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RESEAU INTERNATIONALDES ORGANISMES DE BASSIN

1st QUARTER OF 1998 N° 6

INTERNATIONAL NETWORKOF BASIN ORGANIZATIONS

RED INTERNACIONALDE ORGANISMOS DE CUENCA

www.oieau.fr/riob/From now on all

information on INBO will be available

on the on the WEBWEBwww.oieau.fr/riob/

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE“WATER AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT”PARIS - 20 MARCH 1998

INBOAN EXPERTS’WORKSHOPORGANIZEDB Y I N B O

T

he 1997 General As-sembly of the Interna-tional Network of Ba-

sin Organizations, accepted,during its meeting of last Oc-tober in VALENCIA ( Spain),the invitation made by theFrench Authorities to organi-ze a Workshop, specializedon the topic “Users’ Partici-pation in the Managementand Funding of Basin Or-ganizations“, in the Waterand Sustainable Develop-ment International Confe-rence, that will be held in Pa-

ris (France) on 19, 20 and 21March 1998 at UNESCOheadquarters.

The work of this INBOworkshop is based on pa-pers that were requested tothe 106 member-organiza-tions which participate in ourNetwork in 43 countries, andwill lead to practical recom-mendations to be presentedduring the Ministerial Ses-sion of the Paris Conferenceby our Chairman, Mr. JuanManuel ARAGONES BEL-TRAN, President of the Ju-car Hydrographic Confede-ration.

The International Net-work of Basin Organizationswas also invited to participa-te in the seminar of expertsthat took place in HARARE(Zimbabwe) on 28, 29 and30 January 1998 by the UNCommission on SustainableDevelopment (UNCSD) andthe European Union.

All the works must contri-bute to the preparation of aprogramme for improvingwater management worldwi-de to be integrated into theprospects given by AGENDA21, adopted during the RioConference.

It is of particular impor-tance that all member-orga-nizations of INBO are mobili-zed to contribute to this stra-tegic preparation of the XXIst

century.

See article “Water andSustainable Develop-ment” InternationalConference on page 5.

Information:Fax : +33 1 40 08 01 45E-mail : stp-riob@oieau.fr

Next INBOmeetings

➧ May 19982nd meeting of the BasinOrganizations of CentralAmerica and the CaribbeanGuatemala City

➧ September 19981st General Assembly of theRegional Network for LatinAmericaBogota - Colombia

➧ 2 - 4 December 19983rd General Assembly of INBOSalvador de Bahia - Brazil

The network newsletter - N° 6 - 1st Quarter of 19982

INBO’s General Assembly gathered in Valencia (Spain) 105 delegates from 27 countries (see page 20)

A“Technical seminar onthe financing of BasinOrganizations” was or-

ganized during the GeneralAssembly of the InternationalNetwork of Basin Organi-zations, which was held inVALENCIA (Spain) fromOctober 2 to 4, 1997, at the in-vitation of the SpanishAuthorities.

During this “ technical semi-nar “, the delegates of INBO’sMember-Organizations had theopportunity to listen to ad-dresses on the on-going experi-ments in their differentCountries and to discuss thesuitability and efficiency of the

funding systems adopted or en-visaged and on the practicalconditions of their setting-up.

At the end of the presenta-tions of case studies and dis-cussions that followed, thedelegates adopted the follo-wing recommendations, andexpressed their wish that thosebe widely disseminated andsent to the Authorities of theCountries interested or invol-ved in a policy of river basinmanagement and to the largebi- and multilateral cooperationinstitutions that support pro-grammes of administrative re-forms of the water sector basedon such an approach.

REMINDER OF THE RELEVANCE OF INBO’S FOUNDING PRINCIPLES

The works confirmed the rele-vance of the four principles thatare the base to any membership ofthe International Network of BasinOrganizations:

● a global and integrated waterresources management thataims at preventing natural ha-zards, meeting the rightful andsound needs of the various ca-tegories of users, controlling pol-lution of all kinds, protecting andrehabilitating aquatic ecosys-tems and areas,

● the organization of this mana-gement on a consistent scale,that of large watersheds andaquifers,

● the participation in decision-making of the local Authoritiesconcerned and various inter-ested categories of users be-side the appropriate Govern-mental Administrations,

● the implementation of appro-priate financing systems, ba-sed on the “ user-polluter-pays “principle.

A COMPLETE VISION OF ALL THE TASKSTO BE CARRIED OUT

This global and integrated ma-nagement of the resource impliesthat tasks be carried out in a com-plementary and consistent man-ner, regarding:● general administration, security

and enforcement,● structuring developments,● individual and collective equip-

ment that are directly linked tothe use of water for meeting va-rious needs ,

● operation, maintenance and ma-nagement,

● research and studies,● training, education and aware-

ness raising,● organization of monitoring and

information systems,● etc.

All these tasks must be or-ganized in a sustainable mannerand their funding in investmentand operation must be mobili-zed and guaranteed whateverthe conditions.

The direct costs of water ser-vices are generally the ones to beindividualized and therefore vi-sible. The indirect costs, often co-vered by the Public Authorities, areignored or under-estimated, and inall cases rarely fully and rigorouslyestimated together with operation,maintenance and managementexpenses...

It is very important to get aclear and complete vision of all thecosts to be borne.

THE TRANSPARENCY NECESSARY FOR REACHING A CONSENSUS AND MOBILIZING ALL PARTNERS

All functions are not always as-sumed by a sole organization andthe most frequent case is that ofcoexistence, in the same basin, ofmany responsibilities and initia-

tives, either individual or joint, pu-blic or private.

A consensus must be found.

.../...

.../...It is thus necessary to esta-

blish, in a clear, indisputable andtransparent manner:● the role and responsibilities of

everyone,● the state of the resource, either

in quantity or quality in all geo-graphical locations,

● the withdrawals and dischargesof each user,

● the estimate of expenses to becovered and the follow-up of ef-ficiency of effort as regards im-provement.

The setting up of modernand efficient information sys-tems, according to the recommen-dations of INBO’s GeneralAssembly of Morelia (Mexico) inMarch 1996, is a prerequisite tothe mobilization of all partners andto the search for a consensus.

LONG-TERM RULES, OBJECTIVES AND PRIORITIES TO BE PROGRESSIVELY REACHED

Any sound water policy impliesregulations, procedures andstandards that clearly define a le-gal framework and the commit-ments of each party concerned.

The objectives to be reachedand the necessary means of allkinds must be identified in master-plans for development and mana-gement, for a 15 to 20 year-period.

This policy must indeed beplanned in the medium-term,due to the delays required for mo-bilizing partners and for the studyand implementation of projects,

and, on the other hand, due to thegeneral limitation of available fi-nancial means that does not allowthe implementation of all projectsat once.

The elaboration of successivePriority Action Programmes(PAP), the duration of which mustbe realistic and may be 5 years, isthe instrument for the implementa-tion of this planning.

Thus, the efforts requiredand possible implementationsmust be progressive and sustai-nable.

LIMITS OF TRADITIONAL PUBLIC FUNDINGAll analyses converge to show

that almost everywhere, it is im-possible to meet the needs of thesector with traditional public bud-getary means and therefore it isnecessary to set up fundingsystems that are based on theparticipation and solidarity ofthe users.

Due to the lack of a sole res-ponsibility, complementary spe-cific means must be envisagedthat have also a reducing effectand create an incentive to limitwastage and decontaminate discharges.

The modern funding systemsmust be adapted to the proper si-tuation of each country, but maygenerally rely on:

● administrative taxes for the is-sue of authorizations (deedcost) or for the use of Stateproperty (taxes for granule ex-

traction, concession taxes forhydroelectric falls or infrastruc-ture or reservoir land width,taxes on waterway transporta-tion...)

● penal fines for non compliancewith regulations and standardsor for liability in case of an acci-dental or deliberate action cau-sing damage

● industrial and commercial ta-riffing of collective servicesrelated to water uses: Itconsists in having the consu-mers and users pay all the di-rect, and whenever possible theindirect costs, of the collectiveservices, either in investmentand maintenance, in proportionto the services provided or toconsumption (drinking water,wastewater, industrial raw wa-ter, irrigation, etc.)

.../...

TECHNICAL SEMINAR03 OCTOBER 1997

“FINANCING BASIN ORGANIZATIONS”RECOMMANDATIONS

The network newsletter - N° 6 - 1st Quarter of 1998 3

.../...

These services, organized byeither public or private organiza-tions, must balance their expenseswith an income.

The setting up of subsidy sys-tems that aim at limiting the excep-tionally high costs and/or forequalization between the variouscategories of users may be adap-ted to the diversity of the situationsencountered.

● water charges, that are earmar-ked taxes to finance actions andequipment for the benefit of thecommunity and whose cost can-not be directly passed to the dif-ferent water users.

It is advisable that the basis ofsuch charges be calculated pro-portionally to consumption andpollution of all kinds, of all catego-ries of users.

They enable the, total or part,but incentive, funding of PriorityAction Programmes (PAP).

Successful experiments thathave been carried out for severaldecades, show that all these finan-cial means can mobilize, if effi-ciently implemented, the hugeamounts necessary for the moder-nization of the water sector and re-sources conservation.

BASIN WATER CHARGES:A MEANS FOR FUNDING AND MOBILIZATION IN PARTNERSHIP

amounts to implement such ac-tions, and, in addition, can help re-ducing investments.

There is transparency and di-rect correlation between a real pro-gramme and the funds brought in.This approach, which is based ona consensus system, the BasinCommittees, is making peoplehighly responsible and is educatio-nal.

It is important to show, as soonas these new measures are taken,the universality principle of le-vying charges on all uses andpollution, whatever their impor-tance, even minimal, in order notto make people believe that pollu-tion is allowed and not to create in-equalities.

However, in the phases of thesystem strengthening, that can belong, for reasons of administrativeefficiency or for being generally ac-cepted, a “non-levy” of chargescan be envisaged below somethresholds, if no risk of seriousconsequences on resourceconservation exists.

The system must be pro-gressively organized, in the me-dium term, to extend the system tomore parameters, to more catego-ries of users, to higher and higherrates and to lower and lower thre-sholds ...

Modulations may be envisa-ged depending on the scarcity ofthe resource or the sensitivity ofthe receiving media to pollution.

This can also be organizedprogressively, using technical cri-teria, such as the installation ofmeters to measure consumption,starting with the biggest users,then using standard assessmentsystems, and finally real assess-ments of the pollution discharged.The very high cost of meters andsampling, most of the time preventits systematic implementation inthe short term.

It is always recommendednot to theorize the proceduresto be established, but to searchfor a real adaptation to localconditions, which also dependson the possibilities of organi-zing more and more complexand efficient administrative sys-tems while taking into accountthe indispensable time factor.

The Permanent TechnicalSecretariatIOW - ParisFax: 33.1.40.08.01.45E-mail: stp-riob@oieau.fr

Local water charges systemsin particular, organized on the sca-le of a river basin, have alreadyshown their high efficiency. Thisdoes not exclude the advantage ofusing national water charges sys-tems that are justified by constitu-tional rule or allow the funding ofsolidarity between towns and ruralareas or between rich and poor ba-sins, or the funding of large inter-basin projects or actions.

In “operational” systems thatexist, the “Basin Committees”generally set or propose rates for

these water charges, the levy andreallocation of which transit by“Financial Basin Agencies “.

These “Financial BasinAgencies” play the role of mu-tual-aid funds and levy taxes,negotiated and even accepted bythe users concerned, whose ratesare calculated to cover the ex-penses required for multiannualPriority Action Programmes (PAP).

A small levy (# 15 %) as com-pared to the direct cost of waterservices, can mobilize huge

The first meeting of “ Aquadoc-In-ter “ Management Committee,was held in Limoges (France)

on December 11 and 12, 1997.

