Environment, Climate Change and Water Tenzin Wangmo Chief Environment Officer National Environment Commission April 6, 2016

Presentation Outline Country context – environmental & water resources Challenges and issues – realities and impacts from climate change Institutional arrangements- sustainable water management

Country context Population – more than 700,000 Total area – 38,394 km2 Forest coverage – 72% Snow and glaciers – 7.5% Arable – 3% Protected areas – 51% Constitutional mandate – maintain 60% under forest cover for all times to come. Altitudinal variation – 97– 7,500 meters above sea level

Country context Bhutan – richly endowed with water resources –Per capita water availability – 94,508 m3/annum – highest in the region traverse north to south by major rivers and east – west tributaries cutting through deep gorges and rugged terrain 5 major basins and 5 minor basins. Water quality - pristine

Facts Physical realities accessibility a major concern –Available water in gullies and valley bottoms while human settlements are on the slope.

Facts - problem of the plenty PLENTY AVERAGE SCARCITY

Facts Availability – High Accessibility - Low High cost of interventions –Terrain –highly dispersed, low density population –High per capita cost

Climate change impacts Increasing evidence of the problem of “too much and too little” –Change in rainfall pattern, intensity, seasonal variation, flash floods, landslides, etc. –GLOF –Drying up of water sources, minimal flow for hydropower generation Rely on model projections Projections – precision constrained –Inadequate data Low reliability Time series – less than 30 years –projections resolutions more realistic at larger scale –Uncertainty about the future

Institutional arrangements Gaining recognition at highest decision making level –National key result area in 11 th five year plan – water security Water Act 2011 and Regulations 2014 –Defines roles and responsibilities of different sectors –Mandates National Environment Commission to prepare National Integrated Water Resource Management Plan National Integrated Water Resource Management Plan (NIWRMP)

What is IWRM? A systematic process for the sustainable development, allocation and monitoring of water resource use in the context of social, economic and environmental objectives Manage water holistically Manage across sectors and disciplines Ensure wide participation in decision-making Strengthen governance institutions – Reforms through policy, water law and regulations – Coordination mechanism – River basin as basic unit of management – IWRM planning through basin organizations – Water as a finite resource and economic good

National IWRMP Framework (Bhutan Water Security Index)

Agency Roles in BWSI Key DimensionParameterAgency responsible for data KD-2ECONOMIC WATER SECURITY KD-2A1Agriculture resilience 1% of cropped area irrigated from reservoirMoAF/DoA 2variability of inter-annual rainfallDHMS, MoEA 3variability of intra-annual rainfallDHMS, MoEA KD-2A2Agricultural water utilization 1Agricultural productivity - contribution to GDP in Nu/ MCMDOA, MoAF / NSB 2% Arable land irrigatedDOA, MoAF 3Amount of cereals imported out of cereals consumed (MT)NSB / DRC KD-2BIndustrial water security 1Revenue generated from water based industriesDept. of Industry, MOEA KD-2CHydropower water security 1Percentage annual national trans-boundary inflowDHMS 2% of potential hydropower capacity installed DHPS, MOEA >25 MW / DRE for < 25 MW 3% hydropower contribution to total energy consumptionDHPS, MOEA 4Hydropower contribution to GDP in million Nu/ MCMNSB 5Hydropower Efficiency (weighted average annual plant load factor)DHPS, MOEA

HOW IS OVERALL WATER SECURITY MEASURED? Household Urban Resilience Environmental Economic A SCORING SYSTEM DERIVED FROM INDICATORS OF PHYSICAL WATER AVAILABILITY & VARIABILITY, AND KPIs OF ACTIONS TAKEN ACROSS 5 MANAGEMENT DIMENSIONS EXAMPLE ONLY BHUTAN WATER SECURITY INDEX (BWSI) SYSTEM Example only

THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF IWRM WATER SECURITY Sustainable management of water resources to ensure reliable access to an acceptable quantity and quality of water for various uses, managed with an acceptable level of uncertainty/risks

Thank You and Tashi Delek!