Linking IWRM & WSS UNDP’s Kazakhstan Experience Juerg Staudenmann Water Governance Advisor World Water Week EU Water Initiative – Special Session Stockholm, 24 August 2005 UNDP Regional Centre - Bratislava / Slovak Republic

UNDP’s Water-related Work IWRM & WSS: Focusing on water governance; Human Development (and Human Rights) approach; Poverty-reduction / MDGs Projects in Europe & CIS: Transboundary (regional) level: IWRM in Danube & Black Sea, Caspian Sea, Dnipro, Kura-Aras (S. Caucasus), Lake Peipsi & Prespa, Upper Syr Darya (Ferghana Valley), …  UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre, mainly GEF (approx. US$ 75 Mio. last decade) & EU/bilateral co-funded National level: numerous IWRM & WSS interventions  implemented through UNDP Country Offices … … for example: Kazakhstan – IWRM & Water Efficiency Plan UNDP Regional Centre for Europe & CIS – Bratislava SK UNDP Regional Centre - Bratislava / Slovak Republic

The Project: “National IWRM & WE Plan for Kazakhstan” Time Frame: 2004-2007 Partners: Kazakh Committee for Water Resources (CWR) Government of Norway Global Water Partnership (GWP) Department for Int’l Development (DFID) Co-funding: Total USD 1.62 mil. Norway (cash) USD 1.085 mil. GWP (in-kind) USD 320,000 UNDP (cash) USD 100,000 DFID (cash) pounds 50,000 UNDP Regional Centre for Europe & CIS – Bratislava SK UNDP Regional Centre - Bratislava / Slovak Republic

Kazakhstan Context Water Use by sector: 71% Agriculture (85% of which irrigation) 24.4 % Industry / 0.6 % Fisheries 4 % Domestic Use 44% of water comes from neighboring countries (6 out of 8 river basins in KAZ are transboundary) WB Study in 66 local communities reported hard ship & conflicts over water, land & energy use in 50% UNDP Regional Centre for Europe & CIS – Bratislava SK UNDP Regional Centre - Bratislava / Slovak Republic

Why IWRM ? (Kazakhstan Context II) Water Resources Management in K. is: … Fragmented (Committee for Water Resources (CWR) in MoA, yet: monitoring  management; separate quality/quantity monitoring; surface  groundwater management; water services  sanitation providers) … Under-funded  MAIN REASON: WRM not seen as revenue earning area. … Poorly governed (new Water Code (2003): good potential for IWRM, but currently not used / enforced) At present, no organization has the responsibility to manage Kazakhstan’s water resources “Water scarcity” as a result of ineffective management (Johannesburg directive) … Fragmented (Committee for Water Resources (CWR) in MoA; monitoring  management; separate quality/quantity monitoring; surface  groundwater management; water services  sanitation providers) … Under-funded (deteriorating capacity of CWR (understaffing, education); deteriorating monitoring network; under-funded RBOs  decreasing management & responsibility; less research & training)  MAIN REASON: WRM not seen as revenue earning area. … Poorly governed (in addition to above: new Water Code (2003) not enforced; supply-oriented thinking / approach: emphasis on increasing supplies, rather than decreasing demands) UNDP Regional Centre for Europe & CIS – Bratislava SK UNDP Regional Centre - Bratislava / Slovak Republic

Kazakhstan context III: Main Barriers towards IWRM Poor public understanding & involvement, Poor governance, capacity (govt. investment; RBOs), transparency, … Water Info: Lacking, poorly accessible and/or managed Education Gap (water-related expertise / national capacity) Soviet Legacy: Vanish of central resource allocation & management New borders = new compartmentalization of watersheds “Low sympathy” for water pricing Water-Energy Nexus dominates dialogue Government: Administrative weaknesses & poor governance & Low willingness for govt. investments (see above) Limited understanding & support, and low Status of CWR Limited admin. & technical capacity of RBOs Low Transparency & Accountability UNDP Regional Centre for Europe & CIS – Bratislava SK UNDP Regional Centre - Bratislava / Slovak Republic