The Management Committeeof “AQUADOC-INTER”, which ga-thers the National RelayDocumentation Centres (NRDC)nominated by INBO’s basin organi-zations, implements the tools ne-cessary for providing the userswith a clever reading of informa-tion, using identical exchange for-mats.

It gathered the national focalpoints of BELGIUM (VMM), FRAN-CE (IOW), HUNGARY (Vituki),MOROCCO (ONEP), MEXICO(Lerma Chapala Centre), POLAND(IMGW), ROMANIA (ApeleRomane) and the CZECH REPU-BLIC (Povodi Moravy).

Several other countries are inter-ested in participating in the project:BRAZIL, BURKINA FASO, CHAD,IVORY COAST , KAZAKHSTAN,PERU, RUSSIA and SENEGAL.

TRIAL OF THE FIRST MODEL

The International Office forWater, as INBO’s PermanentTechnical Secretariat and FrenchNRDC, has implemented a model

for accessing to water-related in-formation and documentation onInternet in the field of river basinmanagement.

This model shows how to strict-ly arrange information and docu-ments. It comprises tools for abilingual search of information(English-French). It is a dynamicsystem which centralizes ex-changes, enables on-line debatesand the dissemination of news, etc.It enables the follow-up of the newinformation loaded on the network,thanks to a system called “VIGIE”.

It is now accessible, in a staticmanner, on www.oieau.fr/eau-doc/abo/aquadoc as a trial.

SEARCH ENGINESTwo European famous bilin-

gual search engines (English-French) are tested.

A query made in a language istranslated by the system to searchthe relevant information in bothlanguages. Extension to theSpanish language is envisaged atthe beginning of 1999.

Their efficiency in searching in-formation will grow when dictiona-ries specific to water will bedeveloped and added.

THE INFORMATIONSTRUCTURE

In a first phase, the informationgathered (about 20 MO) is raw andprocessed by engines in the follo-wing formats: text, html, RTF whenimages are integrated (optical cha-racter recognition -OCR- or wordprocessed electronic documents).

The documents are presentedwith their title, the degree of rele-vance as compared to the query,the “supplier” country, their dateand the weight of the information(in Ko).

A standardization, “standardfor the exchange of documentaryinformation”, is however necessaryfor later feeding the system in allpoints of the planet from NRDCs.

TERMS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE “AQUADOC-INTER” SYSTEM

The system is “live” and re-quires a specific follow-up, with acentral webmaster and correspon-dents in NRDCs.

To transit to an operationalphase, which is now possible, thepilot NRDCs will have to:

❶ acquire the necessary equip-ment to access and feed thesystem,

❷ structure the collected informationaccording to common formats.

At the beginning of 1998, APE-LE ROMANE defined with IOW atypical working programme for thestarting-up of a national focal pointin Romania that will show how todistribute activities, and the basictechnical specifications of the com-puterized equipment.

“AQUADOC INTER”FIRST MEETING OF THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEEINBO:

4

INTERNATIONAL AIDATHE INTERNATIONALASSOCIATION FOR WATER LAW

The AIDA Association hasconsultative status with the ECO-SOC and several United Nationsagencies (FAO, WHO, UNESCO,UNEP, the World Bank). It wasfounded in Washington, during theWater for Peace Conference in1967, when the need for an NGOto provide a forum for questionsconcerning water law became evi-dent. Since then the importance ofwater laws and modern methodsof management, basin agencies inparticular, has been increasinglyemphasized.

A well conceived water legisla-tion constitutes a means to facilita-te the rational utilization of waterresources and to protect the envi-ronment.

Planning, development andmanagement of water resourcesmust be based on sound water lawprinciples which are implementedby clear procedures.

The purposes of the Associa-tion are to:

● promote studies and publica-tions on the legal aspects of wa-ter management and adminis-tration.

● encourage the exchange ofideas and the diffusion of infor-mation about water law and ad-ministration.

● advance the evolution of waterlaw.

● develop national legislationsconcerning water.

● sponsor research centers, se-minars and working groups inwhich water law is discussed.

Upon request, the Associationprovides the names of its expertsin national and international waterlaw.

The Association sponsors in-ternational conferences which pro-vide an opportunity for participantsto make oral or written presenta-tions concerning issues of waterlaw and administration.

The proceedings of eachconference are published in theANNALES JURIS AQUARUM.These proceedings provide an ex-tensive summary of contemporaryproblems relating to water law andadministration in different coun-tries, as discussed.

In addition, the Associationpublishes “ AQUAFORUM “ news-letter to keep its members infor-med of activities, publications ofinterest and conferences involvingwater law and administration.

All members and non-mem-bers are invited to send a copy oftheir respective country’s waterlaws to AIDA.Dante A. CaponeraTel/Fax: (39-6) 8548932

The network newsletter - N° 6 - 1st Quarter of 1998

At its first General Assembly inMontreal, Canada, on 3September, the World WaterCouncil elected its Board ofGovernors and approved itsConstitution.

Dr. Mahmoud Abu-Zeid,Minister of Public Works andWater Resources of Egypt waselected President of the Council.

The General Assembly washeld concurrently with the 9thWorld Water Congress of theIWRA. A total of 119 World WaterCouncil members from more than30 countries were represented.There were also 120 observers.

Executive Director, Dr. Guy LeMoigne, emphasized the successof the World Water Forum inMarrakech in March 1997.

ELECTION OF GOVERNORS

The new Board of Governors iscomposed of 38 members:

● the three founder members, Dr.Abu Zeid, Mr. R. Coulomb andDr. Aly Shady,

● a representative of the City ofMarseilles,

● the representatives of the 10constituent organizations:IWRA, ICID, the World Bank,IAWQ, IWSA, UNDP, UNESCO,IUCN, WSSCC and the Mediter-ranean Agro-Institute.

● a further 19 members elected bythe General Assembly, includingMessrs. J-F. Donzier; GeneralManager of IOW and represen-tative of INBO’s PermanentTechnical Secretariat and P-FTénière-Buchot, Director of theFrench Seine-Normandy WaterAgency,

● 5 Governors co-opted by theother Governors to help ensuregeographical, sectoral, genderdiversity.

STANDING COMMITTEES

Mr. Ténière-Buchot (Seine-Normandy Water Agency, France)was appointed Chairman of theWorld Fund for Water which will bea separate entity to receive andmanage contributions from foun-dations, the private sector andother organizations, Mr. Chitale(ICID) presides over the RegionalCentres Committee, Mr. ASzollosi-Nagy (UNESCO) over thePublications and InformationCommittee, Mr. J. Lecornu overthe By-Laws Committee and theTreasurer, Mr. L. Bays (IWSA),presides over the FinanceCommittee.

COOPERATIONWWC has attained a member-

ship of 152 organizations, repre-senting 34 countries, including 23international organizations. It co-operates with GWP (Global WaterPartnership). WWC aims at beco-ming a think-tank on world waterpolicy.Guy Le Moigne - WWCFax: 33.4.91.99.40.01

WWC

CME

WORLD WATER COUNCILFIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN MONTREAL

According to studies conduc-ted in various regions throughoutthe world, coastal ecosystems,which are twice as biologically pro-ductive as inland areas, sufferroughly nine times more environ-mental damage. This damage isprimarily attributed to the high den-sity of human populations alongcoastal regions and anthropogenicpressure generated in the draina-ge basins. As a result, both majoreconomic industries and key eco-systems are threatened. To arrestthe damage, it will be necessary tolimit or prohibit certain kinds ofcoastal development and reconsi-der developmental policy in thedrainage basins.

Europe was a pioneer in co-operation for protection of marineenvironment on a sub-regional le-vel. Agreement for Co-operation inDealing with Pollution of the NorthSea by Oil (Bonn, 1969) is the ol-dest sub-regional legal instrument.Tenths of instruments of this kindwere developed and adopted inthe world since then. For example,UNEP Regional Seas Programmecovers 13 sub-regions world-wide,with the participation of more than140 coastal States and territories.Four sub-regions in Europe (North

Sea, Baltic, Mediterranean andBlack Sea) are covered by regionalconventions. An interlocked mana-gement of freshwater and marinesystems is a new emerging instru-ment.

The Final Declaration of theFirst European Seas at RiskConference (Copenhagen,October 1994) called all Europeangovernments, the EuropeanUnion, and other interested bodiesto adopt, as the basis for all futureinitiatives in the protection of theEuropean seas, integrated ecosys-tem approach focusing on the re-establishment of naturalprocesses, to deal with the sea,coastal and catchment areas. Theformulation and implementationof policies and programmes forintegrated watershed manage-ment was assigned a high priori-ty by the Nineteenth SpecialSession of the United NationsGeneral Assembly.

UNEP is promoting such an in-tegrated approach in implementingAction Theme “ Coastal andMarine Ecosystems “ of the Pan-European Biological andLandscape Diversity Strategy.

Practically the whole Europeanregion is already covered by somesort of programmes relevant to theprotection of biological and land-scape diversity of freshwater andmarine environment. The mostchallenging task will be an exten-sion of geographical coverage inorder to include hinterland areas.

The “Global Programme ofAction for the Protection of MarineEnvironment from Land-BasedActivities” (GPA/LBA) and the “Global International WaterAssessment “ (GIWA), may be aparticularly effective way for pro-moting and achieving the chosenaims and objectives.

For its analyses, UNEP’sRegional Office for Europe relieson the results of a report“Preparation of Sub-regionalProgrammes in Europe on theProtection of Coastal and MarineEnvironment based on WatershedApproach”.

I. ZrajevskiUNEP’s Regional Office forEuropeFax: 41.22.797.34.20

UNEPTHE BASIN-WIDE APPROACH TO PROTECT EUROPEAN SEAS

The network newsletter - N° 6 - 1st Quarter of 1998 5

D

uring the United Nations Extraordinary General Assembly held in June 1997, a proposal was made by Mr Jacques CHIRAC, President of the French Republic to host an International Conference in France in March 1998, gathering allthe actors involved in water policy.

This Conference will take place in Paris from 19 to 21 March 1998, at the invitation of Mr Hubert VEDRINE, Minister of Foreign Affairs and MrsDominique VOYNET, Minister of Spatial Planning and Environment, on behalf of the French Government.This Conference will gather about 600 participants:● Ministers and high-level Officials from public bodies in charge of water management in 84 countries, including the members of the

Commission on Sustainable Development in particular, ● Representatives of the civil society, of financial institutions and international organizations involved in the water sector.Built on results already obtained during many previous international water policy meetings, the ministerial recommendations and the ex-perts’ proposals, elaborated by the participants of the Paris Conference, will provide matters for discussions during the 6th session of theCommission on Sustainable Development.

OBJECTIVE OF THE CONFERENCEThe objective of the Paris Conference is to contribute actively to the elaboration of strategies necessary for improving freshwaterresources conservation and management, in rural and urban areas, to ensure better controlled drinking water supply, sanitation andirrigation, integrating desertification control into these objectives.

