SESSION OUTCOME
Session3.3.2 Spreading the wealth: How to share the benefits of nature?
The Session Situation Report provides background and a detailed record of the issues discussed for
specific topics. The goal of the Session Situation Report is to:
1) Provide an overall description of the topic and major issues discussed
2) List specific actions or interventions identified to improve the conditions within the sector
List the interventions in the order of importance, as identified by session participants
A number of discussion statements were presented and then recommendations were made based on
these discussion statements. The first subsession focused on "Balancing competing water needs
across sectors". Below is a summary of the discussions statements presented and then discussed in
roundtables.
Water for poverty reduction needs
Restoring flows to rivers is not aimed merely at improving
healthy rivers
nature for its own sake. The dialogue and negotiation
process of determining water needs for the environment
Ganesh Pangare, IUCN
contributes towards allocating appropriate water for all
users. Recognizing the services of river ecosystems,
incorporating them into management plans, and investing
in them accordingly are critical to achieving the
Millennium Development Goals and alleviating poverty.
Sharing water across boundaries to
Land use and development policies in all basins including
sustain downstream ecosystems
those that are transboundary, should strive to achieve a
balance between sustaining vital ecosystem services and
Engr (Ms) Reba Paul, Executive
pursuing the short term goals of economic development.
Secretary, Bangladesh Water
How can environmental flows in rivers be secured to
Partnership
maintain ecosystems and extract regional benefits of
natural resources through cooperative development in
transboundary rivers?
Managing freshwater and coastal
Integrated actions to protect the balance between
areas to meet human and
freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems and their uses
environmental needs
are needed in order to maximize the benefits that can be
derived from integrated water resources management
Gonzalo Cid (NOAA) and Miriam Balgos
(IWRM) and integrated coastal and ocean management
(GFOCI), The Global Forum on Oceans,
(ICM) including improved ecosystem resilience, economic
Coasts, and IslandsGFOCI (Working
growth and efficiency, human health and security, and
Group on Linking the Management of
sustained natural adaptation to future effects of climate
SESSION OUTCOME
Freshwater, Oceans, and Coasts)
change.
In order to effectively link IWRM and ICM across all levels
and sectors, barriers to integrated implementation must
be transcended, potential economic, social and
environmental benefits of integration must be widely
recognized, enabling environments must be developed,
and appropriate management instruments and
institutional framework have to be established.
Mechanisms for the reallocation of
The flow reallocation mechanisms discussed in this
water to the environment in river
session will be central to balancing competing water needs
basins
across sectors in the frequent case where water has been
overallocated. They will come into play when
Brian Richter, The Nature Conservany
environmental needs are only recognized after most water
WWF, The Nature Conservancy and
has already been allocated, or when environmental and
IUCN
other societal water needs change substantially over time.
Impacts of pollution on water
Impacts of pollution on water resources and ecosystem
resources and ecosystem good and
good and services could be reduced by providing
services
monitoring programs and developing good cooperation
between research, industry and other stakeholders
Prof. Dr. Dr. KarlWerner Schramm
(Helmholtz Zentrum München) and
Burak Karacik (stanbul Technical
University)
The second subsession focused on "Benefits of environmental flows beyond ecosystems". Below is a
summary of the discussions statements presented and then discussed in roundtables.
Environmental flows and human well
The Global Environmental Flows Network
being
(EFlowNet) asserts the critical need for estimating and
maintaining environmental flows to ensure equitable
Presented by Anna Forslund, WWF and
distribution of water among multiple users and sectors
Birgitta Renöfält, Swedish Water House including the environment, to promote long term
EFlowNet
sustainable development, and to address water provision
as a core component of poverty alleviation.
Environmental flows for the sake of Environmental functions constitute the very basis of
conservationutilization balance...
economic activity. Thus, freshwater ecosystems should be
SESSION OUTCOME
Ceren Ayas WWF Turkey
conceptualized as one of the sectors in balancing the
needs from agriculture, industry and domestic use, not
only for the sake of the wellbeing of the ecosystem, but
also the very basis of economic activities from an
anthropocentric approach.
Civil society action to mitigate the
As unregulated, illicit river sand mining disturbs
impact of river sand mining on flows
environmental flow that creates damages to human
wellbeing, livelihood and agriculture that are adversely
Dr.Champa M. Navaratne, Dept. of
affect for the community in the long run, an urgent and
Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of
sustainable solution will be needed to recover.
