Participatory Watershed Governance Water Sustainability at Scale through Inclusive Approaches

Participatory Watershed Governance Water Sustainability at Scale through Inclusive Approaches Abstract Participatory watershed management has been identified as a key focus area in the 12 th five year plan of the Government of India to address India s daunting water challenges. In the context of compounding water challenges and the interconnectedness of water with the challenges of food, energy, and livelihood security, there is a need for participatory watershed governance for achieving the goals of food security, rural livelihood security, ecological security, and industrial growth and urbanization. Participatory watershed governance implies bringing stakeholders together at multiple scales to generate collective action founded on good data, tools, technologies and knowledge. It requires working towards the development of a Water Governance System (WGS) that will systematically collect and analyze data using various tools, technologies and knowledge, and integrate the elements in a structured system that is accessible to anyone involved in participatory watershed governance. Combining participatory and inclusive approaches, there is a need to catalyze large-scale collective action by stakeholders across private sector, government, civil society and communities to effectively demonstrate water security in select watershed areas. Recognizing private sector leadership as a pivotal contributor to the sustainable water management and inclusive growth agenda at the community level, International Finance Corporation together with lead corporate partners is developing a national level program, Corporate Action for Water Security (CAWS) for the creation of shared prosperity through sustainable growth of industries, agribusiness promotion and community livelihood security. Disclaimer, Rights and Permissions: All rights reserved This document may contain advice, opinions, and statements of various information and content providers. IFC does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or other information provided by any information provider or content provider, or any user of this publication or other person or entity. 1

Context The future scenario of water in India is becoming increasingly bleak with the growing water requirements implied by economic and population growth. The demand-supply gap for water is projected to touch ~755 billion m 3 by the year 2030 1. In India, agriculture accounts for the highest water consumption (~85%), and Indian farmers account for 91% of the total groundwater use. Despite heavy investments by the Government of India in irrigation and drainage development since the 1960s, the area under surface water irrigation has actually been declining in recent years. At the same time, the area irrigated using groundwater has dramatically increased resulting in severe groundwater stress in many states 2. The agricultural sector suffers from gross irrigation inefficiencies and huge knowledge and capacity gaps among the farmers leading to low agricultural and water productivity. Although multiple agencies are involved, lack of joint accountability, functional coordination, and collective actions severely limit sustainable development of land and water resources. Knowledge gaps, lack of access to water-efficient technologies, absence of concerted decision-making at the (sub) river basin level, inaccurate practices due to lack of scientific data, and absence of large-scale multi-stakeholder action on solutions further constrain optimal productivity of Indian agriculture, rural community development, and industrial water use. In this context, policy makers are promoting the concept of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) at the basin level for holistic solutions to the water challenges in the country to address food security, rural livelihood security, ecological sustainability, and industrial growth and urbanization. Figure 1: Groundwater demand as compared to availability in 11 states in India 3 1 Charting our Common Water Future, McKinsey, 2030 Water Resources Group, 2009 2 National Water Resources Framework Study, Council on Energy, Environment and Water and the 2030 Water Resources Group, 2011 3 Council for Energy, Environment, and Water 2

The Twelfth Five Year Plan of the Government of India expresses the need for a paradigm shift to address the daunting challenges of the Indian water sector 4. The new paradigm presents a strong focus on: Multi-disciplinary and participatory management of water Enhanced water use efficiency Sustainable management of groundwater resources Watershed restoration and groundwater recharge New approaches to rural drinking water and sanitation Integrated urban water supply and sewage systems Recycling and reuse of water by Indian Industry Non-structural mechanisms for flood management Improved systems of water-related data collection and management as well as transparency in the availability of data New legal and institutional framework for water Despite the policy intent towards IWRM, there are currently no mechanisms in place that allow the government to connect IWRM with local stakeholders at the watershed level, a critical step to effect demand management by water users across the agricultural, municipal and industrial sectors. Private sector leadership is being increasingly recognized as a pivotal contributor to the sustainable and inclusive growth agenda at the community level. Key Element #1: To kick off the process of Participatory Watershed Governance (PWG), one or more stakeholders have to display the leadership to bring in all other relevant stakeholders and start a discussion on watershed issues. In line with the above vision of the Twelfth Five Year Plan and in close collaboration with its private sector clients, IFC is applying the concept of Participatory Watershed Governance to catalyze collective action to address the country s escalating water challenges. IFC together with lead corporate partners is designing a national-level program on Corporate Action for Water Security (CAWS). The program aims to develop highimpact participatory (sub)-river basin action platforms in select geographies together with key private sector clients, supported by a scientific toolkit for engagement and public-private-community dialogue for national policy-level transformation. Participatory Watershed Governance - Concept and Components Participatory Watershed Governance (PWG) implies bringing stakeholders together at multiple scales to generate collective action founded on good data, tools, technologies and knowledge. It is an inclusive process resulting in the development of a jointly agreed watershed vision and associated objectives so that stakeholders are empowered to define and undertake take joint actions in the watershed. 4 Faster, More inclusive and Sustainable Growth, volume 1, Planning Commission, Government of India: http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/planrel/12thplan/welcome.html 3

