Priorities for Water Resources Allocation and Management

181 Pages·2008·12.47 MB·English

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Proceedings of the Conference on
Priorities for Water Resources
Allocation and Management
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Natural Resources and Engineering Advisers Conference
Southampton
July 1992
Proceedings of the Conference on
Priorities for Water Resources Allocation and
Management
Natural Resources and Engineering
Advisers Conference
Southampton
LIBRARY, INTERNATIONAL REFERENCE
CENTRE FOR COMMUNITY WATER SUPPLY
July 1992
AMO SANITATION ;iRC)
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Prepared and produced for the Overseas Development Administration by the Natural
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© Crown Copyright, 1993
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ISBN: 090 2500 49X
Page
Contents
INTRODUCTION ' 1
PRIORITIES AND CONFLICTS IN WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Paper 1: Demographic trends: implications for the use of water S
M, Oiisholm
Paper 2: Fortunately there are substitutes for water: otherwise our 13
hydropolitical futures would be impossible
T. Allan
ISSUES IN WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
Paper 3: Managing water resources versus managing water 27
technology: prospects for institutional change
L. Vincent
Paper 4: Water as an economic resource 35
/. T. Winpenny
DOMESTIC WATER USE
Paper 5: Domestic water use: engineering, effectiveness and sustainability 43
R. Franceys
Paper 6: Domestic and community water management 51
R. Hope
URBAN AND INDUSTRIAL WATER USE
Paper 7: Pollution alleviation issues - a case study on the river Ganges 55
/. M. Griffiths
Paper 8: Wastewater treatment and use for irrigation 67
M. B. Pescod
WATERSHED MANAGEMENT AND LAND USE
Paper 9: Institutional aspects of watershed management 81
A. Bottrall
Paper 10: The hydrological impact of land-use change 91
I. R. Calder
IRRIGATION
Paper 11: Small-scale irrigation in sub-saharan Africa: a balanced view 103
R. Carter
Paper 12: Environmental and health aspects of irrigation 117
P. Bolton
AQUATIC RESOURCES
Paper 13: Water management for aquaculture and fisheries: irrigation, 127
irritation or integration?
J. F. Muir
Paper 14: Managing systems not uses: the challenges of water-borne inter- 149
dependence and coastal dynamics
A. Edwards
THE WIDER ENVIRONMENT
155
Paper 15: World food production: the past, the present and the future
T. W. Stanton and R. F, Stoner
Paper 16: Climate change and the future of agriculture 161
M. Parry
Introduction
The first joint conference of ODA's Natural Resources and Engineering Advisers was held at the
University of Southampton in July 1992. Besides Advisers from ODA headquarters there was
representation from the ODA's Development Divisions, Aid Management Offices, Natural
Resources Institute and also Associated Bodies. The conference was greatly enlivened by the
presence of 18 non-ODA guest speakers and participants from a variety of academic institutions,
NGOs and others involved in issues related to water in development.
The theme of the conference was 'water' and priorities for the allocation and management of the
resource. ODA has been involved in water resource development since its inception but issues
of allocation and management have become increasingly important. This has been reflected in
increased international consultation on water as discussed below, and also in the need for
greater linkage across the Divisions of ODA in water related issues. The 1991 ODA Natural
Resources Advisers Conference discussed the theme of interdisciplinarity so that the bringing
together of engineers, natural resources advisers and advisers of other disciplines as well as
ODA administrators to discuss such a major cross-cutting theme was appropriate. Jhe
conference was part of the process of developing an integrated policy on water for ODA as
already developed for other cross-cutting issues such as environment, gender, economic reform,
management, poverty and good government.
The conference came at a time of increasing international concern with water related issues. In
the World Bank's development report for 1992 clean water and adequate sanitation arc put at
the top of developing country priorities and a programme of action for more efficient
management of water resources is recommended. The International Drinking Water Supply and
Sanitation Decade (1981-1990) had been followed by the New Delhi statement which emphasised
the urgent need to integrate water resources management whereby water supply, sanitation and
irrigation were no longer treated as separate sectors. The Dublin Conference on 'Water and the
Environment' in January 1992 stated the need for a further change in water resources
development to a more holistic and multidisciplinary approach. International concern with
water culminated in June 1992 at UNCF.D in Rio de Janeiro. Agenda 21, a major output of the
conference, contains Chapter 18 entitled 'Protection of the Quality and Supply of Freshwater
Resources: Application of Integrated Approaches to the Development, Management and Use of
Water Resources'. Many of the presentations made in the ODA's conference in Southampton
fall under the seven programme areas listed in Chapter 18: these include integrated water
resources management, protection of aquatic ecosystems, water supply and sanitation and
impact of climate change on water resources.
At a time of heightened awareness and increased interest in the requirements of developing
countries for water resources, drought in parts of Africa continues to intensify and the problems
of sharing the resources of international rivers such as the Zambezi, Nile, Jordan and Euphrates
increase. Problems of drainage and salinity in major irrigation schemes escalate, irrigation
increasingly competes with domestic water supply and hydro-power, and there is considerable
interest in the consequences of possible climate change. The National Audit Office in its report
on 'Overseas Aid: Water and the Environment' (May 1992) has made its recommendations
following a review of 17 major ODA projects in the sector between 1977 and 1989. Donors, such
as ODA, cannot necessarily increase the allocation of scarce cash resources to this sector (and
statistics indicate that they are not doing so), but they can attempt to make their aid more
effective by ensuring a more multi-disciplinary approach to project appraisal, design and
implementation, and perhaps adopting new methods for co-ordinating the activities of the many
entities involved in water management.
Against this background of international interest in water related issues the Conference's
objectives were set. The aim was to create a baseline of common knowledge and expose ODA
advisory groups to modern practices and current issues in water use and management. The
conference also aimed to demonstrate a commitment to interdisciplinary working practices with
the objective of maximising benefits from investment of aid in water use and management. The
major objectives of the conference were to provide a framework of needs and opportunities in
water resources allocation and management, develop a water resources strategy for action on
priorities and establish an interdisciplinary working group.
The programme comprised eight sessions spread over two days in each of which two
presentations were made followed by discussion. In this document the papers and a brief
summary of discussions are given in the order of presentation, two each under the following
headings:
• Priorities and conflicts in water resource development
• Issues in water resources management
• Domestic water use
• Urban and industrial water use .
• Watershed management and land use
• Irrigation
• Aquatic resources
• The wider environment.
The full technical programme, summary of papers and working group conclusions are presented
in a separate conference report. The results of working group deliberations which correspond
with the above headings are summarised as key issues, main lessons and recommendations
below.
Key issues
1. Water is an important renewable but scarce resource in much of the developing world
and is increasingly a key constraint on development.
2. There is increased demand from rapidly growing urban populations and the priority
between urban and rural, domestic and industrial and agricultural demand has to be
addressed. The distinction between minimum water needs and demand should be
made.
3. Water should be treated as an economic good and fully valued.
4. Institutions involved in water provision and delivery need reforming.
5. Participatory methods should be used both with farmers and domestic consumers in the
allocation and development of water resources.
6. Water resource planning needs to be reviewed and the use of watersheds as a
management unit needs to be considered.
7. There is generally a lack of reliable data on processes involved; more appropriate and
accessible information is required.
8. An holistic, systems view of water resource management is needed using an
interdisciplinary approach to understand the interactions.
9. The key issues are related to management, social and institutional structures rather than
technical matters.
Main lessons
1. Strategies need to be developed for the allocation of water.
2. There is scope for increased efficiency of water use and more re-cycling of water for
agricultural and urban use.
3. Operation and maintenance issues must be addressed in project design.
2 . , . • ' .•
4. Research into opportunities for on-site sanitation is needed given its low water demands.
5. The distinction between use and consumption should be drawn.
6. A flexible approach is needed to cope with change and uncertainty in particular climatic
change.
7. ODA needs to broaden its interdisciplinary thinking.
Recommendations
1. ODA should establish a multi-disciplinary working group to define the key areas of a
water resources strategy.
2. The water resources strategy should help ODA to define its policy and determine
priorities for future research and development activities.
3. Water centred thinking should be integrated into ODA through Country Review Papers
and other mechanisms.
4. The strategy should consider whether to focus water related activities in a few key areas
or countries.
5. On the basis of the strategy, systems-based research programmes should be established
across ODA's administrative divisions with a common fund. Priorities to be addressed
would be:
• Further work to establish the full economic value of water and application of
this to policy and projects wherever possible
• Determination of minimum water requirements for urban areas
• Research multiple uses and re-cycling of water
• Irrigation systems
• Coastal zone management
• Common property resources.

