Integrated Water Resources Management: A critical Review by Aremu A.

O (04/30GB024) 2013

Abstract
A water resources strategy is usually a step on the way to the development of a plan as the basic goals
and objectives need to be set and the key direction of the changes agreed before embarking on detailed
planning. Water is a key driver of economic and social development while it also has a basic function in
maintaining the integrity of the natural environment. However water is only one of a number of vital
natural resources and it is imperative that water issues are not considered in isolation. Managers,
whether in the government or private sectors, have to make difficult decisions on water allocation.
More and more they have to apportion diminishing supplies between ever-increasing demands. Drivers
such as demographic and climatic changes further increase the stress on water resources. The
traditional fragmented approach is no longer viable and a more holistic approach to water management
is essential.

1.0 Introduction
Water is essential to sustain human life. It plays a vital role in many human activities, including
industrial production, agriculture, energy, sanitation, and transportation, in addition to sustaining
ecosystems that provide valuable services to both environment and human. Although water seems to
be abundant on the planet, 97% of the Earth’s water is seawater, making it unfit for most human uses.
Of the remaining 3%, 87% is inaccessible, either locked in polar icecaps or in deep underground aquifers.
Thus, only 0.4% of all of the water on earth is in a form that is usable and accessible by human beings
(CAP-Net 2003). Out of all renewable freshwater that reaches land by precipitation, most returns to the
atmosphere via evapotranspiration, while the remainder is available as runoff. Thus, while only 8% of
total renewable freshwater is being used directly by humans, it is estimated that 54% of accessible
annual runoff is currently withdrawn, with higher figures in water-scarce areas (UN WWDR1, 2003).
The scarcity of water is being noticed in much of the world. More than two billion people in 40
countries live in river basins under “water stress”, where per capita supply is less than 1,700 m 3 per year
(Revenga 2000). Population growth and economic development have caused demand for water to
increase drastically over the past century. Global population increased by a factor of three during the
20th century, while water withdrawals increased by a factor of seven (GWP 2000). Population growth
and economic development contribute to pollution from municipal waste, mining and industry, and
agricultural runoff, all of which further degrade water quality and thus the amount of quality water
sources, further exacerbating the quantity of usable waters. As global population is expected to
increase from six billion to ten billion people over the next 50 some years, demand on scarce water
resources will increase further (CAP-Net 2003). Competition for scarce water resources already is a
source of conflict in many areas. Potential exists for these conflicts to escalate as water scarcity
increases. Conflicts exist between competing sectors that depend on the same water body/river basins.
Rivers and lakes that cross international boundaries have potential for conflict, as countries can limit
other countries’ access to the water resource through over-extraction or pollution.

According to UNWWDR1 2003, 263 river basins are shared by two or more nations, indicating that
international competition for shared water bodies could be a series source of international conflict in
the future. Conflict also exists among various water use sectors and societies –between urban and rural
water users, between hydropower demand and agriculture user, between upstream and downstream

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areas. Moreover, most of current water management systems undervalue environmental water needs.
When vital ecosystem services do not receive the water allocations they need to function, they would
impact the communities that depend on them.

1.1 A Water Cycle Under Stress

Human overuse of water resources, primarily for agriculture, and diffuse contamination of freshwater
from urban regions and from agriculture are stressing the water resources in the terrestrial water cycle.
As a consequence, the ecological functions of water bodies, soils and groundwater (e.g. filtration,
natural decomposition of pollutants, buffer capacity) in the water cycle are hampered.

2.0 What Constitutes Water Management?

Functions of water resources management are very complex tasks and may involve many different
activities conducted by many different players. The following components constitute water resources
management (Adapted from CapNet Training Manual: IWRM for RBO, June 2008):

2.1 Water Allocation

Allocating water to major water users and uses, maintaining minimum levels for social and
environmental use while addressing equity and development needs of society.

2.2. River basin planning

Preparing and regularly updating the Basin Plan incorporating stakeholder views on development and
management priorities for the basin.

2.3 Stakeholder participation

Implementing stakeholder participation as a basis for decision making that takes into account the best
interests of society and the environment in the development and use of water resources in the basin.

2.4. Pollution control

Managing pollution using polluter pays principles and appropriate incentives to reduce most important
pollution problems and minimize environmental and social impact.

