December 1996
CAPACITY BUILDING FOR WATER MANAGEMENT: SOME PERSONAL THOUGHTS (pp. 399-405)
Asit K. Biswas, Middle East Water Commission and Governing Board, World Water Council, Instituto de Ingeniería, Ciudad Universitaria, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México
Abstract: Capacity building has become a critical requirement for improving water management practices significantly in the future. The current attempts to enhance capacity are a useful beginning, but they suffer from numerous conceptual and operational constraints, some of which are discussed in this paper. Unless these constraints are objectively identified, and the entire process is carefully planned to overcome these problems promptly and cost-effectively, benefits that are likely to accrue from such efforts would at best be incremental. However, if planned and implemented properly, capacity building has the potential to contribute to a quantum leap in water management during the early part of the 21st century.
CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMME FOR SUSTAINABLE WATER SECTOR DEVELOPMENT (pp. 407-411)
Frank Hartvelt, Water, Waste Management and Aquatic Environment, Sustainable Energy and Environment Division/BPPS, United Nations Development Programme, New York, USA
Abstract: The UNDP Capacity Building Programme has gained valuable though still limited experience since it became operational over three years ago. Its central premise of building, strengthening or utilizing national water sector capacity meets much enthusiasm in more and more countries. Besides its products (comprehensive sector assessment reports, specific capacity-building requirements, and enhanced cross-sectoral capacity), it is welcomed for its modus operandi: national teams of experts from different disciplines and organizations carrying out water sector assessments, with guidance from UNDP and associated agencies on demand. With three water sector assessments completed and another seven and related activities under way, the pro-gramme is gaining momentum. Its experience is expected to be of relevance to a large number of counties in the future. After a promising start, the methodology is being fine-tuned, and capacity is being built both in developing countries and in external support agencies.
THE INTER-AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES NETWORK: A TOOL FOR CAPACITY BUILDING (pp. 413-427)
Kirk P. Rodgers, Organization of American States, Washington, USA
Abstract: While the Latin American and Caribbean Region has an abundance of water resources, the uneven distribution of water and the rapid growth of urban areas have created a set of water management problems which, if left unresolved, are projected to lead to a water crisis of hemispheric proportions during the next century. Shrinking foreign aid and experience gained during the past four decades are changing the traditional mechanisms of technical cooperation between developed and developing nations. Building on the momentum of the Earth Summit (1992), which stressed the need for mechanismsfor water resources information exchange, the First Inter-American Dialogue on Water Management (1993) called for the establishment of an Inter-American Water Resources Network (IWRN) to distribute and exchange information on water issues, promote technology transfer, and share water management experiences in the western hemisphere. To date, 22 governments have officially designated water agencies to represent them on the IWRN as country focal points. Current network activities consist of the preparation of directories of water and water-related organizations, educational opportunities and existing networks in the western hemisphere; publication of a newsletter; and operation of an electronic forum and several World Wide Web sites on the Internet. Future activities, defined in part by the Second Inter-AmericanDialogue on Water Management held in Buenos Aires in September 1996, will emphasize the establishment of a regional and sub-regional Internet-based water information network with linkages to the global water resources community, regional dialogues on water management, increased cooperation between all parties in transboundary river basins, and endorsement of a num ber of recommendations for strengthening integrated water resources management.The Third Inter-American Dialogue on Water Management will be held in Central America in 1999.
THE IUCN SAHELIAN FLOODPLAIN INITIATIVE: NETWORKING TO BUILD CAPACITY TO MANAGE SAHELIAN FLOODPLAIN RESOURCES SUSTAINABLY (pp. 429-436)
M.C. Acreman, Institute of Hydrology, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, UK
Abstract: To build the capacity of institutions in Sahelian West Africa, to plan and manage floodplain resources sustainably, IUCN established the Sahelian W etlands Expert Group (SAWEG). It brings together many specialists including water engineers, health experts, ecologists and legal experts from organizations such as universities and river basin development authorities in Nigeria, Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Gambia and Cameroon. In a series of meetings, members made presentations on topics ranging from water quality modelling to participatory rural appraisal and discussed cross-sectoral issues including training needs, legislation and the role of local communities in flood plain resource management. The outputs are being drawn together into guidelines for improved floodplain management. This process is sensitizing members to a wide range of issues related to floodplain management and the need for interdisciplinary cooperation to solve them.
