What does it mean - Integrated Water Resources Management?

Water resources management is a skill to deliver required quantity of water with an admissible quality to the required place in specified time using organizational and technological framework and other resources in a sustainable manner. Integrated Water Resources Management for the project purpose would be operationalized as:

system that bases on accounting all potential water sources, coordinating inter-sectoral interests and all levels of water use hierarchy, hydrographic method, widely involving all water users and rational water resources use, and ensures ecological security and sustainable water supply to society and nature.

For putting such a concept into practice, "reform" of water resources management organizational structure and identification and implementation of appropriate regulations, functions and commissions for each structural level of water supply are needed. Also, it is necessary to clearly formulate how, by whom, at what costs, and under what terms water supply services will be provided to water users, along with simultaneous improvement of water productivity.

What can be achieved as a result of integrated water resources management pprinciples implementation when compared with the existing system:

 

  
 

The obstacles of the existing water resources management system

Benefits from integrated water resources management
Water resources management entities operate under different authorities and without inter- sectoral coordination Inter-sectoral coordination mechanism exist (by creating water councils - National, Basin, System)
Management is on basis of administrative boundaries (parochial egoism in water resources use) Management is based on hydrological boundaries (sustainable and equitable water supply guarantee regardless of water user spatial/administrative location)
Significant 'organizational' water losses due to n on-coordinated managerial actions at various hierarchy levels exist Minimization of organizational water losses through clear and transparent coordination of actions at all management hierarchy levels
Frequent contradictions between water policy, water law and management regulations Integration of water policy, legislation and management rules
Fixed managerial procedures from top down Flexible legislation reacting to dynamically developing conditions (democratization and transition to market economy)
Bureaucratic multilevel structures, insufficiently financed from the center Mainly self-financing organizations with partial state budget for water resources development
Uncertainty of real financial expenditures for water supply services Planning tools and payment on the basis of real expenditures for services
Absence of correlation between service provision and payment Realization of principle "payment for service". Service payback mechanism.
Absence of incentives to water conservation as well as water productivity Recognition by all society members that water is scarce resource. Provision of incentives to water productivity increase and water conservation
Uncertainty of real expenditures owing to unsatisfactory hydrornetry Development of hydrometry. Precise water-supply and diversion account
No participation of many interested parties and users in decision-making Consultations with the public, involvement of all key stakeholders in decision-making
Absence of accountability to service beneficiaries (water users) Management is fulfilled with the participation of all stakeholders, services are rendered on contractual basis
Apartness of water users and their weakness (juridical and economic) Water user associations as juridical bodies have clearly defined rights and duties in relationship with water entities
Retaining of stats order and fixed prices for crop production Selection of cropping pattern and prices is determined by farmers on the basis of market demand and market regulation
Absence of solutions for the basic environmental problems Environment protection and proper water allocation for ecological needs
Absence of unified account of surface and subsurface water use, and use of return flow Unified planning of surface and subsurface water use, incuding the return flow utilization