 6 to 7 years.

While we’re not yet sure that this is a long-lasting trend, it has an impact on our resources as we need to expand the same success against cyclones to both coastlines.

The same is the issue with flooding. There have been years when the overall monsoons performance in terms of All India Rainfall Index have been lower then normal, yet some parts of the country experienced extreme floods.

We really have to focus on improving our flood risk management practices, early warning systems, flood control measures, and better land-use planning.

We also have “inter-connected mountain hazards” like glacial lake outbursts which lead to floods, landslides, avalanches, formation of lakes, and flash flooding downstream.

We’re working towards coming up with an integrated approach for monitoring these hazards and taking steps to provide as best an early warning as we can and overall, strengthen systems at the community-level to respond to these warnings and take necessary action.

A lot of these hazards will impact our infrastructure, and India is a country which still has a large infrastructure deficit.

This is why big investments are going into building the resilience of such projects for generations to come, and it is in this context that India has been working with 26 other countries and international organizations to create the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure to advance resilient power systems, water systems, telecommunications, railways, and freight corridors to withstand future climates.

How effective is India in promoting disaster risk reduction?

We’ve had good success in saving more lives by connecting science to society and taking a multi-sectoral approach. For example, we’ve been able to reduce mortalities from heatwaves by 90 percent, but we need to go beyond and reduce other kinds of losses as well.

We have to save lives, but also livelihoods. That requires making our infrastructure services resilient to shocks from natural hazards. We are making sure that power systems don’t go down when cyclones hit or come back on quickly.

There were times when power outages in cyclone-affected areas went on for months, but now some cities having underground cabling and better management systems, that recovery time has reduced to just a few days.

Can you share some experiences in managing disasters and climate change during COVID-19?

It’s been a challenging time! We’ve had five cyclones during the pandemic on the eastern and western coasts.

The National Disaster Risk Force (NDRF) had to not only protect people affected by cyclones, but also themselves from health risks. Around 100 NDRF members tested positive, but luckily, they all recovered in good time.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) were redrafted, protective gear was distributed and evacuation procedures were revised to minimize the risk of transmission. Once vaccines were distributed, NDRF members were prioritized.

One key lesson is that SOPs cannot be frozen in time, they need to continually evolve to respond to new risks that become known, otherwise they will become outdated and ineffective.

Given India’s high population, what are the roles of local governments and communities?

They shouldn’t only participate; they have to lead. Communities know how to respond to an early warning in an organized fashion.

When it comes to cyclone shelters, the story to be told is that these shelters are multi-purpose and they’re managed by communities themselves.

If the Government is the only one managing it, then it is very possible that the cyclone shelter is either not available or not in a good condition.

If it is managed in the community as part of their daily lives, they will have their own organization around it to ensure that the needs of women, children, old people, etc., are properly met during evacuation.

How is the Government ensuring access to disaster risk financing?

The Finance Commission, constituted every five years, looks at how central revenues are distributed and one of its thematic areas is disaster risk management.

From this Commission onwards, India has predictable finance that covers the entire spectrum of disaster risk management activities—there are resources allocated to response, recovery and preparedness and capacity building on the one hand, and mitigation on the other.

The resources we have from these dedicated windows will be able to catalyze additional financing within the development sectors themselves.

Turning policies into action is very challenging, however, so I hope that in a few years we can measure our success not by the amount of money we spent, but rather the outcomes we have achieved in risk reduction.

Kamal spoke to Ms. Vidya Rana, Senior Communications Manager, ADPC.

Innovation Integrated Water Resources Management Policy and Planning Regional

Till the Very Last Drop: Reforming Water Policy Alignment in Pakistan

Post author By Zamir Soomro
Post date November 30, 2021

Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) approaches enable action by taking into consideration multiple options for enhancing water use efficiency, equal distribution among users, and environmental sustainability.

Water resources management requires a more integrated approach, rather than a sectoral one.

IWRM aims to: protect the interests of all upstream and downstream stakeholders; protect watershed and catchment areas; and prolong the life of water storage facilities.

However, the concept of IWRM requires institutional strengthening and capacity at professional/managerial levels.

This article seeks to discuss the alignment of major National Water Policy (NWP) themes with IWRM narratives.

According to Pakistan’s Vision 2025, the freshwater resources availability of Pakistan has remained at almost the same level, for the most part, over the years.

Water demand is accelerating due to a rapid increase in population, the trend of industrialization, and emerging issues related to climate change.

Consequently, the gap between demand and supply is increasing continuously. The non-recognition of the economic value of water is another factor that encourages the unregulated use of precious freshwater resources.

