PP 5.1: IWRM Planning Framework

Module Objective and Scope Participants acquire knowledge of the Principles of Good Basin Planning and can apply the principles in their basin planning process. What are the Principles of Good Basin Planning Knowledge-based Approach to Planning Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement Effective Organizational Arrangements Integration and Coordination Across Sectors and Areas of Expertise Informative Monitoring and Evaluation

What are Scenarios? Scenarios are used to compare various “what if” cases. They provide a structured method of thinking about possible future water resource development and management options, opportunities and risks, and how these interact. The results are useful for consensus building and decision making. Scenarios are usually built from a combination of facts and possible changes, situations or future series of events. Development scenarios for BDP purposes are defined by assumptions of: (1) future hydrological conditions; (2) future water demands; and (3) interventions assumed to be in place.

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY A SCENARIO? A scenario is a description of a specific set of future events and circumstances. It is not a forecast of the future, but rather is something that is foreseen as being possible. For BDP, the set of events and circumstances will be limited to those that involve the water resources of the Mekong Basin In the WUP DSF, scenarios are defined as a combination of: hydrological circumstances (determined mainly by climate) demands (determined by sectoral demand, population growth, economic conditions etc) interventions to meet demands (such as dams, irrigation projects, water laws, operating procedures etc).

WHY CREATE SCENARIOS? Scenarios in BDP will used to study the results (costs and benefits) of: Events we think will happen anyway (eg population growth, urbanisation etc) Events that might happen (we can generally think of these as ‘risks’, for example climate change) Events that we can make happen (interventions) - such as creating development, building new structures, and operating existing structures. These studies will enable evaluation of the desirability of possible water-based developments & will help to define strategies for water resources development.

Objectives of an Integrated River Basin Plan for the Mekong Basin Article 2 of the MRC Agreement defines the objective of an Integrated Basin Plan. Key points Cooperation and coordination between nations Sustainable benefits for all nations Prevention of wasteful use Emphasis on joint and/or basin wide development projects: The BDP approach considers the basin-wide development opportunities and constraints that arise through sharing the resources of the Lower Mekong

Water Management Principles (Dublin 1992) Principle 1: Fresh water is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life, development and the environment. Principle 2: Water development and management should be based on a participatory approach, involving users, planners and policymakers at all levels. Principle 3: Women play a central part in the provision, management and safeguarding of water Principle 4: Water has an economic value in all its competing uses and should be recognised as an economic good as well as a social good.

General Basin Planning Issues Involvement of key decision makers and partners Identification of the problem(s) to be solved – if a problem is defined too narrowly, one may overlook innovative solutions Analysis of the situation or problem(s), as it is important to understand the causes of the problem, as well as the dynamics which might help to solve it Prioritisation of problems to be solved and concerns to be addressed (scoping) Formulation of objectives and indicators Determination of potential solutions to achieve formulated objectives Evaluation of potential solutions in terms of technical and economic feasibility, probable impacts, political acceptability, etc. Decision making and documentation Implementation of the decisions Evaluation of the success of the implementation and modification of the plan as required

Why basin planning? The most powerful reason for planning at the basin level is to address priority water problems affecting society and to stimulate growth and development. Basin plans for water resources are therefore set within the realities of water availability, within the geographical and political context and will take into account all activities and developments requiring water or influencing the water resources which include ecological requirements, water supply and sanitation, irrigation, land use and forestry, fisheries, hydropower and industrial use.

How Does Basin Development Planning Work? Basin. The planning process comprises seven stages in a rolling cycle: Stage 1: Analysis of common issues such as hydropower, irrigation, flooding, fisheries, navigation, environment in the Lower Mekong Basin and its sub-areas, including review of policies and plans at national level and development of planning frameworks at sub-area levels; Stage 2: Formulation and assessment of basin-wide development scenarios; Stage 3: Formulation of strategies to guide basin development and management, based on IWRM principles; Stage 4: Development of a database of planned and identified projects; Stage 5: Screening, ranking and prioritisation of projects to compile the project portfolio; Stage 6: Preparation of the IWRM-based BDP by integrating the development scenarios, IWRM-based basin strategy and project portfolio into a coherent and consistent plan; and Stage 7: Supporting the promotion and implementation of projects, monitoring BDP implementation, and periodically evaluating and updating the Plan.