Key Element #2: In Participatory Water Governance, the focus should be on action with a long term alignment towards the watershed vision. Action should be initiated as early as possible to capitalize on momentum and opportunity in the watershed. The four elements of PWG are: (1) scale, (2) stakeholders, (3) data/tools/technology/knowledge, and (4) collective action. Scale Water management is very sensitive to issues of scale due to the presence of multiple scalar levels in any hydrological system, including sub watersheds, watersheds, sub river basins, and river basins. Groundwater aquifers bring in their own issues of scale in cases where large deep groundwater aquifers combined with alluvial aquifers directly connect to nearby rivers. Water management challenges generally occur in different forms at various levels of scale. Often the solution lies in addressing different scales simultaneously. For example, falling groundwater tables in a certain locality is directly related to the unavailability of surface water. In turn, the unavailability of surface water might result from over-abstraction of water in upstream locations of the watershed. To define a solution to this challenge, the local scale and watershed level scales need to be addressed in parallel. The administrative system encompasses scales such as that of the Nation, the State, the District, the Block and the Panchayat. To address water use challenges at the village or individual farmer level requires not only a change in practices at that level but also engagement with institutions and policies at higher levels in order to produce the enabling environment for change. For effective water governance, integration of solutions across scales is vital. For example, policy changes at the State or District scales will not be effective if they are not seamlessly integrated into and supportive of improved farming practices at the individual farmer scale. Participatory Watershed governance implies integrating solutions across hydrological, agro-ecological and administrative levels at scale. Figure 2: The various hydrological and administrative scales in Participatory Water Governance. Collective action will be effective at the meso scale of engagement, while linking all five critical levels of Integrated Water Resources Management and driving impact at scale. 4

Stakeholders Water as a common resource requires that its governance: Addresses the needs of all the users Focuses on solution development Adopts democratic processes for decision making on water sharing challenges The stakeholder groups in water management generally comprise the private sector, farmers, citizens / communities, government, and knowledge providers. Initiating the process of participatory watershed governance requires a specific stakeholder/ group to assume the role of leader or driver and catalyze other actors into the process for inclusive and coordinated approaches for action. Key Element #3: To sustain PWG, inclusive and transparent stakeholder platforms are required so that stakeholders can jointly decide on plans and actions to improve water use and management in the watershed in light of the watershed vision. Participatory Watershed Governance brings stakeholders together on an equal footing around the challenges in a given watershed so that information can be shared, needs can be expressed, views can be heard, and inclusive decision making and collective action can take place. Key Element #4: PWG implies coordination between the stakeholders in a watershed in such a way that activities are aligned across sectors, linked to the watershed vision and objectives, and democratically agreed upon. Figure 3: Stakeholders in Participatory Watershed Management 5

