Natural resources: finding the right balance

FROM CONCEPTS TO REALITY

Cecilia Tortajada Managing a Changing Planet

Instituto de Empresa ie Business School

Madrid

16 November 2007

“Sustainable Development:

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs”

World Commission on Environment and

Development, 1987

“…to be effective, measures to preserve natural resources should be taken at the earliest possible moment simultaneously with economic development…”

United Nations General Assembly, 1962

“…the recognition of environmental issues is an aspect of widening of this (economic development taking into consideration preservation of natural resources) development concept…”

The Founex Report, 1971

“…States should adopt an integrated and coordinated approach to their development planning so as to ensure that development is compatible with the need to protect and improve the human environment for the benefit of their population…”

Stockholm Declaration, 1972 (Principle 11)

“A new kind of development is needed because it is essential to relate development to the limitations and opportunities created by the natural resource base to all human activities.

It is also required because it is now clear that past patterns of development in both developed and developing countries have been characterized by such serious environmental damage that they are simply not sustainable.”

M. Tolba, 1976

“The most pressing objective of environmental management is to meet basic human needs within the potentials and constraints of environmental systems, including natural resources.

Environmental management brings two new dimensions to the development process: it broadens the concept to include environmental quality, and it expands it in time to include development over the long-term on a sustainable basis.”

M. Tolba, 1976

“… all Governments and peoples of the world to discharge their historical responsibility, collectively and individually, to ensure that our small planet is passed over to future generations in a condition which guarantees a life in human dignity for all”.

10th Anniversary Stockholm Nairobi Declaration, 1982

• New processes and methods of governing • Changed conditions or ordered rule • Actions and inactions of all parties transparent and accountable

It embraces the relationships between governments and societies (including laws, regulations, institutions and formal and informal interactions) which affect all the ways in which governance systems function, stressing the importance of involving more voices, responsibilities, transparency and accountability of formal and informal organisations associated in any process

Governance

Umbrella concept with multiple definitions

It is not synonymous with governmentIt is a complex process that considers multi-level participation beyond the State, where decision- making includes not only public

institutions, but also private sector, organised civil society and society in general.

Governance

It refers to a process of governing which requires:

Participation, Consensus orientationStrategic vision, Responsiveness

Effectiveness, Efficiency,Accountability, Transparency

Equity, Rule.

Governance

Water governance considers the political, economic and social processes and institutions by which governments, civil society and the private sector make decisions about how best to use, develop and manage

water resources.

It includes mechanisms and institutions through which all involved stakeholders, including citizens and interest groups, articulate their

priorities, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations and mediate their differences.

UNDP, Water governance for poverty reduction.

Key issues and the UNDP response to MDG, New York, 2004.

Water Governance

Does it just appear?

•Overall conditions and enabling environment must be appropriate •Parties should be agreeable to collective decision making •Effective and functional organisations must be developed •Policy, legal and political frameworks should be suitable for specific goals

Water Governance

Water Governance

Complexity of Participation

•Governing issues are neither public nor private: they are shared•Diffusion of governing activities at all levels•Creation of social-political structures and processes to stimulate communication between all actors involved•Creation of common responsibilities to solve societal problems or create societal opportunities (institutions/norms)

Water Governance

Integration of views and Interdependence of actors

•Coordination – uncertainty and loss of autonomy•Cooperation – mutual interests•Decision-making processes•Willingness of members of formal and informal groups and society to collaborate, participate, learn and interact

MEXICO CITY METROPOLITAN AREA

SINGAPORE

Finding the rightbalances

Mexico City Metropolitan Area

• Area of 4,925 km2

1,484 km2 in Mexico City 3,441 km2 in State of Mexico

• 0.3% of land and 22-25% of population 16 boroughs of Mexico City 34 municipalities of State of Mexico

• 45% of commercial, services and industrial activities

• 32% of the GDP

D e n s it y p o p u la t io n

F e d e ra l D is tr ic tB o u n d a ry

M u n ic ip a lityB o u n d a ry

1 3 ,06 5 – 1 7 ,7 1 8 p e o p le k m -2

7 ,5 9 7 – 1 3 ,0 6 4 p e o p le km -2

3 ,8 5 7 – 7 ,5 9 6 p e o p le k m -2

2 ,0 9 1 – 3 ,8 5 6 p e o p le km -2

1 5 3 – 2 ,9 9 0 p e o p le km -2

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

year

thou

sand

Population density, Metropolitan Area of Mexico City

Water needs, Metropolitan Area of Mexico City

9 million people in Mexico City (95.3% have access to water)14 million in State of Mexico (84.2% have access to water)

364 l/person/day in Mexico City230 l/person/day in State of Mexico

290 l/person/day (including industries, services, unauthorized uses and leakages

of 30-40%)

Sources for drinking water for the Metropolitan Area (m3/s)

Mexico City State of Mexico

Total %

INTERNAL SOURCES

20.0 25.2 45.2 68.5

Wells 19.0 24.8 43.8 66.4

Rivers and springs

1.0 0.4 1.4 2.1

EXTERNAL SOURCES

14.8 6.0 20.8 31.5

Cutzamala 9.9 5.0 14.9 22.6

Lerma 4.9 1.0 5.9 8.9

TOTAL 34.8(52.7%)

31.2(47.3%)

66.0 100.0

Source: DGCOH, 1997; CAEM, 2002.