Pakistan is among a group of countries that is moving from a water-stressed to a water-scarce scenario. Besides population growth, the sedimentation of the major water reservoirs, obsolescence of the hydraulic infrastructures, conventional cropping patterns, and lack of the relevant regulatory frameworks are all mainly responsible for water scarcity.

Additionally, the recurrent contamination of the water by means of the disposal of municipal and industrial effluents into freshwater resources, i.e., rivers, lakes, canals, and groundwater, limits the availability of freshwater.

Pakistan’s Vision 2025 aims to ensure the availability of a satisfactory water supply for agriculture, industry, and domestic users.

However, these policies are required to realize the balance between demand and supply in an IWRM context. The Vision envisages enhancing water storage capacity for up to 90 days, improving water use efficiency of the crops by 20 percent, and ensuring access to clean drinking water for all citizens of the country.

The National Water Policy (NWP) 2018 provides the principal guidelines for planners and developers regarding the water scarcity concerns of the country.

The policy document highlights the overall scenario regarding the limitations of freshwater availability and provides a comprehensive framework and guiding principles for action plans.

Keeping in consideration the current constitutional mechanism, the policy provides a roadmap of action plans at the national level, whereas it has been suggested that the provinces develop their own sustainable water management plans.

Water resources development is within the jurisdiction of the federal government; however, irrigated agriculture, domestic water supplies for the rural and urban population, and environmental and other water sector-related demands all lie within the domain of provincial governments.

Overall, the NWP describes policy narratives through 29 sections, covering the entire domain of the water resources sector.

As part of IWRM approaches, the NWP established guiding principles for the provinces to develop their projects and action plans towards efficient water management, focusing on water scheduling, reuse/recycling, ensuring food security, managing floods and drought, and coordinating regulation of groundwater use and institutional capacity-building to implement the existing legal instruments for the water sector appropriately.

IWRM approaches require multi-disciplinary knowledge and the vision of the stakeholders to develop the plan towards efficient, equitable, and sustainable solutions, to balance social and economic needs including the protection of ecosystems for future generations.

To achieve the targets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), IWRM is being modified into a cross-sectoral water resource management nexus approach based on the principle that “water, energy and food are closely linked through global and local water, carbon and energy cycles or chains.”

The Government of Pakistan envisages the NWP 2018 as a comprehensive document, reflecting a transparent and coherent institutional framework.

However, the narratives of NWP are mostly structural rather than management-oriented. Indeed, the scenarios identified in the water policy debate are inclined towards the engineering and environmental narratives.

The NWP sets its strategic priorities on water conservation at each water consumer end, focusing on enhancement of water use efficiency, adaptation of resource conservation technologies, increase in the existing water storage capacity, and implementation of an effective regulatory framework.

The planning principles articulate: equity and participatory decision-making in water sector projects; provision of safe drinking water for all; and the ensuring of environmental sustainability.

IWRM approaches endorse the wisdom of NWP as social equity, economic efficiency, and ecological sustainability, which are the basic principles of the IWRM approaches.

The NWP defined the basin-level planning for the development of water resources by ensuring the sustainable environmental integrity of the basin through re-afforestation and soil conservation in the watersheds in line with the environmental protection measures proposed by IWRM.

On flooding control and infrastructure, the NWP proposes a mix of structural and non-structural measures for flood management.

Similarly, it has been proposed that 10 percent of the federal public sector programme budget be allocated for irrigation management, a combination of hard and soft infrastructure.

A major portion of the investment is dedicated to hard infrastructure, whereas IWRM shifts the focus from flood control to flood management through non-structural measures. The IWRM defined the soft infrastructure, including measures such as improving the allocation mechanism and water equity for efficient water management.

The NWP prioritized the capacity-building of federal and provincial water institutions in line with the IWRM principles for efficient management of the water infrastructure and provision of services.

NWP also recognized the effective institutional support with legal cover for the implementation of the policy. As such, the National Water Council and Provincial Water Authorities were proposed at the federal and provincial levels respectively to update and implement the policies and regulatory frameworks.

NWP prioritized investments for the augmentation of surface storage and replacement of old infrastructures, whereas IWRM proposes investments for the modernization of infrastructure to improve service delivery and water use efficiency.

Moreover, the IWRM approaches propose volumetric water pricing for bulk users, partial relief for retail consumers, and substantial subsidies for the poor.

However, the NWP has framed the low water charges in the agriculture sector despite the fact that the economic value of water is of supreme concern in Pakistan.

