Adapting water resources management to climate change

Hedger, M. and Cacouris, J. (2008). Separate streams? : adapting water resources management to climate change. Teddington, UK, Tearfund. 57 p. Includes bibliography.
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This report, using empirical evidence from research in Niger and north-east Brazil, aims to identify how climate change adaptation can be integrated within the water sector to benefit the most poor and vulnerable people. It draws on primary research at the community level, and policy and institutional reviews at the national level, to look at:

• how the changing climate is impacting the way poor people manage their water resources in the semiarid environment, their adaptive responses to climate variability, and associated needs to help support these responses.
• the policy and institutional context in each country in relation to tackling water and climate change, the current status of synergy and integration between the two policy areas, and the interface between national policy and practice on the ground.

The report shows that climate variability can have a real and lasting impact on how people manage their water resources, and that the dynamics of changing patterns of water availability have knock-on effects that reach far beyond just water. Traditional cultural norms, agricultural methods and wider livelihood approaches
are also affected.

The common theme emerging from the case studies is the need for communities to be able to access and engage with the political systems that affect their water rights.

The report formulates the following key messages for donors and national governments:

• ensure that climate change adaptation is not treated as a separate sector
• ensure that water is not viewed in isolation in policy-making, but is linked explicitly with the management of other natural resources, eg: land, minerals, crops etc
• devolve the power to manage water to the local level, and ensure the resources are in place for this to be effective
• focus on poor communities who are ‘off-grid’ and not able to benefit from large infrastructure investments, such as dams and other central water supply facilities
• ensure that accurate scientific data relating to climate change is widely and easily available
• support local successes and look at ways that they can be replicated at scale: bottom-up rather than top-down
• increase local communities’ participation in the water policy-making process
• plan for change – it is going to happen.

India Sanitation Portal launched

Arghyam and the WASH Institute have launched the India Sanitation Portal, as a sister web site of the India Water Portal. The new Portal is a collaborative effort with content initially provided by Arghyam, Plan International, Stockholm Environmental Institute, UNICEF, WASH Institute, WaterAid, Water and Sanitation Program, Water for People, and Wherever the Need.

An important part of the Portal is the section on GIS applications and maps related to the performance of Total Sanitation Campaign and Nirmal Gram Puraskar, the flagship government programs related to rural sanitation. These applications were created through data obtained courtesy of the Department of Drinking Water Supply, Government of India.

Other sections are a searchable database of organisations and a Knowledge & Resources section with full text case studies, course materials, videos, research papers and policy documents.

Creditor Reporting System on aid activities 2008 : aid activities in support of water supply and sanitation

OECD and World Water Council (2008). Creditor Reporting System on aid activities 2008 : aid activities in support of water supply and sanitation. Paris, France, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 206 p. ISBN: 9789264056091 (E-book). ISBN: 9789264051720 (paperback)

Price – E-book (PDF Format): €28 | $42 | £21 | ¥4400
Price – Print (Paperback) + Free PDF: €40 | $61 | £31 | ¥6400
Order E-Book version online here
Order print version online here

This publication presents comprehensive statistics on aid flows in support of water supply and sanitation for the years 2001-2006, including trends in donors’ aid and the degree of targeting of countries most in need. Individual donor profiles provide summary statistics in the form of charts and tables, and descriptions of donors’ development co-operation policies in the water sector. The publication also records the relevant aid activities reported by DAC members and multilateral institutions to the CRS Aid Activity database (Creditor Reporting System). The information is based on individual commitments and disbursements of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to water supply and sanitation.

Table of contents:

• Introduction – Basic aspects of the CRS Aid Activity database
• Part 1. Analysis of aid to the water supply and sanitation sector – 2001-2006
• Part 2. Donor profiles on aid to the water supply and sanitation sector – Statistics and policy briefs for each DAC member [also available as free PDF file]
• Part 3. List of Aid Activities – 2006
• Reference list – Aid agencies
• Reference list – DAC List of ODA Recipients

See also the free note Measuring Aid to Water Supply and Sanitation with the key findings of the above publication.

Local Governance for Basic Urban Services – Country cases from Burkina Faso, Egypt and Sri Lanka

Blankwaardt, B., Casella, D., Smet, S. and Snel, M. (2008) Local governance for basic urban services : country cases from Burkina Faso, Egypt and Sri Lanka 2003 – 2007.  (Technical paper / IRC ; no. 51). Delft, The Netherlands, IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre. 56 p.
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The Basic Urban Services (BUS) Initiative aims to strengthen the capacity of local authorities and their partners in dealing with access to basic urban services, such as water and sanitation, in poorly serviced low-income urban neighbourhoods. These services affect the majority of the urban poor and represent the most common environmental issues needing to be addressed at local level.

This booklet presents a summary of IRC activities within the BUS framework, carried out over a five-year period (2003-2007) through an Agreement of Cooperation with UNCHS (UN-Habitat). The activities formed an integral part of the Second Phase Dutch Support to the Sustainable Cities Programme (SCP), aimed at ensuring that local partners, including municipalities, play an important role in achieving the Millennium Declaration targets for poverty reduction.

This booklet underlines how good local governance – the result of interactions, relationships and networks between different sectors of society – is a precondition for sustainable delivery and improved access to basic urban services by the urban poor. Since governance involves decision-taking and negotiation to determine who gets what, it is politically sensitive and strongly affected by power relationships.

This booklet highlights the major experiences and lessons learnt and the remaining challenges. It also suggests ways forward, in particular in scaling up BUS demonstration projects. It will be of interest not only to those involved in the BUS/SCP project, but also to readers who want to know more about the process, outcomes and future prospects for projects like this.

Managing water resources : methods and tools for a systems approach

Simonovic, S.P. (2008). Managing water resources: methods and tools for a systems approach. London, UK, Earthscan. 576 p.
Paperback ISBN: 9781844075546. Price: £39.95
Hardback ISBN 9781844075539. Price £95.00
Order online here

Water resources management is increasingly interdisciplinary and must take into account complex socioeconomic factors and environmental variables. This book describes the ’systems approach’ and its application to contemporary water resources management, focusing on three main sets of tools: simulation, optimization and multi-objective analysis. This approach is presented within the context of sustainable planning and development under conditions of uncertainty.

Managing Water Resources introduces system dynamic simulation as a tool for integrated modelling and contains coverage of the use of fuzzy sets for incorporating objective and subjective uncertainties. The book combines theory with many practical examples, as well as including programs and exercises on an accompanying CD-ROM. It composes both an advanced text for students of water resources and civil or environmental engineering and a practical guide for professionals.

About the author(s)
Slobodan P. Simonovic is a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Western Ontario, Canada.

Contents
Preface * Part I: Setting the Stage * Overview * Changing Practice * An Introduction to Water Resource Systems Management * Part II: Applied Systems Analysis * General Systems Theory * Part III: Water Resources Systems Management * Introduction to Methods * Uncertainty – A Fuzzy Set Approach * Sustainable Development * Part IV: Implementation of Tools * Simulation * Optimization * Multi-objective Analysis * Part V: Water for Our Children * The Future of Water Resource Systems Management * Index