The challenge and status of IWRM in four river basins in Europe and Asia

Abstract

This paper assesses the implementation of four selected IWRM principles in four very different river basins in Europe and Asia. The four principles relate to all the different aspects of sustainable development-environmental, social, economic and institutional-as well as the factor that is particularly crucial in many countries of the South: implementation capacity. The paper is based on the work performed in the EC-funded STRIVER project, "Strategy and methodology for improved IWRM-An integrated interdisciplinary assessment in four twinning river basins". The four basins-Tungabhadra and Sesan (in Asia), and Tagus and Glomma (in Europe) exemplify very different problems and challenges with regard to IWRM: different levels of socio-economic development and very varying problems with regard to water quality and availability. The paper shows that the implementation of IWRM is at a fairly early stage in all the four STRIVER basins; and that successful implementation of water resources is dependent not only on the existence of relevant policies, but also the degree to which laws and policies are in fact implemented.

From principles to localized implementation: villagers' experiences of IWRM in the Shiyang River basin, Northwest China

“…Notably, there are practical concerns about its wider applicability, suggesting that it has been developed in the West and may not easily transfer to the developing world (Biswas, 2008;Grigg, 2008;McDonnell, 2008;Nesheim et al, 2010;Swatuk, 2005;Bandaragoda & Babel, 2010). To the authors' best knowledge; there is little in-depth analysis of empirical evidence to date on public understanding of IWRM principles, implementation processes or impacts, based on insiders ' understanding, in China. IWRM was written into China's 2002 Water Law and since then has become a general policy framework for water management.…”

Policy Diffusion in the Context of International River Basin Management

“…The IWRM approach intends to alleviate such dilemmas by promoting collaborative management between countries sharing a river basin (Gooch et al ., ; Gooch and Stalnacke, ). To create a platform where all river basin countries can coordinate their water policies, supranational river basin commissions have been created (Bernauer, ; Dombrowsky, ; Nesheim et al ., ). River basin commissions take account of one of the basic principles of IWRM, according to which the scale of governance institutions should be adapted to the environment (Dahl, ; Newig and Fritsch, ).…”

Transforming river basins: Post-livelihood transition agricultural landscapes and implications for natural resource governance

“…Very few studies are seen to capture the dynamics of the engagement with the basin resources, or seriously attempt any analysis of the rapid changes to livelihood portfolios and the ensuing issues of resource access and ownership. Further, marginal resource users in a basin primarily dependent on non-agricultural ecosystem services are often excluded from decision-making processes (Nesheim et al, 2010). The lack of consideration of these non-agricultural resource users and marginal communities is decried as a strategic failure of IWRM (Waalewijn et al, 2009).…”