WORK ORGANIZATIONThe Conference is organized in two main phases : ● A meeting of Experts from Thursday 19 morning to Friday 20 midday● The Ministerial session, from Friday 20 early afternoon to Saturday 21 midday.Discussions will be organized around three topics and workshops :WORKSHOP 1 : IMPROVING KNOWLEDGE OF WATER RESOURCES

AND WATER USES FOR SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENTKnowledge of the resource and needs assessment are indeed a prerequisite for an overall and balanced management of water resources.It implies the setting up, maintenance and operation of monitoring networks and data banks. The objective, in liaison with InternationalOrganizations (WMO and UNESCO in particular), is to lead on to actual projects that will improve monitoring networks or decision-ma-king support systems. The progressive setting up of these networks, with appropriate international funding, would enable each country tobetter organize sustainable water management planning. WORKSHOP 2 : PROMOTING HUMAN RESOURCES

AND INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY BUILDINGThe sustainability of investments in the water sector cannot be ensured without establishing consistent institutional systems covering allthe phases of the water cycle. This is the case, as much in rural as in urban areas. This also implies the development of training pro-grammes for resource managers and the diffusion of professional training on water management techniques that are appropriate to thedifferent countries as well as actions involving the awareness and education of the users and the public. Such programmes must be consi-dered as an essential complement to investments.This workshop will assess the necessary progress towards an improved efficient concerted action between public authorities, local commu-nities, public and private service providers and will also examine the means of associating water users.WORKSHOP 3 : DEFINING STRATEGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT

AND IDENTIFYING APPROPRIATE FINANCIAL RESOURCESThe investment requirements in the water sector are considerable and greatly exceed the present means being mobilized at national leveland by the international donors’ community. It is thus necessary to combine, using innovative approaches such as a policy on demand ma-nagement, adapting to local conditions, participation of the users, the mobilization of international, national and local financial resources,whether public or private. The objective of developing plans of actions : allocating the resources, decontamination objectives, programmesfor the development and maintenance of equipments with the mobilization of the appropriate financing must be assessed within the fra-mework of national and regional strategies for sustainable development. Two informal workshops will coincide with the Conference : the first on the initiative of theGlobal Water Partnership (GWP), on 19 March afternoon, the second, on the initiative of theInternational Network of Basin Organizations (INBO), on 20 March morning, on the topic: “involve-ment of the users in the managment and financing of riverbasin organizations”.

A call for papers has been launched in order to identify case studies illustrating present situations and on-going reforms, as well as propo-sals for the application of recommendations resulting from previous International Conferences.A selection of case studies reflecting innovative experiences of the States, the civil society and the international organizations, will be pre-sented during the Conference.The World Water Council, in close collaboration with the United Nations Agencies and on the basis of an evaluation of actual situations,has been entrusted with the task of identifying the trends and issues which could lead to new strategies regarding water resources mana-gement, both global and regional, for the next twenty years.An international Steering Committee has been formed: for each selected topic, it consists of a Minister of one of the invited countries whowill preside over one of the three workshops, and who will be assisted by States representatives, personalities of the civil society, some high-le-vel officials of the United Nations Agencies and main international organizations.This Committee is responsible for preparing draft recommendations, using the papers received and analyzing the conclusions of the previous in-ternational meetings, the Harare experts’ group meeting of January 1998 in particular, organized by the CSD Secretariat with the support of theEuropean Union countries. It met in Paris, on 12 and 13 February 1998.The preliminary conclusions were forwarded to all the countries and organizations invited to the Paris Conference, to be discussed in Parison 19 and 20 of March within the framework of the experts workshops, taking into account the most enlightening information.On 21 March 1998, the Ministers in charge of water management in the participating countries will be invited to officially approve the conclusions of the Conference.

International ConferenceWATER AND SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENTPARIS - 19-20-21 MARCH 1998

The network newsletter - N° 6 - 1st Quarter of 19986

ASIASince 1960, Brantas River Ba-

sin (12,000 km2) has been develo-ped, starting with the first MasterPlan. Up to now, there are six bigdams and ten small dams being ma-naged by Jasa Tirta Public Corpora-tion. Most of them are multi-purposedams which serve about 14 millionpeople who live in the basin.

The Corporation receives itsincome from the water service feepaid by the beneficiaries of thewater supply allocated for their bu-sinesses.

Various problems have to beconfronted with, such as conflict ofinterest between hydro-power ge-neration and water demand for irri-gation, water pollution, sedimenta-tion in the reservoirs, river bed de-gradation due to illegal sand miningetc., which are discussed within theWater Management Committee,chaired by the Vice Governor.

Meetings gathering all themembers (Local Government, Irri-gation Service, Electricity Compa-ny, Drinking Water Supply Compa-ny, Board of Fisheries, Meteorolo-gical Agency, Jasa Tirta PublicCorporation etc...) are held at leasttwice a year, to solve any problemthat arises within the basin in caseof drought or rainy season.

Nowadays, everything has chan-ged compared to conditions of the1960’s. Industrialization, urbanizationetc. are taking place within the basinand the water demand increases, thewater quality decreases while there islimited water available, so the Corpo-ration considers necessary to reviewthe Master Plan. The question is howto undertake water conservation forour future generations, our children,grandchildren, etc... Up to now, threeMaster Plans have been issued, thoseof 1961, 1973 and 1985, all with diffe-rent purposes.

In this Comprehensive Mana-gement Plan for the Water Re-sources of the Brantas River BasinStudy, besides the review of waterresources development, water-shed conservation, flood control,water quality and water quantityaspects, we consider also the ma-nagement of the Corporation itselfas a company, so that the feasibili-ty of its existence can be justified,as well as the aspects of river envi-ronment, community and benefi-ciaries (users) participation etc.

We are now planning the holisticapproach for managing a river basin ...Ir. Kusumarini, Dipl. H.Jasa Tirta Public CorporationFax : (62-341) 551 976

NORTH AMERICAQUEBECCOBARIC PILOT PROJECT - 2ND PHASE

On 24 November last, theMinistry for the Environment andFauna presided over the signing ofan agreement on regional deve-lopment that will enable the conti-nuation of the pilot project for anintegrated water management inthe Chaudiere river basin.

During its second 24-monthmandate, the Chaudiere RiverBasin Committee (COBARIC) willhave to prepare a master plan forwater that will include, amongother things, a priority action plandrawing up objectives for the watercourse protection, rehabilitationand development as well as a hie-rarchical organization of uses.

COBARIC will also have topropose legal and financial meansfor a possible implementation ofthis master plan for water andconsult the population of this hy-drographic territory about this newmanagement approach.

The Minister, in the presenceof several parties of the municipal,industrial and agricultural sectors,has underlined that this importantproject was concretizing the will ofthe Government and its partners tocontinue their effort to provideQuebec with a modern and inte-

grated method of water manage-ment that is adapted to the contextof the next millennium.

On the other hand, theGovernment of Quebec has star-ted elaborating a water policy andorganized a symposium on watermanagement in Montreal on 10, 11and 12 December 1997.

The purpose of this sympo-sium was to be the first step of thisapproach and to inform the peopleinterested in water managementand enable them to exchange theirpoints of view with experts.

The different topics dealt withwere integrated river basin mana-gement, groundwater manage-ment, water trade and export andthe management of municipal in-frastructures.

A report on the symposium’sconclusions and recommenda-tions was forwarded to theGovernment.

Jean Maurice LatulippeMinistry for the Environmentand FaunaFax : (1-418) 644 2003

INDONESIAOUR MOTTO: ONE RIVER, ONE PLAN,ONE MANEGEMENTUZBEKISTAN

THE INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL MEETING ON THE ARAL SEA BASIN PROBLEMS

On October 15-16, Tashkentplayed host to the InternationalTechnical Meeting on the Aral SeaBasin Problems, organized by theExecutive Committee of theInternational Fund for the AralSea (EC-IFAS) on the initiative ofthe World Bank and UNDP.

The meeting was attended bythe Deputy Prime Ministers of theCentral Asian States, heads andspecialists from ministries, embas-sies, representatives of over thirtycountries, international banks andfoundations, the World Bank, UNorganizations, experts and specia-lists from non-governmental andenvironmental organizations, over200 participants in all.

It was pointed out at the mee-ting that the Aral Sea crisis is astern warning to the internationalcommunity and illustrates how fastan environmental disaster can de-velop which threatens the entire re-gion. 20 years ago no one attachedmuch importance to its portent.Twenty years is but an instant inthe life of the planet and, in that ins-tant, the world’s fourth largest lakeis disappearing from the face of theearth, and a population large en-ough for a European country findsitself at the epicenter of a crisis, un-der the extremely negative effectsof the biggest environmental disas-ter of the 20th century.

The participants supported theobjectives and the following activi-ties:● the rational use of water re-

sources in the Aral Sea basinwill be the highest priority in allthe Central Asian States,

● the funds of international agen-cies, donor countries, nationalgovernments, local authoritiesand the EC-IFAS will be focusedon restoring the ecological ba-lance and protecting the po-pulation,

● the information on the currentstatus of the crisis will attractthe attention of the world public,international agencies, donorcountries, individuals and foun-dations to the environmentalthreat to mankind posed by theAral Sea situation and persuade

them of the need to join efforts inrendering immediate assistancein order to mitigate its impact,

● the Aral Sea tragedy will persua-de everyone that, if nations donot realize the full impact ofenvironmental disasters anddo not take practical mea-sures to stop the further irra-tional use of nature, they willjeopardize all humanity,

● the implementation of commit-ments made by the five CentralAsian States backed by the as-sistance of the internationalcommunity will make it possibleto stave off this threat and solvemajor global environmental pro-blems.

The donors’ grants amount toover US $15 million.

The participants pointed out,however, that despite the magnitu-de of the work done, interventionsaimed at mitigating the after ef-fects of the desiccation of the AralSea were insufficient, and urgedmore assistance to the basin pro-grams and additional priorities inpoverty alleviation.

The participants at the meetingnoted with satisfaction the esta-blishment by the five Central AsianCountries of a regional organiza-tion for coordinating the implemen-tation of all the Aral Sea Basinprograms and projects - theInternational Fund for the Aral Seawith its Executive Committee andbranches in all the riparian States.

The Executive Committee as-sumes all responsibility for coope-ration with all donors and is readyto act on their behalf in establi-shing contacts and securing a tar-geted use of grants and trustfunds, as well as all kinds of director indirect assistance to the region.

An independent publication ofIFAS will enable the permanentmonitoring of the crisis and the in-forming of the public and specia-lists. The “ Vestnik Arala “bulletin will be published inRussian biannually, and a quar-terly newsletter in English.EC-IFASFax: (8-3712) 410730

Indonesia view

77The network newsletter - N° 6 - 1st Quarter of 1998

AFRICA

LAKE CHADBASIN COMMISSION

The Lake Chad BasinCommission (LCBC) was set up bythe FORT LAMY (N’DJAMENA)Convention signed on 22 May1964 by the Heads of States of thefour member countries that sharethe waters of the region neighbou-ring the lake: Cameroon, Niger,Nigeria and Chad. The CentralAfrican Republic joined the groupin 1994.

The Commission is led by theCommissioners’ Conference com-posed of two Commissioners permember State. It meets once ayear to examine and approve theCommission’s activity programmeand budget. The Conference ismandated by the Heads of Statethat also meets once a year.

The Executive Secretariat isthe executive body of theCommission. Its headquarters arein N’Djamena.

Functions entrusted to LCBCare as follows:

● prepare common regulations tofully apply the principles statedin the statutes and in theconvention and ensure their ef-fective application,

● gather, examine and dissemina-te information on the projects

prepared by member States andrecommend a timetable for com-mon work and joint researchprogrammes in the Lake ChadBasin,

● maintain a liaison between thecontracting parties to use theBasin water in the most efficientway,

● follow up the execution of pro-jects and studies in the basinthat depend on the conventionand inform member States, atleast once a year, by processingthe systematic and periodic re-ports that each State has tosend the Secretariat,

● elaborate common regulationson shipping,

● establish regulations as regardsits staff and monitor their appli-cation,

● examine complaints and contri-bute to the settlement ofconflicts,

● monitor the application of the re-gulations stated in the statutesand the convention.

Abubakar B. JauroChad Lake Basin CommissionFax : (235) 52 41 37

On 11 March 1972, Senegal,Mali and Mauritania decided tocreate OMVS (Organization forthe Development of the SenegalRiver), and entrusted it the mis-sion of contributing to the optimumdevelopment of their economy.

To reach this objective, an in-frastructure programme was im-plemented for the building of theDiama and Manantali dams.

