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INSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS OF INTEGRATED

WATERSHED MANAGEMENT

PAYMENT FOR WATERSHED SERVICES

18TH KATOOMBA MEETING – FOREST, WATER AND PEOPLE

BEIJING, CHINA

MAY 14-19, 2013

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Initial Institutional Arrangements for

Integrated Watershed Management

• Intention and knowledge of what should exist

• Need for Institutional Reforms

• The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana –

Provision was made in Article 269 (1) for the establishment

of Natural Resources Commissions such as the Minerals

Commission, Lands Commission, Forestry Commission,

the Environmental Protection Agency, Water Resources

Commission, Public Utilities Regulatory Commission,

Local Government Assemblies among others. None of the

entities has the primary responsibility for watershed

management than the Water Resources Commission.

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Laws on Watershed Management

Laws on watershed management have been passed to

ensure sustainable utilization and management of

water resources as well as the provision of sanitation

services in watersheds and include:

• Beliefs and rules on water use and sanitation that are

well entrenched in the traditional settings in Ghana

• Volta River Development Act 46 of 1961

• PNDCL 256 Fisheries Law of 1991

• 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana

• Local Government Act 462 of 1993

• Ghana Water Company Act 461 of 1993

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Laws on Watershed Management (Continuation)

• Minerals Commission Act 450 of 1993

• Environmental Protection Agency Act 490 of 1994

• Lands Commission Act 483 of 1994

• Water Resources Commission Act 522 of 1996

• Public Utilities Regulation Commission Act 538 of

1997

• National Water Policy of 2007

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ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WATER

RESOURCES COMMISSION

• Act 522 of 1996

• Secretariat of the Water Resources Commission – Head

Office, was set up in 1998

• The Commission is composed of a Chairman who shall not

be a Minister or a Deputy Minister and one person

representing each of the following institutions:

• the Ghana Water Company Limited

• Organizations producing potable water

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ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WATER RESOURCES

COMMISSION (CONTINUATION)

• the Hydrological Services Department of the Ministry

of Water Resources, Works and Housing

• the Volta River Authority

• the Irrigation Development Authority

• the Water Research Institute

• the Ghana Meteorological Agency

• the Environmental Protection Agency

• the Forestry Commission

• the Minerals Commission and

• the Executive Secretary (WRC Act 522, 1996).

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Sources of Funding of the

Water Resources Commission

Funding to support the Water Resources

Commission is derived from the:

• Government of Ghana and from the

• Water Management Account that is generated

mainly through Water Use Permitting and

Drilling Licensing.

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Baseline Studies

With support from DANIDA, the following baseline

studies were carried out from 1998 to 2004, besides

watershed pollution control activities throughout

Ghana:

• Water Resources Management Study of the Coastal,

Southwestern and Volta River Systems of Ghana,

May, 1998

• Water Resources Management Problem

Identification, Analysis and Prioritization Study in

Ghana, June, 2000

• Rapid Environmental Assessment of the Densu

Basin, July, 2001

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Baseline Studies (Continuation)

• Identification of Major Trends in the Socio-economic

Development in the Densu Basin of Relevance for

Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)

and Compilation of Participatory Methods of

Relevance for IWRM in the Densu Basin, February,

2003

• Groundwater Assessment of the Densu Basin, July,

2003

• Towards Establishment of an IWRM Structure for the

Densu Basin, June, 2004

• Training Needs Assessment of Stakeholders and

Vegetation Cover Survey in the Densu Basin,

October, 2004

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Impact of Baseline Studies

Recommendations from the

baseline studies informed the

selection and setting up of the

Densu Basin management structure

and instituted a good number of the

initial interventions with respect to

the introduction of IWRM in the

Densu Basin.

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PROCEDURE FOR SETTING UP BASIN

MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

• Carrying out of baseline studies and generation of relevant

technical and administrative documents

• Survey to identify stakeholders

• Stakeholders’ consultative meetings

• Engagement of Basin Officer and Basin Board

• Setting up of Basin Secretariat and acquisition of

accommodation for Basin Officer

• Assumption of Basin Management Activities

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RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BASIN OFFICER

• Carry out the day-to-day management and

administration of the Basin Office

• Serve as the Secretary to the Basin Board

• Oversee the implementation of IWRM Plan of the

Basin

• Ensure effective collaboration with relevant

stakeholders for the management of the Basin

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RESONSIBILITIES OF THE BASIN OFFICER

(CONTINUATION)

• Liaise with the Heads of Departments of Legal and

Monitoring, and Environmental Quality to ensure the

regulation and licensing of water users and

monitoring compliance

• Liaise with Heads of Information and Education

Department in undertaking education and public

awareness activities

• Serve as the focal point for donor related projects in

the Basin.

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RESONSIBILITIES OF THE BASIN OFFICER

(CONTINUATION)

The Basin Officer has to report through:

• Progress Reports (Board Meetings)

• Minutes (Board Meetings)

• Quarterly Reports

• Annual Reports

• Special Reports

Note: There are formats for all these reports.