The overall analysis of the NWP narratives is in close alignment with the IWRM narratives. However, in the current scenario, the priority of the actions/projects of the Water Sector in Pakistan typically reflects hard components/engineering solutions.

Soft components like capacity-building, institutional reforms, the updating of policy, preparation of laws and their implementation, mass awareness, and irrigation scheduling on the basis of actual crop water requirements, are all limited in terms of project priorities.

On the recommendation of the NWP 2018, the National Water Council (NWC) was established for planning, regulation, development, coordination and management, under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

The Council reviews the Policy to identify gaps and document needs, which are expected to be updated in an appropriate forum over time.

Its initial meeting, held on 25th October 2018, placed an emphasis on adopting an integrated approach for conservation, storage, management and efficient utilization of available water resources.

The meeting was concluded with the recommendation that it was necessary to develop a comprehensive roadmap for the implementation of the NWP in consultation with provinces and other stakeholders.

Accordingly, the proposals were likely to be submitted for analysis to the Steering Committee on Water, headed by the Federal Minister for Water Resources and including representation from the provinces.

The Policy is the basic parameter document on water resources management in Pakistan, guided by the NWC and the Steering Committee for planning, regulations, development, coordination, and management in the water sector.

The need of the hour is a more proactive role by institutions engaging water professionals, to implement the recommendations of the water policy in line with the narratives of IWRM.

The writers are Zamir Ahmed Soomro, Water Resources Management Specialist, and Zeeshan Mustafa Maan, Groundwater Management Specialist, both at ADPC.

They can be reached at:

zamir.soomro@adpc.net

zeeshan.maan@adpc.net

Integrated Water Resources Management Regional

Need of the Hour: Translating Water Policies into Action

Post author By Laxman Sharma
Post date June 29, 2021

Home to the mighty Himalayas, Nepal is rich in water resources. Major rivers emerge from its snowfields and glaciers, cascade through gorges and valleys, and flow into the flatlands of the Terai region.

But despite its water abundance and large potential for hydropower generation, Nepal’s rivers are yet to deliver on the nation’s dreams and hopes of prosperity.

Nepal’s water resources are widely and unequally dispersed, leading to both abundances and shortages depending on season and locations. The country also imports electricity to meet its demands while hydropower infrastructure is gradually being developed.

Furthermore, climate change impacts pose a serious threat to the development and livelihoods of different communities.

People’s aspirations and expectations demand an encouraging policy environment that accelerates water sector improvements and contributes to the country’s current slogan of a ‘prosperous Nepal, happy Nepali’.

Therefore, suitable policies must be developed and implemented to significantly improve the Nepali people’s qualities and standards of living in a sustainable manner.

Nepal’s new Constitution, adopted in 2015, states that every citizen has the right to a clean and healthy environment. It further prescribes that the State shall carry out multi-purpose development of water resources, ensuring the availability of energy, developing sustainable and reliable irrigation, and reduce water-induced disasters by adopting good river management.

The new federal structure allocates the responsibility of managing water resources to all three tiers of government (federal, provincial, local) on the basis of project size.

A comprehensive review of policies, strategies, plans, and legislation related to the water resources sector in Nepal was recently carried out under the CARE for South Asia project.

The study revealed that water sector policies in Nepal, which underpin the concept of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), are evolving as the country ushers in a new era of federalism.

The Water Resources Strategy 2002 was pivotal in directing the adoption of a policy based on resource conservation, environmental protection, and an understanding that river basins should be holistically managed by decentralized, autonomous, and accountable agencies.

The ideas of economic efficiency and social equity were set up to be the cornerstone of all policies.

Complementing the government’s policy landscape, the National Water Plan 2005 laid out short, medium, and long-term action plans to achieve stated national goals.

The Government of Nepal recently unveiled the National Water Resources Policy 2020 with the goal to sustainably conserve, manage and carry out multi-purpose development of water resources to contribute to the economic prosperity and social transformation of the country. It accepts multi-sectoral dimensions of water and embraces IWRM principles, including adopting the basin as a unit of water administration.

This new policy spells out the objectives and lays out strategies to achieve them, each defined by action plans. These include the remittance of river basin plans that cover water accounting, allocation and auditing, and prescribing a science and fact-based approach in its planning and management.

The existing legal framework for water resources management in Nepal is still set out in the Water Resources Act 1992 and complemented by the Water Resources Rules 1993.

The primary features of this Act, among others, are:

a) defining ownership of water resources with the nation;
b) requiring permits for water uses;
(c) institutionalizing water user groups; and
(d) setting the priority order of water use as drinking water, irrigation, agriculture, hydropower, etc., respectively.

