Suggesteu Citation: White, C. (2u1S), 'Integiateu Watei Resouices Nanagement: What is it anu why is it useu.

', uWF Biscussion Papei

1S24, ulobal Watei Foium, Canbeiia, Austialia. Available online at: http:www.globalwateifoium.oig2u1Su61uintegiateu-watei-
iesouices-management-what-is-it-anu-why-is-it-useu

Integiateu Watei Resouices
Nanagement: What is it anu why is
it useu.

Chiis White
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Keywoius: Integiateu Watei Resouice Nanagement, successes,
challenges, flexibility
In order to deal with the complexity of water
management issues, discussion over water
resources is typically separated into distinct
topics such as Economics, Water Quality, and
the Environment. In reality, however, each of
these issues are interconnected; subsidised
water prices, for example, can lead to rising
water demand which may reduce the quantity
of water in the environment thereby leading to
an increase in the concentration of pollutants
and a decline in water quality.
Due to the interrelated nature of water issues,
the use of particular economic or policy
instruments can create trade-offs. Purchasing
water access rights to secure environmental
flows, for example, may be a cost-effective
method of increasing the amount of water in
the environment, but reduced water
extractions may also negatively impact small
towns and communities dependent on
irrigated agriculture.
In order for water security to be managed
effectively, the use of economic and policy
instruments cannot be considered in isolation,
Integrated Water Resources Management: What is it and why is it used?

but rather should be considered in terms of
their wider impact on society and the
environment. Effective water security
management therefore requires planners to
take into account the triple bottom line and
evaluate policies in terms of their economic,
environmental, and social impacts. In order to
deal with this complexity and coordinate
policy effectively, it is often argued that
economic and policy instruments should be
used as part of a wider integrated water
resource management (IWRM) framework.
IWRM is a framework designed to improve
the management of water resources based on
four key principles adopted at the 1992 Dublin
Conference on Water and the Rio de Janeiro
Summit on Sustainable Development. These
principles hold that: (1) fresh water is a finite
and vulnerable resource essential to sustain
life, development, and the environment; (2)
water development and management should
be based on a participatory approach,
involving users, planners, and policy makers
at all levels; (3) women play a central part in
the provision, management, and safeguarding
of water; and (4) water has an economic value
in all its competing uses and should be
recognized as an economic good.
1

IWRM is not, therefore, a prescriptive
description of how water should be managed,
but rather it is a broad framework in which
decision makers can collaboratively decide the
goals of water management and co-ordinate
the use of different instruments to achieve
them.
2
Given that each country differs in
terms of history, socio-economic conditions,
cultural and political context, and
environmental characteristics, there is no
single blueprint for IWRM and it can be
adapted to resolve the problems faced in each
local context.
3

As a result, the goals of IWRM vary across
countries and different weights are placed on
the importance of economic, environmental,
and social impacts: Chile, for instance,
typically emphasises the importance of
economic efficiency, whereas South Africa and
the Netherlands tend to place more emphasis
on social and environmental goals respectively.
It should not, however, be thought that there
are always trade-offs between these goals, and
a more integrated approach to water security
management can help in achieving win-win
outcomes which promote more than one goal.
Implementing a well-designed scheme for
pricing water resources, for example, can
promote economic efficiency, create
environmental benefits due to decreases in
water demand, and generate social benefits if
the funds are used to expand service provision
or are combined with subsidy schemes for
low-income households.
Integrated Water Resources Management: What is it and why is it used?

While the differences in implementation
across countries can make IWRM difficult to
define, it can be broadly characterised by a
number of key trends. Firstly, there has
tended to be a move away from command-
and-control instruments which focus on
supply-side water management, such as large-
scale water infrastructure, towards
incorporating demand side management
though the use of economic instruments. This
shift in focus has created a more flexible
approach to water management and has
encouraged the development of a variety of
innovative instruments to resolve local water
security problems.
Secondly, IWRM has led to an increased
awareness of the importance of sustainable
development and the incorporation of social
and environmental considerations into water
management.
Thirdly, IWRM has also tended to lead to a
move away from top-down, centralised
approaches to water security towards more
flexible, decentralised approaches which
involve a variety of diversified governance
structures at a local, basin, national, and
transnational level.
2

Finally, under the IWRM framework there has
been increasing emphasis on stakeholder
collaboration and the involvement of local
communities in decision-making. Some of the
benefits of wider collaboration include:
incorporating specialised knowledge;
encouraging more innovative solutions to
problems due to greater diversity of
viewpoints; encouraging co-operation and
reducing the risk of conflicts over water
resources; and developing solutions which are
more open, inclusive, and democratic, thereby
generating wider support and leading to more
sustainable outcomes.
4

