How to define the term Sustainable Water Management? What is Sustainable Water Management?

The term uses two important concepts with respect to water: sustainability and management. In order to understand Sustainable Water Management, it is important to define these concepts. Sustainability The Bruntland Report popularized the term sustainability for human and environmental development when it was published in 1987. In the report, sustainable activities were defined as ones where the needs of the present generation are met without compromising the needs of future generations. What the Bruntland definition implies is an equitable distribution of the resource not only spatially between users in a given location, but temporally between users over time. The idea is to allocate the resource in such a way as for all, including the environment, to have an adequate share without making any one group worse off, both now and in the future. All this is wonderful, but is it a realistic goal to achieve? Well, yes and no. There are inherent problems with introducing high-concept ideas into mainstream society. However, it is not impossible without some changes in the way we all think about the resources we use. To achieve sustainability, there must be a rethinking of what we consider a basic need. It is common in our society to say that we need a given resource, but how much of it do we really need to use? Also, how do we decide what the basic needs of our ecosystem and the organism living within it are? Defining what constitutes a basic need is perhaps the greatest challenge to adopting sustainable practices in our daily lives, as interpretations of need vary widely from region to region, village to village and even from person to person. Management There has been a shift in recent years from the traditional top-down approach to a more open management system where all levels have a say in the allocation and use of the resource. If properly done, this system ensures that the needs and concerns of those most affected by the use of the resource are addressed, without loosing sight of the wider issues touching the society as a whole. But how does one manage a resource? Information. Understanding the needs of the stakeholders, as well as the possibilities and limitations of the resource, is needed to manage it effectively. This requires sharing both indigenous and modern scientific knowledge, as well as establishing a dialogue between individuals and large institutions. With the right information, appropriate strategies can be formulated to deal with the realities of resource management, such as distribution, access, rights, etc. Needless to say, effective communication is the key to managing a resource shared between various users and managed by different levels. Only once the needs of each user are understood can the resource be allocated and managed in a sustainable manner. Sustainable Water Management: A definition Now that we have defined sustainability and management, it is easy to understand the purpose of Sustainable Water Management (SWM), which is simply to manage our water resources while taking into account the needs of present and future users.

However, SWM is involves much more than its name implies. It involves a whole new way of looking at how we use our precious water resources. The International Hydrological Programme, a UNESCO initiative, noted: "It is recognised that water problems cannot be solved by quick technical solutions, solutions to water problems require the consideration of cultural, educational, communication and scientific aspects. Given the increasing political recognition of the importance of water, it is in the area of sustainable freshwater management that a major contribution to avoid/solve water-related problems, including future conflicts, can be found." Therefore, SWM attempts to deal with water in a holistic fashion, taking into account the various sectors affecting water use, including political, economic, social, technological and environmental considerations. Since the Mar del Plata Water Conference hosted by the UN in 1977, SWM has been high on the international agenda. Later conferences and workshops have addressed the issue and have attempted to refine the concept as more and more research has been done in the area. The current understanding of SWM is based primarily upon the principles devised in Dublin during the International Conference on Water and the Environment (ICWE) in 1992, namely: 1. Freshwater is a finite and valuable resource that is essential to sustain life, the environment and development. 2. The development and management of our water resources should be based on a participatory approach, involving users, planners and policy makers at all levels. 3. Women play a central role in the provision, management and safeguarding of water resources. 4. Water has an economic value and should therefore be seen as an economic good. CRITICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF WATER Water is a renewable resource fulfilling multiple functions

Water is a renewable resource that fulfils multiple functions. Yet we often use it non-renewably, and we treat its many functions in isolated and singular fashion. In contrast to the fragmented sectoral and administrative structures and jurisdictions that characterize society, water flows through the landscape where it 'lubricates' both the natural and social components of the Earth. Through this flow, and through the manipulation of it, the basic needs and wants of people are possible to satisfy. Water's vital role for the environment and humans is linked to five main functions (Falkenmark and Lundqvist, 1995):

