Table Of ContentStrategies for River Basin Management
Environmental Integration of Land and Water
in a River Basin
The GeoJournal Library
Series Editor: Wolf TIETZE
Editorial Board:
John E. Bardach, Honolulu, HI W. Lauer, Bonn
Pierre Biays, Lille Lee Shu-tan, Nanjing
Asit Biswas, Oxford Richard F. Logan, Los Angeles, CA
Bruce Currey, Dhaka Walther Manshard, Freiburg i. Br.
J. Demek, Brno German Muller, Heidelberg
Yehuda Gradus, Beer-Sheva Paul Muller, Saarbrucken
Arild Holt-Jensen, Bergen Hiroshi Sasaki, Tsukuba
Huang Ping-wei, Beijing Akira Suwa, Tokyo
Johannes Karte, Bonn Jorn Thiede, Kiel
P. M. Kelly, Norwich H. Th. Verstappen, Enschede
C. Kergomard, Lille E. M. Yates, London
C. G. Knight, University Park, PA M. M. Yoshino, Tsukuba
M. P. Lapping, Manhattan, KS Alexander Zaporozec, Madison, WI
Strategies for River Basin Management
Environmental Integration of Land and Water in a River Basin
Edited by
Jan Lundqvist
Ulrik Lohm
Malin Falkenmark
Porfessors, University of Linkoping, Department of Water in Environment and Society
D. Reidel Publishing Company
A MEMBER OF THE KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS GROUP
Dordrecht / Boston / Lancaster
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Strategies for river basin management.
(The GeoJournal library)
Includes index.
1. Watershed management. 2. Water resources development - Environmental aspects. 3. Land use -
Environmental aspects. I. Lundqvist, Jan, 1942- II. Lohm, Ulrik, 1943- III. Falkenmark, Malin, 1925-
TC409.S776 1985 333.91 '15 85-18293
ISBN-\3: 978-94-010-8910-4 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-009-5458-8
DOl: 10. I 007/978-94-009-5458-8
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Editorial
Synthesis and Conclusions
River Basin Strategy for Coordinated Land and Water Conservation
by Lundqvist, J.; Lohm, U. and Falkenmark, M. 5
1 River Basin Development and Ecosystem Approaches
River basin development strategies in the Tisza valley by David, L. 19
Ecosystem modelling of a river basin by Pantulu, V. R. 31
Ecosystem approaches to river basin planning by Reynolds, Peter J. 41
Methodology for monitoring and evaluation of integrated land and water
development by Biswas, A. K. 49
2 Complementarity of Land and Water Conservation
2.1 Importance of soil conservation in the context of river basin realities
Problems related to coordinated control and management of land and
water resources - Some perceptions derived from the Indian experience
by Vohra, B. B. 63
Seeking a new balance in deteriorating upper Citarum basin in West Java
by van Bronckhorst, Ben 71
Methods of land and water conservation in the Wuding river basin
by Gong Shiyang; Mou Jinze 81
Soil and water conservation on the Chinese loess plateau -
The example of the Xio Shi Guo Brigade by Gustafsson, J.-E. 91
Catchment ecosystems and traditional vii/age tank cascades in the
dry zone of Sri Lanka by Bandara, C. M. Madduma 99
Control and management of land-use and water resources of Bhavani river
basin in Tamil Nadu, India by Sivanappan, R. K. 115
Problems of land use and water resources management in the upper
Tana catchment in Kenya by Ongwenyi, George S. 123
2.2 Whole river basin as an interactive system
Upstream-downstream interactions as natural constraints to basin-wide
planning for China's River Huang by Mosely, P. 131
Some strategic principles for long-term river basin development -
The case of Han river by Fang Ziyun 141
The integrated river basin development. The challenges to the Nile basin
countries by Mageed, Y. A. 151
2.3 Managing water quality impact in industrialized countries
Approach to eutrophication problems close to an expanding metropolis
in Australia by Isg~rd, C. E. 161
The changing Illinois river by Stout, Glenn E. 171
Water-course monitoring in a Swedish river basin: growth,
development and future by Karlsson, G. and L6wgren, M. 179
3 Conflict Management; Tools and Principles
3. 1 Formal and non-formal options in conflict management
Legal and administrative tools for river basin developmelf{ by Cano, G. J. 189
Legal, administrative and economic tools for conflict resolution.
Perspectives on river basin management in industrialized countries
by Williams, Alan 201
Environmental conflicts: Structure and management by Bateld, K. 209
3.2 Importance of time perspective
Problems of water reallocation in Colorado - America's most fully
utilized river by Skogerboe, Gaylord V. 219
Conflict between flood preparedness and drought preparedness in the
Colorado river basin by Dracup, John A.; Rhodes, St. L. and Ely, D. 229
Water resources conflicts in integrated river basin development.