External sources of water

Lerma River 1942 – 4 m3/s 1965-1976 – 14 m3/s

6 m3/sCutzamala System

1982 – 4 m3/s1985 – 6 m3/s1993 – 9 m3/s $ 23 million/m3

1997 – 14 m3/s

Water has to be transferred from more than 150 km away, pumped to a height of more than 1000 m. It requires 102 pumping stations, 17 tunnels and 8 km of canals, becoming a very energy-expensive operation

2800

1600

2600

2400

2200

2000

1800

Ele

vati

on

(m

sl)

Colorines Dam, P.P. 1

Valle de Bravo Dam, P.P. 2

P.P. 3

P.P. 4

Chilesdo Dam, P.P. 5

Villa Victoria DamWater Treatment Plant

P.P. 6

Dam

Pumping plant (P.P.)

Piezometric line

De las Cruces Mountains

Tuxpan Dam

El BosqueDam

ZitácuaroCity

Ixtapan del OroDam

ColorinesDam

El Tule Dam

Valle de Bravo Dam

ChilesdoDam

Villa VictoriaDam

Temascaltepec River

Toluca City

Mexico City

Emiliano Zapata Tank

Tank No. 3

PericosTank

Sta. Isabel Tank

Stabilization PondDonato Guerra

Teuhtli Tank

Cerro GordoTank

La CalderaTank

Coacalco Tank

BarrientosTank

Water TreatmentPlant

Source: Tortajada, 2003.

Cutzamala System - Cost

Only the construction of Cutzalama system ($1300 million) was higher than the national investment in the entire public sector in Mexico in 1996, including:

• education ($700 million) • health and social security ($400 million) • agriculture, livestock and rural development ($105 million) • tourism ($50 million) and • marine sector ($60 million).

Source: CNA, 1997.

Groundwater abstraction from the aquifer

• Abstraction of 45- 48 m3/s

• Natural recharge rate - 20 m3/s Overexplotation - 25-28 m3/s

• Lowering of the water table and land subsidence at the rate of 10-40 cm/year in some parts of the city

Abstraction of water (m3)/subsidencein Mexico City

•Damages to the infrastructures for water supply and sewerage systems

•Construction of costly pumping systems to remove rainwater and wastewater from the City

•Degradation of groundwater quality

Source: Lesser & Cortés, 1998.

Subsidence in Mexico City

City centre, 10 cm

Airport, 20-25 cm

Source: Mazari-Hiriart et al., 2001.

Problems...

Flooding

Difference in levels between some parts of the City and the collectors

Inability of the overall system to pump all the water out of the City in rainy season

Due to the subsidence of the City, downtown is 7 m below the highest point of the Grand Canal, which makes it difficult for the water to be pumped out of the area

Problems...

Pollution of groundwater

Faecal coliforms Bacterias such as Aeromonas, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus and Vibrio in the southern and eastern part of the City

Helicobacter pylory, related to ulcers and stomach cancer in the aquifer in the area of Xochimilco and in water of Cutzamala before being treated.

Wastewater discharges (m3/s)

USE MEXICO CITY STATE OF MEXICO

CONCESSIONS VOLUME DISCHARGED

CONCESSIONS VOLUME DISCHARGED

TOTAL 31 745.48 689 6.81

23.63 m3/s 0.2159 m3/s

23.85 m3/s45-50 m3/s

Irrigation of 90,000 ha in the Mezquital Valley

Subsidence in D.F. and Infrastructure problems

1910Mexico City Tequisquiac Tunnel

1950

Grand CanalSlope 19 cm/km

Gravity Sewage System

Slope 12 cm/km

Pumping Sewage System

1970

1990

Slope 0

Interceptors

Central Deep Drainage

Slope 10 cm/km

Pumping Sewage System

Pumping Sewage System

Federal District

2

3 4 5

6

6.8

7.28

10

34

5

6.8

6

2 6.2

345

54

3

Source: National Research Council, 1995.