Data/ Tools / Technologies and Knowledge Systems Good reliable information is of paramount importance for decision making and for evaluating the outcomes of decision making. Data on water availability (rain, surface and groundwater) and water use in India is fragmented, disconnected, and incomplete to adequately inform policy, decision making, and design of interventions at the various levels. Where available, data are often scattered across multiple agencies and at different levels. Large gaps exist in topography, land use, land cover data and particularly environmental and ecosystem, agricultural productivity, socio-economic and demographic data in watersheds. The availability of sensitive remote sensing technologies and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as well as the availability of historical and real time weather and climate datasets provides a strong potential for increasing the availability of relevant data to stakeholders to manage water resources better. Integrating these data and providing transparent public access to it is imperative for the cause of Participatory Watershed Governance. Key Element #5: PWG is underpinned by state of the art knowledge and information that is openly accessible and available to all stakeholders and that is used in the process of definition of coordinated action and can provide standardized metrics to monitor and evaluate the results of coordinated action in the watershed. Over the years, a large body of tools, technologies and knowledge has been built nationally and globally in watershed management, agricultural practices and irrigation technologies to increase the efficiency of water use in agriculture. The challenge is to adapt these to local situations and provide accessibility of such information and instruments to farmers to decrease their water use while maintaining or even increasing productivity. Participatory Watershed Governance requires systems that: Provide data for water management at different scales and for various parameters (water use, water availability, land use cover, environment, and socio-economics) Ensure tools, technologies and knowledge are accessible and available to all stakeholders in a transparent fashion Figure 4: System components required for Participatory Watershed Management Collective Action There is emerging alignment towards the goal of participatory water action across various actors, including the government s policy framework of Integrated Water Resources Management, collective action approaches of NGOs to water management, and private sector readiness for watershed sustainability action. Over the past few years, the private sector has increasingly started to underwrite the notion of collective 6

action as the required approach for addressing the water challenges at hand 5 6. Water is recognized as a shared resource or commons 7, availability or non-availability of which has risks and implications for all users 8. The commons approach recognizes a stake to water for all stakeholders and advocates collective engagement and action for sustainable water management. Key Element #6: PWG requires integration of decision making across the relevant sectors and policies affecting the watershed. These comprise agriculture, industry, community livelihoods and poverty reduction, domestic water supply, urban development, fisheries and environment. Collective water action implies that people and organizations work together (collective) and execute together (action) for a common cause. Collective action uses an action learning cycle (see figure 5 below) in which new actions are shaped on the basis of the learning from previous experiences. Every action brings new knowledge and experience that shapes the design and execution of subsequent actions. This implies that there is joint definition, execution, monitoring, and learning, yielding more sustainable water use as a desired outcome. Figure 5: Action learning cycle as a means for collective action 9 Communication is a critical element of collective action for offering all stakeholders the opportunity to participate in the movement towards water sustainability. True collective action requires broad, transparent and inclusive communication and information provision across society. 5 CEO Water Mandate an Initiative by Business Leaders in partnership with the international community (2011) 6 Sharing Water, engaging Business, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (2013) 7 Adapted from Foundation of Ecological Security 8 Investigation Shared Risk in Water, WWF (2009) 9 Adapted from Foundation of Ecological Security 7

Key Element #7: PWG should have proper communications processes and instruments in place that are inclusive, accessible, and open to ensure free flow of information and participation of all stakeholders in the watershed Essential Elements for Participatory Watershed Governance In addition to the above-mentioned components of Participatory Watershed Governance, there are other essential features of initiatives focused on collective action: Community Involvement and Inclusive Business Models Community involvement is a crucial element of collaboration and decision-making for Participatory Water Governance. The need to incorporate inclusive Bottom of the Pyramid business models for increasing water and agricultural productivity was recognized as a key driver to the process. As part of the interventions towards effecting behavioral change at the individual level, three key factors were articulated: Facilitating access for the community to data, technology and tools Collecting and synthesizing data emerging from interventions to guide future actions Providing a decision making framework for community ownership and action on water sustainability and governance Environment The environment is an essential element that must be explicitly addressed in any initiative on large scale watershed management. Ecosystem components like forestry and wetlands, and ecosystem-based approaches such as ecological flow requirements must be considered as critical components of sustainable watershed management interventions, particularly where community commons can be restored to productive use. Collaboration and Coordination Through Data and Knowledge Collaboration among the stakeholders at all levels of the watershed allows for well-informed decisions for collective action. To achieve this, data pertaining to the various levels of watershed management should be made available to all participants, together with the necessary tools to gain new knowledge. Standardized Metrics and Result Measurement In addition to data accessibility, strong metrics are required to evaluate the outcomes of collective action as well as provide transparency and accountability to stakeholders. Development of standardized metrics for baselining, modeling, measurement, monitoring and impact assessment was reiterated as an important action agenda of Participatory Water Governance. Participatory Actions Require Patience While solving pressing water challenges at hand requires rapid concerted action sooner rather than later, the participation of all stakeholders in developing and implementing collective action requires substantial patience. The interplay between the urgency of the water issues and the patience required for participatory processes needs attention in the process of developing engagements. Water Governance System (WGS) Information is paramount to support the implementation and evaluation of Participatory Watershed Governance. With the aim of establishing scientific approaches to collective action and aiding participants, a Water Governance System (WGS) is required to systematically collect and analyze data using various tools, technologies and knowledge, and integrate the elements in a structured system that is accessible to all stakeholders. 8

