Principles of Transboundary Water Resources Management and Ganges Treaties: An Analysis

The aim of this paper is to analyse the coverage of the principles of transboundary water resources management in two key bilateral treaties in the Ganges Basin. The treaties are the 1996 Mahakali Treaty between Nepal and India and the 1996 Ganges Water Treaty between India and Bangladesh. The study reveals that both treaties incorporate several internationally recognized transboundary water resources management principles, e.g. the principle of equitable and reasonable utilization, an obligation not to cause significant harm, principles of cooperation, information exchange, notification, consultation and the peaceful settlement of disputes. The presence of these internationally accepted principles in these two treaties offer plenty of common ground, which could serve as guidelines to promote sustainable water resources management throughout the region.     

Challenges and Opportunities for Transboundary Water Cooperation in Central Asia: Findings from UNECE's Regional Assessment and Project Work

This paper provides an overview of topical issues and problems related to transboundary water resources in Central Asia and their management in the light of the Second Assessment carried out under the UNECE Water Convention (2009– 2011) as well as experiences from ongoing projects. The conflict between water use for hydropower and for agriculture, land degradation and negatively impacted ecosystems resulting from reduced flows and degraded water quality, poor condition of the hydraulic infrastructure, and the legacy of pollution all have implications for health, economy, and stability in the region. The outdated legal framework for regional cooperation on shared waters requires improvement to help find sustainable long-term solutions for reasonable and equitable use of shared water resources.     

Institutional Aspects of Water Management in Central Asia Water Users Associations

Abstract

The way water resources in the former Soviet Union (FSU) were managed in the second half of the past century had both positive and negative effects and contributed to the existing situation. On the one hand, extensive development of water resources led to the transformation of millions of hectares of virgin lands into agricultural production, providing millions of people with food and livelihoods. On the other hand, the over-exploitation of water resources led to drastic changes of the environment: many water bodies, such as lakes, small rivers, and delta wetlands dried up. The Aral Sea basin is one of the dramatic examples of the negative impacts of large-scale irrigation interventions. The state-controlled era of development in the Soviet period has a legacy of standardized procedures and rules formulated at the top. The shortcomings of such a water management included fragmentation, duplication, and a highly administrative approach without considering the needs of the environment and input of water users into planning, allocating, and managing of water resources. This paper presents an analytical view of the role and importance of water users organizations/associations (WUOs/WUAs) in the irrigated agriculture and under irrigation management transfer (IMT) in Central Asia region. International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the Scientific Information Center of Interstate Coordination Water Commission (SIC ICWC) conducted the “Best Practices.” Projects including activities covered Syr Darya and Amu Darya basins of Central Asia. During the first stage of the project (01.04.1002-31.03.2002), the monitoring objects were: 30 district water management organizations (DWMO), eight WUAs, 58 collective farms (CCF), and 61 private farms (PPF) from eight provinces Central Asia) project for conserving water resources by involving water users into water savings. The primary strategy was to propagate application of inexpensive technical and managerial methods and measures to save water by users themselves. The project is a joint project of IWMI and SIC ICWC aimed to monitor and disseminate the best practices of water conservation initiated by water users. The first year of the “Best Practices” project accomplished a broader involvement of water users into the water conserving methods, therefore continuing the beneficial good water management practices. It also continued to involve the water supplying organizations and various groups of water users (collective farms, farmers, and water users' associations). The major interest was to analyze the impacts of the different water conservation and management practices on productivity of water use.     

Water User Groups in Central Asia: Emerging Form of Collective Action in Irrigation Water Management

This paper examines the recent emerging informal Water Users Groups (WUGs) on the Ferghana Valley for managing of the water at the former collective farm level and potential for strengthening of the weak Water Users Associations (WUAs) through replication of WUGs formation. Due to the collapse of the Soviet Union, Central Asian states have introduced reforms in different sectors including the water resources sectors. As a part of the water resources management reforms, Water Users Associations (WUAs) formation has implemented to manage water resources infrastructure and water distribution. WUGs have been emerging because WUAs have not been very efficient and effective due to their top-down implementation approach. In future, WUGs are very effective institutional mechanism of water resources management, and a useful support instrument to WUAs.     