OMVS has a legal frameworkcomposed of 4 agreements, inclu-ding that on the methods for fun-ding common projects.

This agreement defines invest-ment resources and the funds foroperating infrastructures.

Investments were funded byloans.

As regards the operation of in-frastructures, the principle of tarif-

fing water withdrawals has beenapplied since 1987, but the low re-covery rate (30%) must be underli-ned. This is caused by the widelyspread population and difficulty ofidentifying all the users and by atoo recent experience in the appli-cation of tariffing.

It seems necessary to esta-blish a policy to improve recoveryrate and income with a policy forthe users’ awareness raising, asystem for a stricter control of with-drawals, a guarantee for the pay-ment of withdrawals, theprogressive adjustment of tariffsand a later application of the pollu-ter-pays principle.

Mamadou LAKHGeneral Manager - OMVSSenegalFax : 221/61 16 31

TECCONILE, the TechnicalCooperation Committee for thePromotion of the Development andEnvironmental Protection of theNile Basin, is an intergovernmentalorganization of the Nile Basincountries.

The organization’s long termobjectives are to assist participa-ting countries in the development,conservation and use of the NileBasin water resources in an inte-grated and sustainable way,through cooperation for the benefitof all. Equally important is the as-sistance of these countries to de-termine the equitable entitlementof each riparian country to the useof the Nile river waters.

The organization’s short-termobjectives are to assist memberstates, to develop national watermaster plans and their integrationinto a Nile Basin DevelopmentAction Plan.

Within this framework, all theriparian states developed an ela-borate action plan namely the NileRiver Basin Action Plan (NRBAP)that comprises 22 projects with atotal cost estimated at US$ 100million.

The programme is composedof five main components:

● Integrated Water ResourcesPlanning and Management: di-rected towards efficient wateruse and development, upgra-ding water quality and protectionof the environment within an in-

tegrated approach to water re-sources planning and manage-ment.

● Capacity building whose ob-jective is to strengthen the insti-tutional and human resourcescapabilities at a basin-wide andnational level.

● Training: directed towards theimprovement of individual andgroup skills that will be requiredin Nile countries.

● Regional Cooperation whosemain objective is to develop abasin-wide multidisciplinary fra-mework for legal and institutio-nal arrangements.

● Environmental protection andenhancement directed primarilytowards the control of environ-mental degradation, siltation,pollution and water needs in theequatorial lakes and the WhiteNile.

Mrisho M. KivugoTECCONILEFax: (256-42) 20971/20575

TECCONILEA NILE RIVER BASINACTION PLAN

OMVS

GUINEAA NEW WATER POLICY

Water resources have alwaysbeen a major concern of theGuinean Government in its socio-economic development policy.

Since the World Conferenceon Drinking Water Supply andSanitation (New Delhi 1990), theRepublic of Guinea has endeavou-red to prepare a policy and strate-gy in the sector of water resourcesmanagement.

Within such a framework, theMinistries of Natural Resourcesand Energy, Agriculture, Waterand Forestry, and Urban Planningand Housing, that share responsi-bilities in this sector, elaborated,signed and published, in August1996, the “ Newsletter of theSectoral Policy on Water andSanitation in Guinea “ after the pu-blication of the Water Law of theRepublic of Guinea.

This newsletter describes thedevelopment policy of the Countryin the water resources sector aswell as the strategies and prin-ciples for action in the sub-sectorsof water management, drinkingwater supply in urban and ruralareas and of sanitation.

The implementation of the de-velopment strategy for this sectorwill involve the following sub-sec-tors:

● Water resources manage-ment, executed by the NationalWater Directorate (DNH),

● Urban water management, un-der the responsibility of the Na-tional Water Company of Gui-nea (SONEG), a public corpora-tion.

● Rural water management: TheNational Department for the De-velopment of Boreholes (SNA-PE) aims at developing 15,000boreholes before year 2005 fora population estimated at 5.4million inhabitants, i.e. 360 inha-bitants/borehole instead of 625inhabitants/borehole nowadays.

● Urban sanitation, whose imple-mentation is ensured by the Di-rectorate for Land Use and Ur-ban Planning (DATU).

Lansana FOFANAD.N.H.Fax : (224) 41 49 13

The network newsletter - N° 6 - 1st Quarter of 19988

LATIN AMERICA

Representatives of Mexico,Guatemala, Honduras, Salvador,Panama, Dominican Republican,Cuba, Nicaragua and Costa Ricamet in San Jose (Costa Rica) onMay 14, 15 and 16, 1997 to ex-change their ideas and expe-riences on the topics of waterresources management and hy-drographic basins, with the sup-port of French experts and of theInter-American DevelopmentBank.

It is a well acknowledged factthat all above-mentioned coun-tries have been making real ef-forts in order to protect,rehabilitate and manage waterresources and also their commit-ment to safeguard this preciousnatural heritage for the future ge-nerations. The problems anddrawbacks faced in managingwater are also well known.

The existence of commonaims and problems was empha-sized during this meeting. Thus,it appears urgent and necessaryto reinforce the exchange of ex-periences and informationamong countries.

Thus, it was decided to :

❶ Promote the creation of aForum for the Managementof Hydrographic Basins inCentral America and the Ca-ribbean within the Internatio-nal Network of Basin Organi-zations. This Forum will ensu-re a permanent exchange ofexperiences and informationin the region.

❷ Create an Executive Com-mission for the Forum, com-posed of one representativefrom each member country,which will elaborate a charterof operation and implementconcrete forms of communi-cation and participation of allmembers;

❸ Mandate the Forum’s Executi-ve Commission to promoteregional workshops whichwould deal with certain to-pics specific to river basin

management, such as watersaving (thanks to cost recove-ry, to the applying of the“user-polluter-pays“ principleand to an incentive or dissua-sive system), water qualitystandards and monitoringsystems, legal bases for ma-naging hydrographic basins,standard of living of the popu-lation,

❹ the elaboration of a projectof cooperation among all thecountries of the region with re-gard to the training of techni-cal staff specialized inhydrographic basin manage-ment,

❺ the opening of the Forum torepresentatives from theCaribbean countries.

❻ Involve private enterprisesand the public in the activi-ties of the Forum.

❼ Encourage regional effortsfor the integration, either for-mal or informal, of environ-mental education as regardswatersheds.

❽ Elaborate a Strategic Planwith an agenda and specificobjectives per country and perregion that should integratethe Action Plan of CentralAmerica for Water ResourcesDevelopment (PACADIRH).

❾ Organize in 1998 in Guate-mala, the 2nd Meeting of theBasin Organizations ofCentral America and the Ca-ribbean.The participants thanked the

French Government, the Inter-American Development Bank,CAPRE and the GermanCooperation Agency in particu-lar, for their financial support andthe help of their experts duringthis meeting.Hubert MendezMaureen BallesteroFax: (506) 666 29 67

FIRST MEETING OF THE BASIN ORGANIZATIONS OF CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN COSTA RICA - MAY 1997

INBO - RNLACREATION OF THE REGIONAL NETWORK FOR LATIN AMERICA

INBO’s Latin AmericanRegional Network was set upduring the constitutive meetingheld in Brasilia on 9 and 10 July1997, at the invitation of theBrazilian Ministry for theEnvironment..

The Consitutive Assembly wascarried out under the supervisionof INBO’s Chairman, Mr. EduardoMestre (Mexico), and with the par-ticipation of Mrs. Gentiana Serbu(Romania), Mr. Raymundo Garrido(Brazil) and of Mr. Jean-FrançoisDonzier (France) and led to theadoption of the following views:

● INBO’s Latin American networkwill hold its first General Assem-bly in Bogota, Colombia, in Sep-tember 1998;

● A proposal regarding the contri-bution of the member organiza-tions, amounting to US$ 1,500per year, per organization, willbe presented during this Assem-bly;

● The first Managing Bureau wasdefined as follows: Chairman:Raymundo Garrido (Brazil), Per-manent Technical Secretary:Eduardo Mestre (Mexico), Trea-surer: Victor Pochat (Argentina),and four associated members:Maureen Ballestero (Costa Ri-ca), Pedro Basable (Equador),Gustavo Escobar (Colombia)and a member from Chile to benominated later.

Mrs. Gentiana Serbu(Romania), member of INBO’sLiaison Bureau, reminded, whentalking about contributions, thatINBO’s members are neither coun-tries nor ministries but include notonly representatives from govern-ments but also water users andmembers of the civil society.

Raymundo GarridoDirector for Federal WaterManagementFax: (55-61) 223 53 66

CAPRETECHNOLOGIES FOR EFFLUENT TREATMENTAND CONTROL

In the region, as in the otherparts of the world, water is one of themost important natural resources forthe development of the society. Itsquality and quantity have direct im-pacts on uses and on the publichealth of inhabitants, especiallywhere nothing is done to control pol-lution in the water courses.

All countries have elaboratedmore or less precise laws with thebest intentions but with few tools toenforce their effective application.

The lack of use of appropriatetechnologies is to be regretted aswell as that of ministerial compe-tences to control the building, ope-ration and maintenance oftreatment plants, and the lack ofstandards for liquid discharges.

CAPRE (Committee for theRegional Coordination of PotableWater and SanitationOrganizations of Central America,Panama and the DominicanRepublic), aware of these pro-blems, has envisaged the initiationand development of actions in thefield of wastewater, in close colla-boration with GTZ project.

These actions are generallyinitiated by the National TechnicalCommittees (NTC) for WaterQuality (CALAGUA) and are inte-grated into yearly action plans.

A Programme has been re-cently elaborated in Costa Rica toapply legislation and reduce thepollution of receiving media.

This Programme comprisesthe establishment of Standards forWastewaters, by way of a regula-tion prepared by a multidisciplinaryteam that represents State institu-tions, the various polluting sectorsand private consultants. It was pu-blished in the Official Bulletin onThursday 19 June 1997.

It defines the quality standardsfor wastewater discharge towardsthe receiving media and sewers,while strengthening control andfollow-up actions.

The CAPRE-GTZ project withcoffee and sugar cane growers,pig breeders and cheese makersand the Ministry of Health and theAssociation of the treatment plantsof Santa Cruz de Turrialba, is oneof the successes obtained in thisfield.

The continuation of these ex-periments is planned for the rest ofthe region, owing to the positive re-sults obtained.

Iliana Arce UmañaCAPREFax: (506) 222 3941

CAPRE

The network newsletter - N° 6 - 1st Quarter of 1998 9

BOLIVIAINTEGRATED RIVER BASIN MANAGE-MENT IN COCHABAMBA

The Integrated River BasinManagement Programme, PRO-MIC, depends on the Prefecture ofCochachamba district and on theSwiss Agency for Developmentand Cooperation, COSUDE. It wasestablished in 1991 to solve theproblems of this Tunani cordilleraregion that comprises 38 micro-ba-sins, sheltering a population of mo-re than 500,000 inhabitants. Theorigin of the problem is the state ofdegradation of the mountain ran-ge.

PROMIC comprises three stra-tegic components:

❶ the reversion of the environ-mental degradation pro-cesses, especially soil lossthrough erosion of agriculturallands, using sustainable prac-tices of water and land use, wi-thin a participation frameworkof social consensus with the vil-lage communities,

❷ the mitigation of natural ha-zards in the central valley in or-der to protect its productioninfrastructure and reducelosses thanks to an adequatecontrol of landslides, torrentsand sedimentation,

❸ the reduction of the deficitusing available measures forwater resources conservationand for groundwater rechargein the valley.

Work started with biophysicaland socio-economic diagnostics,carried out by a multidisciplinaryteam that proposed 10 priority ba-sins for action in the next ten yearsusing the complementarity of theanalysis of satellite imagery andfield work.

This study dealt with elements,for each basin, such as: environ-mental degradation process, itsimpact on the valley during the rai-ny season, populations in hazard-prone areas and the urban or ruralinfrastructure affected.

