Environmental Flows Program in partnership with ZRB Agencies/Water Authorities and Dam Operators

Transcription

1 Environmental Flows Program in partnership with ZRB Agencies/Water Authorities and Dam Operators

2 History Kafue (ZAM) and Lower Zambezi (MZ) programmes on environmental flows (ongoing) February 2008 WWF and TNC met in NL for EF ZRB 16 May 2008 first meeting ZRB agencies Zambia & Mozambique July 2008 ZRB agencies on US Tour and shared challenges were discussedzambezi DELEGATES SHARED CHALLENGES.doc Plan of Action ZRB 23 September 2008 (Songo/HCB)Action Plan ZRB Authorities and Dam Operators.xls

3 History Proposal to ZRB agencies approved 28 November 2008 (Lilongwe/Malawi)EF ZRB Programme Description FINAL (SADC).pdf Fundraising 26 March 2009 (Gorongosa) on MoU between ZRB agencies and Programme Management Structure approvedprogramme MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE FINAL SADC.doc August/September 2009 ZRB agencies involved in recruitment process programme team

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5 Situation 4 th Longest River in Africa Very high seasonal variation in river flow Unique and famous wetlands and several RAMSAR sites Abundant wildlife; many endemic and endangered 80% of 32 million valley inhabitants depend on (recession) agriculture; fish is an important source of protein Hydropower dams; Kariba Dam (1959), Cahora Bassa (1974)

6 What s going on? 90% of catchment regulated due to (single purpose) dams From single medium natural floods to erratic extreme floods Reduced retention, less groundwater recharge, changed erosion patterns Floodplain wildlife species lose habitat, altered breeding and migration patterns, mangrove systems dry up Reduced farming and fishing yields, unproductive grazing areas for wildlife and cattle Drivers: Increasing demand for energy in Southern Africa following economic growth

7 Long term vision Environmental flows are restored in the Zambezi river system The poor are provided with subsistence needs (nutritional, medicinal, housing and cultural). Enabling conditions for socio-economic development Safety levels (human and nature) increase while hydropower energy production is not jeopardised A wide variety of wildlife, many endemic and endangered, can flourish in protected wetlands and floodplains

8 What do we want to achieve The operating rules of hydropower dams in the Zambezi River Basin incorporate Environmental Flow Releases Essential freshwater resources areas in the Zambezi river basin are well protected and properly managed Tributaries/river stretches with high ecological importance are kept dam-free (ensuring environmental flows)

9 Opportunities Relative pristine catchment system CBA studies show an increase in net present value for several EF scenario s (>10 million Euro/year*) WWF already working in collaboration with ZRB agencies (Zambia and Mozambique) in EF development New dams are planned, but design and operation might still be influenced

10 How can this be achieved Understanding of ecosystem dynamics and responses Dam operation scenarios to accommodate EF while optimising hydropower production Understanding of environmental and social consequences of EF Full ownership under water management and dam authorities for EFR implementation EF supported by appropriate policies & institutional structures Investments enhanced water management

11 Results so far EF incorporated in SADC IWRM Strategy (2008) Collaboration between ZRB agencies Experiences in Kafue flats Programme proposal (including programme management structure) supported by ZRB agencies Letter of Intent with the ZRB agencies for the EF implementation Two MoUs finalised awaiting signature Wider stakeholder involvement Scoping studies discussed

12 Role of WWF Catalyse and facilitate EF development (awareness, knowledge exchange,...) Bring together river basin key-partners Lobby for wider adoption (inter-basin, world wide)

13 Strategic partners: Principal partners ZRA, ARA-Zambeze (water management) HCB, ZESCO [and ZESA] (hydropower generation) Government (Water, Environmental, Meteorological, Disaster Management Institutions) ZAMCOM Interim Secretariate Coalition partners: UNESCO-IHE, TNC, UEM, UNZA, UZ, GPZ SADC-WD World Bank WMO

14 Plans and Approaches F plans developed based on ZRB plans emand driven ownership apacity building means to goal B agencies implement program egional global knowledge WF secures priorities

15 Global Knowledge / experience African Knowledge / experience ZRB Knowledge / experience

16 Phases (Ongoing programs prepare the ground) Inception phase 18 months answer immediate questions, build capacity and have a full-environmental programme endorsed Implementation phase 3-4 years develop and implement EF Phasing out 2 years monitoring, sustainable finance

17 Modules Module 1. Building Strategic Partnerships & technical collaboration With ZRB agencies (ZRA, ARA, ZESCO, HCB) a full proposal & MoU is jointly developed Module 2. Capacity building and Ownership Determine jointly capacity needs to optimise water and dam management and implement training program

18 Modules Module 3. Institutional framework & coordination in ZRB Recommend a suitable institutional set-up for environmental flows program implementation Module 4. Scoping Studies Undertake (demand driven) studies to identify root-cause relationship concerning EFR, gather crucial knowledge and experiences on ecosystem management and identify adaptive and new approaches to sustainable ecosystem management and EFR

19 Modules Module 5. Modelling Determine preferred modelling set-up and perform first EFR modelling, including training of core staff. Module 6.Freshwater Resource Areas (FRA) Basin-wide GIS/RS identification of key FRA (headwater, retention areas, floodplains) and define recommendations for protection and management strategies

20 Modules Module 7. Monitoring Develop a tailor made hydrological, socio-economic, ecological monitoring system to be able to collect, store and share detailed parameters and monitor impact of EFR Module 8. WWF structure to support ZRB implementing their EF strategy Install a local WWF freshwater project execution team and develop a plan for a full scale project execution team (under full program)

21 Funding inception phase WWF-NL has secured unrestricted funding for programme implementation for the amount of From MFS-I for EF From RNE Total: 1,435,000

22 Thank you