Over the years, the Government has promulgated more than 75 policies, acts, rules and guidelines with direct bearings on how water resources are developed and managed.

The Irrigation Policy 2013, Electricity Act 1992, Hydropower Development Policy 2001, and Environment Protection Act 2019 are key examples.

One can conclude that the water resources sector is a heavily regulated sector that often confuses the private sector and deters stakeholders from sustainable engagement.

The situation at the provincial level, however, is slightly different. The provincial governments are yet to fully enact their own legislations related to water and conform to the spirit of federalism.

The federal level needs to set a clear set of standards, umbrella policies and Acts to systemize provincial and local actions.

The review reveals that Nepal faces numerous challenges and its primary need is to translate policies into actions.

Major bottlenecks include lack of capacity, inefficient coordination mechanisms, and overlapping responsibilities of federal, provincial, and local authorities.

Institutions need to be strengthened to build climate adaptation and resilience at all levels. Water harvesting, inter-basin transfers, enhancing water use efficiencies and reuse, as well as groundwater development, can all be adopted for the sustainable development of the water sector in Nepal as drivers for prosperity.

The writer is Water Resources Management Specialist at ADPC

Email: laxman.sharma@adpc.net

Integrated Water Resources Management

CAREing for the elixir of life

Post author By Niladri Gupta
Post date November 27, 2020

Water is quite aptly called the ‘elixir of life’. It is a known fact that water is always on the move through the water cycle processes. Global warming has a significant effect on this cycle, altering the quantity, timing, distribution, and quality of available water.

Countries in South Asia face different levels of water stress. The United Nations Water Development Report 2020 suggests that snowmelt and the loss of glacial buffering in the Hindu Kush–Himalayas will affect the seasonal water supply for a significant proportion of South Asia’s population.

Globally, South Asia is the most extensive user of groundwater resources, with irrigation accounting for 80% of the groundwater extraction. Even though the region hosts several of the high groundwater- producing aquifers, it is running short of water.

With 23.7% of the global population, South Asia has only 4.6% of the world’s renewable water resources. According to the World Bank, the key challenges, on one hand, are ensuring a reliable supply of water for daily life and managing the consequence of extreme hydrometeorological disasters on the other. In addition to the regional challenges in the water sector, countries have contrasting challenges and needs.

Bangladesh being the largest dynamic delta of the world, along with a large and growing population base, envisages enhanced water security and efficiency of water usage to achieve optimal and integrated use of land and water resources. Additionally, most of the rivers in Bangladesh are transboundary.

Under the CARE for South Asia project, water-sector activities are being piloted in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan, which aim to improve the availability of regional data, knowledge, tools, and capacities.

They also aim to promote climate-resilient decisions, policies, and investments in climate-sensitive sectors. The water sector interventions will help strengthen water resources management, water governance, and long-term resilience through robust institutions.

The Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 will be the guidance document for the implementation of the project’s interventions. The development of Monitoring & Evaluation framework and capacity enhancement on project monitoring under Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 will contribute to the successful implementation of the plan.

In Nepal, challenges revolve around agriculture and hydropower needs. Around 85% of Nepal’s annual rain fall (between 1500 and 3000 millimeters) between June and September, leading to floods. A severe shortage of water occurs during the rest of the year resulting in the drying up of springs and other natural water sources.

Retention of water can help mitigate water scarcity and supply water for multiple purposes. The CARE for South Asia project intends to assist the government in developing a water harvesting strategy in the context of Integrated Water Resources Management. It will further enhance stakeholders’ capacities in mainstreaming climate information into planning, design and investments in the water sector.

Pakistan, on the other hand, is categorized as a water-scarce country. The annual water availability is less than 1,000 cubic meters per person. It is likely to drop to 860 cubic meters by 2025 as documented in the National Water Policy 2018. Climate Change is also compounding the depletion of groundwater resources of the country by disrupting the natural hydrological process of groundwater recharge combined with over-extraction.

The project will support developing a strategy for groundwater management in water-scarce areas of the country (e.g., Lower Indus Basin) and documenting water conservation best practices. CARE for South Asia project will also support stakeholders’ capacity enhancement for better drought risk management in the country’s drought-prone areas.

The project’s water sector interventions will build the region’s resilience against the effects of climate change and develop a strategy to adapt to the changes. The project plans to support public policies on climate change through national and inter-country dialogues and the development of regional guidelines unique to the challenges faced by countries in South Asia.

The writer is Integrated Water Resources Management Specialist at ADPC.

Email: niladri.gupta@adpc.net