An action phase was initiatedin 1991 in the Taquiña pilot basin.

The process of regionaliza-tion and transfer to an Integra-ted River Basin Management(IRBM) started in 1996 in the nine other priority basins. Atpresent, the basins concerned arethose of Pajcha and Pintu Mayuthat for years have presented aconsiderable problem to the mainagglomeration of the district.

Thanks to the rainfall of thelast rainy season, that exceededby more than 40% the historicalaverage of the Central Valley ofCochabamba, the positive impactof these actions could be measu-red and the IRBM reinforced as atrue regional option.

Roberto Mendez - PROMICFAX : (591-42) 91095

CUBAA NATIONAL GROUDWATER MONITORING NETWORK

The average exploitablegroundwater volume of the CubanRepublic is estimated at 6.457Hm3/year. This represents about30% of the country’s water availa-bility.

This groundwater potential ismainly distributed in the hinterlandand coastal plains. The resourcesare split into165 aquifer systems.

About 52% of the exploitablegroundwater resources are usedyearly in the country.

To achieve an efficient mana-gement of these resources, thecountry has a National Ground-water Monitoring Network that ismanaged by the Hydrology andWater Quality Centre of the Natio-

nal Institute (Ministry) of Water Re-sources, by way of its National Hy-drogeological Office and itsbranches in the 14 provinces and aSpecial Municipality that constitutethe political divisions of the country.

The objectives to be achievedare to:

● constitute a computerized ba-se for the systematic assess-ment of groundwater resourcesvolumes and quality.

● be a platform in order to solvethe problems of planning the re-sources use and protection.

Provide public information onthe state of aquifers and enforce

ECUADORWORKSHOP ON BASIN ORGANIZATION

The National Water ResourcesCouncil (CNRH) held from the 2ndto the 6th of June 1997, under theauspices of the French Embassy inEcuador, a Workshop on “Operationof Basin Organizations -Experiences in Latin America” in thecities of Quito and Cuenca, for thepurpose of beginning a discussionon and analysis of the experiences,both national and international, andadvancing toward a coordinationbetween the institutions in an inte-grated water resources manage-ment in Ecuador.

The event relied on the partici-pation of Messrs. AxelDourojeanni and DominiqueBerthon and allowed to establishsome criteria in order to achieve anew system of water resourcesmanagement in Ecuador.

On the other hand, it allowedto elaborate a framework of refe-rences on the main aspects thatshould be included in the newWater Law of Ecuador.

measures to guarantee their pro-tection and sound use.

The National GroundwaterMonitoring Network is structuredas follows:

● a network for monthly infor-mation on water levels (579 sta-tions) including water level re-cording stations (111 wells) andhalf-yearly information on wa-ter levels (2,589 stations),

● a hydrochemical network formere half-yearly measure-ments (1,135 wells) and batho-meter recording (358 wells),

● special networks for sondingand extraction (about 125wells).

A systematic automatic mana-gement of the groundwater database has been developed since1982. This work is orientated ac-cording to four axes:

● design and implementation ofdata bases (computerized sys-

tems for basic data acquisition,storage, processing and retrieval),

● mathematical modelling ofaquifers and groundwater dyna-mics,

● development of computerizedsystems for information ac-quisition and processing suchas water levels, salinity, ground-water physico-chemistry, as-sessment and control of withdra-wals,

● development of application soft-ware.

L.F. Molerio, O. Barros, N. Gomez, J.L. GelabertCentre for Hydrology and WaterQualityFax : (537) 24 06 80

PROJECT FOR A BASIN ORGANIZA-TION FOR THE PAUTE RIVER

In compliance with the currentconcepts of SustainableDevelopment, the National WaterResources Council (national insti-tution) together with CREA (regio-nal institution) and ETAPA (localinstitution), intend to reform thecurrent institutional system and or-ganize water entities or organismsat basin level, that can carry outactions to reach an environmentalmanagement based on fundamen-tal principles such as: acknowled-ging river basins as planning units,the articulation of interinstitutionalfunctions, the respect of interestsbetween big and small waterusers, self-management and self-funding, the effective participationof the users in decision-making,the development of an updated pu-blic information system on theavailability, uses and pollution inthe basin.

The three institutions are interes-ted in carrying out the design andexecution of the study for the esta-blishment of a pilot river basin enti-ty in the Paute River basin.

The objectives of the projectare to:

❶ Draw up a proposal for the pre-vention, control and monito-ring of water resources pollu-tion in the Paute river basinthat promotes the integratedmanagement of the area.

❷ Draw up a proposal for the fu-ture holistic management ofwater resources in the river ba-sins of Ecuador.More than 600,000 inhabitants

live in the Paute pilot basin, in which is located the third largest ci-ty of Ecuador (Cuenca) and aHydroelectric station which pro-vides 70% of the energy of thecountry.

Victor Rosado Lua(CNRH-Quito)

Fax: (593-2) 543092

The network newsletter - N° 6 - 1st Quarter of 199810

BRAZILThe Doce River Basin Technical

Agency has made public the resultsof eleven water quality surveys thatwere realized during the years of1993 and 1996. If compared withthose found out during the years of1985 and 1990, these results revealan improvement of the water qualityin 33% of the monitored sections anda worsening of quality in 21% of the-se sections.

For each of the 649 samplescollected in the Doce River Basin,25 parameters were analysed, gi-ving a total of 11,225 analyses.Nowadays, the water quality basicnetwork which is in operation,counts on 59 DNAEE stations and9 which are monitored by theEnvironment Office of the EspirituSanto State.

In accordance with the waterquality directives established bythe Brazilian Government in 1986,the above-mentioned classificationtakes into account criteria such asphysical, chemical and bacteriolo-gical parameters as well as thetoxic ones (heavy metals, phenol).

In both surveys, the analysesof the collected data show that thepollution sources of larger impactin the Doce River Basin, are thedomestic sewage systems, the mi-ning and metallurgy residues andthe effluent of substances such asindustrial and domestic deter-gents. The accentuated erosionworsens the situation, since it discharges solid residues into thewaters, silting up the river beds.Paulo Maciel JuniorCoordinator of the Doce RiverBasin Technical AgencyFax: (55-31) 261 4009

A Brazilian delegation from thePiracicaba-Capivari MunicipalitiesConsortium visited French institu-tions during the week of 6 to 10October 1997. The purpose of thisvisit was to acquire a good know-ledge of water and industrial solidwastes management in France.

At present, in Brazil, especiallyin the Sao Paulo State, legislationon water and solid wastes and theinstitutions necessary for setting upwater charges on water use are atthe core of the debate. This visit fo-cused on cooperation programmesbetween the Consortium, the Seine-Normandy Water Agency and theAgency for the Environment andEnergy Control (ADEME ), with thesupport of the French Embassy inBrazil.

The Brazilian delegation wascomposed of 34 persons: mayors,town councillors, technicians, re-presentatives from environmentalassociations and governmental or-ganizations of the Sao Paulo Stateand of two representatives fromRiver Basin Committees.

The delegation went to theSeine-Normandy Water Agency,to the International Office forWater and ADEME, and visitedinstallations for the treatment of in-dustrial solid wastes in Limay(SARP Group and France-Wastes), the delegation of theWater Agency in Compiegne, thestation for water quality warningand control of Nandy, and thetreatment plant of Valantes.Limay’s mayor received theBrazilian delegation to informallytalk about the public administrationof water supply, sewers andwastes services.

A cooperation agreement who-se objectives, among others, willbe the assisting in the elaborationof a river contract and environmen-tal education.

Vitorio Rumberto Antoniazzi, Mayor of Valinbos andPresident of the ConsortiumJoao Jeronimo Monticelli,Technical CoordinatorFax : (55-19) 460 40 43

A DELEGATION OF THE PIRACICABA-CAPIVARI CONSORTIUM VISITS FRANCE

THE CITIZENS FOR WATER MOVEMENTWhy a GovernmentalInitiative?

The citizens for WaterMovement is an initiative of theSecretariat of Water Resources ofthe Ministry for the Environment,Water Resources and the LegalAmazonia Region that acknow-ledges and reinforces the efforts ofpeople that are carrying out rele-vant actions for the preservation ofwater.

The movement will enhancethe profile, provide support to andhelp organize those who activelyparticipate in the management ofwater resources.

The exercised citizenship which underscores the Movementprovides a new approach to themanagement of water resourcesthat fosters decentralized and au-tonomous management.

Since water has multiple uses,the Government increasinglytends to coordinate the manage-ment of water resources, ratherthan manage the resources them-selves.

The Government of Brazil isofficially committed to achieving significant results in the preserva-tion of the environment, as expres-sed in the Agenda 21, one of theresults of the 1992 Rio de JaneiroConference on Environment andDevelopment. The Brazilianpeople have faced this challengeas an ethical commitment to en-hance the standard of living of thefuture generations.

How to participate in the Citizens for Water Movement?

Who are these citizens ? Whoparticipates in the movement ?Citizens are the technicians whodisseminate information, fisher-men who protect the lives of fish,environmentalists committed tothe preservation of ecosystems,professors who teach environmen-tal protection, farmers who care forthe water within their farms, manu-facturers who treat industrialwastes and citizens who disposeadequately of the trash becausethey know that a plain candy wrap-per thrown on the sidewalk, willend up first in the gutter, then in astream and finally in the river.

Thus, it is more important foreach citizen to care for the springsand river heads by means of smallactions and preventive work, thanit is to deal with large volumes ofcontaminated water.

What really matters is to actappropriately, according to the sa-me objectives. Bernardo Toro saysthat “ shared mobilization “ doesnot require people to be together,or to know each other. It is essen-tial that they share meaning and significance, i.e., collective certain-ty that “ what I do is done and un-derstood in the same way by mypeers “.Reference Center of the Citizensfor Water Movement - BrasiliaFax : (55-61) 317 8201

BRAZIL-FRANCE TECHNICAL COOPERATION PROGRAMME

1997 was particularly beneficialfor the Brazil-France cooperation onriver basin management. The ap-proval of the Brazilian Water Lawemphasized the pilot character ofthis cooperation, especially at the le-vel of the project for establishing aRiver Basin Agency for the Paraíbado Sul River. This project is coordi-nated by the National Department ofWater and Electric Energy(DNAEE), in partnership with theSecretariat of Water Resources(SHR), of the Ministry for the Envi-ronment, Water Resources and Le-gal Amazonia (MMA).

In June, the French-Braziliancooperation gave its support to theorganization of the constitutivemeeting of INBO’s regional net-work for Latin America and recei-ved Latin American participants onits premises. A technical visit en-abled the presentation of the Light-Guandu system (water transferfrom Paraiba do Sul for electricityproduction and the water supply ofRio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area)and the implementation of the edu-cational water programme in theRio Claro community.

In September, the French Em-bassy in Brazil and DBEnviron-ment organized a mission for tech-nicians and for representatives ofusers in Rivers basins. The dele-gation was received by the Inter-national Office for Water, the Wa-ter Directorate of the Ministry forthe Environment, the Loire-Britta-ny and Artois-Picardy Water Agen-cies, and by the Federation of Re-gional Natural Parks.

Part of this delegation partici-pated in INBO’s second GeneralAssembly in Valencia (Spain) andvisited the Water Company of Bar-celona.

In October an official Braziliandelegation, comprising the Secretary

for Water Resources of MMA, Mr.Paulo Romano, and the CoordinatorGeneral of Water Resources ofDNAEE, Mr. Vinícius Benevides,went to France in order to study withthe French Authorities the means ne-cessary to continue the work that hasstarted on the Rio Doce and Paraíbado Sul basins and transfer these ex-periments to other priority river ba-sins in the country.