Proposed Amendment to Kenya's Water Legislation: Some Missing Sustainable Water Resources Management Principles

Kenya's water law is a legacy of colonialism. It falls short of coping with today's water resources management problems. There is currently a proposed amendment to Kenya's Water Act. This article examines that amendment in the light of sustainable water resources management principles and finds it short of incorporating some of these principles. It gives reasons for this omission and suggests ways of improving the Bill. The article's views differs from those of the Attorney General of Kenya regarding the proposed amendment.     

Water, Food, and Energy Security: An Elusive Search for Balance in Central Asia

The development and use of water resources in the Amu Darya Basin remain under debate in the face of increasing population and associated scarcities in water, food, and energy. The upstream riparian, the mountain nation of Tajikistan, wishes to develop its hydropower potential. Three downstream states wish to sustain or increase their economic benefits from water used for irrigation. Growing tensions among the riparian countries on the Vakhsh River, a tributary of Amu Darya, have halted development of Tajikistan’s proposed Rogun Dam. This paper examines the potential for mutually beneficial water development and allocation of water resources to sustain demands for water, food, and energy. Using long-term data on the Basin’s energy potential, water supplies, irrigated land, and crop water demands, this paper analyzes total economic welfare for a future 20-year time horizon. Two water supply scenarios for each of two policy choices are examined. Results show that a constrained economic optimization operation of the Dam has the potential to increase farm income for each riparian country, while producing considerable benefits in hydropower for Tajikistan. Political negotiation among the riparian states and much better data will be needed to discover and implement potential gains indicated by this study.     

水资源管理与水环境管理

１水资源管理与水环境管理处在不同决策层次水资源管理要从掌握水的自然属性和商品属性规律出发提高资源利用率，实现社会、经济、环境效益最大化和水资源的可持续利用．所谓水的自然属性，可概括为“三流”和生态效应．“三流”为：（１）流量，指水量大小和时空分布；（２）流态，指流速、流势和水位；（３）流质，指污染物、营养盐、泥沙浓度与盐度．生态效应：指水资源时空变化带来的生态系统和构成变化．“水多水少”的传统水患，与“水浑水脏”的新问题，以及“某些流域水资源开发利用率过大”、“某个水利工程的不利生态影响”都是不…     

水资源管理与水利资产管理

水资源管理是自然资源管理，属于总体规划，合理配置的管理；水利资产管理是在整体规划的基础上，开发利用形成资产的管理。要根据我国水资源的开发利用状况和水利资产的具体情况进行管理。     

An Informetric Profile of Water Resources Management Literatures

The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the global performance and to assess the current trends in research of water resource management. The methods of informetric analysis were used to survey water resource management related articles in the Science Citation Index (SCI) and Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) during the past decades. The publication records, subjects, journals, countries, institutes, authors, citations and keywords were analyzed respectively for each paper. The number of papers related to water resource management in 2012 was approximately 8 times that of the year 2000 and hundreds of times more than early 1990s. Water resource management related papers were distributed unevenly by countries. The USA, P.R. China, Australia and UK were the top contributing countries, also present normalized by dividing with population that published most SCI papers as well as SSCI papers. The largest water resource management research center is located in the USA according to the number of publications and citations, with P.R. China becoming more proficient in water resource management according to the data from country and institute. In addition, the quality of papers produced by developed countries is more advanced than developing countries. All these efforts contributed to the indication in trends of water resource management research on a global scale. Earlier water resource management research appeared and was originally concentrated on engineering, irrigation and geography. Issues gradually transferred to management, economics and regime recently.     

