Volume 11, Issue 4

December 1995

ONLINE ACCESS TO THIS ISSUE 

EDITORIAL


OBSERVATIONS REGARDING WATER SHARING AND MANAGEMENT: AN INTENSIVE ANALYSIS OF THE JORDAN RIVER BASIN WITH REFERENCE TO LONG-DISTANCE TRANSFERS (pp. 351-376)

Middle East Water Commission

Abstract: The Middle East Water Commission (MEWC) analysed in detail the future provision of water for the populations living in and near the basin of the Jordan River. The MEWC reviewed 13 unilateral management options (MOs), four cooperative MOs and 24 water management priorities distributed among Palestine (West Bank), Palestine (Gaza) and Jordan. Similar options and priorities were considered for Israel. These were then evaluated using Delphi and PRINCE techno-political assessment techniques in order to identify a smaller set of feasible projects. A number of projects ranging from short term (reverse osmosis plants), to mid-term (MDC or RDC and/or pumped storage), to long term (water imported possibly from Turkey by pipeline and/or Medusa Bags) were found to be feasible and necessary to meet growing demands. The use of the Dead Sea as a sustainable reservoir for MDC/RDC brine discharge was calculated and balanced against inflow of the Jordan River and return flow from water imported by pipeline from peripheral areas. All of these projects were found to be cost effective if RO desalinized water were included in the benefits.


THE ECONOMICS OF WATER DISPUTE RESOLUTION, PROJECT EVALUATION AND MANAGEMENT: AN APPLICATION TO THE MIDDLE EAST (pp. 377-390)

Franklin M. Fisher, Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

Abstract: Economic analysis shows that water ownership is equivalent to a right to the monetary value that water represents. By valuing water in dispute (including social value), parties can evaluate the possibility of trading off water for non-water benefits, selling at prices that they themselves set. Such valuation can be accomplished by means of an economic model that optimizes water-related benefits. Such a model can also be of substantial aid in water management and project evaluation. Results for Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian entity have been obtained and are quite striking. The value of the water in dispute is surprisingly low, strongly suggesting that a peaceful resolution is possible.


ECO-POLITICAL DECISION MAKING AND TECHNO-POLITICAL ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES IN THE INTER-STATE DEVELOPMENT OF THE JORDAN VALLEY AND DEAD SEA BEYOND THE PEACE (pp. 391-410)

Masahiro Murakami, Nippon Koei Co., Ltd., Consulting Engineers, c/o KRI International, Tokyo Japan

Abstract: The interstate region of the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea is the focus of international cooperation and regional economic development for peace and confidence building in the aftermath of the ‘Declaration of Principles’ between Israel and the PLO in September 1993, and the ‘Treaty of Peace’ between Jordan and Israel in October 1994. Eco-political decision making, which would sustain water development and water ecology in a framework of peaceful cooperation, is elaborated in this study with some techno-political strategic alternatives to combine the ‘MDS Canal for co-generation with application of hydropowered seawater RO desalination’ and ‘the lower Jordan Peace Drainage Canal with brackish RO desalination’. This study suggests the priorities in the assessment of techno-political alternatives to share the resources and benefit among the riparian states, taking into account the incentives for eco-political decision making, inter-state regional economic development, and the will for peaceful cooperation.


WATER MANAGEMENT IN THE GANGES-BRAHMAPUTRA BASIN: EMERGING CHALLENGES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY (pp. 411-442)

Jayanta Bandyopadhyay, International Academy of Environment, Geneva, Switzerland

Abstract: In the background of increasing global consciousness that scarcity of water will become a major obstacle to sustainable development in the next century, this paper analyses the future challenges in water resource planning and management in the Ganges-Brahmaputra basin in Asia. It analyses the problems of water scarcity and regular annual flooding in some parts of the basin with the help of its geomorphological and climatic peculiarities. The ecological sustainability and economic viability of big dams in the Himalaya are examined. The problems of undertaking joint projects on water resources between the upstream countries of Nepal and Bhutan and the downstream country of India are analysed. Similarly, the problem of the sharing of Ganges waters between India and Bangladesh is presented. The paper summarizes some main elements of the challenges to be faced in the immediate future in order that the densely populated river basin can keep open the options of sustainable development in the future.


SHARING OF INTER-STATE RIVER WATER RESOURCES: CASE STUDIES OF TWO MAJOR IRRIGATION SYSTEMS IN TAMIL NADU, INDIA (pp. 443-456)

S. Santhana Bosu, Soil & Water Conservation Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract: Water flows according to physical laws of nature and it does not respect the political or administrative boundaries created by man. Sharing of water resources is one of the major challenges to be focused on for the survival of mankind. Most of the rivers in southern India originate from the Western Ghats, and two river systems in Tamil Nadu-the Cauvery Mettur Project (CMP) and Periyar Vaigai Project (PVP)-are considered here. In both systems, the catchment area being in neighbouring states, their water potential is entirely dependent on monsoon rains in the other area as well as good neighbourliness between the states water sharing. The Cauvery water dispute has become a highly sensitive issue leading to dwindling of the rice cultivated area, exportation of landless agricultural labour, change in cropping strategy and techniques of cultivation, drinking water problems etc. A portion of the surplus water from the westward-flowing Periyar river in Kerala State is stored and diverted through a tunnel across the Western Ghats to benefit the drought-prone areas on the eastern side in Tamil Nadu. A multidisciplinary approach beyond the physical boundaries of the basin should be considered to solve the shared water resources problems.