A training course on “ RiverBasin Management “ was organi-zed in December by SRH, with theassistance of the International Offi-ce for Water, the Technical Agen-cy of Paraiba do Sul River basin,DNAEE and the Company for Re-search on Mineral Resources(CPRM).

In 1998, the French-Braziliancooperation agreement will mainlydeal with:

● The reinforcement of the Tech-nical Agencies of the Doce andParaiba do Sul river basins andthe installation of the “Viva Ter-ra” software, the setting up of apilot system of stations for theautomatic control of hydrogeo-chemical parameters; specifichydrogeochemical studies andthe evaluation of methods forthe analysis of industrial ef-fluents and the control of thebiotic conditions in the basin;

● The dissemination of the manage-ment model to mayors and usersand the implementation of theEducational Water Programme;

● Creation of a training centre forriver basin managers;

● Preparation of the first draft of anaction plan for the Paraiba do Sulriver basin, to be consistent withthe plans of Rio de Janeiro, MinasGerais et São Paulo States.

Vinicius E Benevides - DNAEEFax : (55-61) 312 5882/312 5881

DOCE RIVER BASIN TECHNICAL AGENCY MAKES PUBLICITS WATER QUALITY RESEARCH

The network newsletter - N° 6 - 1st Quarter of 1998 11

COSTA RICAACTION PLAN FOR THE TEMPISQUE BASIN

The concept of the hydrogra-phic basin used as a regional plan-ning unit for natural resources hasstrengthened during the last years.Although it was applied at first towater resources, it has now beenwidened to the management ofother natural resources.

The Association for theManagement of the TempisqueRiver Basin (ASOTEM) inLiberia, Costa Rica, has reques-ted the Tropical ScientificCentre to elaborate an ActionPlan that would enable to directefforts towards activities thatwould improve the standard ofliving of the population.

The Tempisque river basin co-vers an area of more than 500,000ha and comprises large agricultu-ral production centres as well asNational Parks and protectedareas. It produces about half the ri-ce and sugar cane of the countrywhile covering only 10% of theCostarican territory. However, thishigh production rate has had im-pacts on the environment that arenow being taken into account.Owing to the climate characteris-tics of this region, water resourcesare particularly significant as alengthy drought period has expo-nentially increased the water va-lue.

In the first phase, the planconsists in establishing a dia-gnostics of the conditions of thebasin resources, using existinginformation and a 1/200.000 scale.It comprises partial reports on hy-drology, forestry, forest life, protec-ted areas, wetlands, sociology,economy and pollution.

In the second phase, theAction Plan will be prepared, ba-sed on this technical diagnosticsand on a series of participative se-minars. This plan will identify prio-rity areas for action where benefitswill be most significant and willpropose guidelines for the imple-mentation of investments for theenvironment.

The basic research criterionis the maximization of theCostarican society’s quality oflife. The plan will be designed totake into account the fact that it willnot be implemented by a solegroup or institution but will be auseful tool for everyone interestedin undertaking actions favouringthe sound use of the Tempisque ri-ver basin resources.

In order to modify land use thatis carried out in an irrealistic man-ner and without any viability, thisplan will be flexible and will identifycritical areas and propose specificactions for each case. It will alsoacknowledge the importance ofeconomic production and the sear-ch for harmony between economicdevelopment and conservation,while providing non centralized

strategic solutions. In addition, theinformation gathered during thisresearch will be able to improveknowledge on topics of interest.The results will be summarized ina series of digitized maps that willbe available to researchers andthe general public.

Dialogue with the Civil Society

Besides the consultants’ work,a dialogue with the civil society willbe initiated, focusing on the pro-blems encountered in the basinand potential solutions. The resultsof this dialogue at community levelwill be the following: a) global des-cription of the problem, objectives,solutions and levels of institutionalresponsibility, b) work of the insti-tutions in this area, c) dissemina-tion of information to thecommunity representatives, insti-tutions and the project’s primecontractors. Three workshops anda regional workshop will be organi-zed. They will gather representa-tives from all groups, institutionsand communities. The regionalworkshop will present the conclu-sions and the consultants’ achie-vements. ASOTEM, andrepresentatives from institutionsand NGOs will actively participate.The regional workshop will have tostandardize information gatheredin the workshops and by theconsultants in order to classify pro-blems and solutions by prioritiesand to define the role of the institu-tions and NGOs. Finally, a regionalworkshop will be organized to pre-sent the proposed Action Plan.

Elaboration of an Action Plan

This plan will be based on theconclusions of the local and regio-nal workshops, on the consultants’recommendations and on a dia-logue with the organizations or ins-titutions the most concerned bythis problem. In addition, experts inenvironmental policy, legislationand economy will be consulted toidentify the most suitable actions,define strategies for their imple-mentation and the possible incen-tives and pilot projects that wouldaim at promoting real actions. TheTropical Scientific Centre andASOTEM will propose advisers.

Jaime EcheverriaEnvironmental EconomicProgrammeTropical Research CentreE.mail : economia@cct.or.cr

The Water Law of August1942, still in force in the country,stated that water is a public goodand that its use and developmentmust therefore be regulated in or-der to ensure its sustainabiltiy.This law created the WaterDepartment (Departamento deAguas) in the old NationalElectricity Department.

The Law of 28 March 1996 thatcreated the Regulatory Authorityfor Public Services, stipulates thatthe Water Department be trans-ferred to the Ministry for theEnvironment and Energy (MI-NAE). This transfer, including per-sonnel, assets and powers, wascompleted on October 5, 1997.

Thus, the reorganization en-ded at the planned date, and theMINAE competences relative tonatural resources have been rein-forced, not only regarding the pre-paration of policies but alsomanagement, protection andconservation.

The Water Department isnow located in the NationalMeteorological Institute (IMN), or-ganization of MINAE, and is res-ponsible for “the sound andefficient management and deve-lopment of water resources onthe whole national territory, whi-le ensuring sustainable deve-lopment”.

It will be in charge, amongother things, of defining the natio-nal water policy, controlling andmanaging the national water re-sources, ensuring their monitoring,studying the concession applica-

tions for the development of hydro-power and hydroelectricity and ofmanaging the permits for welldrilling for groundwater extraction.

In addition, it will have to settle,as a second priority, the conflictsbetween water and watercourseuses, allocate permits for the buil-ding or implementation of hydrau-lic works on government ownedwatercourses (mains, diversionworks, dredging, cleaning, ...).

The setting up of a WaterCommission is also envisaged.It would be composed of represen-tatives from the CostaricanInstitute for Aqueducts andSewers (AyA), the NationalIrrigation and DrainageDepartment (SENARA), NGOs,the civil society, public Universitiesand from the Water Departmentthat would assume its chairman-ship.

The aim of this reorganizationis to have a real organization tohead the national water sector inorder to enable an efficient watermanagement and the environmen-tal management necessary for hy-drographic basin protection andrehabilitation; to ensure the partici-pation of the different sectors ofthe society and of the users; and toset up an appropriate legal frame-work to achieve the proposed ob-jectives.

Maureen Ballestero V.ASOTEMFax : (506) 257 0697

PANAMAAN ENVIRONMENTAL REHABILITATIONIN TROPICAL REGIONS

Observations that have beenmade for more than 80 years showthat professional ecological NGOscan be an alternative to the rehabi-litation and permanent protectionof environmental resources: fo-rests, rivers, fauna, land and air.This is probably caused by the factthat NGOs have a specific objecti-ve, that of the natural resources.

The ecological NGOs haveachieved most of the objectives adop-ted during INBO’s General Assemblyheld in Morelia (Mexico) in 1996.

The international donor organi-zations are favourable to suchgroups, in tropical regions as well,and plan to request, as a prerequi-site to project funding, that thefunds be administered by NGOs.

In Panama, the Foundationfor the Protection of Rivers com-prises the Centre for Researchand the Rehabilitation of AquaticEcosystems. It is organized to ac-complish important technicaltasks, but economic support is lac-king to enable it to assume its role:the rehabilitation of this vital eco-system that are the natural fresh-water sources and theirenvironment.

Eduardo CastroFoundation for River ProtectionFax : (507) 770 5484

REORGANIZATION OF THE INSTITUTIONAL WATER SECTOR

The network newsletter - N° 6 - 1st Quarter of 199812

VENEZUELABLACK TIDE IN THE GULF OF VENEZUELA

On Friday 28 February 1997,the Greek tanker “NissosAmorgos” that came from the PortMiranda pipe-line terminal, colli-ded with a reef and was groundedin the external passage of theMaracaibo Lake. Breaches appea-red in three tanks and 25,406 bar-rels of crude oil were released inthe Gulf waters. The SimulationLaboratory of the EngineeringFaculty of Zulia University, in co-operation with ICLAM (Institute forthe Conservation of MaracaiboLake), immediately realized a pro-jection of the path followed by thetide that reached the shore.

The National Emergency Plan(PNC), of which the LAGOVENcompany, a branch of Petróleos deVenezuela S.A., is responsible,was immediately implemented toclean the beaches. The SCAT(Shoreline Cleanup AssessmentTechnique) method was systema-tically used by ICLAM in the areas

affected by the black tide in orderto follow up the daily progress ofthe cleaning and sanitation activi-ties.

The results of 28 samples ma-de in the navigable passage bedshowed that the risk of pollutionhad been avoided outside the reefarea of the Gulf of Venezuela.

A method, locally developedand called “SCAT SUB-ACUATI-CO”, was implemented in this san-dy area and enabled thelocalization of the oil that would ha-ve otherwise been unaccountedfor, and its extraction using amphi-bious equipment.

At the same time, ICLAM sys-tematically monitored the waterand sediments of the whole coast-line to assess environmental quali-ty. Biotopes have beencontinuously monitored since theblack tide.

THE FIRST “1997 INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENT “ EXHIBITION

THE SOUTH WASTEWATERTREATMENT SYSTEM OF MARACAIBO CITY

Lake Maracaibo suffers fromserious pollution, caused by the di-rect discharges of domestic and in-dustrial waste waters, those fromoil, petrochemical and dairy indus-tries in particular, and of solidwastes, chemical products issuedfrom agricultural activities, gradualsalt intrusion caused by pipes.However, domestic waste watercauses the most disturbing pollu-tion due to its immediate effect.

In order to face this situation,ICLAM has undertaken someworks that represent the first signi-ficant effort to prevent these discharges into the lake and thusstart a rehabilitation process. The“South wastewater system ofMaracaibo City“ is one of these ef-forts. The cities of Maracaibo andSan Francisco in Zulia State, who-se effluents cause the highest pol-lution, share this system. Theyregroup 55 % of the State popula-tion, about 3 million inhabitants.

This plant will treat the wastewater of a population of 800,000inhabitants. It is an essential itemof the Environmental SanitationProgramme for Maracaibo Lake. Itplans the building of three othertreatment plants: Maracaibo North,Cabimas and Ciudad Ojeda.

This first phase of the pro-gramme requires an investmentamounting to 65 million dollars,paid by the Ministry forEnvironment and RenewableNatural Resources and LAGOVENCompany, branch of Petróleos deVenezuela.

The first “ 1997 IndustrialEnvironment “ Exhibition was heldin Maracaibo from 14 to 17October 1997. It was organized bythe Institute for the Conservationof Maracaibo Lake (ICLAM), theMinistry for the Environment andRenewable Natural Resources(MARNR), Petróleos deVenezuela S.A. and ProtocoloC.A.

The restructuring of economythat the country has started impliesthe use of different managementsystems and new technologies,the reinforcement and increase ofindustrial activity and the openingof exchanges with sustainabletechnical and environmental pros-pects.

This event was the first exhibi-tion on environment in which parti-cipated national and internationalindustrialists.

MUNICIPAL INTEGRATED SANITATION PROGRAMME FOR MARACAIBO LAKE BASIN

The main components of theMunicipal Integrated SanitationProgramme for Maracaibo LakeBasin are: environmental mana-gement, institutional capacitybuilding and investment for asocial infrastructure.

