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NECESSITY OF DATA FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION NECESSITY OF DATA FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES OF INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES

MANAGEMENT IN GCC COUNTRIES MANAGEMENT IN GCC COUNTRIES

Prepared by:HOSNY KHORDAGUI, Ph.D.

WATER & ENVIRONMENT TEAM LEADER, UN-ESCWA

TRAINING SESSION ON THE SYSTEM OF ENVIRONMENTAL-ECONOMIC ACCOUNTING FOR WATER FOR THE ARAB GULF COUNTRIES. 25-28 AUGUST, 2008, UN-ESCWA BEIRUT, LEBANON.

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WATER SITUATION IN GCC

• GCC region is considered one of the most arid areas in the world relying mostly on non-conventional water resources (Desalination & wastewater reuse) & limited groundwater resources.

• The severe water-related problems in the region have been compounded in recent years by a sharp increase in water demand due mainly to:

1. fast growing population,

2. unsustainable patterns of consumption,

3. accelerated economic development and

4. high urbanization & industrialization growth rates.

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WHAT IS IWRM?

– IWRM is an approach to promote coordinated development & management of water, land & related resources in order to maximize the resultant economic & social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems.

– In order to apply IWRM, it is fundamental to integrate not only water data but also information from social, economic, health & environmental sectors. This integration challenge is rarely addressed by scientists in the GCC Region, yet it is a reality that decision makers & politicians must deal with.

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STATUS OF IWRM IN GCC COUNTRIES• Overall assessment indicated the following:

• All GCC Countries (at various degrees) have initiated national water strategies in line with IWRM framework. Only few countries have completed these strategies;

• Most GCC Countries are undertaking some institutional & legislative measures to implement IWRM strategies;

• Very few GCC Countries have evaluated post-application of IWRM;

• In few cases the bottom-up participatory approach was adopted & the expected roles of water stakeholders & the mechanisms of coordination among them remained blurred.

• Economic instruments for demand control was found inadequate.

• Environmental component in IWRM was inadequate.

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Main accomplishments & challenges in applying IWRM in GCC Countries

• Major Accomplishments: – Framework for private sector participation; - Efficient consumer services; –

Progress in institutional & Legal reform; Improved enforcement capacity ;- Improved water infrastructure & efficiency; Improved water reuse.

• Challenges:– Dominance of supply management policies & lesser attention to demand

management;– Heavy reliance on desalinated water without adequate considerations to

associated externalities.– Lack of coordination & inadequate information generation & sharing among

relevant sectors.– Inadequate public participation in water planning & management.

• Areas in need of improvement to enhance IWRM application– Rationalization of water use & Water Demand management;– Reduce subsidies & apply more efficient cost recovery mechanisms;– Enhance partnership with civil society.– Improve water & environment monitoring for better decision making.

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CONSTRAINTS IN IMPLEMENTING IWRM IN GCC COUNTRIES

– Fragmentation of institutions concerned with water resources & lack of horizontal coordination.

– Ineffective stakeholders participation & inadequate bottom-up approach.

– Inadequate monitoring, reporting, sharing & dissemination of water quality & quantity data.

– Outdated water legislation & ineffective enforcement– Social & political debate on water services cost recovery– Supply management orientation & poor demand

management policies.

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CONCLUSION

– Implementation of IWRM requires the provision of reliable & continuous source of primary water & environment data derived from extensive monitoring & reporting programs to initiate the sequential build-up of correlations between water sector management & environmental-economic accounting.

FACT– Most of the GCC countries have developed

comprehensive environmental & water monitoring systems & improved their national statistical & reporting capacities. However, coordination among relevant sectors is inadequate.

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AVAILABILITY OF WATER DATA IN GCC COUNTRIES:

• In GCC Region there has been a relatively ample supply of data on social & economic aspects of development. This can be attributed to the long tradition of monitoring & reporting on these two aspects.

• In contrast, environmental & water indicators in GCC countries are not adequately and/or routinely & publicly reported by most governments of the region or even by most international & regional development organizations.

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WHY ?

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I- Primary water data is simply not available in the region in the same abundance or quality as economic performance data due to:

1. The generation of primary water data is a highly technical process involving well-trained field & laboratory technicians, scientists, engineers & biologists.

