Policy framework for one natural resource
Conservation of water to the last drop should be the motto for every user of this precious natural resource and not just looked as a job for the decision makers at state, national and international levels. Are the decision makers both government and nongovernment bodies shouldering this responsibility of effective water management appropriately Hue and cry is made for the shortage of water at all conferences and seminars and the focus is deviated from the norms set to use and conserve water. It is rightly observed by Arunuaha Ghosh that conflicts related water sharing are regular newspaper headlines, yet news touching on agreements and policies enabling peaceful resource sharing are hardly noticeable to these circulations-despite their high frequency.
Probably, this is the reason why the focus is drawn on water shortage and the policies to manage this resource are shadowed. So the future water wars, as predicted, will be due to mismanagement of water resources not scarcity of water. It seems the regulations framed for effective water management are responsible for the present day water crisis faced by us.
It is the inefficiency of the Institutions for the Management of Water and other natural resources, which may be the reason for the ever increasing water crisis and conflicts. According to Maude Barlow, 12 of the world population owns 85 of all water resources, and matters are not made better by the fact that none of that population resides in the third world.
It is also probable that the inefficiencies are prevalent at the international level as well. One wonders why UN cannot provide good governance policy guidance to address critical challenges pertaining to land and natural resource. Is Water shortage more of a political issue A study of various water policies points to inadequacy of water resource management as the reason for the current water crisis. The best approach would be to frame the norms at the lower levels of authority, then gradually integrate them with those of formulated at the higher levels such as state, national and international governments. It is possible that the planning done at the UN conferences ends up diluting proposals made by the participating nations, yet these presentations are formulated with prevailing local conditions in mind. To avoid such scenarios, it is better for the planning to be done using a bottom up approach so that the final plan is an aggregate of local plans.
Need for a water policy How can we balance the rapid depletion of this essential natural resource and the growing demand The rate of water consumption increases at a rate equal to, or even more than the population change. Population alone is not the only cause of stress on water resources. The demographic and climatic changes also lead to shortage of water. Population explosion and global warming together are ushering the planet towards a drier future.
Given that water is one of the most precious resources, its usage, along with its conservation, has to be planned otherwise a desertification will make a very fast advancement. Do we have the water governing bodies that will provide solutions to address all water related problems in future The answer to that question is not favourable because as of now, we have corporations raking in over 200 billion a year from water related business that serves fewer than 7 of the worlds population. Such a finding should, of course send alarm bells ringing because it is stark exposure of the extent of inefficiencies in the management of the limited resource.
The water policies have acute leaks, which need to be blocked. Effective management can only be achieved if there is an integrative policy providing for enhanced capacity towards sustainable utilization natural resources. A notable deficiency in the current policy is the general absence of activities centred at disseminating information to the public on its role in the conservation of water resources. As mentioned in the 2006 UN Treaty on environmental education for sustainable development, there should be adequate communication with the resident communities so that they are fully aware of the effects of the environment on human development.In that way, co-operation from such communities can be assured, which may aid in the designing of new approaches towards water conservation.
It is worth noting that the traditional and conventional practices of conserving water are no longer viable as they are fragmented and incompatible with theories from the practitioners andor the consumers. The demand for water, both for irrigation and industrial use may not necessarily be the same in all localities within a region and hence, the strategy for demand and supply should be specific to the locality.
Water for all Policy
A holistic approach to water management was proposed by Asian Development Bank (ADB) on 16 January 2001. It proposed the Water for All Policy in relation to Investments, Project Design, and Sector Reform. The policy recognizes Asia and Pacific regions water management and development strategies. We can say the strategies and planning of the Water for all policy adequately advocates that water is a socially vital economic good. A question that comes to mind is whether the policy addresses all the issues leading to water shortage.
The Board of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005 emphasizes the importance of good politics as opposed to technology as the main driver for sustainable development. Good politics will empower the people, who can then take ownership of conservation and any other actions appertaining to that endeavor. The question arising then becomes whether the proposition made by ADB is consistent with the criteria set out by the Board of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. It however appears that the ADB policies are inadequate in as far as conservation is concerned. The ADB should therefore align its policy so that there is a nexus between its approach and that of the Board of Millennium Ecosystem assessment.