2.5. Monitoring
Implementing effective monitoring systems that provide essential management information and
identifying and responding to infringements of laws, regulations and permits.

2.6. Economic and financial management

Applying economic and financial tools for investment, cost recovery and behavior change to support the
goals of equitable access and sustainable benefits to society form water use.

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3.0 Water Resources Management Overview

Water is one of the most basic human needs. With impacts on agriculture, education, energy, health,
gender equity, and livelihood, water management underlies the most basic development challenges.
Water is under unprecedented pressures as growing populations and economies demand more of it.
Practically every development challenge of the 21st century – food security, managing rapid
urbanization, energy security, environmental protection, adapting to climate change – requires urgent
attention to water resources management. Yet already, groundwater is being depleted faster than it is
being replenished and worsening water quality degrades the environment and adds to costs. The
pressures on water resources are expected to worsen because of climate change. There is ample
evidence that climate change will increase hydrologic variability, resulting in extreme weather events
such as droughts floods, and major storms. It will continue to have a profound impact on economies,
health, lives, and livelihoods. The poorest people will suffer most. The World Bank places Water
Resources Management at the center of its efforts to help countries adapt to and mitigate the effects of
climate change. It also seeks to ensure that Water issues are effectively addressed in related sectors,
such as agriculture, disaster risk management, energy, and health.

4.0 Failure of Existing Water Management Approaches

Current and past approaches of water resources management (WRM) have proven inadequate for the
global water challenges. These approaches are mostly sectoral management, where each sector
(domestic use, agriculture, industry, environmental protection, etc.) has been managed separately, with
limited coordination between sectors. These approach lead to fragmented and uncoordinated
development of water resources. Water is by nature a flowing resource, which crosses sector
boundaries. Many uses of water have spillover effects on other uses, and water development projects
have unintended social and environmental consequences. This is especially true for river basins where
upstream water and land practices impact directly the quantity and quality of water in downstream
areas. As water becomes more scarce, it is becoming increasingly inefficient to manage water without
recognizing the interdependencies between agencies, jurisdictions, sectors and geographical areas.

Top-down approaches have dominated the traditional approaches to water resources development,
with many central governments directing development of water supplies, provision of water services,
and regulation of water uses. This approach has had questionable effectiveness. Central governments
have emphasized supply augmentation over demand management, leading to inefficient development
projects. Subsidies have encouraged wasteful use of water, and restrictions on water transfers have
prevented water from being allocated to the most beneficial use. In many cases, such services would
have been more effectively provided by local governments, user groups, or the private sector. Supply
management is dominating the past and current water management. Without demand management,
supply management alone has caused negative externalities, making the opportunity cost of water to
rise to unsustainable levels. As demand for scarce water resources increases, new sources of water
need to be obtained, often at greater cost than previous sources, and with greater potential ecological
and social consequences. Water service providers, particularly in developing countries, struggle with
financial sustainability, as inefficient operations and low quality of service create a vicious cycle where
dissatisfied users refuse to pay water tariffs, limiting the service providers’ ability to maintain

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infrastructure effectively and causing service quality to decline. Poor service quality in turn exacerbates
poor productivity of water, and leads to the depletion of aquifers and pollution of water bodies.
Artificially low water prices fail to encourage conservation and efficiency, and allow wasteful practices
and inefficient operations to continue.
The current water issue is often more a crisis of governance than a crisis of physical scarcity, as scarce
water resources are allocated inefficiently, unregulated pollution compromises water quality, weak
water service providers fail to serve the public, and social and environmental concerns are left
unaddressed. Without a significant shift in the way water resources are managed and water services are
provided, the current water crisis will only worsen. Given the above shortcomings with traditional WRM
approaches, Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) has emerged as a means of addressing
the global water problems and working toward a sustainable future for water management.

5.0 Integrated Water Resources Management

Defined by the Global Water Partnership (GWP) Integrated Water Resources Management (or IWRM) is
“a process that promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related
resources, in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner
without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems.” A more functional definition is used by th
e United States Agency for International Development (USAID): “IWRM is a participatory planning and
implementation process, based on sound science, which brings together stakeholders to determine how
to meet society’s long-term needs for water and coastal resources while maintaining essential ecological
services and economic benefits.” The above reference continues to say that “IWRM helps to protect
the world’s environment, foster economic growth and sustainable agricultural development, promote
democratic participation in governance, and improve human health.”