2. The institutions needed to generate the primary water data in its acceptable form (quality and quantity) are not regularly available in all governorates or localities.

3. The capital & operation costs for water testing laboratories as well as field automated monitoring stations are quite high.

4. The environmental management systems in some GCC Countries are not well developed yet to design & implement proper IWRM monitoring programs.

5. The existing environmental & water legislations & by-laws regulating different aspects of monitoring of water & environment are some cases either inadequate or out-dated.

6. The inadequate enforcement of water & environmental legislation in some GCC Countries diminished the response of a number of relevant sectors to meet their monitoring & reporting requirements.

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OTHER CHALLENGES & CONSTRAINTS

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II- Water Data is Often of Questionable Quality:1. A large portion of water & environmental data suffer from significant

quality uncertainty. Water & environmental date from some GCC States is lacking reliability & is unverifiable. This can be attributed to the lack of adequate QA/QC programs to cover sampling, analysis & reporting.

2. The number of certified and/or accredited water testing & environmental laboratories is limited in the GCC Region. National reference laboratories are also few in number.

3. Primary water & environmental data suffer from lack of comparability at the national, regional & global levels. The disregard of recognized uniform standard methods for water & environmental monitoring & analysis by some institutions in GCC contributed to this problem.

4. Discontinuous data monitoring, in terms of both temporal & spatial distributions, provides mostly snap shots only for hot spot areas. This lack of time series data prevents the detection of trends & patterns that can be used in environmental accounts.

5. Water & environmental monitoring programs are mostly designed to focus on the traditional aspects of environmental health rather than the general environmental aspects of socio-economic development.

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III- Water & Environment data is sometimes not disclosed, shared or reported:

1. Primary water & environment data is usually generated in the GCC Countries by a number of national & local government institutions. The lack of coordination among these institutions evidently resulted into the duplication, scattering & fragmentation of the generated primary water & environment data.

2. Few countries in the GCC Region also suffers from an underlying attitude & reluctance not to disclose or share water & environment data with other bodies or the public. This phenomenon is due to:– Political Reasons: Information on water security & environmental performance

is considered as classified information not to be disclosed. This is attributed to the sensitivity of the data & to avoid any public pressure that might alter the development agenda of governments. Also disclosure of some data on water quality deterioration might cause unnecessary public concern & unrest.

– Personal Reasons: In few cases government officials controlling water & environmental data feel that controlling information under their jurisdiction is giving them more leverage & authority.

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IV- Other Issues1. Often water & environmental data is not properly reported,

mostly raw data in thick volumes & tables full of technical jargons.

2. Most of the water & environmental data is poorly disseminated. So far, no regular data is available on electronic networks in most GCC countries.

3. Water & environmental data is not properly interpreted. This is due to severe shortage in certain technical expertise such as (environmental epidemiologists, environmental economists, biostatisticians, etc…) who are capable of correlating water & environmental data to health records, production, economic performance, social advancement, environmental valuation, etc.

4. Most water & environment data is sectoral in nature & are not used for IIWRM integrated decision making.

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WHERE DOES THE DATA CHAIN BREAKS?

1. Water & environment data might not be available in some GCC due to inadequate monitoring & inspection systems.

2. If available, it might not be continuous (Snap shots – no time series)

3. If adequate, its might not be reliable (no QA/QC)

4. If reliable, it might not be comparable.

5. If comparable, it might not be properly reported.

6. If reported, it might not be disclosed.

7. If disclosed, it might be poorly disseminated.

8. If disseminated, it might not be interpreted.

9. If interpreted, it is not linked to health & socio-economic data.

10. If linked, it is not used for IWRM integrated decision making.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

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1. Undertake comprehensive regional knowledge mapping effort to assess water & environment monitoring systems that generates primary data in terms of achievements, gaps, constraints, challenges, opportunities, lessons learned, best practices & coordination instruments.

2. Identify capacity building needs to obtain reliable, continuous & harmonious primary water data. This entails capacity building needs for establishing & operating water monitoring facilities, strengthening national statistical bureaus, adapting standard monitoring procedures, applying QA/QC program, human resources development etc.

3. Support national efforts for establishing means of coordination among various sectors that generate primary data for water & environment accounting.

4. Provide technical support to GCC Countries on mechanisms for integrating components of environmental accounting (economic & environmental).

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THANK YOU