Water Issues in Southeast Asia: Present Trends and Future Directions

3. River Basin Agreements as Facilitators of Development

56 3 RiveR Basin agReements as FacilitatoRs oF Development By Chris Perry BackgRounD The earliest activities of man were influenced — in some cases dominated — by access to and use of water: for drinking, cooking, washing, fishing, irrigation, navigation and, later, the generation of power. The progress of civilization can often be mapped in relation to water, most especially in climates where the reliable production of food and fibre depend on the control of water. Gradually, the cumulative impact of many small interventions, accelerated by the much greater impacts of large-scale consumptive development based on storage eventually meant that interventions at one point in a catchment or basin had a measurable impact on availability elsewhere. This scenario is increasingly evident in many local catchments, as well as river basins at national and international scales. The implications are now well recognized, and are incorporated in statements that management should be at the basin level, that River Basin Agreements as Facilitators of Development 57 management should be integrated, that competition should be addressed in management, and so on. In many countries, the symptoms of competition and scarcity are damage to the environment (declining water tables, salinization of aquifers, drying wetlands and estuaries), inequitable water use (head-end farmers using excessive amounts of water, tail-enders getting little or nothing). Such symptoms are widely observed and widely reported. It is less widely recognized that many countries in the world have developed and controlled their water resources productively and sustainably over many years to the benefit of their populations, providing essential supplies of water for municipal, domestic, industrial, recreational and agricultural use together with protection from the negative impacts of excess water through drainage systems and flood control works. Literally hundreds of millions of people expect and receive some or all of the following services: • Potable water, directly from a tap, twenty-four hours a day • Irrigation services, defined in terms of timing, reliability and quality • Protection from flood events • Stability of environmental areas • Water for recreational purposes — fishing, sailing, or swimming • Assured stream-flows for navigation. That is not to say these countries face no problems. At the margin, there are always new environmental concerns, new sources of pollution, and new development priorities to be accommodated. But these constraints have, in many countries, not prevented the specification and delivery of a service that both the providers and the recipients understand, respect and benefit from. Such services are found in countries with vastly differing climates, income levels and water availability per capita. In parallel with this success story international conferences, research organizations, Web discussion forums and academic 58 Water Issues in Southeast Asia journals promote new solutions to the water crisis (privatization, participatory management, stakeholder involvement, treating water as an economic good, livelihood analysis, sustainable development, gender awareness). An objective observer might conclude that sustainable water resources management is one of the great solved mysteries of our time, if only the conferees, researchers and other participants in the debate would analyse the common features and underpinnings of success rather than dissect the symptoms of failure. the DuBlin pRinciples anD integRateD WateR ResouRces management Concern at the poor state of water services in many developing countries has resulted in a large number of international conferences in the last decade or more — Dublin, Rio, Johannesburg, World Water Forum I, II, and III — usually resulting in a new declaration of principles or intent. Perhaps the most widely quoted are the Dublin Principles (see Box 3.1). Box 3.1 the Dublin principles • Freshwater is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life, development and the environment. • Water development and management should be based on a participatory approach, involving users, planners, and policy-makers at all levels. • Women play a central role in the provision, management and safeguarding of water. • Water has an economic value in all its competing uses and should be recognized. Source: Global Water Partnership . River Basin Agreements as Facilitators of Development 59 It is instructive to note that only one of the four principles is objectively true — that water is a finite and essential resource. The other three principles reflect subjective values — the importance of participatory approaches; the role of women; and the usefulness of economic instruments in management. Such preferences tend to change over time — privatization, for example, was rarely mentioned fifteen years ago, was universally promoted five years ago, but now appears to be in decline. Mixing objective facts...