The basic concepts of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) and the normative, strategic, and operative dimensions of the process are explained in simple, unbiased terms in this guide. Twelve case studies illustrate the scale and scope of river basin organization in different parts of the world--from local projects such as the Gagas River Basin to larger, transboundary basin work on the Mekong and the Rhine. Environmental considerations, institutional arrangements, and implementation processes are also highlighted to increase understanding of these concepts within the context of IWRM.
This book presents case studies that share important experiences regarding Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) in various countries. Following an introduction to theoretical concepts, responsibilities, and challenges, the subsequent chapters address, among other topics, an analysis of policies and regulations for water management in Brazil, the drivers that led California to adapt to the IWRM framework, and the international regulations for water markets and water banking in Australia and Chile. The implications of climate change for water resource systems in Mexico are discussed, as well as management strategies from California that could potentially serve as IWRM adaptation schemes in Mexico. Critical cases from Guanacaste (Costa Rica), and from Zayandehrud River Basin and Lake Urmia (Iran) are reviewed in terms of management practices and solutions. The book also provides an overview of the current availability and use of water resources in South Korea, and discusses the management of and international water law instruments for transboundary groundwater in Africa.
This book reviews the concept, contemporary research efforts and the implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). The IWRM concept was established as an international guiding water management paradigm in the early 1990ies and has become a vital approach to solving the problems associated with the topic of water. The book summarizes fourteen comprehensive IWRM research projects with worldwide coverage and analyses their motivations, settings, approaches and implementation of results. Aiming to be an up-to-date interdisciplinary scientific reference, this book provides a comprehensive theoretical and empirical analysis of contemporary IWRM research, examples of science based implementations and a synthesis of the lessons learnt. It concludes with some major future challenges, the solving of which will further strengthen the IWRM concept.
This open access textbook provides a concise introduction to economic approaches and mathematical methods for the study of water allocation and distribution problems. Written in an accessible and straightforward style, it discusses and analyzes central issues in integrated water resource management, water tariffs, water markets, and transboundary water management. By illustrating the interplay between the hydrological cycle and the rules and institutions that govern today’s water allocation policies, the authors develop a modern perspective on water management. Moreover, the book presents an in-depth assessment of the political and ethical dimensions of water management and its institutional embeddedness, by discussing distribution issues and issues of the enforceability of human rights in managing water resources. Given its scope, the book will appeal to advanced undergraduate and graduate students of economics and engineering, as well as practitioners in the water sector, seeking a deeper understanding of economic approaches to the study of water management.
Better water management will be crucial if we are to meet many of the key challenges of this century - feeding the worlds growing population and reducing poverty, meeting water and sanitation needs, protecting vital ecosystems, all while adapting to climate change. The approach known as Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is widely recognized as the best way forward, but is poorly understood, even within the water sector. Since a core IWRM principle is that good water management must involve the water users, the understanding and involvement of other sectors is critical for success. There is thus an urgent need for practical guidance, for both water and development professionals, based on real world examples, rather than theoretical constructs. That is what this book provides. Using case studies, the book illustrates how better water management, guided by the IWRM approach, has helped to meet a wide range of sustainable development goals. It does this by considering practical examples, looking at how IWRM has contributed, at different scales, from very local, village-level experiences to reforms at national level and beyond to cases involving trans-boundary river basins. Using these on-the-ground experiences, from both developed and developing countries in five continents, the book provides candid and practical lessons for policy-makers, donors, and water and development practitioners worldwide, looking at how IWRM principles were applied, what worked, and, equally important, what didn‘t work, and why. Published with the Global Water Partnership
The Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) paradigm has been worldwide recognized as the only feasible way currently available to ensure a sustainable perspective in planning and managing water resource systems. It is the inspiring principle of the Water Framework Directive, adopted by the European Union in 2000, as well as the main reference for all the water related activity of UNESCO in the third world countries. However, very often, real world attempts of implementing IWRM fail for the lack of a systematic approach and the inadequacy of tools and techniques adopted to address the intrinsically complex nature of water systems. This book explores recent and important contributions of System Analysis and Control Theory to the technical application of such paradigm and to the improvement of its theoretical basis. Its prior aim is to demonstrate how the modelling and computational difficulties posed by this paradigm might be significantly reduced by strengthening the efficiency of the solution techniques, instead of weakening the integration requirements. The first introductory chapter provides the reader with a logical map of the book, by formalizing the IWRM paradigm in a nine-step decisional procedure and by identifying the points where the contribution of System Analysis and Control Theory is more useful. The book is then organized in three sections whose chapters analyze some theoretical and mathematical aspects of these contributions or presents design applications. The outstanding research issues on the border between System Analysis and IWRM is depicted in the last chapter, where a pull of scientists and experts, coordinated by Prof. Tony Jakeman describe the foreseeable scenario. The book is based on the most outstanding contributions to the IFAC workshop on Modelling and Control for Participatory Planning and Managing Water Systems held in Venice, September 28- October 1, 2004. That workshop has been conceived and organized with the explicit purpose of producing this book: the maximum length of the papers was unusually long (of the size of a book chapter) and only five long oral presentations were planned each day, thus allowing for a very useful and constructive discussion. - Contributions from the leading world specialists of the field - Integration of technical modelling aspects and participatory decision-making - Good compromise between theory and application
This volume brings together diverse voices relating to the critical issue of water management in one of the world’s most politically volatile areas: the Middle East. The book collects the opinions of Palestinians, Israelis, Jordanians as well as international experts on creating a holistic and comprehensive view of water management challenges and strategies in the Middle East.
This study takes stock of the current water resources management in Armenia, including diagnosing the main sub-sectors (agriculture, urban, environment, and energy), reviewing the institutional framework and implementation status of water-sector policies, identifying the main challenges and making recommendations on the next steps.
Integrated water resources management advocates a coordinated approach for managing water resources in a way that balances social and economic needs with concern for the environment. While potentially useful, integrated water management is also controversial. Supporters believe that the multi-dimensional nature of water can only be understood and managed from a holistic perspective, while critics often argue that integrated water management lacks suffi ciently well-defi ned rules for its practical implementation. This book, written by academics, users and practitioners, provides a down-to-earth approach to the ideal of integrated water resources management, drawing from conceptual frameworks and real-life practice to identify the key aspects that are yet to be resolved. As such, it examines the role of water accounting, food trade, environmental externalities and intangible values as key aspects whose consideration may help the water management community move forward. Overall, integrated water resources management is perceived to be a useful utopia, whose value lies more in the steps that need to be taken to make it a reality than in achieving its ever-elusive end goal.
This is the first volume in a new series under the aegis of the South Asia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies (SaciWATERs) and explains the IWRM. This entire series investigates how this global concept resonates with regional, national and local concerns in South Asia. This volume begins by tracking the emergence of IWRM as a central notion in water debates. It then discusses the European experience with IWRM in the context of the European Water Framework Directive-the most comprehensive attempt so far at an IWRM-based water governance and management system. Thereafter, the book turns to South Asia.
