From Policy to Practice: Institutional Arrangements for Integrated River Basin Management in Nepal

2014 ◽  
pp. 429-449
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
River Basin Management ◽  
Institutional Arrangements ◽  
Basin Management ◽  
Integrated River Basin Management

How different institutional arrangements promote integrated river basin management. Evidence from the Baltic Sea Region

2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 437-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helle Ørsted Nielsen ◽  
Pia Frederiksen ◽  
Heli Saarikoski ◽  
Anne-Mari Rytkönen ◽  
Anders Branth Pedersen
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
River Basin ◽  
River Basin Management ◽  
Institutional Arrangements ◽  
Basin Management ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Baltic Sea Region ◽  
Integrated River Basin Management ◽  
The Baltic

Institutional arrangements for integrated river basin management

Water Policy ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank G. W. Jaspers
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
River Basin ◽  
River Basin Management ◽  
Institutional Arrangements ◽  
Water Resources Planning ◽  
Basin Management ◽  
Integrated River Basin Management ◽  
The Right ◽  
Resources Planning

This paper considers the institutional arrangements that are needed and that being developed to enable communities to depart from sectoral and isolated water management in order to reach a higher level of integration. Key aspects are described that should be properly handled to manage river basins as a whole and in an integrated way. The justification for various countries to opt for systems of integrated river basin management is explored. Triggers for change are identified: the need for integrated water management on hydrological boundaries; the added value of functional decentralisation enabling decision making at the lowest appropriate level; stakeholder participation in decision making and water resources planning; and cost recovery and water pricing. Ongoing developments in processes of change are identified and described. A comparative assessment is carried out between the situation in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Tanzania, Turkey, Indonesia, France and The Netherlands. A common denominator of institutional arrangements is determined, from which developing countries in particular could benefit with regard to the introduction and establishment of systems of integrated river basin management. Sample competencies for effective functioning of river basin and sub-basin organisations are identified and described. Platforms of stakeholders with clear rules for representation and for participation in decision making in water resources planning are identified as crucial tools and described. In order to apply effective water pricing and to charge for pollution, a comprehensive system of water rights and discharge permits is considered necessary. The capacity to implement these necessary institutional arrangements is very variable, especially in developing countries, and hence the stage of implementation may differ substantially. Further, it is very important to have initial access to funds to kick-start the process of implementation. It has been found that systems of cost recovery can only be successfully introduced when acceptable service levels are established and when an enabling institutional environment is in place. Investments are needed and not all countries can afford that. Above all, a major requirement for implementation of any institutional development is the presence of sufficient human and institutional capacity at the right time and at the right place.

Room for the River: delivering integrated river basin management in the Netherlands

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeroen Rijke ◽  
Sebastiaan van Herk ◽  
Chris Zevenbergen ◽  
Richard Ashley
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
River Basin ◽  
River Basin Management ◽  
Basin Management ◽  
Integrated River Basin Management

scholarly journals Scaling issues in multi-criteria evaluation of combinations of measures for integrated river basin management

2016 ◽  
Vol 373 ◽  
pp. 19-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Dietrich
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Cost Efficiency ◽  
River Basin Management ◽  
Basin Management ◽  
Ecological Benefit ◽  
Multi Criteria Evaluation ◽  
Environmental Objectives ◽  
Joint Research Project ◽  
Integrated River Basin Management ◽  
Ecological Continuity

Abstract. In integrated river basin management, measures for reaching the environmental objectives can be evaluated at different scales, and according to multiple criteria of different nature (e.g. ecological, economic, social). Decision makers, including responsible authorities and stakeholders, follow different interests regarding criteria and scales. With a bottom up approach, the multi criteria assessment could produce a different outcome than with a top down approach. The first assigns more power to the local community, which is a common principle of IWRM. On the other hand, the development of an overall catchment strategy could potentially make use of synergetic effects of the measures, which fulfils the cost efficiency requirement at the basin scale but compromises local interests. Within a joint research project for the 5500 km2 Werra river basin in central Germany, measures have been planned to reach environmental objectives of the European Water Framework directive (WFD) regarding ecological continuity and nutrient loads. The main criteria for the evaluation of the measures were costs of implementation, reduction of nutrients, ecological benefit and social acceptance. The multi-criteria evaluation of the catchment strategies showed compensation between positive and negative performance of criteria within the catchment, which in the end reduced the discriminative power of the different strategies. Furthermore, benefit criteria are partially computed for the whole basin only. Both ecological continuity and nutrient load show upstream-downstream effects in opposite direction. The principles of "polluter pays" and "overall cost efficiency" can be followed for the reduction of nutrient losses when financial compensations between upstream and downstream users are made, similar to concepts of emission trading.

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