Alan Hall, Global Water Partnership

OECD Forum, Istanbul,

27 – 29 June 2007

Water resources: measuring for management

Human Development Report 2006 described water as the

SILENT EMERGENCY

experienced by the poor

tolerated by the rich

Society must measure water resources Society must measure water resources otherwise we cannot make wise allocation decisions on the use of scarce resources

Two aspects of the water crisisTwo aspects of the water crisis

Water ServicesThe crisis here is about the provision of basic

needs for healthy and productive life.

Water ResourcesChronic water stress poses a huge threat to human development - social and economic.

Water and Society

• Need to better understand the relationship between the sustainable utilization of natural resources (water) and the well-being of societies.

• Socio-economic development reduces risk from disasters – floods and droughts – but if not well-managed can degrade resources

• Need more hard facts and less slogans and advocacy

2 billion extra people 2 billion extra people needing water by 2050needing water by 2050

17% more water will be 17% more water will be needed for agriculture !needed for agriculture !

WEALTH AND LIFESTYLESWEALTH AND LIFESTYLES

Climate Vulnerability ...Climate Vulnerability ...

-1.50

-1.00

-0.50

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985

Source: Departure from standard deviation; Climate Prediction Center 1991Source: Departure from standard deviation; Climate Prediction Center 1991

Index of Rainfall in Sahel 1941-90

... and Climate... and Climate Change Change

Availability of water is decliningAvailability of water is declining

0

4

8

12

16

1960 1990 2025

Africa

World

Asia

Middle East

‘000 m3 per capita

Water stress is Water stress is intensifyingintensifying

Globally seems enough water,

but

locally a serious problem.

Increased risk of CONFLICTIncreased risk of CONFLICT

Willthey be over

water?

Warshave

been over oil

Measuring Water Resources

• So far a lot of evidence is anecdotal

• Need to have better, more robust evidence of the water resources status and trends in different countries

• Evidence needed on both social, economic and technical dimensions

Four Dimensions for Measuring Four Dimensions for Measuring WaterWater

• Service: access to water for human use• Quality: level of contaminants• Quantity: water balance and availability• Governance: Integrated Water Resources

Management provides a useful approach and WSSD set target for IWRM plans by 2005. IWRM comprises three elements:– Enabling environment– Institutional roles– Management instruments

Enabling Environment

• Do national development plans and poverty reduction strategies include water resources.

• Are policies for sector water users consistent with WRM policy.

• Are stakeholders involved in policy and planning.

• Are adequate laws and regulations in place and enforced.

• Are government budgets allocated for WRM and financing public goods and reforms.

Institutional Roles

• Are institutional structures in place at different levels of authority and are their mandates clear

• Are cross sectoral coordination mechanisms in place and functional

• Have conflict resolution mechanisms been established (including for TB rivers)

• Do adequate information exchange systems exist

• Is there donor/government harmonisation on policies with cohesion between planning and investment

Management instruments

• What physical water resources are available and used, including state of key aquifers

• Are demand management measures in place to constrain use within the bounds of sustainability.

• What is being done to remove perverse subsidies that encourage misuse and waste

• Are there incentives for water saving and judicious water use including “polluter pays”

• Are knowledge systems and capacity building systems in place and funded.

Results of GWP Survey

• Informal stakeholder survey of 95 countries carried out in January 2006

• Questionnaire based on the issues in the last three slides.

• 21% had plans in place• 53% were in the process of preparing

plans• 26% had taken only initial or no steps

On-going Monitoring Work

• UN-Water Task Force on IWRM: – Mapping monitoring initiatives– Reviewing definitions, criteria and classifying initiatives– Official UN Survey for CSD16 on IWRM target

• UN Statistics Division– System to integrate environmental and economic

accounting (SEEAW)

• World Water Assessment Programme– Three-yearly reports – 2009 at the 5th World Water

Forum in Istanbul

Producing better evidenceProducing better evidence

• Coordinate across many on-going monitoring initiatives by different entities

• Mainstream water into broader measures of society and human progress

• Build water matters into national statistics

• Take account of intangibles and qualitative measures

• Minimise the burden and cost of monitoring on poor countries.

‘Among the many things I learned as a President, was the centrality of watercentrality of water

in the social, political and economic affairs of the country, the continent and the

world’

Nelson Mandela, WSSD, 2002

THANK YOU

alan.hall@gwpforum.org