From these definitions, a few key elements can be distilled:

 IWRM is a coordinated process that brings together stakeholders.
 It focuses on both economic and social welfare and equity as well as protecting ecosystems.
 It uses scientific data /tools to provide sound base for judgment.
 It emphasizes proper governance involving democratic participation.

It is important to note that IWRM is a process, not a product, and that it serves as a tool for assessment
and program evaluation. IWRM does not provide a specific blueprint for a given water management
problem but rather is a broad set of principles, tools, and guidelines, which must be tailored to the
specific context of the country or region or a river basin.

5.1 IWRM Approaches

IWRM emphasizes the key concepts of Integration, Decentralization, Participation, and Economic and
Financial Sustainability.

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5.1.1 Integration
The word ‘integration’ often has had very different connotations and interpretations depending on the
author(s) and institutions concerned, and their interests. Depending upon the author(s) and/or
institutions, integrated water resources management requires integration of:
 Objectives which are not mutually exclusive (economic efficiency, regional income
redistribution, environmental quality and social welfare);
 Water supply and water demand;
 Surface water and groundwater;
 Water quantity and water quality;
 Water and land-related issues;
 Different types of water uses: domestic, industrial, agricultural, navigational, recreational,
environmental and hydropower generation;
 Rivers, aquifers, estuaries and coastal waters;
 Water, the environment and ecosystems;
 Water supply and wastewater collection, treatment and disposal;
 Urban and rural water issues;
 Irrigation and drainage;
 Water and health;
 Macro, meso and micro water projects and programmes;
 Water-related institutions at national, regional, municipal and local levels;
 Public and private sectors;
 Government and NGOs;
 Timing of water release from the reservoirs to meet domestic, industrial, agricultural,
navigational, environmental and hydropower generation needs;
 All legal and regulatory frameworks relating to water, not only from the water sector, but also
from other sectors that have direct implications on the water sector;
 All economic instruments that can be used for water management;
 Upstream and downstream issues and interests;
 Interests of all different stakeholders;
 National, regional and international issues;
 Water projects, programmes and policies;
 Policies of all different sectors that have water-related implications, both in terms of quantity
and quality, and also direct and indirect (sectors include agriculture, industry, energy,
transportation, health, the environment, education, gender, etc.);
 Intra-state, interstate and international rivers;
 Bottom-up and top-down approaches;
 Centralization and decentralization;
 National, state and municipal water activities;
 National and international water policies;
 Timings of water release for municipal, hydropower, agricultural, navigational, recreational and
environmental water uses;
 Climatic, physical, biological, human and environmental impacts;

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 All social groups, rich and poor;

 Beneficiaries of the projects and those who pay the costs;
 Service providers and beneficiaries;
 Present and future generations;
 National needs and interests of donors;
 Activities and interests of donors
 Water pollution, air pollution and solidwastes disposal, especially in terms of their water
linkages;
 Various gender-related issues;
 Present and future technologies;
 Water development and regional development; and
 Any number off or mulations and combinations of the above

Advocating a holistic approach that emphasizes the goals of economic development, social welfare, and
environmental protection and that integrates management of all horizontal sectors that use and/or
affect water. Recognizing the multifaceted value of water, IWRM demands that social concerns and
environmental values be recognized while still emphasizing the need to develop water resources for
sustainable economic development. In order to effectively coordinate between water supply and
sanitation, agriculture use, energy generation, industrial use, environmental protection, and other
sectors, new institutions and policies are required. IWRM advocates creating and empowering basin-
level organizations to direct water resource management efforts in a hydrological boundary. In addition
to horizontal integration between sectors, vertical integration is needed to coordinate efforts between
local, regional, national, and international water user groups and institutions. To facilitate coordinated
water resource management, rigorous data collection and distribution is required for multiple physical
and socio-economic measures.