Key functions served by such a system include: Design of large-scale initiatives grounded in knowledge and data, including baselining Implementation of collective action through identification of relevant tools and technologies Measurement, Monitoring and Evaluation of implementation results Continuous learning from collective action As part of the monitoring and evaluation function of WGS, the system could be employed to provide standardized metrics for measuring the results and impact of collective actions, allowing users to aggregate information across stakeholders. In addition, data inputs, data integration and knowledge discovery could be supported in a modern crowdsourced enterprise, allowing for stakeholder inputs to the system in the form of data, tools and knowledge collection. Figure 6: WGS architecture as part of Participatory Water Governance Figure 6 showcases WGS as an integral and essential part of the process of Participatory Watershed Governance. The WGS architecture houses the data, technology and tools, and the knowledge components to support collective action by stakeholders at various scales through a continuous cycle of collection, analysis, and discovery of information, knowledge and tools. Data Technology and tools Knowledge Climate, weather, soils, topography, crop condition, water consumption, abstraction, groundwater levels, market data, environmental data, cropping patterns, watershed delineation, socio-economic, demography Remote sensing, Geographic Information System (GIS), weather predictions, Evapo-transpiration models, watershed models, groundwater models, ICTs, networks, advanced irrigation technologies Community approaches, farming methods/ agri mechanization, planning, communications, water management systems, project management, monitoring and evaluation, metrics Table 1: Types of Data, Tools/Technology and Knowledge that the WGS will contain Data for the WGS will come from a wide range of sources, including stakeholders, government agencies, academic researchers, satellite sensors and individuals and communities collecting their own data. Beginning with baseline data, additional data will be collected, derived or integrated from various sources to provision 9

the WGS data structure. This data will be accessible to all program stakeholders, supporting system functions at all scales. Technology and Tools for the WGS will provide software algorithms, processes, models and methods that can be applied to the system data stores. These tools will support data integration, reporting, and visualization for improved situational understanding and knowledge generation. This includes software tools like Geographic Information Systems and advanced data sources like Remote Sensing. Additional tools such as predictive analyses and future projected conceptualization can also be integrated into such a system. Knowledge base of the WGS is a dynamic function, assembling the various products, graphics, maps and outcomes of WGS processing, and providing transparent and accessible information on past and current knowledge at the required project scale. This knowledge will also aid risk assessment of projected actions, and prioritization of activities according to constraints of logistics or cost. The WGS architecture will provide the framework to build a data repository, house software and tools necessary for collaborative work, and support the collective governance structure of the first participating communities. The design of the WGS will incorporate open data access and sharing, and build on the agreed management objectives of stakeholders. Corporate Action for Water Security (CAWS) In order to operationalize the concept of Participatory Watershed Governance, IFC is establishing a program on Corporate Action for Water Security (CAWS) in India. The program promotes action-oriented approaches for sustainable water management, in partnership with leading private sector companies. The partnership with private sector partners will focus on water security and the creation of shared prosperity through sustainable growth of industries, agribusiness promotion, and community livelihood security. In addition to the participatory and inclusive approach, the below-mentioned elements form the founding framework for CAWS in India: Demonstrated leadership of key private sector stakeholders for implementation of action programs, process ownership and thought leadership, in tandem with other actors, focusing on industrial water efficiency/ effluent treatment, agricultural water efficiency, and community livelihood promotion Development of a Water Governance System housed within a Participatory Water Governance Knowledge Center for development of information, tools, technologies etc for scientific approaches to engagement, sharing of best practices, development of a unified results measurement framework, and deployment of tools through pilot programs Alignment of initiatives with the policy framework through public-private community dialogue and bottom-up inputs into national water discussions The program supports joint decision-making and a business-planning driven approach for financial sustainability of initiatives, and promotes transparent, inclusive, and equitable approaches for sustainable water management in India. Contact Information: Bastiaan Mohrmann, bmohrmann@ifc.org Raj Ganguly, rganguly@ifc.org Rochi Khemka rkhemka@ifc.org www.ifc.org 10