Summary of the Approach required
For sustainable development to be achieved, equity in the distribution and usage of water resources has to be addressed. To do this, clear guidelines on matters like conservation of groundwater, drought and flood management, dam safety and public health concerns on water impoundment have to be formulated. Achievement of sustainable development can only be achieved if a three prong approach, integrating social, environmental and economic concerns is employed. ADB should take this in to consideration if it wants its approach to strike the right balance. Its water for all policy, although fostering integrated management of water resources and focusing on capacity expanding reform in water services delivery, still fails to balance interests.
The policy proves a bit abstract in as far as it proposes sustainable use of the water in production of hydro-electric power and other commercial uses, but fails to provide the concise methodology for achieving these goals. The policy has no procedures for enabling the balanced use of the available water to meet both drinking and irrigation water needs and at the same time promote local community participation in the process of conservation and utilization. The policy appears good on paper, and especially at its top level of application. It however, appears to flounder as its applications narrow down to the individual users. They are therefore attractive in their general application but appear to fail the test when its applicability with respect to individual users is tested. In fact, its promotion of co-operation between regional countries on matters of resource sharing is an equally laudable component of the policy.
The current crisis is not a water crisis as such it is more about management than it is of the scarcity of the resource. It is evident from most of the news articles that after five years of implementation of the water for all policy, the regulations implemented for water management do not justify the water shortage observed in the region.
In its strategic decision for continual improvement, ADB has developed a system to measure its objectives. Critical reviews are taken by ADB to ensure that provisions of the policy are appropriately integrated. The principle concepts of the Water for all policy have been widely recognized, but the implementation is not satisfactorily progressing in all the Nations as it mainly focuses on processing of loans and technical assistance needed in various projects and supports the poverty reduction strategy of ADB.
This is, perhaps, the practitioners responsible for water resources management at the local level encounter difficulties in understanding where and how to begin, or advantages of applying the water policy with respect to their actual situation may not be apparent enough. The support system is weak and for all shortcomings the natural calamities are blamed. The Key to Success is to understand what the practitioner needs and the best way for the practitioners to use the policy. For effective implementation of the policy, it should be participatory and involve a lot of education and communication, in addition to adequate research on religious and cultural practices relating to water conservation.
In short, the water for all policy overlooks investment in projects related to water wastage and environmental issues. Modification is needed for both makers and users of the policy. As per the charter for change developed after studying the impact of water for all policy the objectives of the activities and projects do not adequately meet the requirements of the policy. Water management organisations need to ensure that Water related projects do not move separately from the policy.
Modification to enumerate new water for all policy
Policies do not materialize out of thin air perceptions from all sectors must be analyzed to get the insight of the existing problems. Once the problems are understood, issues which will provide appropriate solutions can be worked out. More particularly, more responsibility and trust has to be bestowed upon communities and people. As things stand now, very limited devolution has been done, meaning that the communities and the people have very little power and control over the resources, something that has to be changed. Without political or bureaucratic bias the policy should focus on the following areas.
Processes and activities for effective implementation of the policy
Environment aspect sanction projects which will overcome the side effects of waste water and water pollution.
Good analytical tools to quantify reviews
Policy Implementation We need to strengthen the Water Sector Committee (WSC) by forming Subcommittees at state and national levels. These Subcommittees will be accountable for establishing sustainable development departments in their own regions. In addition, they will reinforce implementation of provisions of the policy and optimization of the operations of the sector. In turn, this will result in differentiation between departments such as administration, operations and research.
Collaboration at all levels must, be designed and implemented for the enhancement of capacity towards continuous refinement of the policy. Activities geared towards this may include civic education to raise awareness, acquisition of relevant information for decision making and building of infrastructure. In addition, the decision makers must enumerate procedures for a smooth transition in utilization of water from irrigation to industrial use to cater for changes observed specific to a region or locality. Innovative policy ideas that often become part of the national norms are generated at local and state levels. This is also a level where we as citizens can have the most influence.