STRATEGY FOR WATERMANAGEMENT FOR MEXICO CITY, 1992

Water supplyFinancial self-sufficiency

Metered serviceProgramme on leakages detection

PRIVATE SECTOR COMPANIES, 1994

Zone COMPANY PARTNERS AREAS NUMBER OFCONNECTIONS

A SAPSA ICACIE. Generale des euxBanamex

Gustavo A. MaderoAzcapotzalcoCuauthemoc

298,557

B IASA BrittinghamSevern Trent

Benito Juarez, Coyoacan, Iztacalco and Venustiano Carranza

257,825

C TECSA Bufete Ind.LyonnaiseBancomer

Iztapalapa, Tlahuac, Xochimilco and Milpa Alta

327,408

D AGUAMEX GutzaNorthwest water

Tlalpan, Magdalena Contreras, Alvaro Obregon, Cuajimalpa and Miguel Hidalgo

263,789

Source: CADF, 1994.

ACTIVITIES

1. SERVICE TO CLIENTS: METERS, READING, DISTRIBUTION OF BILLS, COLLECTION OF FEES, INFORMATION OFFICES.

2. HUMAN RESOURCES AND SYSTEMS (QUALITY CONTROL).

3. TECHNICAL SERVICES: STATISTICS OF USERS AND NETWORKS, REPLACEMENT OF METERS.

4. OPERATIONS: MAINTENANCE OF METERS AND PIPES (LEAK DETECTION AND REPAIR).

RESULTS

UPDATE LIST OF USERS AND CONNECTIONS

COMPUTARIZED SYSTEM (USERS, CONNECTIONS, METERS INSTALLED, CONSUMPTION, BILLS, COLLECTION OF FEES, DEBTS).

PROGRAMME ON LEAKES DETECTION.

NO EXCEMPTIONS (EDUCATION AND HEALTH SECTOR).

DISCOUNTS: RETIRED PESONNEL HAS ONE-YEAR RENEWABLE DISCOUNTS. PEOPLE FROM DISTANT PLACES WITH NO REGULAR SERVICE.

Efficiency indicators for drinking water management in Mexico City

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

VOLUME OF DELIVERED WATER(MILLION OF m3)

686.6 690.6 691.9 720.2 752.8 752.2

USERS WITH BILL (THOUSANDS)

1,477.5 1,620.2 1,644.0 1,681.1

1,7020.0 1,769.1

NO. OF BILLS FOR METERED SERVICE (THOUSANDS)

725.6 1,260.6 1,408.3 1,505.1

1,552.8 1,582.7

CHARGED WATER (BILLION PESOS)

1.1 1.5 2.1 4.6 2.8 3.2

BILLED WATER (BILLION PESOS)

1.7 2.4 2.7 7.2 3.5 3.8

MEXICO CITY METROPOLITAN AREA

SINGAPORE

Finding the rightbalances

0

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Unaccounted for Water, Singapore, 1990-2004

154

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174

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Domestic water consumption, 1995-2005

Year

0,0

5,0

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20,0

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30,0

35,01980

1981

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Average monthly bill, inclusive of all taxes (in S$) 1980-2005

Year

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500

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Number of accounts served per staff

FINAL REFLEXION

(Prison of Socrates, Athens)

Natural Resources: finding the right balance...

• Route - desired direction:– Security (water, food, energy, ecosystems...),

adaptivity, welfare…• Actor:

– Society, stakeholders, administration, individuals, households, traditional communities, corporations...

• Instruments:– Technology, governance, capacity building,

leadership, management, organisation, communication, coordination, awareness...

• Rules:– Moral codes, laws, customary laws, commitments,

human rights, participation...• Externalities:

– Globalisation, climate change, demography (migrations, urbanisation, aging), diseases, health, political changes...

Varis, O., and A. Press, 2006.

The concept of Development

Modified from: Maxwell, S. 1996. Food security: a post-modern perspective. Food Policy 21: 155-170.

Modern sector 1980s

Modern sector 2000s Modern sector 2020s

Underlying reality

Simple Uniform

Complex Diverse

? ?

Objectives Growth Macro

Development Micro

? ?

Research approach

Measure Survey Reductionist Deduction Abstract models Aggregate

Listen Participate Holistic I nduction Complex reality Disaggregate

? ? ? ? ? ?

Planning approach

Plan Model Top-down Centralize

Enable Interact Bottom-up Decentralize

? ? ? ?

Implementation Blue-print Role culture Standardization

Process Task culture Flexibility, innovation

? ? ?

Natural Resources: finding the right balance...

• Desired direction (route):– Security (water, food, energy, ecosystems...),

adaptivity, welfare…• Actor:

– Society, stakeholders, administration, individuals, households, traditional communities, corporations...

• Instruments:– Technology, governance, capacity building,

leadership, management, organisation, communication, coordination, awareness...

• Rules:– Moral codes, laws, customary laws, commitments,

human rights, participation...• Externalities:

– Globalisation, climate change, demography (migrations, urbanisation, aging), diseases, health, political changes...

Interconnections

Non-predictabilities

New dynamics

Unconventional links

Out of the box

Non-linearities

Varis, O., and A. Press, 2006.