Why Environmental Flows? Why Environmental Flows?

Transcription

1 Environmental Flows and Institutional Provisions for Management in Semi Arid South Western Zimbabwe The Mzingwane Case Study Tabeth Matiza Chiuta and Cathrine Mutambirwa IUCN Regional Office for Southern Africa Presentation Outline Introduction Why Environmental Flows (EF) Defining Environmental Flows Overview of Institutional Frameworks for EF. Catchment Introducing Mzingwane Catchment Institutional Framework used for Assessment of EF Enabling Institutional Framework Technical Assessment Approach Key Issues and Challenges. Why Environmental Flows? Satisfying growing human demands for water while protecting the aquatic ecosystems - a major challenge for the 21st Century Equity, efficiency & ecological integrity - key conceptual pillars of IWRM & sustainable development Environment - increasingly being recognized as a sectoral user of water In IWRM need to safeguard vital ecosystems & environmental sustainability Growing interest & attention for IWRM processes that incorporates ecosystem functions and values Why Environmental Flows? Political commitment to safeguarding environmental integrity MDGS, NEPAD, AMCOW, SADC & National governments Widespread degradation of aquatic ecosystems & loss of valuable goods and services resulting in poverty Environmental flows - critical to the realization of the MDG on ensuring environmental sustainability

2 Environmental flow is the water regime provided within a river, wetland or coastal zone to maintain ecosystems and their benefits where there are competing water uses and where flow is regulated (Megan Dyson, et al (eds) 2003) Richards Davis and Rafik Hirji, 2003, defined Environmental flows as the water that is left in a river ecosystem, or released into it for specific purpose of managing the condition of that ecosystem This is water allocated to an ecosystem to meet the requirement of a chosen condition (negotiated) following a process of environmental, social and economic assessment Environmental flows - different from the ecological water requirements for the maintenance of an ecosystem in close to pristine condition The goal of environmental flows is to provide a flow regime that is adequate in terms of quantity, quality and timing for sustaining the health of the rivers and other aquatic ecosystems Failure to maintain such flows has led to a decline in the health of many of the world s water dependent ecosystems Environmental flows provide critical contributions to: o River health promotes sustenance of ecological features of river systems which depend on regular fluctuation of flow regimes o Economic development - sustains the natural resource capital for economic development and livelihoods o Poverty alleviation through ecosystem goods & services o Ensure the continued availability of the many benefits that healthy river and groundwater systems bring to society

3 Overview of EF Institutional Frameworks Institutional arrangements & frameworks - a prerequisites for effective determination and management of EF Functional institutional framework - required to serve as a vehicle for implementation at local, national and regional levels Experiences & Best practices of institutional provisions for EF are limited Traditionally EF determination & management was assigned to water resources engineers as part of dam design & operation Overview of EF Institutional Frameworks Applications of EF focussed on single species or on a single issue EF application - broadened to include EF as a key social, economic and environmental issue EF - now including multidisciplinary teams of experts Achieving consensus of opinion, among the different stakeholder groups is key. Institutional Frameworks for Environmental Flows Establishment of EF is a complicated process that involves numerous stakeholders Institutional frameworks - one of the enabling conditions for successful determination & management of EF Zambian experience - partnership approach involving ZESCO, Department of Water Affairs and WWF (an international organization). South Africa there are number of institutions involved the water management areas, water committees and fora, water user associations, catchment management agencies, central government and water tribunal Institutional Frameworks for Environmental Flows South Australia Murray-Darling Basin - provides explicit examples & experiences on institutional arrangements for EF management Formal management structures to ensure: integration, coordination and community engagement, Clarity of institutional roles & responsibilities South Australia Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board Stakeholder reference groups (or environmental flows reference groups) & catchment management authorities Cooperative model - between various levels of government and different social, economic and environmental stakeholders

4 Institutional Provisions for EF in Mzingwane Location of the catchment Characteristics of the catchment High spatial and temporal variability in rainfall and runoff, rainfall is erratic High evaporation - 10% of the rainfall ends up as runoff in the rivers Frequent droughts & high transmission loses due to siltation of river channels Mzingwane River is an ephemeral river with flow generally restricted to the rainy season Prone to cyclones Characteristics of the catchment Contributes 9.3% of the mean annual runoff of the Limpopo Basin Catchment is highly developed and contains large areas of irrigation and a number of dams 83% of its total annual potential water yield is captured and stored Mzingwane sub-catchment support urban and rural water supply, farming and industrial activities from both surface and ground waters Water supply for the City of Bulawayo Insignificant water allocation to the environment Hydrology & Water Resources

5 - Subcatchments Main Vegetation Types Organogram of the Catchment Council MWENEZI L MZINGWANE ZINWA BOARD CATCHMENT COUNCIL U MZINGWANE SHASHE Ministry of Water Resources and Infrastructure Development Zimbabwe National Water Authority Catchment Councils Sub catchment councils Framework Used for EF Assessment Framework Used: Ministry of Water Resources and Development ZINWA Catchment Management Agency City of Bulawayo District Authorities

6 Institutional Provisions for EF in Mzingwane Framework Used for EF Assessment Consultations at: project inception phase preliminary site visit stage during methodology development initiation of field assessments in between the field assessments at conclusion of analysis. Framework Used for EF Assessment Framework Used: Department of Water - Ministry of Water Resources and Infrastructure Development endorsement of EF work Mzingwane Catchment Council ZINWA Catchment Office champion and driver at the catchment level City of Bulawayo owner of the key dams, water user Multidisciplinary Team of Experts carried out actual assessment of environmental flows District Authorities mobilised communities and provided support to technical team Technical EF Assessment Multidisciplinary Team of Specialists: collected data & information on the describe the past and present status of the catchment Analysis of the dependence on water resources from various sector perspectives including hydrology and hydraulics, vegetation, sociology and economics, agriculture, geomorphology, aquatic invertebrates and fisheries. Outcomes used to create predictions of how potential future flow management & water allocations could affect the condition of the river and the users of its resources Holistic Approach: Provided for assessment of the ecosystem components & development of flow scenarios Enabled linkages between river flow and river condition The DRIFT software (Downstream Response to Imposed Flow Transformation), (developed by Southern Waters Pvt Ltd.) was used for analysis Key Issues & Challenges Water in the Mzingwane catchment is already over allocated - negotiating the reallocation is a challenge Absence of appropriate tools and guidelines to implement environmental flows General lack of capacity to determine and manage environmental flows Inadequate information for comprehensive environmental flow assessments Limited and/or absence of flow in the river - imposing limitations in the choices of livelihood options

7 Key Issues & Challenges No Clear Institutional Framework for Managing Environmental Flows No coordination & commitment Other key public institutions & local communities were not involved Limited/no coordination between ZINWA and EMA on EF Key Issues & Challenges Low Priority accorded to Environmental Flows ZINWA Board, catchment and sub-catchment councils Limited budget provision Weak Institutional Capacity EF Assessment Implementation Enforcement & monitoring Key Issues & Challenges Poor Stakeholder Engagement & Participation communication and networking, and information sharing Absence of Well-Defined Roles and Responsibilities Roles for different stakeholders who should take responsibility for environmental flow use impacts who should pay for environmental flow implementation accountability regarding delivery of environmental flows THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION