Module 1: Introduction to Integrated Water
Resources Management
Learning objectives
• Appreciate the need for reforms to the way water is being managed.
• Understand the main elements of an IWRM approach to sustainable management of water resources.
1. What is Integrated Water Resources Management?
At its simplest, integrated water resources management is a logical and appealing concept. Its basis is that the many different uses of water resources are interdependent. That is evident to us all. High irrigation demands and polluted drainage flows from agriculture mean less freshwater for drinking or industrial use; contaminated municipal and industrial wastewater pollutes rivers and threatens ecosystems; if water has to be left in a river to protect fisheries and ecosystems, less can be diverted to grow crops. There are plenty more examples of the basic theme that unregulated use of scarce water resources is wasteful and inherently unsustainable.
Integrated management means that all the different uses of water resources are considered together. Water allocations and management decisions consider the effects of each use on the others. They are able to take account of overall social and economic goals, including the achievement of sustainable development. This also means ensuring coherent policy making related to all sectors. As we shall see, the basic IWRM concept has been extended to incorporate participatory decision-making. Different user groups (farmers, communities, environmentalists) can influence strategies for water resource development and management. That brings additional benefits, as informed users apply local self-regulation in relation to issues such as water conservation and catchment protection far more effectively than central regulation and surveillance can achieve.
Management is used in its broadest sense. It emphasises that we must not only focus on development of water resources but that we must consciously manage water development in a way that ensures long term sustainable use for future generations.
Integrated water resources management is therefore a systematic
process for the sustainable development, allocation and monitoring of water resource use in the context of social, economic and environmental objectives. It contrasts with the sectoral approach that applies in many countries. When responsibility for drinking water rests with one agency, for irrigation water with another and for the environment with yet another, lack of cross-sectoral linkages leads to uncoordinated water resource development and management, resulting in conflict, waste and unsustainable systems.