Environmental managementdeals with the finding of solutionsin an integrated manner.Institutional capacity buildingproposes a municipal governmentwith the political and technical res-ponsibilities necessary for environ-mental management. It seemsindispensable that the Municipalitybecomes an entity able to managesocial issues at local level and tostart a dialogue with the users andinitiate their participation.

Investment for a social infra-structure concerns the basic sec-tors of sanitation and public health.They are measured, on one hand,by mortality and morbidity indica-tors, and on the other, by coverageindicators, for water-related di-seases in particular and theirconsequences on children lessthan four years old.

The programme proposes thenetworking of national, regionaland local organizations, either pu-blic or private, that intervene onthe territory of the Maracaibo Lakebasin. They would regroup theircompentences in order to streng-then integrated and sustainable re-sources management in the basin.

A significant strengthening ofthe institutional competences ofthe basin’s Mayors is necessary atlocal level.

A first one-year phase is ne-cessary to identify the critical situa-tions in the sanitation sector, toselect the cases for experimenta-tion and start a pilot programme.The cost of this first phase wouldamount to US$ 336,400.

The setting-up of a Fund hasbeen proposed to develop the pro-gramme with the participation offour entities: the Multilateral Bank(IDB/CAF), the National Govern-ment, the State Government andthe Municipalities.

The fund will have to encoura-ge the municipalities to start anenvironmental managementthat is technically and financial-ly self-reliant.Lenin HerreraICLAMFax : (58-061) 221 702/923 782

Balck tide : cleaning of beaches

The network newsletter - N° 6 - 1st Quarter of 1998 13

The Autonomous Departmentfor Soil and WatershedConservation (SACSCH) is res-ponsible for the preparation andexecution of management andconservation plans that envisage arational relationship between hu-man activities and natural re-sources protection at the level ofriver basins.

The choice of the basins to beincluded in the management planswill depend on their importance,their degradation and on the exis-ting information. In fact, a classifi-cation of river basins is necessaryand will be undertaken within theNational Inventory of River Basins.The latter will identify those wheresanitation and rehabilitation arepriorities.

This work will be carried out inseveral phases:

● The gathering of informationto create a data base on the ri-ver basins.

● The formulation of dynamicand practical methods, easy touse, that integrate all aspectsdetermining the importance ofeach basin and its degradation.

● The implementation of a com-puterization programme to de-termine the priorities of each ba-sin and the importance given toeach variable, graded accordingto the results obtained.

● The preparation of a list of theriver basins, graded accor-ding to priorities, where the ac-tions to be undertaken will be gi-ven by order of magnitude aswell as the most representativeindicators for follow-up and eva-luation.

A standardized technical format

A basic format will be used toorientate the collection of informa-tion. This format, used for the firsttime in the country, will be impro-ved as work is progressing. Themost representative data of eachriver basin will be entered into adata base (physical, natural, so-cial, economic, political aspects aswell as studies and plans alreadyimplemented).

A cartographic base

It will consist of a graphic re-presentation of each basin and willmake available an outline of thearea under study, its geographicinterpretation, its limits and pos-sible difficulties to be encounteredin collecting certain data.

The scales to be used will be1/100,000 for the basin of lessthan 8,000 km2 and 1/250,000 forthe others.

Thanks to this NationalInventory of River Basins, it is ex-pected to draw up a hierarchy listof the 446 basins that have alreadybeen entered into the preliminarylist made by SACSCH.

The aim of this study is to cor-rect, up-date and assess the choi-ce of the parameters that will beused and that will determine theimportance of each basin. Thecomputer programme will also bemodified, if necessary, when ac-tion is dynamic and achievesSACSCH purposes.

MARNR - IDB PROJECT

A Basin Conservation Projecthas been developed by theMinistry for Environment (MARNR)and partly financed by the Inter-American Development Bank. Itdeals with the upper basins of theRio Bocono in Trujillo State, theRio Tocuyo in Lara State, ups-tream of the Dos Cerritos Dam,and of the Rio Yaracuy, upstreamof Urachiche.

The overall objective of soilconservation programmes is tocontrol erosion:

● by informing rural populationson the agricultural practices thatdo not degrade the environmentand that can improve the socio-economic conditions of the hou-seholds as well,

● by executing environmentaleducation programmes on thecohabitation of man and its envi-ronment.

The problems presently en-countered in these basins are theprotection, conservation and up-grading of water quality in largedams such as that of Dos Cerritos,main source of water supply forBarquisimeto, Quibor, El Tocuyo inLara State, but also of Cumaripa inYaracuy State.

Therefore, the building of dikesystems has been envisaged to re-duce the speed of the water flowand stop the sediments thus im-proving the functioning of dams.

The project also comprises theafforestation of very degradedareas in the upper basins, usingnative species.

The preparation of an“Emergency Plan in case ofFloods“ is also envisaged forprotecting the population. It willinclude the building of structureson the critical water courses andthe setting up of “warning systems“based on the measurement ofrainfall and water flow rates towarn the authorities when any riskmay occur, for them to take the ne-cessary measures to protect thelives and properties of the inhabi-tants.

Training courses have beenorganized for the technical staff ofthe Basin Agencies within the“Follow-up and Evaluation“ com-ponent of the programme. Theydealt with the acquisition, proces-sing and management of the dataof the financial management sys-tem.

Finally, a transfer of technolo-gies focusing on maize sowing,market possibilities, planting ofcoffee and fruit trees in areas de-prived of any vegetable cover andwith steep slopes has enabled theawareness raising of local produ-cers in order to ensure soilconservation.

Activity areas were identified in1997. About 500 producers wereselected and the training of 9conservation committees regrou-ping 170 producers and of two far-mer associations regrouping 60producers were envisaged.

Data collection, using the listsdrawn up by field agents for the fol-low-up and evaluation system, hasraised transcription problems thatdisturb the Agency. Indeed, themanagement of the written infor-mation gathered by the agents isdifficult should reliable results beobtained to follow up the activitiesof the recipient producers.

E. I. SalazarSoil and WatershedConservation DepartmentMinistry for Environment andRenewable Natural Resources(MARNR)Fax : (58-2) 545 2021

NATIONAL INVENTORY OF RIVER BASINS

COLOMBIATHE TROPICAL RAIN FOREST:BIODIVERSITY PROTECTION

The tropical rain forest of thePacific coast covers 49,500 km2

from Manglares Cape to DarienPanameno Cape. It shelters riversthat have relatively high flow ratesand up to 640 flora species per ha,the greatest diversity of butterfliesand the second bird diversity of theplanet. The rivers slowly flow intothe ocean inside a marvelous tri-angle of estuaries where whitemangroves, acacias, red convol-vulaceae and precious wood growon the beaches, reefs and deltas,integrating corral systems with amarine life in the coves, bays andat the foot of the cliffs.

Woods cover the mountainslopes down to the seashore andemerge again, splendid and mys-terious, on the Gorgona andGorgonilla islands, emeralds of thePacific, with the same biodiversity.Translucent and crystalline seasare visited by the humpbackedwhales that migrate from theAntarctic to breed and give the firstswimming lessons to the calves.

Rainfall exceeds 7,000 mm insome regions of the rain forest.The ecological balance is threate-ned by projects for the building ofroads, canals and dredging thatwill seriously affect the life of the

black and native community andespecially the ecological balanceof the forest. The ancestral know-ledge of the ethnic populations ofthe species’ molecular biology isvery important for Colombia andhumanity.

It is essential to protect theriver basins of the West ofColombia: Mira, Naya, San Juan,Anchicaya, Raposo, Aguaclara,Baudo, Atrato and the infinite num-ber of sources that belong to thisparticular ecosystem with marshesand lagoons.

UNESCO has requested theColombian Government to ma-nage the Pacific region as theheritage of humanity.

This topic was presented du-ring the Latin American Congresson hydrographic basins inVenezuela in 1994.Oscar Rivera LunaPalmira MunicipalityMember of the Committees forthe Protection of the Rio Nimaand Rio Amaine BasinsFax : (57-23) 396 168/304 080

The network newsletter - N° 6 - 1st Quarter of 199814

MIXCO

GUATEMALA

STA. CATARINA PINULA

FRAIJANES

VILLA CANALES

AMATITLAN

SAN MIGUEL PETAPA

VILLA NUEVA

SAN LUCAS SACATEPEQUEZ

SANTIAGO SACATEPEQUEZ

SAN BARTOLOME MILPAS ALTAS

SANTA LUCIA MILPAS ALTAS

MAGDALENA MILPAS ALTAS

SAN PEDRO SACATEPEQUEZ

BASIN ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION

GUATEMALATHE AUTHORITY FOR THE SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF THE AMATITLAN LAKE BASIN

The Government of theRepublic of Guatemala has assu-med the responsibility of stoppingthe destruction of forests, of as-sessing and preserving the air webreath and drinking water and ofdeveloping the land that providesfood products, as well as protec-ting the diversity in order to restoreand clean damaged ecosystemssuch as the Amatitlan Lake.

Ecological management inGuatemala started with the enfor-cement of the Law for theProtection and Improvement of theEnvironment, Decree of theRepublic’s Congress Number 68-86, which has the purpose of main-taining the ecological balance andthe quality of the environment, inorder to improve the living stan-dards of the inhabitants. Since itsorigin, some important difficultieswere encountered in its applica-tion.

For this, the Republic’sCongress created the Law onthe Authority for theSustainable Management of theBasin and the Amatitlan Lake -AMSA - in September 1996. Thisis a legal tool to plan the use of the

resources, the recovery and pro-tection of the Lake, supporting theIntegrated Plan of Management ofthe Basin and the Amatitlan Lake(PLANDEAMAT).

The Authority’s programme in-cludes: the reduction of the envi-ronmental pollution introducingmeasures that impulse the domes-tic waste water treatment with ap-propriate methods; promoting thecommunities participation in allthese actions; establishing a per-manent programme of waste watercontrol; promoting the participationof private companies in the wastewater treatment programmes, es-pecially in the case of the MasterPlan for sanitation in the municipa-lities that are part of the AmatitlanLake Basin and also environmen-tal education and awareness-rai-sing campaigns to make citizensconscious of the situation.

AMSA has established itscontribution according to the follo-wing goals:

● To promote the participationof the municipalities, communi-ties and communal organiza-tions of the Basin,

MEXICOHOW TO PREVENT THE EFFECTS OF DROUGHT IN THE LAGOON AREA

It is necessary to implementactions in order to decrease thesocial, economic and environmen-tal effects of lengthy droughts thatoccur in regions that suffer fromunfavourable climatic conditions.

Water planning in Mexico isimplemented within the frameworkof a 1995-2000 NationalHydrological Program that hasbeen drawn up in accordance withthe 1995-2000 NationalDevelopment Plan and with theOrganic Law of the FederalAdministration, with the Law onPlanning and the Decree that crea-ted the National WaterCommission. The modernizationof the country’s water sector isplanning water management byway of river basins and the divi-sion of the national territory in13 administrative regions thatcorrespond to these hydrologi-cal criteria.

Another aspect of this moder-nization process is the decentrali-zation and transfer of functionsto the States and municipalities,together with a decrease of thepresence of the National WaterCommission in the States. Thus,the creation of 13 River BasinCommittees is planned, one foreach region. According to theNational Water Law, they will beentities for coordination and dia-logue between the National WaterCommission, federal and Statesorganizations or municipalities andthe representatives of users. Theirobjective is to formulate and imple-ment programs and actions forbetter water management, deve-lop hydraulic infrastructures andrespective services and resourcesconservation.