The Guiding Principles IWRM is about Governance! Integrating government policies through governmental, institutional & legislative reforms (e.g. agricultural with environment & water policies; Environment with municipal WSS policies; poverty reduction with water policies, etc.) IWRM is a Process! IWRM speaks to Efficiency – 2 Types: Technical E.: efficient use, minimizing waste ( demand management) example: decrease irrigation losses Allocative E.: economic efficiency, water to highest value user ( supply management), requires social responsibility; example: “release” water from agriculture for higher valued Drinking Water use ( lowering social/health costs, etc.) Agricultural with environmental & water management policies; Agricultural with intl. transboundary p.; Environment with industrial & municipal WSS policies (little economic sense to allow industrial sector to pollute water bodies); POVERTY REDUCTION with water policies! Kazakhstan: Water Code (‘03) with Environment Code (‘06)  supply management); assumes prior met sociological & environmental needs UNDP Regional Centre for Europe & CIS – Bratislava SK UNDP Regional Centre - Bratislava / Slovak Republic

UNDP’s Strategic Approach Basis: Johannesburg Directive; Build on Kazakhstan Water Code (2003); Assist Committee for Water Resources (CWR). Water Quality Management  Responsibility of River Basin Organisations (RBO) = Subsidiary Principle Adopt EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) approach EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) approach: WHY? WFD is the most comprehensive, most forward looking water or environmental legislation ever; Combines decade of thinking about best way to govern water and manage environment; Changes the way we think about managing rivers & the ecology of river basins. WHAT? achieving “good status”, definition & approach to achieve this is river-basin specific! River Basin Management Plans Protection of human uses of water (water can be efficiently and economically treated for human use) & Protection of the ecosystem structure and function  Both require protection of the watershed from pollution and/or inappropriate uses and stresses HOW? prioritize water quality – firm link between water management and ecology / environment shift from monitoring to managing Monitoring: shift from pollution / contamination to managing a healthy river environment Monitoring: shift from chemical towards ecological/biological indicators UNDP Regional Centre for Europe & CIS – Bratislava SK UNDP Regional Centre - Bratislava / Slovak Republic

Main objectives & Milestones National IWRM and W.E. Plan [End 2005], and IWRM Plans for all River basins [2007] Establish 8 River Basin Councils [2006] Preparation of a Strategy for Achievement of MDGs for WSS [End 2006] Improving cooperation and development of partnerships at regional and country levels Outlook: 2007-2010: Schemes for comprehensive use & protection of Water Resources 2010-2015: Fully adapting EU WFD UNDP Regional Centre for Europe & CIS – Bratislava SK UNDP Regional Centre - Bratislava / Slovak Republic

1. National IWRM & WE Plan: 4 Initial Focus Areas Instituting Management of Water Quality & Ecology Responsibility, information gaps, cooperation Achieving the MDGs for WSS (2015) Safe DW through better/cheaper raw water quality; Capacity development, etc. Addressing Water Use Efficiency Mind shift: Water pricing and institutional cooperation Preparing for Transboundary IWRM Start small (simpler bi-lateral agreements, bring RBOs up to speed, address “in-house” issues first)  IWRM & WE Plan: primarily institutional (organizational, financial) in scope, not infrastructural or operational Instituting Management of Water Quality & Ecology Now: no one responsible for quality; lacking information basis for management decisions Will force decision on ultimate responsible organization for water quality (improvement), and cooperation among several key institutions Achieving the MDGs for WSS (2015) Will increase water consumption!  Water Managers, be prepared! Quality aspect: “Safe” DW through effective & complete treatment; better/cheaper with reasonable raw water quality  direct link to policy on industrial discharge & municipal treatment Required: capacity building; good coordination RBOs – govt – other; adequate govt investments into WSS infrastructure Addressing Water Use Efficiency Biggest overall problem in Kazakhstan (delta wetlands dry-out; land degradation/salination; drainage water disposal problems; river water quality impact; transboundary aspect) WE is not part of the culture as water always perceived to be a free good – This perception also needs to be changed Only solvable when bringing many organizations together; Preparing for International Transboundary IWRM Capacity building! – Bringing RBOs “up to speed” Start with simpler, bi-lateral agreements (few aspects of water sharing)  learn and buold on later  IWRM & WE Plan: primarily institutional (organizational, financial) in scope, not infrastructural or operational UNDP Regional Centre for Europe & CIS – Bratislava SK UNDP Regional Centre - Bratislava / Slovak Republic