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FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF BASIN

MANAGEMENT IN GHANA

• Timeless

• Employment of the concept of Integrated Water Resources

Management

• Open to sub-catchment Projects; e.g. The Urban Catchment

Management Project which was supported by UN-HABITAT at

the Weija Area of the Densu Basin and PAGEV in

Bolga./Burkina Faso Area of the White Volta Basin with

support by the IUCN

• Open to basin-wide projects and programmes

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DEFINITION OF INTEGRATED WATER

RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IWRM)

IWRM is a process which promotes the co-

ordinated development and management of

water, land and related resources, in order to

maximize the resultant economic and social

welfare in an equitable manner without

compromising the sustainability of vital

ecosystems

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KEY FACTORS IN IWRM

• Land

• Water

• People

• Interactions among these factors determine

the environmental quality of the RIVER BASIN

and could spell Climate Variability or Climate

Change.

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ACTIVITIES OF THE BASIN BOARD AND

SECRETARIAT

• Quarterly Board Meetings

• Progress Reports are made at all Board Meetings

• Presentations on technical/developmental issues on the Basin are made at most Board Meetings

PURPOSE: To build the capacity of Board Members

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STUDY TOUR OF RIVER BASINS

Must be carried out all over the Basin at the:

• Upstream

• Midstream

• Downstream

to provide a first impression about issues within and

around the Basin and to verify baseline studies. The

follow-up activity to the study tour is the ecological

monitoring.

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Study Tour (1)

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FORMATION OF COMMITTEES OF BASIN BOARDS

(e.g. DENSU BASIN BOARD)

• Land Use Management Committee

• Waste Management Committee

• Awareness Creation and Education Committee

• Programme & Budget committee

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AWARENESS CREATION AND EDUCATION

ACTIVITIES

• Generation/Production of educational materials/information

• Radio/TV Programmes

• Community Durbars in collaboration with NGOs/CBO

• Target group negotiations/discussions (e.g. School Health Educational Programme - SHEP)

• Regional Co-ordinating Councils and Local Government Assemblies Awareness Raising/Educational Programmes

• School Visitations/ Sympozia

• Provision of information to various study teams and students writing their theses or on attachment as well as journalists

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Symposium at a Second Cycle Institution

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Seminar for Health Trainee Workers

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LAND USE & WASTE MANAGEMENT ISSUES

• Tackling of sand winning, quarrying, ‘Galamsey’ and fairly large scale mining of gold; e.g. Atewa bauxite mining, flooding, pollution/land degradation, poor waste management technologies, relocation/management of landfill site problems, etc.

• Collaborating with:

-EPA

-Local Government Assemblies

-Public Organizations

-NGOs, FBOs & CBOs

-Concerned Individuals

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Dredging to save flooding

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Commissioning of Garbage Containers

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Commissioning of Household Latrines

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Handing over of Memorandum of Understanding

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LAND USE & WASTE MANAGEMENT

(CONTINUATION - MONITORING)

The following monitoring activities are carried out in

watersheds:

• Moves to stop pollution in some areas of watersheds

(‘hot spots’)

• Monitoring of Water Quality

• Ecological Monitoring

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Ecological Monitoring Team Discussing Buffer Strip Width

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ILLEGAL MINING SCENE (1)

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ILLEGAL MINING SCENE (2)

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SOME POSITIVE OUTCOMES – DENSU BASIN

• CBOs, NGOs and concerned individuals growing trees in response to educational programmes and with support from Local Government Assemblies

• Voluntary reporting of issues relating to water resources management by the general public

• Co-operation from politicians

• Readiness of community groups to embark upon water catchment restoration/rehabilitation micro projects

• NGOs CBOs and FBOs seeking resources from development partners to carry out awareness creation, training on water management issues and water catchment restoration activities

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WATERSHED MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES

• Recalcitrance with respect to pollution and

encroachment

• Habits/attitudes of pollution and encroachment of water

catcments with impunity

• Political interference

• Weak law enforcement as a result of lack of adequate

knowledge by security personnel/ compromising/

pursuance of self interests

• Sustaining public awareness and education

• Inadequate capacity by Local Government Assemblies

• Relationships

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Law Enforcement Challenges

Laws on watersheds are not being enforced properly due to:

• Familiarity among the Ghanaian populace that is derived

through family relations, school and work place

colleagues, church membership links, etc.

• Attitudes of people that are not willing to change

• Poor planning, management and maintenance culture

• Poverty and

• Lack of the requisite logistics or equipment for law

enforcement agencies.

Each of these challenges would have to be drastically

dealt with to realize good sanitation in watersheds

countrywide.

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THE WAY FORWARD

• The WRC is working towards setting up River Basin Management Structures all over Ghana

• Intensification and sustainability of awareness creation and education

• Continue with all on-going programmes in watershed management activities and develop/ evolve new strategies

• Promote the establishment of linkages, partnerships and collaboration for the building of synergy for effective development of watersheds in Ghana.

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END NOTE

The River Basin Management Structure is currently being implemented in 4 watersheds

(the Densu, White Volta, Ankobra and Pra Basins) and has just been initiated in 1 other

watershed (the Tano Basin).

The Water Resources Commission hopes to cover the whole of Ghana in the very near

future.

The existence and functioning of the Water Resources Commission and Allied Institutions represent Payment for

Watershed Services.

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Thank You for Your

Attention