SOCIAL PARTICIPATION IN THE LERMA-SANTIAGO BASIN: WATER AND SOCIAL LIFE PROJECT (pp. 457-466)

Mercedes Escamilla and Anna Kurtycz, Oficina de Comunicación del Lago, Guadalajara,Jalisco, México

Abstract: There have always been conflicts over shared water, even wars. Tensions over water rights become focused as political forces, not only between different countries but also within the same country. This may be seen in the Lerma-Santiago basin in México, and particularly in the city of Guadalajara where the news media and the general population blame the condition of Lake Chapala on the other states in the watershed. To stimulate user participation, the Oficina de Comunicación del Lago has developed a methodology as part of a larger project, ‘Water and Social Life’.


THE NAMIBIAN PERSPECTIVE ON REGIONAL COLLABORATION IN THE JOINT DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL WATER RESOURCES (pp. 467-492)

P. Heyns, Department of Water Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development, Windhoek, Namibia

Abstract: Water scarcity is a common phenomenon in Namibia and all future development relies on access to the available international perennial rivers bordering the country. The principle that water resources must be managed on a regional basis is well established in Namibia and several technical water commissions have been established between Namibia and its neighbours to provide a forum for regional collaboration on water matters. The value of the work of these commissions lies not only in the technical objectives but also in mutual trust, and understanding between those commission members representing the expectations and concerns of each basin state. The purpose of this article is to describe the salient features of regional collaboration on river basin development from the Namibian perspective.


SHARING WATER RESOURCES: CONCLUSIONS (pp. 493-494)

Asit K. Biswasa Lars Lindblomb and Cecilia Tortajada Quirozc

aChairman, Middle East Water Commission, Oxford, UK; bStockholm Vatten, Stockholm, Sweden; cNational Water Commission of México, México

Abstract: The workshop considered the upstream/downstream dimension of river basin issues in their totality. Specific issues considered were related to management of international rivers (Ganges-Brahmaputra, Jordan and Tigris-Euphrates), interstate rivers (Lerma-Santiago basin of Mexico and Cauvery and Periyar Rivers of India), and on a country and regional basis (Namibia). On the basis of the papers presented and an intensive discussion, the following eight important issues can be identified


INSTITUTIONAL, MANAGERIAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION IN LATIN AMERICAN IRRIGATION: RELEVANCE TO GLOBAL IRRIGATION IMPROVEMENT (pp. 495-514)

Roberto L. Lentona and Carlos Garcés-Restrepob

aDirector, Sustainable Energy and Environment Division, UNDP, New York, USA; bIrrigation Specialist, IIMI, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the innovations in irrigation that several countries in Latin America are developing in water rights and markets, irrigation management turnover, water efficient technologies and user-based performance assessment. The paper presents a brief overview of irrigation in Latin America, describes some of the emerging irrigation innovations in detail, examines the broad implications of these developments, outlines a framework for analysing irrigation innovations in Latin America and presents some tentative conclusions.


WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN (pp. 515-526)

A. Hamdya M. Abu-zeidb and C. Lacirignolac

a,cIAM, Istituto di Bari, Italy; bNational Water Research Centre, Fum Ismailiya Canal, Shoubra El-Kheima, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract: In arid and semi-arid regions of the Mediterranean, fresh water resources are finite and most of the economically viable development of these resources has already been implemented. The situation has worsened further owing to the increasing population and the associated expansion of urbanization and economic activities, all of which require more water and thus impose a tremendous strain on this already limited and fragile water resource. Following the traditional technique of increasing supply is questionable. The alternative option is to manipulate the demand side for all water use sectors, particularly the agricultural one, which accounts for up to 80% of water consumption. In the Mediterranean region there is no question about the crucial importance of integrated demand management aiming at efficiency, equity and long-term water security, using the tools that the legal and economic policy, scientific and technological advancement have made available.


WATER RIGHTS AND RURAL RESTRUCTURING IN SOUTH AFRICA: A CASE STUDY FROM EASTERN TRANSVAAL (pp. 527-544)

Philip Woodhouse, Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester UK

Abstract: By comparison with land reform, water rights have received little attention in proposals for rural restructuring arising from constitutional reform in South Africa. Yet the heavy dependence of South African agriculture on irrigation means that access to water may be critical to the outcome of land redistribution to black farmers. This paper describes the hydrological and institutional basis of water use in a subcatchment of the Sabie river in the eastern Transvaal. It considers the conflicting claims of forestry, white and black farmers, and the Kruger National Park, and identifies possible avenues through which to establish a redistributive water management system in the post-apartheid era.