5.1.2 Decentralization
The second approach of IWRM is to place responsibility for water resource management at the lowest
effective administrative level. River basin organizations, in addition to facilitating inter-sectoral
integration, also provide a means of decentralizing management authority from national governments
to the basin or sub-basin level, where special attention can be paid to specific local problems and where
institutional accountability is greater. The private sector can play a role in providing water services and
should be allowed to bring its technical expertise and efficient management practices into areas where
central government has struggled to provide sustainable service. The appropriate level of
decentralization depends on the nature of the specific water management problem in question, but
IWRM seeks to strike a balance between top-down and bottom-up management.

5.1.3 Participation
The third approach of IWRM is to strengthen community-based organizations, water user associations,
and other stakeholders to enable them to take a greater role in management decisions. Giving a voice
to all user groups and affected populations ensures that social welfare considerations are given proper
weight. Full and effective participation requires gender awareness and special efforts to allow women

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and vulnerable groups to participate in management decisions. IWRM emphasizes broad-based capacity
building and support for the formation of user groups and representative associations.

5.1.4 Economic and Financial Sustainability

The increasing costs of water supply and the widespread inefficiencies in water service delivery in many
parts of the world demand that proper attention be given to the economic value of water . To achieve
long-term economic sustainability, water must be priced at its full cost, accounting for the cost of
withdrawing and delivering the water, as well as the opportunity cost and both economic and
environmental externalities associated with using that water. Laws and policies should establish clear
water use rights and create markets for these rights to be traded, allowing water to be used by those
sectors for which it has the greatest value (while still protecting social and environmental concerns).
These are easy to say than done – they are applied currently only to few countries – due to many
reasons (legal, institutional, infrastructure, etc.). To achieve financial sustainability of water service
delivery, user fees should at a minimum cover O&M costs of service provision, so that water service
providers can achieve full cost recovery and satisfy the public water needs. Often, short-term policy
targets must be limited to financial sustainability of water services, but full economic sustainability is the
long-term goal of IWRM.

5.2 IWRM Tools

The Global Water Partnership has created an IWRM toolbox designed to support the development and
application of IWRM approaches. Because IWRM is such a broad process, requiring change in multiple
sectors and at multiple levels, there is no specific blueprint that can be applied to any given situation.
Consequently, GWP’s toolbox aims to provide IWRM practitioners with a wide range of tools and
instruments that they can select and apply according to their needs. The tools fall into three main
categories ( ): (a) Enabling Environment,
(b) Institutional Roles, and
(c) Management Instruments.
Each category has several sub-categories, which in turn consist of several tools, with 49 tools in all
(GWP 2003a).

(a). Enabling Environment. This category consists of three sub-categories: Policies to set goals for
water use, protection and conservation. Policy development is important for setting national objectives
for managing water resources and delivering water services. Policies should embody the IWRM
concepts of integration, decentralization, participation, and sustainability, taking a holistic view of
water’s value and considering potential users of water, land uses and water quality. Legislative
framework to translate water policy into law. This covers ownership of water, permits and rights to use
water, and the legal status of water user groups. Financing/incentives to allocate financial resources to
meet water needs. Financing and incentive structures are needed to fund capital-intensive water
projects, support water service delivery, and provide other public goods such as flood control and
drought preparedness. They can be resources from the public sector, private finance, and joint public-
private partnership.

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(b). Institutional Roles. This category consists of two sub-categories: Creating an organizational
framework. Tools focus on developing the institutions needed to manage water resources within an
IWRM framework, shifting from top-down, centralized management to decentralized and participatory
management. Such institutions include river and lake basin organizations, regulatory bodies,
enforcement agencies, coordinating apex bodies of user associations, and public and private service
providers. These organizations need to be given clear rights and responsibilities, and allow integration
between them. The accountability of these water management organizations must be ensured, with
attention given to gender issues.

Building Institutional Capacity: Developing human resources is an integral part of developing effective
water institutions at all levels, as regulatory bodies, civil society organizations, service providers, and
central and local government officials will all need to be educated in IWRM principles and trained in the
skills and tools of effective water management. Capacity-building should focus particularly on
strengthening the ability of women and other disenfranchised groups to participate in water
management.