PAPER 1
Demographic trends: implications for the use of water
MICHAEL CHISHOLM
Professor of Geography, University of Cambridge
Summary: World population is growing at about 1.6% annually; even though the
growth rate is falling, we can expect the total to rise from about 5.3 billion to over 8
billion in 2020. Virtually all of the increase will be located in the poorer countries,
especially within the tropics, and furthermore most of the increase in the foreseeable
future will be urban, not rural. Therefore, the management of water resources will
become increasingly complex, especially in regions where precipitation is low, highly
seasonal and/or very variable. To balance rural (agricultural) needs, urban needs and
water requirements to maintain ecosystems will require the skills of the engineers and
sensible water pricing policies, plus hard thought about the priorities for water use.
PRESSURES ON WATER SUPPLIES
Several trends are putting increasing pressure on water supplies: population and income growth,
the trend to spatial concentration of people, the widening range of uses to which water is put,
and the need to disperse and to transport waste products of all kinds. To begin to consider
these matters, something must be said about the growth and the location of population, at
present and for the foreseeable future.
Table 1 presents some recent estimates for the total world population and its distribution by
broad geographical region. Most of the population increase will take place in the less developed
regions, and especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Although these estimates are subject
to error, it is highly unlikely that over the next 30 years or so the broad picture conveyed by
Table 1 will be altered, unless some catastrophic and unforeseen event occurs. Thus, we can say
with fair confidence that between 1990 and 2020, the less developed countries will gain about
2.7 billion people - a gain well in excess of 50% - all of whom will need water for the food they
eat, for personal use, for the industries in which they work, etc.
TABLE 1
Estimated and projected population (milllions)
Geographical region Year
1990 2000 2010 2020
World 5292 6261 7204 8092
More developed regions 1207 1264 1310 1342
Less developed regions 4086 4997 5895 6750
Africa 642 867 1148 1452
Latin America 448 538 629 716
North America 274 295 311 326
Asia 3113 3713 4240 4700
Europe 498 510 516 516
Oceania 265 301 336 368
Source: United Nations, 1991