MANAGING URBAN LAKES: AN INTEGRATING EXPERIENCE (pp. 437-446)
Hanne Ahlgren Sorensen, Sustainable Cities Project, Concepción, Chile
Abstract: The degradation of seven urban lakes in the Municipality of Concepción is a direct result of the local institutional quagmire in which no one body is responsible for the problems that contributed to the lakes’eutrophication,including haphazard land use, inadequate stormwater and deficient sewage infrastructure and the absence of community awarenessrelated to environmentalissues. An intersectoral work group addressing ‘Restoration and Development of Urban Lakes’ has been established, making progress on various critical fronts: improving water quality, regularizing land use, sustaining a public information campaign and promoting environmental education. Institutional arrangements have been put into place and financial alternatives have been implemented by local fund raising.
THE NEED FOR GENDER ANALYSIS IN STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR EFFECTIVE WATER MANAGEMENT IN SRI LANKA (pp. 447- 459)
Kusum Athukorala, Associated Development Research Consultants (ADRC), Denagamuwa Watta, Madarangoda, Kadugannawa, Sri Lanka
Abstract: With diminishing investments both the irrigation and water supply sector in Sri Lanka has had to resort to participatory management with enhanced stakeholder interaction. The use of gender participation in capacity building varies in the two major state agencies involved in water resources management: the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) and the Dept of Irrigation (ID). The differing gender needs and contributions are recognized to a considerable extent and incorporated into plan- ning, operation and maintenance of rural water supply, but the same recognition is not accorded to gender considerations as an issue affecting capacity building in the irrigation sector.
BUILDING CAPACITY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN HONG KONG (pp. 461-472)
Paul R. Holmes, Environmental Protection Department, Hong Kong Government, Hong Kong
Abstract: Building capacity for environmental management requires more than the traditional disciplines of science and engineering. Six success factors have been identified in the development of Hong Kong’s environmental protection institutions. They are a strong, unifying vision; scientific understanding of the problems; openness to face challenges; pragmatism in developing solutions; involvement of the community; and commitment at the highest political levels. Growth in institutions is not a linear process, but involves phases of growth, interspersed with consolidation and reorientation. Hong Kong has seen success in developing robust environmental protection institutions and infrastructure, and is now building new leadership capacity for future growth.
APPROACHES TO NATIONAL WATER ACTION PLANNING (pp. 473-481)
Enoch Dribidua, Torkil Jonch-clausenb and Niels H. Ipsenb
aDirectorate of Water Development, Kampala, Uganda; bVKI Water Quality Institute, Denmark
Abstract: Four years ago, in 1992, broad international consensus on a new agenda for the development and management of the world’s fresh water resources emerged. Fresh water was recognized as a finite and vulnerable resource, which is vital for the sustenance of life, for all development activities, health and environment maintenance. All countries agreed to the need for concerted action along the lines spelled out in the guiding principles articulated at the International Conference on Water and the Environment and Developmentin Rio. In the Dublin-Rio process it was suggested that countries should prepare national water action plans in attempt to translate the guiding principles to operational strategies for action at the national, sub-national and local levels. So far, little experience exists on the preparation of such integrated and cross-sectoral water action plans, and examples of actual implementation are very few. However,some developing countries have decided to face the post-Rio challenge and have initiated the process, and approaches to national water action planning have been developed in, for example, Uganda and Nicaragua.
CAPACITY BUILDING IN MEXICO (pp. 483-490)
Felipe Arreguín, Lydia Márquez and Antonieta Gómez, Instituto Mexicano de Tecnología del Agua, Morelos, México
Abstract: An analysis of water quality and quantity in Mexico is presented. The tasks of the National Water Commission, the nation’s water authority, are described. Advances in the planning of the Capacity Building Project are presented in three aspects: human resource formation, strengthening of institutional and community participation, and the adoption of an adequate environmental policy. The projects listed were selected by specialists from universities, NGOs, public, social and private institutions, and international and financial organisms in five areas: urban and rural drinking water and sanitation systems; environmental impact and water quality; integral planning and management of hydraulic resources; and hydroagricultural development and hydrometeorology.
