IWRM is an acronym (“buzzword”) introduced in the early 1990’s to describe the function of optimising available water resources and limiting destructive impacts via good governance. Good governance of water resources is not a new concept – but dates back centuries. Historically, the most notable occurrences of these were associated with the Roman Republic/ Empire (509 BC – 476 AD) and Persian (550 BC – 651 AD) Empires, which in turn were both influenced by earlier Greek technological advances.
One of the pillars of the Roman Republic & Empire, apart from their famous roads and drains, was the aqueduct. By the early Imperial Era (27 BC), Rome’s aqueducts supported a population of over a million, supported public amenities, flushed the sewers of cities and towns, provided water supply to villas, market gardens, farms and agricultural estates (the core of Rome’s economy and wealth). Much of Roman Water Law was directed at maintaining and preserving the utilities of aqueducts and avoiding water damage.
For the Persian Empire, again it was a water distribution system – the Qanat (Kariz) – which was one of the pillars of its health, wealth and growth. Just like the aqueducts, these water channels brought life to villages, towns and farms and Water Laws were implemented to protect its function. This system of gravity fed water channels is also used in the Sultanate of Oman (Falaj/ Aflaj) and provided the backbone of its economy until the 1970’s – and is still significant in the farming sector – irrigating more than 40% (yr-2014) of its agriculture. Water shares from these distribution systems were based on celestial time-sharing, which was overseen by village elders and district governors (Walis): Harriet Nash, 2012 advises that this system of time keeping and governance has been deliberately retained, in parts of Oman, to keep this traditional going.
Modern-day concepts of IWRM have been heavily influenced by the outcomes of four international conferences held between years 1992 and 2002 (the International Conference on Water and Environment (Dublin, 1992), the Second World Water Forum (The Hague, 2000), the International Conference on Freshwater (Bonn, 2001) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD, Johannesburg, 2002)), by the EU’s Water Framework Directive (Water Policy Directive 2000/60/EC) and the Global Water Partnership (GWP).
To paraphrase the four Dublin Founding Principles (1992), these were: (1) freshwater is a finite, vulnerable and essential resource, which should be managed in an integrated manner; (2) water development and management should be participatory by all stakeholders; (3) women play a central role in the provision, safeguarding and management of water; and, (4) water has an economic value that needs to take account of affordability and equity. To these principals the Hague (2000) Forum placed added emphasis on: privatisation (water should be everybody’s business but should not be monopolised); water should be charged at its full cost – with subsidies to the poor; there should be rights of land and water use to everyone; and, water can empower people and women in particular through water management participation (sharing of power and democratic participation). The Bonn (2001) Conference stressed: the importance of water security for the poor; decentralisation; outreach to new partners; sharing of information and decisions with all water basin users; and, better governance. The Johannesburg (2002) Summit focused more on water resource and development strategy implementation with the following agenda: develop IWRM and water efficiency plans for all of the world’s river basins by 2005; develop and implement national and regional IWRM strategies, plans and programs; improve the efficiency of water use; establish public-private partnerships; establish gender sensitive policies; and, involve all stakeholders in decision making, management and implementation processes.
The policies advocated by these conferences were: inclusion of all environmental settings; participation of stakeholders; gender awareness; focus on poverty; focus on human-orientated management (social and economic development linked to ecosystems); and, decentralisation of decisions to the community level. In some quarters these endorsements were criticised as being too full of fashionable slogans and lacking substance.
The EU’s WFD (2000) policy approach was more techno-centric and had the following key aims: expand the scope of water protection to all water bodies; achieve ‘good status’ for all waters by a set deadline (yr-2015); base water management on river basins boundaries; provide a combined approach to emission limits and quality standards; get the right price for water; get citizens more closely involved; and, streamline legislation. The WFD guidance and thematic documents can be found here.
The GWP has since expanded on these policies through a large number of publications and Tools. The following diagram provides one of the simplest dynamics for understanding IWRM (modified from the original, which was presented by Sadof, C.W et al, 2015):
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Available Water Resources: water resource management plans start with a comprehensive assessment of the components of a river basin’s water balance, available resources and the appreciation of how changes to one or more components of this balance affect other components and the environment in terms of quantity, quality and location. Information collated into databases and presented on maps are key to a regional perspective for the management of water resource components. In general, four general categories of data are required.
Expert services can be provided to collate and process water resources information from stakeholders, field inventories, pilot projects and the internet, onto ArcGIS maps, for assessment, management, reporting and presentation purposes. Exploration: Key sets of data required for groundwater resource assessments are often missing or inadequate. Drilling exploration boreholes, conducting aquifer tests, and initiating appropriate monitoring programs are then needed. Associated services that can be provided include facilitating remote sensing investigations (airborne, satellite and geophysical investigations), borehole designs, preparation of tender documents and specifications, supervision of drilling and borehole construction, aquifer and borehole testing, and analyses of data. In the context of groundwater Security Investments, Productive Developments can include a range of different development options. The two most common requirements are:
Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR), an example of a Protective Response, is the process of adding a water source under controlled conditions for withdrawal at a later date, or used as a barrier to prevent saltwater or other contaminants from entering the aquifer. Water can be recharged by a number of methods including infiltration via reservoirs, galleries or injection wells. Consulting services can be provided for the design, tendering, supervision (testing and construction) and management of these groundwater development/ protective options, or other schemes as required. Similarly, appropriate responses to Reducing destructive activities, pressures and impacts can also be provided. Improved governance also means improving the flow of information, water policies, legislation, water revenue and permitting. I also have considerable experience of these having worked in the Technical Secretariat of the Ministry of Water Resources (Oman) and on the EU WFD for Kosovo. I also contributed to the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources (MRMWR, Oman) bidding document for the 9th World Water Forum, 2021. |