Agriculture, University of Ruhuna,
Mapalana, Kamburupitiya, Sri Lanka
NetWwater
Water for ecosystems: Application of
It is a mistake to assume the opportunity costs of altering
environmental flows for the
the natural flow of a river to be zero. It is difficult to
restoration of ecosystems in the lower
determine if local communities really benefited from the
Senegal Delta.
venture or were net losers. Restoring flows to ecosystems
can make a difference not only to ecosystems but also to
Amadou Matar DIOUF, Coordonnateur
the populations in the affected areas. Ecosystem needs are
des programmes, UICN Sénégal
often synchronised with the needs of poor people whose
livelihoods are largely based on flooddependent activities
such as fishing, gathering wild products, livestock rearing,
etc...
Key Themes and Topics Discussed
1. Balancing competing water needs across sectors
ˇ What are the competing and conflicting needs of different sectors from freshwater resources?
o Think about way to allocate water which supports people and nature
o What tools and initiatives do we have to help us do this?
o Produced recommendations of actions that will support sustainable river basin
management which shares the benefits of water resources
2. Benefits of environmental flows beyond ecosystems
ˇ What are the benefits of environmental flows for people?
SESSION OUTCOME
o Discuss benefits of maintaining flows for nature and how these can be shared
o What processes are in place to secure the benefits of environmental flows for
ecosystems and livelihoods?
o Produce recommendations of actions that will support sustainable river basin
management which share the benefits of water resources
For those discussions where the majority of the issues have been agreed upon, and the discussion is
focused on identifying solutions, the following list provides a framework for classifying the solutions
into four categories. Solutions may range from less concrete (recommendations) to more concrete
(initiatives).
The following are the recommendations that came out of the roundtable discussions for each
discussion statement.
Session 1: Balancing competing water needs across sectors
1. Water for poverty reduction needs healthy rivers
ˇ Water use allocation should reflect a balance of the needs of the river ecosystem and people.
ˇ Water use allocation must be based on adequate water quantity, quality, timing, and ecological
and public use data so as to make fair and environmentally sound decisions.
ˇ Allocation of water must involve a participatory watershed/basin approach (at a suitable scale)
where the ecological needs of the basin and people are determined; and to facilitate potential
solutions for allocation including regulations, incentives, and ecosystem service markets.
ˇ Comprehensive data collection on ecosystem characteristics and stakeholders is necessary for
development of an integrated catchment management plan.
ˇ For effective river basin management, it must be recognised that many poor people rely on the
provision of ecosystem services for their daily needs including food and other natural resources.
ˇ Implementation of river basin management plans must be undertaken with stakeholders using
economic, ecological and social indicators.
2. Sharing water across boundaries to sustain downstream ecosystems
ˇ Establish multinational negotiated agreements on equitable and fair distribution of water
including ecosystems as an important water user (e.g. Rhine River Commission, Senegal River
Basin Water Charter)
ˇ Take a river basin approach to restoration that includes the mechanisms that maximise natural
water production e.g. floodplains restoration, reforestation, and imposes a shared responsibility
on parties to protect those areas within their own borders
ˇ Sharing knowledge and promoting better understanding for integrated land and water use in the
transboundary river basin among coriparian countries
ˇ Basin wide transboundary river water management following IWRM principles.
ˇ Manage transboundary rivers as shared ecosystems according to carrying capacity (e.g. food
security, etc.) and with an emphasis on instream values
SESSION OUTCOME
ˇ Use a consistent framework to deal with all local specific problems, and enforcement of
international laws is very important to maintain environment flows to provide water to
ecosystems
3. Managing freshwater and coastal areas to meet human and environmental needs
ˇ Need to educate and empower people in delta areas so they can become a focused political force
to manage ridges to reefs to sustain environmental and economic activities
ˇ Build water governance capacity to have institutional arrangements in place to manage water
resources across all sectors (implement IWRM and ICM)
ˇ Ensure existence and sharing of transparent data (and awareness raising), to understand the
impacts of upstream developments on downstream communities including coastal areas
ˇ A priority is to identify successful cases of linking upstream and downstream management
processes and to replicate such practices in other areas and regions.