The case of Kavlinge river by Castensson, R. 245
3.3 Political interference and the role of traditions in management
The making and the breaking of agreement on the Ganges by Crow, B. 255
The Mahaweli strategy of Sri Lanka - Great expectation of a small nation
by Bandara, C. M. Madduma 265
Coordinated management of land and water resources; regionalization and
institutions by Kindler, Janusz 279
Equity issues in the implementation of river basin planning by Goulter, I. C. 287
4 River Basin Resources Administration and Analysis
4. 1 Approaches in river basin administration and development
Different types of river basin entities --A global outlook by Burchi, S. 293
The river basin concept as seen from a management perspective in USA
by Wengert, N. 299
The Thames basin, England - Legal and administrative system
by Sinnott, C. S. 307
The relevance of river basin approach for coordinated land and water
conservation and management by Krishnamurthy, K. V. 311
Rationale for establishing a river basin authority in Tanzania
by Mascarenhas, Adolfo 317
4.2 Models for resource analysis and policy implications in a river basin context
Methodologies for water resources policy analysis in river basins
by da Cunha, L. V. 329
Problems related to growing urban systems from a river basin perspective
by Lindh, Gunnar 337
Editorial
Land and water constitute two of the basic resources in the lifesupport system on which
man depend. With increasing standard of living, growing populations and geographical
concentration of human activities, the pressure on these resources is being intensified at
an alarming rate in large parts of the world. There is a rapidly growing concern about the
environmental hazards associated with this development if it is allowed to continue un
checked. The concern is related both to a depleting resource base as well as a deprivation
of the long-term carrying capacity of our environment.
The most noticeable response has been in the increasing attention paid to management
issues. Management seems to be perceived as a principle which assures not only an efficient
recource utilization in the contemporary setting, but also one which encompasses the
necessary conservation of the productivity of these resources in a long-term perspective.
In particular, water management has become a matter of primary concern. This applies to
policy formulations at the international level right down to local level. Management of
land resources is obviously a more composite issue. Apart from land-use aspects, it in
cludes management of inputs, concervation precautions etc. It is also to be noted that
due to the complementarity of land and water, management of land resources should be
a decisive consideration in water conservation and management.
Principles for the management and conservation of land and water resources are
consequently being reformulated and, hopefully, implemented. I n this volume of Geo
Library a number of perspectives and principles in this process are discussed in the River
Basin perspective.
I n chapter 1, it is argued that with increasing socio-economic development it is neces
sary to pay due attention to environmentally sound planning and evaluation procedures.
By applying an eco-system view on resource utilization, the potentials and limitations can
be rationally assessed with regard to a sustainable utilization. A sound conceptual frame
work is relevant not only from a strict environmental point of view. Such a perspec
tive is also called for in the efforts of designing new projects and adjusting existing ones
so that human efforts are not drained and financial investments become cost-effective.
In chapter 2 the close interrelationships between water and land, or rather land-use,
are analysed. The articles illustrate the paramount need for improvements in management
and conservation in large parts of our world. In many developing countries, human pres
sure on land and water resources in combination with adverse climatological conditions,
i.e. unreliable and sometimes very heavy rainfall, in sensitive surroundings have seriously
threatened the environment. In the first part of chapter 2, the need for substanstive con
servation measures are cogently discussed. For India, China, Java and Kenya severe ero
sion problems are presented, which invariably seem to be the outcome of intensification
in land-use, without proper attention being paid to conservation measures. In the follow
ing arti.cles, special attention is given to the complicated nature of upstream and down
stream interactions and of water and soil conservation and utilization in some of the world's
largest river basins. The strong political element in the development of international river
systems is illustrated.
The last three articles of chapter 2, deal with water quality aspects in industrialized
countries. In these countries, extensive industrialization and urban pressure in general, as
well as high-input modern agriculture, may lead to considerable changes in water quality
characteristics in urban areas as well as in rural areas. The needs and principles for monitor
ing such changes are discussed as well as cases where noticeable impact from waste water
treatment measures have been achieved.
Various conflicts over water and their management are discussed in chapter 3. Besides
formal procedures, a number of informal tools in terms of economic sanctions and the
use of non-formal institutions may be of considerable importance both for avoiding and
for the handling of conflicts. Conflict management is, however, complicated by a number
of circumstances. Illustrations of practical experiences from developed as well as develop
ing countries show that political interference and well established routines in the adminis
trative set-up may, indeed, underline confl icts or hamper a rational management. Likewise
it is argued that unpredictable conflicts may complicate a smooth conflict management.