However, the lack of a clear definition of
IWRM or a prescribed a list of instruments
that can be adopted to resolve water issues has
lead to criticism of the concept. Common
criticisms include: the lack of a clear,
prescriptive definition means that it is often
difficult to implement and schemes can have
very different results; collaboration is often
time-consuming and resource intensive; the
level of co-ordination required for large
projects may make IWRM too complex to
undertake, particularly for developing
countries which lack the necessary institutions;
and the flexibility of implementation means
that it is difficult to evaluate the performance
of IWRM itself compared to the particular
choice of instruments.
2,3,5

Despite these criticisms, the flexibility of
IWRM is also an advantage in that it allows
policies to be developed for the particular local
Integrated Water Resources Management: What is it and why is it used?

challenges. Due to the complexity of water
issues within and between countries, any
policy framework with clearly defined and
prescriptive solutions is likely to struggle to be
applicable across all situations,
2,3
and there is
growing evidence that implementing IWRM
can offer substantial, long-term benefits to
water security and water management.
2,3

An example of where IWRM has been
successful is the Lerma-Chapala River Basin
one of worlds most water-stressed basins.
Rapid population growth combined with
industrial and agricultural development have
lead to serious imbalances between water
withdrawals and availability. Further, the
increasing competition over water resources
in the basin, combined with poor governance,
has led to over-exploitation of surface and
ground water resources, increasingly frequent
conflicts over water allocations, and
considerable levels of water pollution and soil
degradation. As a result, during the period
from 1981 to 2001, Lake Chapala lost 90% of
its natural volume and the remaining water
was left heavily contaminated.
6

Recently, however, due to a move towards
IWRM and subsequent improvements in
water governance, the situation has begun to
improve: the natural capacity of the lake has
been restored; water quality is improving with
around 60 per cent of discharges eliminated;
irrigation efficiency has risen; and finance has
been secured to invest in water sanitation and
treatment programs.
The improvement in water governance is due
to reforms beginning in the 1970s which
started a move away from centralised
governance in Mexico towards IWRM. By the
early 1980s, six regional water resources
offices were set up, including the newly
created Lerma-Chapala River Basin Regional
Management agency which was given the
responsibility of gathering information and
designing a Basin Plan. Further reforms in
1992 and 2004 strengthened the
decentralisation process and set up Basin
Councils with formal powers to implement the
proposed water reallocation policies.
The Lerma-Chapala Basin Council carried out
a hydrological study of the Basin and
developed a model to evaluate the impact of
various water reallocation policies according
to economic, social, technical, political, and
environmental criteria. This model was then
used as a basis for water reform in the Basin.
The Council also encouraged extensive
collaboration with stakeholders in the Basin
and took steps to communicate their work as
transparently as possible which reduced the
level of conflict over reallocations.
Integrated Water Resources Management: What is it and why is it used?

While the move towards IWRM in the Lerma-
Chapala Basin has been a long and difficult
process, after 30 years, the benefits are
starting to be realised.
Such case studies highlight the fact that
IWRM can lead to more economically, socially,
and environmentally sustainable solutions to
complex water issues, however, it is important
to note that this will not always be the case.
IWRM based schemes can be unsuccessful
5

and critical evaluation of the successes and
failures of such schemes is crucial to
understanding how water management can be
improved. As such, while people may want a
set of prescriptive solutions to resolving water
issues, in reality, complex issues require
complex solutions and one of the main
reasons for adopting IWRM may be that its
flexibility embraces and accounts for the
challenges of complexity.
References
1. 1. International Conference of Water and the Environment (ICWE) (1992), The Dublin Statement on
Water and Sustainable Development,
http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/hwrp/documents/english/icwedece.html.
2. Lenton, R. and M. Muller (eds.) (2009), Integrated Water Resources Management in Practice: Better
Water Management for Development, Earthscan Publications, London.
3. Pahl-Wostl, C., P. Jeffrey and J. Sendzimir (2011), Adaptive and Integrated Management of Water
Resources, in R.Q. Grafton and K. Hussey (eds.), Water Resources Planning and Management,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
4. Loux, J, (2011), Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement, in R.Q. Grafton and K. Hussey (eds.),
Water Resources Planning and Management, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
5. Biswas, A.K. (2008), Integrated Water Resource Management: Is it Working?, Water Resources
Development, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 5-22.
6. Hidalgo, J. and H. Pena (2009), Turning Water Stress into Water Management Success: Experiences
in the Lerma-Chapala River Basin, in Lenton, R. and M. Muller (eds.), Integrated Water Resources
Management in Practice: Better Water Management for Development, Earthscan, London.
About the author(s)
Chris White is the Editor of the Global Water Forum. Chris read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at
Oxford University; completed a Masters degree in Environmental and Resource Economics at the
Australian National University; and now works as an Environmental Economist at URS in London.
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Integrated Water Resources Management: What is it and why is it used?

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