2. How to set up River Basin Councils What is it? Advisory body for River Basin Organizations (RBO), NOT a water resources manager Expanded participation Instituted in 2003 Water Code (Art. 43) Key issues requiring serious consideration: Funding Information (basis for functioning & effective counseling for RBO) Reliability & Trust: for stakeholders to participate as RBC members, they have to be sure this is a tool to truly influence RBO & RB decisions Since there’s no model: “Learning by Doing” Set-up step by step to truly include/represent all water users, and cautiously empower to provide effective RBO advice UNDP Regional Centre for Europe & CIS – Bratislava SK UNDP Regional Centre - Bratislava / Slovak Republic

3. Strategy for Achieving Water MDGs Achieving MDG target (10) = “Potential” (= can be achieved on time given appropriate effort & support!)  Complete working plan with concrete projects & full financial streaming 2007-15 – Main steps: Define “Sustainable Access to Safe DW & Sanitation” Quantifying Current Level of Access Determining priorities, specific works, financial requirements Determining strategy to meet financial costs Outlining strategy Strongly linked to Objective 1 (IWRM & WE Plan): Basis for Plan development Involvement of all stakeholders required (CWR, RBO, etc.) MDG 7, Target 10: “Halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water & sanitation” Also target 9: Integrate principles of sustainable development into policies & programmes, reverse environment resources loss Achieving water-MDGs support all other MDGs UNDP Regional Centre for Europe & CIS – Bratislava SK UNDP Regional Centre - Bratislava / Slovak Republic

(Preliminary) Conclusions & Lessons Learned Before actually starting to draft the IWRM Plan, much more efforts than expected were required to actually prepare (all) partners for IWRM Approach promising: Bottom-up: build RBO & RBCs “Inside-out” (build capacity before attempting (transboundary) IWRM Decentralization: The right way to go Some risk that it leads towards ambiguity about responsibilities & ownership of rural WSS systems, hence to low willingness to invest. Kazakhstan Case: many country specific factors (e.g. 2003 Water Code) careful when replicating! UNDP Regional Centre for Europe & CIS – Bratislava SK UNDP Regional Centre - Bratislava / Slovak Republic

Why Linking WSS & IWRM in Kazakhstan ? Fulfillment of WSS MDGs will require more Water for People (as will economic growth) BUT: Kazakhstan’s absolute Water Resources unlikely to increase in future Increased demands can only be met by improving efficiency: DEMAND SIDE MANAGEMENT  Best done through IWRM Safe Drinking Water requires effective treatment This requires “reasonable” raw water (surface & ground) quality, ..is linked to (industrial & municipal) discharge policy ..requires also capacity (CWR, RBOs, Vodokanals, Health Ministry, etc.) for coordination Speaks to IWRM UNDP Regional Centre for Europe & CIS – Bratislava SK UNDP Regional Centre - Bratislava / Slovak Republic

WSS & IWRM Links IWRM is not only about Quantity  Quality Aspects: Quality-quantity trade-off: Even if chances are good to provide adequate water quantities, the poor quality still limits accessibility to safe drinking water WSS is causing and receiving side of pollution In summary: WSS reveals … … limited potentials for quantitative achievements per se, but … a significant potential in Water Res. Management trough qualitative improvements (cost effectiveness; economic efficiency)  Outlook: Large Social Survey on WSS underway (MDG Strategy) 7’500 Questionnaires+ 240 Semi-structured interviews & 16 Focus groups Focusing specifically on IWRM-WSS links  Report expected in 2-3 months… UNDP Regional Centre for Europe & CIS – Bratislava SK UNDP Regional Centre - Bratislava / Slovak Republic

For more Information: www.voda.kz www.undp.kz www.undp.sk Thank You! For more Information: www.voda.kz www.undp.kz www.undp.sk UNDP Regional Centre - Bratislava / Slovak Republic