Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Methodology and Guidelines for Small Island Developing States

CHRISTOPHER CORBINCHRISTOPHER CORBINForFor

UNEP/DEPI in partnership with UNEP UNEP/DEPI in partnership with UNEP Division of the Global Environment Division of the Global Environment

Facility Facility

BACKGROUND

Quantity and quality of water in SIDS impacted Quantity and quality of water in SIDS impacted by by

• Population growth• Intense competition for scarce land and water

resources• Climate change & variability• Increased frequency of natural disaster events

Challenges to Water management in SIDSChallenges to Water management in SIDS

• Fragile and limited water resources, highly vulnerable to climatic variability

• Water supply and sanitation provisions restricted by human and financial resources

• Complex water governance arrangements

Where SIDS differ from other Developing CountriesWhere SIDS differ from other Developing Countries

• Immediacy of problems and lack of capacity to respond in a timely manner

• Limited land mass; limited water + other natural resources

• Pressures of economic development on limited resources

• Climate change & climate variability• Some SIDS close to natural carrying capacity

of islands and watersheds

Why IWRM for SIDS?

IWRM can • improve integration of existing

agencies, stakeholders, sectoral planning and activities,

• provides ideal way to use existing but limited capacity and funding within SIDS to their best effect.

IWRM for SIDS:Pacific ExperiencePacific SIDS identify IWRM as• solution to managing and

protecting water resources, • improving governance

arrangements and • improving water supply and

sanitation provision.

IWRM Plans for SIDSCountry 1=plan in place

2=plans in preparation3=only initial steps taken

Barbados 2

Cape Verde 3

Belize 2

Fiji 2

Grenada 2

Jamaica 2

Kiribati 2

Mauritius 2

Saint Lucia 2

Samoa 1

Solomon Islands 3

St. Vincent and the Grenadines 2 (Union – an Outer Island)

Trinidad and Tobago 2

Tuvalu 2

IWRM Planning in SIDS – IWRM Planning in SIDS – The RequirementsThe Requirements

a. Are governance systems, the management capacities and the types of financing required for IWRM culturally and politically sensitive to needs of SIDS?

a. Successful implementation of existing IWRM plans will require SIDS to perform significant institutional and legislative reforms – do SIDS have capacity and resources ?

IWRM Planning in SIDS – IWRM Planning in SIDS – The RealitiesThe Realities

• Severe shortage of the skilled staff on issues related to IWRM.

• Stakeholder participation process is usually protracted because same stakeholders involved in other non-water issues too.

• Some actors that have a vital role in water management do not participate in IWRM plan formulation.

IWRM Planning in SIDS – IWRM Planning in SIDS – The OpportunitiesThe Opportunities• Major reforms in water governance not requisite

for IWRM and for catalyzing change in the water sector.

• In order to promote the adoption of good water management through an IWRM approach, more important to understand national development planning system and priorities for water within it.

• Each country will have different priorities and planning systems, and therefore different entry points, from which better water management can and should be promoted.

IWRM for SIDS

• “Problem-based” approach leads to an action strategy based on tangible and immediate issues and can help win broad public support.

• The scale of IWRM for SIDS is entire watershed and its receiving waters

IWRM for SIDSThe focus for SIDS is • to create and improve linkages

across the sectors and scales (communities, watershed, islands, nation), and

• build capacity within and between stakeholders in utilising the management instruments and tools.

IWRM for CARIBBEAN SIDSWhere are we?

• Caribbean SIDS have completed diagnostics and analysis of water sector. This information can lead to

• policy development and/or reform, • strategy choice, • development of National IWRM Plans, and• demonstration projects which can help

monitor and evaluate IWRM changes to the enabling environment, institutional roles and management approaches/tools.

But… Caribbean SIDS lack broad political support

needed to get the process of creating an IWRM strategy off the ground .

Therefore:• more effective to define a geographic entry

point (e.g. a specific watershed) • use pilot cases to demonstrate IWRM’s

effectiveness• use problem-based” approach to lead to an

action strategy based on tangible and immediate issues e.g. IWCAM

Proposed Methodology for IWRM for SIDSProposed Methodology for IWRM for SIDS

(1) Integrate water issues into national development priorities

(2) Identify entry point(s)(3) Identify problem to be resolved(4) Identify spatial extent of problem(s)(5) Develop Action Plan and Strategy to

mitigate problem(s) based on a combination of enabling environment; institutional framework or management instruments.

Proposed Guidelines for developing IWRM Plans Proposed Guidelines for developing IWRM Plans

for SIDSfor SIDS

Identify major water issues impacting on national development

Agree on an entry point. Identify the key substantive issues radiating out from that point

Describe existing water management approaches that surround the issues in the entry point and/or spatial extent

Undertake an inventory of activities relevant to water resources management in the entry point

Proposed Guidelines for developing IWRM Plans Proposed Guidelines for developing IWRM Plans

for SIDSfor SIDS

• Identify core problem at point of entry and causes and effect of problem

• Use sensitivity analysis to prioritise issues surrounding causes and effect of core problem

• Develop response strategy – IWRM Plan – goals, aims and objectives to be attained) how the vision, goals, aims and objectives will be

achieved How Plan will be linked to other development process

related to core problem – e.g. PSIP; IDP, MTESP

Proposed Guidelines for developing IWRM Plans Proposed Guidelines for developing IWRM Plans

for SIDSfor SIDS

• Identify demonstration project(s) around core problem

• Identify necessary institutional arrangements; policy framework; resource requirements; type of stakeholders and how they will participate.

• Identify M&E mechanisms to monitor implementation of plan through demonstration projects.

Proposed Guidelines for developing IWRM Plans Proposed Guidelines for developing IWRM Plans

for SIDSfor SIDS

Templates and tools will be developed to assist SIDS in using/adapting the Guidelines.

THANK YOUTHANK YOU