ˇ Application of the IWRM approach needs to give consideration to the issues related to coastal
zones and oceans, particularly in small island states.
ˇ Governments/regions should identify the ecosystem services in their coastal zone (terrestrial and
marine) and assess the impact of climate change on those ecosystem services
4. Mechanisms for the reallocation of water to the environment in river basins
ˇ River Basin Authorities in which all sectors are represented (which has real power)
ˇ Include valuation, assessment of values, tradeoffs, knowledge on links between water and
lifestyles, etc.
ˇ Clear legislation for environmental protection
ˇ Through a participatory process, identify all potential water users, prioritize allocation of water
among users, develop a cascade of priorities (ideally done during in noncrisis time), and
formalize this cascade and allocation to law or some other formal means.
5. Impacts of pollution on water resources and ecosystem good and services
ˇ Separation of rain water and wastewater from the water which is used in households
ˇ Improving the carbon balance in the treatment system
ˇ Pollution monitoring of the environment is really important for public awareness and reducing
the source of the pollution.
ˇ Political commitment and consensus
ˇ Public awareness and coordination among civil society, NGO, community leaders , etc.
ˇ Investments for software (monitoring, formal education. informal education) and hardware
(infrastructure)
Benefits of environmental flows beyond ecosystems
1. Environmental flows and human wellbeing
SESSION OUTCOME
ˇ Collection and analysis of scientific data is needed across all sectors that are affected by the flow
regime within a basin fisheries, energy, agriculture, tourism so that informed decisions can be
made.
ˇ Include environmental flow indicators within countries' work to alleviate poverty, eg. PRSPs.
Indicators can include fish stock, agricultural products, human population, biodiversity, tourist
numbers, sediment/nutrient data, etc.
ˇ Make environmental flow assessment an integral part of water resource and river basin planning
and water resources legislation.
ˇ Environmental flow assessment is a tool for decisionmakers to balance competing human needs
by ensuring that the ecosystem continues to provide services that meet those human needs.
2. Environmental flows for the sake of conservationutilization balance
ˇ Considering that water is limited and we can not satisfy all the needs of the relevant sectors for
each basin, decisions on water use will have to be made. This should be done in a transparent
and participatory process on basin and national level with scientific classification systems.
ˇ Management plans of wetlands should be more efficiently and strictly implemented and
monitored.
ˇ We need effective environmental flow assessments and we need to determine the ecological
production functions of environmental flows
ˇ Financial mechanisms must be created which take environmental requirements into account
3. Civil society action to mitigate the impact of river sand mining on flows
ˇ Use IWRM to ensure sector coordination and proper impact assessment before issuing licenses
to mine sand
ˇ Better enforcement of legislation for illegal miners (fight corruption)
ˇ Establish and empower river basin organizations
4. Water for ecosystems: Application of environmental flows for the restoration of ecosystems in
the lower Senegal Delta
ˇ Diversify water resources management agencies with multidisciplinary teams
ˇ Continuous monitoring of the river ecosystem health to apply adaptive flow regimes especially
with a changing climate
ˇ Apply awareness raising, stakeholders involvement and public participation
ˇ Exchange experiences and best practices across basins, sectors and levels of government
Proposals
Two resolutions came out of the sessions which were derived from the above recommendations.
1. Resolving conflicting needs for water resources demands political commitment as well as
leadership that champions use of participatory dialogues to negotiate water allocations throughout a
basin among sectors (including the environment), supported by enabling actions including: (i)
SESSION OUTCOME
building of water governance capacity, (ii) monitoring and sharing information and data, and (iii)
assessment of values for water resources and tradeoffs
2. Water for socioeconomic development and poverty reduction needs healthy rivers (from
mountains to deltas including coastal areas), requiring action to encourage application of
environmental flows in development, including: (i) employing multidisciplinary teams within water
resources management agencies; (ii) using environmental flow indicators within countries' work to
alleviate poverty (eg PRSPs); (ii) developing financial mechanisms which take environmental
requirements into account; and (iv) enforcement of legislation through building water governance
capacity
Please provide your name and contact information in case we need to clarify some of the
information you have provided.
Name: Katharine Cross
Phone number: +41 797378714
EMail Address: katharine.cross@iucn.org