Integrated River Basin Management

Case Study : Mountain-River-Lake (MRL) Program

PhD researcher: Qiong Zhou ( Joanna )

Supervisors: Chris Bradley, Dominique Moran, Julian Clark, Gilles Pinay

August 1, 2012Postgraduate Conference, GEES, UoB

Rationale for the research

Water crisis - a crisis of governance Integrated Water Resource Management / Integrated Water Basin

Management (IWBM) ‘Integration’ challenges – scale issue, sectoral coordination,

interdiscinplinary interaction, etc. Challenges of current management mechanisms of IWBM

• ALLAN, J. A., ABDULRAHMAN, S. A. & WARREN, W. W. (2003) Integrated water resources management is more a political than a technical challenge. Developments in Water Science. Elsevier.

• ATTWATER, R., BOOTH, C. & GUTHRIE, A. C. (2005) The role of contestable concepts in transdisciplinary management of water in the landscape. Syst. Res, 22, 185-192.

• COHEN, A. & DAVIDSON, S. (2011) The watershed approach: Challenges, antecedents, and the transition from technical tool to governance unit. Water Alternatives, 4, 1-14.

• GOOCH, G. D. & STÅLNACKE, P. (2010) Science, Policy and Stakeholders in Water Management: An Integrated Approach to River Basin Management, Earthscan/James & James.

• GWP (Global Water Partnership, Techinical Advisory Committee). (2000) Integrated water resources management. Stockholm, Sweden; Global Water Partnership.

• JØNCH-CLAUSEN, T. & FUGL, J. (2001) Firming up the conceptual basis of integrated water resources management. Water Resources, 17, 501-510.

• WANG, Y. (2007a) Taking stock of integrated river basin management in china, Beijing, China, Science Press.• WANG, Y. (2007b) 中国水问题、治理转型与体制创新 . 22.• HU, Zhenpeng Theory and Practice on Integrated Watershed Management – Case Study of Mountain-River-Lake Program (in Chinese),

Science Press, Beijing, ISBN 978-7-03-027199-0, April 2010• The Office of the Mountain-River-Lake Development Committee of Jiangxi Province, MRLDO, - Presentation to Partners, 2008, document

of MRLDO, Jiangxi, China

Research Aim:To propose a strategic framework for understanding how Integrated Water Basin Management is practising, through the case study of Mountain-River-Lake (MRL) Program of Jiangxi Province of China.

Research Objectives:Field experimental practices - policy making (bottom-up, top-down)

Stakeholders interaction in multi-level governance regimes (sectoral interaction, interdisciplinary interaction)

Public participation (farmers’ self-help group development, NGO involvement)

Basic concept

Adaptive governance – complexity, uncertainty; polycentric governance style, participatory approach

Social learning – bridging organization, stakeholder interaction, collective action and collaboration

• BERKES, F. (2009) Evolution of co-management: Role of knowledge generation, bridging organizations and social learning. Journal of environmental management, 90, 1692-1702.

• BRUNNER, R. D. (2010) Adaptive governance as a reform strategy. Policy Sciences, 1-41.• BUNCH, M. J., MORRISON, K. E., PARKES, M. W. & VENEMA, H. D. (2011) Promoting Health and Well-Being by Managing for Social–

Ecological Resilience: the Potential of Integrating Ecohealth and Water Resources Management Approaches. Ecology and Society, 16, 6.• FOLKE, C. (2007) Social–ecological systems and adaptive governance of the commons. Ecological research, 22, 14-15.• FOLKE, C., HAHN, T., OLSSON, P. & NORBERG, J. (2005) Adaptive governance of social-ecological systems. Annual Review of

Environment and Resources, 30, 441.• GUNDERSON, L. & LIGHT, S. S. (2006) Adaptive management and adaptive governance in the everglades ecosystem. Policy Sciences,

39, 323-334.• HATFIELD-DODDS, S., NELSON, R. & COOK, D. (2006) Adaptive governance: an introduction, and implications for public policy.• HOLLING, C. (1978) Adaptive environmental assessment and management, John Wiley & Sons.• ISON, R., RÖLING, N. & WATSON, D. (2007) Challenges to science and society in the sustainable management and use of water:

investigating the role of social learning. Environmental Science & Policy, 10, 499-511.• LEBEL, L., GROTHMANN, T. & SIEBENHÜNER, B. (2010) The role of social learning in adaptiveness: insights from water management.

International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 1-21.• PAHL-WOSTL, C. (2008) Requirements for adaptive water management. Adaptive and Integrated Water Management, 1-22.

Poyang Lake and River Basin

Population: 44 million Total Area: 166,900 km2

Poyang Lake: Largest freshwater lake in ChinaProvince ~ Watershed (97%)

Research area

Yangtze River

Challenges in 1980s• Flooding• Sedimentation• Erosion

Mountain-River-Lake Program (1980s – )

‘To manage the lake, the rivers must be harnessed; to harness the rivers, the mountains should be protected; to protect the mountains, the poverty of the community should be alleviated.’

‘Based on ecology while keep economy in mind, to manage the natural resources in a comprehensive way.’

Cross-sectoral coordination/MRL CommitteeInterdisciplinary interaction/Scientific consultant committeeCross-level interaction/experimental implementationCooperation/international networking

Case study

Transportation infrastructure

SMDJP project- 7 small watersheds of Gan River sub-watershed- Located in 4 counties of Ganzhou Prefecture

MRL Program- Poyang Lake water basin- 11 prefectures- 99 counties

Township Gov. & agencies

Prefectural Bureaus & technical institutes

County governmental

agencies

Provincial depart. & research institutes

Villages/watersheds

SMDJP project :Sino-German cooperation

Internationalexperts

- County committee- Participatory land use planning team- Key group of trainers

Chinese partners

Thanks!Questions?