1. maintaining human health : clean water is essential for maintaining human health; 2. maintaining environmental health: the health of aquatic ecosystems is essential for 3. 4. 5.
fish/seafood supply, is a major determinant of biodiversity, and provides for many other vital goods and services; supporting two production functions : a) biomass production, necessary for the supply of food, fuel wood and timber; and b) economic production, since industrial development has traditionally been "lubricated" by easy access to water; supporting two carrier functions : a) water plays an active role in diluting and transpiration wastes; and b) in the natural erosion and land processes of the global water cycle; Psychological function, which makes water bodies, water views, fountains and so on fundamental components of human preferences and desires. Water also plays a role in many religions and cultural activities.

Regional, local and global water imbalances: the issue of scale

There is no such thing as a global water problem - all problems manifest themselves at smaller scales. For example, at the global average level, there is sufficient water to meet the needs and wants of every human being. At the continental level, per capita water availability still seems more than adequate, though large regional disparities appear. In Europe, each million cubic meters of water available per year is "shared" by over 150 people, on average, while in South America only 25 people must share that much water. Comparisons with Asia show even more extreme differences The figures are, however, elusive in terms of real problems in various continents. The situation in Africa, for instance, is significantly different from the situation in Europe although availability figures are at the same level. Growing scarcity at the regional and local levels indicates imbalances between overall availability and growth in need and demands. These imbalances will have implications far outside the areas under stress. An important example is the issue of food production. If more and more countries do not have sufficient amounts of water to grow the food that they need, the deficit must be covered from somewhere else. And there must be arrangements, agreements and institutions capable of (i) creating a surplus large enough to cover the growing regional and local deficits, (ii) providing logistical capacity and procedures for the actual transfer of food and other essentials from surplus to deficit regions, including the poor, and (iii) guaranteeing a political commitment to transfer food to deficit areas and the poor, even if people in these areas do not have the means to provide their own supply. Make water a "first thing" in development strategies

Water resources must now be recognized as a major determining factor for socio-economic development (UNCNR, 1996). During the period when human demands on water were low and when hydrological cycle behavior and the climate were thought to be fairly predictable, water was the last thing to be considered in the development decision-making process, if it was considered at all. In the past hydrologists and water managers tended to concentrate on gathering scientific knowledge about the hydrological cycle, paying little attention to socio-economic and environmental values, to the point that most development activities naturally assumed that there would always be water available for projects Today, due to the increasing pressures on water resources and the recognised variability of the hydrological cycle and the climate, the position of water in the decision-making process has been completely reversed (G. Matthwes, personal communication). Now, water must become the one of the first things to be considered in the context of development and security objectives, including the day-to-day management of water allocation for socio-economic activities and the preservation of natural resource capital. It is now imperative that decision-makers in all sectors, and particularly those responsible for socio-economic planning, financial analysis and security, make development decisions with explicit attention to water resources.

Alternative Futures

More than any hydrologist or urban planner, it is women in the developing world the drawers, carriers and household managers or water who understand what water scarcity is and what its implications are for families and communities. What is needed is better opportunities for women to translate their knowledge and their energies into action and personal control over natural resources such as water, and over their own lives. Real opportunities for women in education, in economic and political life, and in