菏泽市水资源现状分析及水资源管理的措施研究

本文介绍了菏泽市水资源利用现状,通过分析缺水原因,菏泽市水行政主管部门实施了最严格的水资源管理措施,不断加强水利工程建设、水资源管理机构建设和水政执法监督,增强水资源利用率,严格落实水资源论证与取用水制度,实施最严格的水资源管理考核制度。     

Water Resources Management and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in Cameroon

Cameroon is blessed with abundant water resources. Rapid population increase, unplanned urbanisation, intensive industrial and socio-economic development have led to poor and unsustainable management of these resources. Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is a promising approach in ensuring sustainable management of Cameroon’s water resources. It entails management of water for various purposes and not for a single purpose which therefore involves different stake holders aiming at achieving sustainable water resources management. This paper seeks to evaluate recent efforts to implement in IWRM in Cameroon by examining the institutional framework for IWRM in Cameroon, conditions for the implementation of IWRM and proposes reforms for improving IWRM in Cameroon. The paper concludes that reforms such as public participation at local council levels, recognition of water as both an economic and a social good, putting IWRM within the larger context of Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM) and the exploitation of mathematical models within hydrological basins will improve IWRM in Cameroon.     

民营水利——水利建设与管理的重大变革

文章简述了民营水利的内涵,结合湖南省茶陵县、攸县、邵阳市的民营水利的成功实践,提出民营水利是水利建设与管理的重大变革,并就民营水利发展中存在的主要问题进行探讨,找出解决问题的对策。     

可持续水资源管理浅析

水危机的出现，制约了社会的发展。为了保证水资源的持续利用，现今的水资源管理必须站在可持续发展的角度上，即建立可持续水资源管理。文章简要论述了可持续水资源管理的主要内容及其发展方向，并提出了提高可持续水资源管理能力的几种手段。     

河北省水资源现状分析及解决措施

河北省水资源严重短缺,地下水超采严重。为实现水资源的可持续利用,一是多方开源,二是全社会节水,三是加强水资源管理。必须建立多元化、多渠道的投入机制,建立合理的水价形成机制和政府宏观调控、市场化运作、企业化经营、用水户参与的运行管理机制。     

民勤绿洲水资源利用分析

石羊河流域下游的民勤绿洲面临严重的生态危机,如何抢救和保护民勤绿洲,引起了社会各界的广泛关注.通过对民勤绿洲的历史演变和开发过程研究,分析了民勤绿洲水资源利用现状,并对未来水资源量进行了预测,得到初步结论:石羊河水资源开发利用过度,目前已经基本丧失其河流的生态功能,民勤绿洲的水资源已无法维持绿洲的生存和发展,必须采取综合治理措施,提高水的利用效率和效益,建立高效节水型社会.     

转变管理方式 坚持从严治水 努力实现晋中水资源的可持续利用

转变管理方式,坚持从严治水,实现水资源的可持续利用,是推进经济社会转型发展、可持续发展的重要举措。结合晋中市实际,对水资源、水环境、水供需状况及存在问题进行了详细分析。从管理理念、开发方式、用水模式三个方面的转变提出了新的治水思路,从搞好总量调控、强化节水管理、推进机制创新三方面提出了具体的对策措施。     

Management of Water Resources

Abstract

Recent reforms in water resources management in the Murray-Darling Basin are discussed from the perspective of water allocation, water rights, irrigation, and the environment, with particular reference to differences between details in the states of Victoria and New South Wales. A similar review of water resources management is made for Vietnam with some further discussion of the new water law of 1998. Contextual differences are discussed and the opportunities for Vietnam to make use of Australian experience are briefly analysed.     

水资源统一管理的体制性障碍和前瞻性分析

我国水资源当前面临着水资源短缺、水污染严重、洪涝灾害频繁三大突出问题，水危机不仅已成为经济社会可持续发展的重大制约因素，而且还将对我国21世纪水资源安全战略构成直接威胁，除自然因素外，加剧水危机的一个重要原因，是水资源管理体制不顺，深入分析现行水资源管理体制的缺陷及其原因，着力消除由此形成的体制性障碍，加快构建水资源统一管理的新体制，促进水资源的永续利用，确保我国经济社会的可持续发展，是新世纪水利工作亟待解决的一个重大课题。