It is also shown that large scale water regulation projects, e.g. dams, may create conflicts
between proponents for a utilization of the regulation capacity for hydro-power genera
tion policies etc. and those favouring the use of the regulating capacity for agricultural
purposes. Natural cl imatological fluctuations are not always taken into due consideration
purposes. Natural climatological fluctuations are not always taken into due considerations
in this context. As a rule, conflicts which concern the environment are difficult to handle
through the strong emotional and ideological perceptions involved.
In chapter 4, solutions to the administration of resources in a river basin context are
discussed. It is noted that the idea of river basin authorities attracts a lot of attention. In
practice there are, however, a lot of circumstances which impede a proper realization of
such authorities. Interbasin transfer of water, or long distance transfer of energy from
hydro-power plants will e.g. transcend the division of entities based on the water divide.
Likewise it is noted that the Western perspective today of river basin is largely in terms of
river systems engineering. Administration of the geographical regions of basins are in the
contemporary socio-economic-political setting in industrialized countries influenced by
urban oriented policies and analyses. Regional development thinking in developing coun
tries, is obviously to a large degree based on a realization of the close interrelations
between land and water resources in a river basin perspective. The option to establish
River Basin Authorities is consequently seriously perceived.
In the last two articles, models for resource analyses are presented. It is argued that
policy design should be based on a systems approach, where the identification of the
system and its parts, its behaviour and management are important steps. A systems ap
proach seems to be particularly challenging in an analysis of urban pressure in a river
basin context. It is to be noted that although rural development is a predominant ex
ponent for water and land utilization in terms of its sectoral demand and areal extension,
the intensification of land use, or changes thereof, is quite often a result of urban pressure
and overall population increase.
This edition of GeoLibrary is an outcome of an international seminar: River Basin
Strategy; the relevance of river basin approach for coordinated land and water conserva
tion and management. Based on contributions to the seminar and discussions during the
seminar, a number of conclusions were arrived at. These conclusions as well as a synthesis
of the seminar, are presented at the beginning of this volume.
The seminar was held at the University of Linkoping, Sweden,4-8 June, 1984. About
50 participants from more than 20 countries and several international organizations took
part in the sessions. The contributions to the seminar were made possible through generous
grants from UNEP, SIDA, Swedish Ministry of Agriculture and Swedish Council for
Planning and Coordination of Research. We are grateful for the financial and enthusiastic
support which made the seminar and this publication possible. Particular thanks goes to
Mrs. Berit Starkman and Mrs. Ulla Haggstrom for their patient work in preparing all the
manuscripts for publication including their talents for organizing the work within a tight
time schedule.
Jan Lundqvist, Ulrik Lohm and Malin Falkenmark
5
Lundqvist, j.; Lohm, U. and Falkenmark, M. (eds.):
Strategies for River Basin Management, pp.005-017
© 1985 D. Reidel Publishing Company and UNEP
1 RIVER BASIN DEVELOPMENT AND ECOSYSTEM APPROACHES
River Basin Strategy for Coordinated Land and Water Conservation:
Synthesis and Conclusions
Lundqvist, J.; Lohm, U.; Falkenmark, M., Dept. of Water in Environment and Society,
University of Linkoping, 5-58183 Linkoping, Sweden
Background
Human activities are closely tied to land and water: they call for interventions to increase
the socio-economic benefits from these resources, but are at the same time impeded by
the factual results produced by such interventions.
The water divide constitutes a natural physical boundary for examining the interde
pendence between land and water. This gives the river basin special relevance from the
perspective of integrated land and water conservation and management. River basin being
an originally hydrological concept, river basin development has been understood as the
development of water resources in order to better adapt water availability to water needs
in time and space.
The tie between land and water is twofold: on one hand land use is to a large extent
water dependent, on the other water use may be disturbed by water-impacting land use.
It would be expected that the dual land/water interdependence and interaction were
clearly reflected in environmental management. However, the general tendency seems to
be to treat land and water as separate issues: water planning being approached as a question
of siting and sizing of structures for conveyance and storage of water; land use planning as
a question of allocating land for different uses.
The Linkoping Seminar was convened to discuss river basin strategies in the field of
land/water integration in environmental management. Based on a number of case studies,
four selected issues were addressed:
Obstactles to coordinated land and water conservation and management
Legal and administrative tools as incentives/disincentives
Problems due to growing urban systems as seen in a river basin perspective
River basin as an ecosystem
The Seminar was asked to propose criteria for environmentally sound planning and man
agement, allowing for land/water integration necessary for the maintenance of the pro
ductive capacity of the complementary life support systems of land and water.