River Basin Plans The IWRM Toolbox (Global Water Partnership 2002) recommended that basin plans should include information on the following items: • Physical description of the basin • Land use inventories • Current water availability and demands • Pollution source inventories • Aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem needs • Vulnerability to floods or extreme meteorological events • Identification of stakeholders and mechanisms for participation • Implications of changing land use • Identification of priority issues (impact issues or user requirement issues) • Short‐ and long‐term goals for the river basin

Basin Plans (Cont.) Water related development scenarios, future water demands + risk assessments • Water allocation and water quality objectives • Strategy, measures and action plans for the achievement of goals, including sub‐basin management plans • Financing of water use and management • Responsibility and schedules for implementation • Mechanisms for monitoring and updating • Annexes including specific studies such as areas of significant environmental problems

Key questions to help move forward river basin and sub‐basin planning: 1. Has the basin organization or the responsible water resources agency developed a river basin or water resources planning process? Have senior policy makers endorsed it? 2. Are there adequate data and information – economic, environmental, and social –for the planning process to be effective? Is more targeted research needed? 3. Does the planning process include genuine participatory processes for the basin community to provide input and make contributions? 4. Does the planning process include bottom‐up planning to address the water‐related problems and needs of local communities? 5. How do basin and sub‐basin management plans incorporate risk assessment of proposed projects?

Pp 5.2 Applying Planning Framework

A. Knowledge-based Planning

Information on benefits and costs Identifying benefits and costs requires knowledge on whether the benefits of a water resource development will be realised and what the potential costs of the development might be ? All nations in the Basin must be committed to gaining and sharing this knowledge.

Different types of knowledge Engineering / hydrology information Environmental information Social information Economic information Give some examples of each of these for a water resource development.

B. Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement

Better knowledge will be gained through stakeholder engagement Stakeholders are all those people who have an interest in water resource development. There are many stakeholders involved in a Basin plan: Government; River basin organisations Experts both scientific and local Civil society groups Industry representatives Community representatives and community members

Stakeholder engagement in the MRC relies upon member governments The MRC is unique in that it works through member countries two key questions for the MRC are: How effective the member countries are in engaging stakeholders, and How can member countries be assisted to be more effective.

C. Effective Organizational Arrangements

Relationships between Watersheds and Administrative Hierarchies Government Private Sector NGOs User Organisations Country Province District Commune Energy Interior Agriculture Forestry Water Resources Rural Development Planning Women's Affairs Land Management Horizontal consistency Vertical consistency National River Basin Organisation Watershed Committee Catchment Group Regional Institutional consistency Sectors Involved: Reference: Tuyll, C. 2007: MRC GTZ Watershed Management Programme – Consultative Meeting Viet Nam April 2007. Power Point Presentation.

Pak Mun Dam Completed 1994 Pak Mun Dam - Thailand

Scenarios to IWRM Strategies Economic valuation / social impacts Trade-offs Negotiation and consultation Total economic value This sort of information, in conjunction with economic and social analysis, provides the countries with the basis to make informed decisions about development in different sectors, and to negotiate with their neighbors to ensure equitable outcomes, using the process of notification and consultation established under MRC.

Setting priorities • Specify and prioritise natural resources management issues clearly and within national planning and development goals. • Specify how each issue will be addressed in the planning process. • Check each priority issue against the constraints and opportunities of the basin’s hydrology. • Relate priorities to financial resources. • Do what is most pressing first!

Criteria for prioritising WRM problems It is a barrier to solving other problems. Has an impact on a large number of people. Is a major equity issue. Will improve development and reduce poverty. Will significantly improve efficiency. Will positively impact on environment. Will improve water resource availability.

Setting priorities, evaluating and ranking water resources issues

Basin Planning in Mekong Context The plan comply with Sound Environmental Social and Economic Principles Free of transboundary conflicts