(c). Management Instruments. Once the proper enabling environment and institutions are in place,
these instruments address specific management problems. This category consists of eight sub-
categories ():
 ¾ Water Resources Assessment to understand resources and needs, involving data collection
and analysis in order to inform decision-making with a comprehensive view of water resources
and water users.
 ¾ Plans for IWRM to combine development options, to assess impact of resource use and
human interaction. They can be national, regional, sectoral and basin plans.
 ¾ Efficiency in Water Use to manage demand and supply, to improve supply efficiency, increase
water reuse. Subsidies and regulation to encourage technology improvements, price signals,
improved metering, and public awareness campaigns to change user behavior are all
instruments that can be used to improve efficiencies.
 ¾ Social inclusion to promote general public awareness, stakeholder participation, and
transparency of institutions, in order to better enable the public to take a participatory role in
IWRM.
 ¾ Conflict Resolution to manage disputes and ensuring sharing of water benefits
 ¾ Regulatory and economic instruments to allocate water, set water use limits, use prices for
efficiency and equity. Regulatory tools include emission standards, technology standards, and
price controls, while economic tools include pollution charges, targeted subsidies, and markets
for water use rights or pollution permits
 ¾ Information Management and Exchange to share knowledge for better water management.
Many of the tools are complementary, and successful application of one tool to a given problem may
depend on simultaneous application of a number of other tools. For example, successful
implementation of emission standards or fees will depend on a fully empowered monitoring and
regulatory agency.

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5.3 General Lessons from IWRM Applications

A broad base of support is needed for reforms. The changes required by IWRM can be sometimes
revolutionary, and involve drastic modifications of the current ways of doing business. They may risk
oppositions from those interest groups who benefit from the status quo. Top-level political support is
critical, as well as a broad base of popular support for any large-scale changes to take place. The factors
that could trigger demand for water reforms include financial struggles of government administrations,
water scarcity and droughts, natural disasters, water quality /pollution crises, and dissatisfaction of
users with water services. Initial reform should target those areas of greatest needs. Ultimately,
however, all affected stakeholders must be convinced of the value of IWRM and any reform brought by
it. Stakeholder consultations that give voice to all concerns and that provide clear justifications for
reforms, backed up with solid data, can help build support for IWRM.
Pick the low-hanging fruit. Success breeds success, and the sustainability of the IWRM process depends
in large part on the ability to demonstrate on-the-ground benefits. When prioritizing a list of reforms, it
is important to first target those areas that will quickly and easily demonstrate success of IWRM policies
and practices, can build political support for the overall process. The political pressures faced by most
decision-makers discourage risk-taking behavior, so there should be immediate rewards to encourage
implementation of large-scale changes required by IWRM. Low-hanging fruits so just that.

6.0 Context matters

While the IWRM principles provide general directions, the institutional context of a given water
management problem must dictate the specific approach used. For example, treating water as an
economic good and achieving full economic sustainability may not be possible if supply infrastructure
requires expensive rehabilitation or if beneficiaries of water services are unwilling or unable to pay full-
cost tariffs. Numerous gradual steps must therefore be taken to break the vicious cycle of poor water
service delivery and low willingness-to-pay, involving loans for rehabilitation, targeted subsidies,
institutional reform to remove political influence, formation of user associations and capacity-building,
improved stakeholder consultation and participatory management, and private sector participation.
Even countries with similar water management problems will have vastly different institutional
capacities, so each country’s IWRM approach must focus on building on existing strengths and fixing
weaknesses. There is no one magic solution that fixes all problems. Progress may be slow - Have
patience. Past experience shows that implementation of IWRM is a process that could take several
decades (UNEP. 2005). France took near 30 years to reach to today’s stage of river basin management,
while Spain has spent over 20 years to implement IWRM. Success in some areas may be accompanied
by continuing challenges in others. Certain goals such as full economic sustainability and reconciling
human water needs with the needs of ecosystems will require substantial changes to current practice
and culture, and will therefore take even longer to achieve. Given the short-term focus of politicians
and policymakers in most areas, there is always the temptation to seek quick solutions and abandon the
IWRM process if immediate gains are insufficient. But persistent, patient progress on multiple fronts is
necessary to achieve the ultimate goals of IWRM. It is important to develop a sequenced, prioritized list
of reforms to avoid getting bogged down in partial implementation of too many reforms.

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7.0 Conclusion
To implement IWRM, a country needs a strong political will at the top, to overcome the difficulties of
making people with very different interests and concerns to work together; and train the people
involved in basin decisions so that they become aware of their possibilities to intervene in water policies
and investments.

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