family decision-making could vastly improve the management of water and womens own well-being. Women also need the opportunity to make decisions about their own fertility and the capacity to put those decisions into effect. Efforts to improve the lives, health and status of women can be justified on their own merits, and together they would act powerfully to reduce fertility. Over the last 30 years, a number of counties have demonstrated that rapid declines in birth rates are possible through a combination of relatively inexpensive measures, especially widespread provision of high quality, voluntary family planning services. Because record numbers of people will be moving into their childbearing years over the next two decades, the impact of lower birthrates will not be fully felt until well into the next century. But the momentum of population growth is such that policies and programs contributing to eventual population stabilization must be initiated today - at the same time that improved water management technologies, programs and projects are being developed to meet higher future levels of water demand. Substantial worldwide experience has demonstrated that making high quality, voluntary family planning widely available to men and women of reproductive age can bring down fertility rates independently of other social and economic factors. Recent research also suggests how powerfully family planning programs work in concert with improved opportunities for women especially secondary-school education for girls. Efforts in family planning and education may seem far from the concerns of hydrologist and engineers, but they may matter just as much and over the long term even more to the future of water availability around the world. If sustainable development is not a mere platitude, if the nations of the world take seriously the Earth Summits charge that natural resources must be used in ways that ensure their availability to future generations, then early stabilization of population size is vital to any strategy. We need to develop water supplies in ways that assure every human being abundant, renewable quantities of clean and healthful water for life, prosperity and well-being. And we need to stabilise our numbers at a level that respects not just the quantities of water we can produce today, but that the earth can provide forever.

GOALS FOR GUIDING SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Understanding these characteristics of water resources has helped water planners to begin rethinking long-term goals and approaches. It is now widely accepted that criteria for sustainable water use and management must include more than simply measuring traditional biological or physical indicators. They must also provide guidance for the individuals and institutions that use and manage water, resolve conflicts over water, and deal with the unavoidable uncertainties and risks in decision-making. Accordingly, sustainability goals for water must apply to the role of public, private, governmental and non-governmental parties. Gleick (1996) provided a broad definition of sustainable water use: "the use of water that supports the ability of human society to endure and flourish into the indefinite future without undermining the integrity of the hydrological cycle or the ecological systems that depend on it".

Table - Sustainability goals for water planning

1.

A basic water requirement will be guaranteed to all humans to maintain human health.

2.

A basic water requirement will be guaranteed to restore and maintain the health of ecosystems.

3.

Water quality will be maintained to meet certain minimum standards. These standards will vary depending on location and how the water is to be used.

4.

Human actions should not be allowed to impair the long-term renewability of freshwater stocks and flows.

5.

Data on water resources availability, use and quality will be collected and made accessible to all parties.

6. 7.

Institutional mechanisms will be developed to prevent and resolve conflicts over water. Water planning and decision-making will be democratic; ensuring representation of all affected parties and fostering direct participation of affected interests.

Water Terms and Concepts Hydrologic cycle (also called the water cycle) : the cycle of which water evaporates from oceans and other bodies of water, accumulates as water vapor in clouds, and returns to oceans and other bodies of water as rain and snow, or as runoff from this precipitation or as groundwater. Runoff : water originating as rain or snow that runs off the land in streams, eventually reaching oceans, inland seas, or aquifers unless it evaporates first. Aquifer : a layer or section of earth or rock that contains groundwater. Groundwater : any water naturally stored underground in aquifers, or that flows through and saturates soil and rock, supplying springs and wells. Water withdrawal : removal of water from any natural source or reservoir such as a lake, stream or aquifer for human use. If not consumed, the water may later be returned to the same or another natural reservoir.

Water consumption : use of water that allows its evaporation or transpiration (through plants), or leaves it unfit for any subsequent use. Renewable water : water continuously renewed within reasonable time spans by the hydrologic cycle, such as that in streams, reservoirs or other sources that refill from precipitation or runoff. The renewability of a water source depends both on its natural rate of recharge and the rate at which the water is withdrawn for human ends. To the extent water is withdrawn faster than its source is recharged, it cannot be considered renewable. Nonrenewable water : water in aquifers and other natural reservoirs that are not recharged, or are recharged so slowly that significant withdrawals will cause depletion. Desalination : production of fresh water by removing salt from seawater, or brackish water through the application of energy, usually oil or other fossil fuels. Water scarcity : as used in reference to countries by water engineers and in this report, condition in which the annual availability of renewable fresh water is 1,000 cubic meters or less per person in the population. Water stress : condition in which the annual availability of renewable fresh water is less than 1,667 and greater than 1,000 cubic meters per person in the population.