Reflections and learnings: exploring integrated water resource management

This 'Dive deeper' series give readers a chance to learn more from Water for Women's experience and should be read in conjunction with our more detailed Impact Report.

As the WASH sector has evolved and matured, stakeholders have recognised that giving underserved communities safe drinking water supplies requires integration within the broader context.  It is important to understand how actions affect upstream and downstream users and the water source itself, as well as current and future users of the water source, and design for climate change. Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) is such a holistic approach to water, usually at the catchment or river basin scale, and is a collaborative approach to planning and managing all the elements of the water cycle.

While IWRM was not common in the WfW Extension Phase, several projects (e.g. SNV Bhutan, Plan Solomon Islands, WaterAid PNG) began to explore water security and water quality issues by considering the catchments around their target communities. The Plan Indonesia project in particular successfully integrated IWRM principles into its project; its key achievements and lessons are outlined below.

The WfW Independent Final Evaluation report pointed to the need for CSOs engaging in IWRM to consider water as a technical issue and an environmental asset, and thus invest in science and engineering. This is a valid perspective, requiring substantial resources to undertake.  Water science and engineering – such as mapping groundwater or measuring hydrological flows – is but one component of managing water.  The political and rights issue is another key component and one that CSOs often address. With climate change making water resource insecurity and conflict more acute and prevalent, the political component of water resource management will be even more critical.  Bringing these different perspectives together will be important for addressing these multi-faceted challenges.

Achievements

The Plan Indonesia project commenced trialling an IWRM approach towards the end of its first phase project utilising the WfW ‘Innovation and Impact’ funding as a means to complement its success in achieving high levels of sanitation and hygiene coverage. Further, it was evident that the government’s country-wide rural water supply provisions program had many systems in the project area becoming defunct, and that there was an increase in drought and absence of alternative water sources in these project areas.  The project’s integrated water management (IWM) approach subsequently became a key feature of the project in its Extension Phase. 

District IWM forums were established in Manggarai and Sumbawa with the project’s support. The forums included multi-sectoral government representatives (from planning, forestry, environment, disaster management, public works, the river basin management centre, social agencies, mining), local CSOs, OPDs, WOs and indigenous communities. The district IWM forums sought to be a collaborative platform for planning and management of water resources and support the voices of women, PWD and indigenous communities.

Within the 2-year Extension Phase, the district IWM forums undertook disaster risk education, irrigation improvements, dam construction, water testing, water conflict mediation and action planning, reforestation and spring conservation. This included planting 159,499 trees and mangroves in 22 protected areas and water sources in collaboration with youth groups, traditional leaders and religious leaders. (Plan’s video about the IWM forum approach can be found HERE.) Within the relatively short implementation period, the 2 IWM forums formalised their relationships with relevant governments and district heads, which recognised the effectiveness of this approach. Both forums have action plans and budget allocation and have scheduled regular meetings to continue beyond the life of the project. Given the value of this approach, Plan Australia and Plan Indonesia will continue an IWM project beyond WfW using DFAT ANCP funding.

Lessons

Plan Indonesia’s IWRM approach provided some useful lessons for the WASH sector.

Inclusive water planning elevated the voices of marginalised people, particularly women and PWD, in dialogue with government decision-makers. In both Phase 1 and the Extension Phase of WfW, the project strove to build the agency of these groups to participate in discussions and engage meaningfully with government, and to create an enabling environment for this type of collaboration. Both IWM forums remain active thanks to continued institutional funding, so can be considered both effective and sustainable.

IWM scale. This project’s experience does not confirm that an IWM forum can increase year-round water supply to poor communities at a catchment level. The Plan Indonesia project was successful in securing increased access to water supply for one community in Sumbawa through water conflict mediation, but this was not a goal of the district IWRM forums. Further research is needed to see if an IWM approach at district or catchment level can incorporate CSO WASH programs. Plan Indonesia will support its IWM approach beyond WfW, so can determine whether district IWM forums can drive long-term strategic change in government provision of reliable safe drinking water for poor communities in their jurisdiction.

Supporting rights holders. This case study highlighted that domestic water used within a district or catchment level is insignificant compared to the volumes consumed in agriculture, farming or mining. The Manggarai forum advocated for more sustainable mining practices that preserved water resources. The Sumbawa forum promoted sustainable farming practices, including upstream conservation to increase groundwater recharge. These practices can benefit rural communities (noting that industry is not the root cause of these communities’ lack of safely managed water supplies).

A more strategic entry point for CSO WASH programs’ application of IWM is at the water source level (that is, small-scale water resource conversation) because it affects project communities directly. This can also prevent maladaptation associated with risk-informed planning and implementation of water supply systems. Furthermore, CSOs that participate in catchment or similar large-scale IWRM forums should advocate for year-round water supplies that support community WASH outcomes directly, rather than directing efforts to establish and drive the forums themselves given the largest focus will inevitably be industry as the biggest water users.