Introduction, Definitions and Concepts

Question 1

Discuss the 4 Dublin-Rio principles

Answer 1

1) Water is a finite and vulnerable resource

• Hydrological cycle needs to be recognised in interaction with other natural resources and ecosystems
• Holistic management through considering the entire natural system: coordination of activities and demands
• Institutional framework needed capable of integrating human systems

2) Participatory approach to water resource management

• Everyone is a stakeholder in water
• All stakeholders from all backgrounds should participate in decision making

3) Role of women

• Traditionally women involved in water collection and domestic use and men involved in management and decision making
• Equal role in decision making and management required at heart of economic and social progress

4) Social and economic value of water

• Water is a public good and has a social and economic value in all its competing uses
• Basic human right to have access to water
• Managing water as an economic good for achieving efficient and equitable use
• Willingness to pay for water use

Question 2

Give 3 action points for water resources managers and discuss these

Answer 2

Main aim is to create sustainable water security
- End poverty and diseases by providing clean water
- Protection against natural (water related) disasters
- Water conservation and reuse
- Sustainable development
- Achieving food security (40% food by irrigation using 70% of the extracted water)
- Protection of ecosystems and bio-diversity
- Solving water conflicts
- Enabling environment for water and sustainable development
- Knowledge base about the water cycle
- Capacity building

Question 3

What are the 3 “E” principles of IWRM and discuss these?

Answer 3

• Equity to humans: basic right to water + protection to floods and coping with drought for all.
• Ecological integrity: Natural environment sustainable.
• Efficiency: Water is scarce and limited (sustainable use of water).

Question 4

Provide an overview of the different demands for water and discuss briefly

Answer 4

Human Needs:
- Domestic use (household water = drinking water, sanitation)
- Freshwater supply available as drinking water is limited
- Polluted water is only partially consumed, needs treatment for reuse
- Desalinised water can be used, costly
- Charge often includes water treatment

Industry:
- Used for offices, hospitals, hotels etc.
- Industry often uses drinking water supply systems
- Economically powerful

Agriculture:
- Majority of global water use, mostly for irrigation
- Crop water use is consumptive; but water losses due to lack of efficiency are not necessarily lost (recharge, downstream use)

Hydropower:
- Non-consumptive; power is function of elevation drop, discharge, water density and gravitational acceleration
- For large Δh (height of fall) often deviation needed to secure ecological flow
- Danger of dam destruction by flood (spill way needed)

Ecosystems:
- Wet ecosystems are under threat
- Water-related ecosystem services:
* Flood control, shoreline stabilisation & storm
protection
* Groundwater replenishment
* Sediment & nutrient retention and export,
water purification
* Reservoirs of biodiversity + wetland products
* Cultural values, recreation & tourism
* Climate change mitigation and adaptation
- Water is essential to the functioning of ecosystems

Question 5

Discuss sustainable development goal 6: “access to water and sanitation for all” in relation to
water resources management

Answer 5

8 Targets:
1. Universal & equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water.
2. Adequate and equitable sanitation.
3. Improve water quality.
4. Increase water-use efficiency.
5. Implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through
transboundary cooperation.
6. Protect and restore water-related ecosystems.
7. Expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities.
8. Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management.
- 11 indicators along with the 8 targets. Example: Indicator 6.1.1 “Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services.
- Other SDGs connected to water. Example: SDG12: Ensure sustainable production, SDG2: End hunger.

Question 6

Why do we expand water resources management to the Water, Energy & Food nexus ?

Answer 6

• Many connections (= nexus) exist between water, energy and food (WEF)
• Many relevant perspectives:
  > Climate change
  > Life cycle analysis for production process;
  > Value chain accounting; sustainable economic development
  > Sustainability of water, energy
• Water is a finite and vulnerable resource (central)
• Productivity and availability of water, energy and land vary between regions and production systems (demand&raquo_space; supply)
• Large potential to increase overall resource use efficiency and benefits in production and consumption
• Water, energy and food security for all is crucial
• Safeguarding WEF resources for the future and coping with scarcity
• Coping with and stopping climate change
• Fast globalisation, urbanisation, development is often disruptive
• Nexus approach has an added value as a cross-sectoral approach above IWRM: Water is important for food but cannot be isolated from other uses.

Question 7

Why do we incorporate Land into the Water, Energy & Food nexus?

Answer 7

• Water for irrigation is 70% of water use with 90% of the consumptive use on land for realising a double food productivity.
• Nexus land-energy and water-energy
  > Hydropower (20% of energy)
  > Water downstream of energy abstraction can be used for irrigation
  > Irrigation upstream is consumptive use and therefore lost for hydropower
• Potential for improved resource efficiency (Ringler, et al, 2013).
  > Water, land and energy resources are all crucial contributors to human well-being and environmental sustainability.
  > As a result of growing natural resource scarcity, the inter-connectedness of these sectors has become more apparent.
  > The water, energy, land and food nexus concept helps understand the linkages across these sectors and identify measures to reduce the costs of tradeoffs and enhance synergies among the sectors.
  > The Sustainable Development Goals represent a globally significant test for the implementation of WELF nexus thinking.