Integrate water and environmental management
The policy protecting water can be further strengthened if it can be integrated with that of the environment. Doing so, would give it more weight and attention, which will come with more priority towards it. For instance, a senior water specialist from Water Sector Committee (WSC) and a senior environment specialist from Environment protection agency (EPA) will co-operate on matters of capacity building and other support activities. The participation of the specialist staff will be integrated in work plans partly through WSC and partly through EPA. We need to figure out how to manage the use and overuse of this largely unregulated shared resource without damaging the environment.
Specific guide lines for projects to be approved for loan must be laid down. These guidelines should clearly define that the project should meet the objectives of the policy for waste water management and environmental improvement both economically and responsibly. If there are loopholes the practitioner will exploit the policy provisions for personal advantage and it may initiate corruption or malpractices. The objectives of the projects must influence not only the supply but also focus on quality, price, production, distribution, and consumption of water uniformly to everyone and encourage reuse and recycling of water. As a policy matter expert skills for technical assistance and consultancy for the projects should be a common pool for the Asian and pacific region both. The pathway to control demand and supply of water is possible by coordinating action at state, local and regional levels across the country and finally across the globe. Some other means of conserving water is by implementing the polluter-pays principle and stringent water quality norms and standards.
Quantification of reviews
New analytical tools which can perceive problems should be developed and the procedures of the reviews should be designed in such a manner that development in all areas of the water policy can be measurable at every level. The reviews should be more of a water audit and not broad based survey with an objective of enhancing accountability of officials at all levels. It is recommended that after the in house reviews are over, another one bringing together government and other non state actors be done.
Water service providers should be assessed to check that they do not misuse their autonomy and made more accountable to improve the water services by reusing and recycling water.Policies for control of wastage in water and water pollution should be transparent. Water audit must check that the Water management bodies provide solutions for improving the environment. For effective implementation of the new water policy, all users need to be educated on the value of water, because it is highly noticeable that by its nature of occurring freely, people may not fully appreciate its scarcity. World water councils proposal that water be fully priced then a subsidy provided was only opposed as a means to certain political ends. Unfortunately, water has now been promoted as a trade commodity, something that has led to corporations making phenomenal profits from its trade. The documentary World without Water has very correctly blamed The World Bank, IMF and others who made water a commodity. The documentary noted it is these agencies which are responsible to privatize water access around the world.
Conclusion
Let us all recognise water as a scarce resource whose access should not be restricted to anyone, now and in the future. In line with that recognition, we should strive to ensure that there is equity in accessing it and that its allocations should be done at optimum costs so that consumers can reap maximum benefits. The water distribution should also take in to consideration the issue of value. Accordingly, the highest value water should be used for the most sensitive areas such as drinking while lower value water such as recycled water is reserved for industrial or irrigation purposes as may be appropriate. It is expected that the fund generated will be used to support and implement the provisions of water policy Water for all.
The projects to recycle and reuse waste water should be cost-effective. The aim should be to finally optimize water supply and include assessment of other aspects such as water recycling, treatment and reuse of wastewater, groundwater supplies amongst other things. The policy should address demand management, which means cost management and adoption of appropriate technologies to boost efficiency and devolution of authority in the management of water. For formulation of an improved policy, the provisions must combine authority and responsibility in as far as management of water is concerned. Are we conserving the natural resource without side effects on the environment Are both being conserved simultaneously for the coming generations One word answer will be yes if appropriate provisions are made in the policy. If it costs us more to waste perhaps we will not waste.
Major portion of water allotted for irrigation and industry should be recycled water. Recycled water must be checked for quality before supplying to avoid social and health issues that may arise. This is especially so because it may involve underprivileged of society, who may see the problem as an affront to their dignity. If a lax policy is framed, it will encourage corruption and in that case, although the corruption actions may be illegal, the system may be encouraging it and it is thus important to seal such loopholes.
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