CAPACITY BUILDING FOR SUSTAINABLE WATER SECTOR DEVELOPMENT IN PERU (pp. 491-501)
Miguel Ventura and Orlando Olcese, Instituto Nacional de Recursos Naturales, Peru
Abstract: This paper presents activities undertaken by the Government of Peru in the course of developing a strategy for capacity building in the water sector in accordance with the principles established in the UNDP Symposium held in Delft in June 1991. Following the recommendationsof this symposium an assessment was made of the water resources and their use by different productive sectors in the country. This assessment served as the basis for a detailed analysis of the main problems that the water sector has to face in Peru. Following this analysis the paper discusses the capacity building needs and strategy to be followed in Peru.
ENHANCING MANAGEMENT CAPABILITIES OF THE WATER SECTOR IN INDIA (pp. 503-512)
A.D. Mohile, National Water Development Agency, New Delhi, India
Abstract: The policy review process of the Indian water sector is examined by considering the present and the likely future changes in the sector, and in its legal and institutional framework. The need to achieve institutional consolidation and internalization of various concerns, to involve users and to create interdisciplinary and autonomous institutes is brought out. The emphasis is on the priorities required for human resources development and particularly for attitudinal changes for this purpose. A review of the literature and experience indicates that WALMIs established in Ind ia are able to achieve changes but need support and coordination.
WATER BALANCE, CLIMATE CHANGE AND LAND-USE PLANNING IN THE PEARL HARBOR BASIN, HAWAI’I (pp. 515-530)
Thomas W. Giambelluca, Mark A. Ridgley and Michael A. Nullet, Department of Geography, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, USA
Abstract: The Pearl Harbor basin on the tropical oceanic island of O’ahu, Hawai’i, exhibits extreme climatic gradients, rapid land-use change and groundwater use near sustainable yield. The basin’s water usage and groundwater recharge, and hence water yield, are strongly influenced by the spatial distribution of land use. Current recharge is expected to drop by about one-eighth with the demise of the remaining sugar-cane and pineapple. Evidence suggests that lower rainfall and increased evaporation may well accompany warmer periods in Hawaii, and water-balance simulations indicate many scenarios having a significant decrease in available water. Land-use planners can use such results in tandem with multiobjective optimization models to generate alternative land-use plans and show trade-offs among objectives.
EVIDENCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE SENEGAL RIVER BASIN (pp. 531-546)
Henry David Venemaa, Eric J. Schillerb and Kaz Adamowskic
aDepartment of Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada; b,cInternational Water Engineering Centre, Civil Engineering Department, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Abstract: International development policy makers are recognizing climate change and desertification as fundamental obstacles to the social and economic development of the Third World. Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly the Sahel region, has been severely impacted by the compounding effects of drought, deforestation and desertification. Th e Senegal River Basin in the West Africa is a prime example of a region where development objectives are seriously undermined by the drought-induced desertification process. The basic hydrologic constraint on development is revealed in a time series decompositionof Senegal River annual flow volumes, which strongly sug geststhat water resources availability has been substantially curtailed since 1960. Two alternative time series mechanisms are hypothesized to account for the decreased flow volumes in recent decades. The first time series model suggests the presence of a long-term periodicity, while the second model hypothesizes an ARMA(1,1,) process. The second hypothesis provides a superior model fit. The stationary ARMA(1,1) model can be fitted successfully, however, only after explicitly removing a non-stationary component by linearly detrending after 1960. The implication of non-stationarity in Senegal River hydrology provides additional analytic evidence that the landscape degradation and desertification processes observed in Sahelian Africa can be in part attributed to climate change effects. Efforts to redress desertification should be at once conscious of complex socioeconomic forces exacerbating the desertification process and fundamental hydrologic constraints to river basin development.
HYDROCHEMICAL STATE OF THE KUIBYSHEV RESERVOIR (pp. 547-559)
Ludmila A. Vikh Ristyuk, Institute of Ecology of the Volga River Basin, Russian Academy of Sciences, Togliatti, Russia
Abstract: An attempt has been made to ascertain the structure of water masses of the Kuibyshev reservoir, one of the largest in Europe, using mathematical techniques and results of long-term observations (1958-84) of the hydrochemical regime (a gaseous regime, biogenic and organic substances) in the reservoir. The principal features of the structure obtained appeared to be its well-defined two-vector pattern describing two directions of changing water masses along the former bed of the Volga river, as well as the stability of this system in time. Regionalization of the reservoir’s water area has yielded five zones differing in water quality. The long-term observations have enabled the establishment of a certain trend in biogenic concentrations showing their increase since the end of the 1970s and continuing at the present time. This is believed to result primarily from increasing water volume in the Volga river and accelerating anthropo- genic pressure upon the reservoir.