The “ lagoon area “ will takepart in the Basin Committee ofRegion VII that comprises the hy-drological areas: “Mapimi”,“Nazas-Aguanaval” and “ElSalado”. It is planned to set up aLocal Water Committee that will

regroup representatives of users,legislative organizations at thethree governmental levels.

This Local Water Committeewill have to formulate aHydrological Program. It will bemainly composed of strategies tosolve the problems posed by thelack of resource availability and itscollateral effects, of specific re-commendations such as: efficientwater use in agriculture, rehabilita-tion and replacement of pipes indistribution systems, reduction ofwater losses in the distribution sys-tems, the development of a “ waterculture “ and water reuse in indus-try.

There is a determination of allpartners concerned to solve, in aconcerted manner, the problemscaused by drought, without affec-ting the main production activitiesand the traditions of the “ lagoonarea “, although no reliable scienti-fic methods and technologies areavailable or proved to stimulaterainfall.

Raul Cuellar Chavez (CNA)Regional Directorate NorthFax: (52-17) 17 50 04E. mail:siga@halcon.laguna.ual.mx

● To promote the developmentof educational programmeson the environment that inclu-de health education,

● To transfer clean technolo-gies in order to improve produc-tivity and to develop technicaland environmental standards topreserve the ecosystems,

● To promote private enter-prises such as those of the in-habitants of the basin with re-gard to afforestation and resour-ce protection.

At the same time, the creationof basin organizations is plannedfor all tributaries that flow into thelake.

Evelyn Reyna ChaconAMSAFax: (502) 360 6797E.mail: arrla@quate.net

The network newsletter - N° 6 - 1st Quarter of 1998 15

In accordance with theSpanish water legislation relativeto planning, the Water Council ofEbro river basin, composed of re-presentatives from the differentusers and administrations, ac-cepted in 1996 a Proposal for aHydrological Plan of the Basinthat will have to be approved byDecree by the Council ofMinisters. The two most signifi-cant aspects of this proposal arethe new distribution of water allo-cations, the improvement of itsefficiency and low flow replenish-ment.

The water utilization right issometimes as important as landownership in most basins situa-ted in arid or semi-arid areas,which is the case in a large part ofEbro river basin.

Utilization rights have existedfrom time immemorial and condi-tion the hydrological planning ofmany water courses. In certaincases, these rights do not corres-pond, for many reasons, to thecurrent necessary uses.

Owing to such a situation,one of the significant aspects ofthe proposal for a HydrologicalPlan is the new distribution of wa-ter allocations for irrigation (andimplicit improvement of efficien-cy) for all kinds of cultivation and

for the different areas of the ba-sin. This new distribution of allo-cations will take future demandsinto account and will be used as abenchmark to adapt utilizationrights to present needs while im-proving efficiency, thanks to thepresent technologies of rehabili-tation of old infrastructures.

This adaptation will generateconsiderable costs for the moder-nization of infrastructures, but willhave a double positive impact:

● the improvement of the qua-lity of waste water that is discharged into water coursesby reducing pollution loads,

● efficiency improvement which will allow a larger resour-ce to be made available forother uses, environmental inparticular.

Another significant problemthat is dealt with in the plan pro-posal is that of low water reple-nishment in the various watercourses. From a technical view-point, many specific studies willbe necessary due to the variety ofwater courses: the methodologywill have to be adapted to each river.

An appropriate low flow reple-nishment cannot be achieved wi-thout affecting the present water

SPAINTHE HYDROLOGICAL BASIN PLANS

Owing to its hydrographicand climatic conditions, Spainhas been the first country to un-dertake actions for water re-sources management anddevelopment by way of river ba-sins. This management hasbeen based on planning sincethe beginning.

The 1985 Water Law (Ley deAguas), when drawing upHydrological Basin Plans andthe National Hydrological Plan,confirmed the importance of hy-drological planning to face thenew situation caused by the mo-re intensive use of water and bythe need to improve this resour-ce development.

EBRO HYDROGRAPHIC CONFEDERATION

utilization rights and thus haveconsequences on jobs and theeconomy. Expropriation will benecessary and compensation forproduction loss and costly econo-mic impacts will have to bethought of.

The implementation of thisproposal is necessary for the fu-ture in spite of these difficulties.Antonio Coch FlotatsHebro HydrographicConfederationFax : (34-976) 23 43 06

JUCAR HYDROGRAPHIC CONFEDERATIONIn the case of the Hydrological

Plan for the Jucar river basin, theBasin Water Council unanimouslyadopted the Plan Proposal duringits meeting of 6 August 1997. Therepresentative character of theCouncil, composed of, in threeparts, representatives from thecentral government, representa-tives from the autonomous admi-nistration and representatives ofthe different users, gave this deci-sion a particular significance.

Here are some characteristicsof this Hydrological Plan, whoseactivity area corresponds to that ofthe Jucar HydrographicConfederation. It comprises thecatchment areas of rivers that flowinto the Mediterranean Sea andcovers a surface of 43,000 km2

over 4 Autonomous Communities:Aragon, Castilla-la-Mancha,Catalugna and the ValenciaCommunity. It concerns a popula-tion of 4,100,000 inhabitants andan irrigated area of 370,000 ha.The total average resources are3,800 Hm3 per year to meet a de-mand of the same order of magni-tude.

This area is divided into 9Exploitation Systems: Cenia-Maestrazgo, Mijares-Plana deCastellon, Palancia-Los Valles,Turia, Jucar, Serpis, Marina Alta,Marina Baja and Vinalopo-Alacanti, that regroup 22 dams with a total capacity of 3,165 Hm3,as well as the large quaternaryaquifers of the Coastal Plains ofCastellon and Valencia and thekarstic aquifer of the WesternMancha.

The Plan’s objectives cover 10and 20-year periods and define thebasic principles that aim at mee-ting present and future water de-mands and at achieving theappropriate objectives of inlandwater quality and flood control,while trying to increase resource

availability thanks to the improve-ment of irrigation infrastructures,treated water reuse for agriculturaluses and the setting-up of drip irri-gation systems, while respectingthe environment.

The problems mainly concernthe Jucar, Marina Baja andVinalopo-Alacanti basins that en-counter difficulties in ensuring ur-ban water supply in droughtperiods. As regards the Vinalopo-Alacanti basin, aquifers are ove-rexploited and water allocations forirrigation are obviously insufficient.

The basic criteria for the ma-nagement of the Jucar water re-sources are as follows:

● Allocation of the resourcesnecessary to meet presentuses and to reinforce the exis-ting uses rather than favour newinfrastructures, while respectingthe minimal flow rates necessa-ry for the environment, and final-ly mobilizing the surplus resources to mitigate aquifer overexploitation and the deficitof water supply of the Vinalopó-Alacanti and Marina Baja regions.

● Reserve of resources neces-sary to meet foreseeable futu-re demands, while taking intoaccount the present availabilityof these resources and of thosegenerated by water savings, bythe improvement of infrastruc-tures or by the possible streng-thening of regulations.

Juan Manuel Aragonés BeltránJucar HydrographicConfederationFax : (34-6) 393.88.02

TAGUS HYDROGRAPHIC CONFEDERATIONThe Water Council of the

Tagus river basin, that regroups 63members, adopted, on 18 April1997, the Plan proposal made bythe Basin Organization with 61votes against 1. Apart from the re-presentatives of the central, auto-nomous and local administrations(for the water supply sector), thisCouncil gathers representatives ofirrigation and hydroelectricityusers, of agricultural organizationsand ecological groups.

Once approved, the Plan pro-posal was submitted to the govern-ment through the Ministry for theEnvironment in order to be official-ly adopted by Royal Decree and

published in the official bulletin forits application after meeting allconditions, the most important ofwhich being the reporting to theNational Water Council.

This Plan proposes a set of so-lutions for foreseeable 10 and 20-year scenarios. The principleschosen to best meet the demandare: the sound use of water, sus-tainabilty of infrastructures andharmony with the environment.

José Antonio Llanos BlascoTagus HydrographicConfederationFax: (34 -1) 554 93 00

EGSCONFERENCE ON WATER RESOURCESOF INTERNATIONAL RIVER BASINSNICE - APRIL 1998

The European GeophysicalSociety (EGS) is a large scientificassociation with a focus on earthsciences. Annually it organizes aGeneral Assembly in Europe at-tended by thousands of scientistsfrom different fields. EGS is orga-nizing a conference on “WaterResources of International RiverBasins” during its GeneralAssembly in Nice (France) nextApril. This conference will deal with the influence of environmentaland anthropogenic change and

land use on flood processes, onmoisture feedback and continentalrainfall; water scarcity; sustainabledevelopment of watersheds and ri-ver processes.

EGS meetings are open to all:authors can submit a short paper(5-10 pages) for this Conference.

Hubert SavenljieIHEFax : (31-15) 212 2921

EUROPE

The network newsletter - N° 6 - 1st Quarter of 199816

FRANCEADOUR-GARONNEPARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITYAND THE BASIN AGENCIES

In the Adour-Garonne Basin inthe South-West of France, agricul-ture represents a growing share ofthe region’s general economy.This has affected water quality in abasin well provided for as regardswater, but where levels are extre-mely low from the end of Springonwards.

Thirty per cent of the surfacearea of the basin has been classi-fied as a sensitive zone with re-gard to pollution by nitrates andthe eutrophication of rivers. Waterdrawn for irrigation “creates a defi-cit“ of 300 million m3 to the the hy-drological balance.

Although representatives ofthe agricultural community havebeen associated with the work ofthe Water Agencies since theircreation, they have only recentlybecome aware that it was in theirown interest to develop active andresponsible participation withinthese bodies in order to contributeto water conservation and protec-tion.

The Master Plan for WaterDevelopment and Management(SDAGE) recently implementedby the Adour-Garonne BasinCommittee, prescribes mea-sures to mitigate the adverse ef-fects of agricultural practices onwater. This master plan has pavedthe way for a contractual agree-ment with the agricultural profes-sion, which stipulates both watercharges and financial aid for thenext 5 years (1997-2001).

All hectares that are irrigatedabove a threshold of 5,000 m3/yearare submitted to these “withdra-wal“ charges.

The charge rate will remain un-changed for 5 years if the volumesdrawn are metered, but rates willincrease each year if a lump char-ge is calculated in accordance withthe formula given in the contrac-tual agreement.

Two rates have been introdu-ced: a basic rate for groundwater,hill lakes and rivers which are notartificially recharged, and a higherrate for artificially replenished wa-ter courses.

The “pollution“ charge willbe applied when stock breedersdo not respect a schedule forthe standardization of wastewa-ter discharges.

As a compensation, the totalamount of financial aid has beenfixed at 235 MF for 5 years, for pro-

jects estimated at 745 MF (exclu-ding the creation of new reserves).This programme concerns:

● water resources development,

● an encouragement for the agri-cultural community to measurewater use (meters), save (irriga-tion, in particular), and protectwater,

● the involvement of farmers in ri-ver planning and maintenance,

● the setting up and monitoring ofa pollution reduction program-me, based on the improvementof cultivation practices and thepollution control of farm and wi-ne cellars,

● the implementation of the pro-gramme to eliminate plant slud-ge through land treatment,

● the recuperation and treatmentof toxic agricultural wastes,

● a clearly identifiable message.

Through its differentiatedcharges, the Agency is empha-sizing the obligation to meterthe water used for irrigation andthe resulting savings in wateruse. The higher charges for re-filled rivers justify the use of publicfunds for replenishing low water le-vels that are adversely affected byfarming practices.

Through its expanded aid pro-grammes, the Agency is demons-trating its concern for all aspects offarming and thus is involved inmost of the basin’s 200,000 farms.

The adhesion of agriculturalrepresentatives to this frameworkagreement should not hide the re-servations and hesitation of certainfarmers that the Agency must en-deavour to overcome through ap-propriate communications strate-gies.

Alain DucheinAdour-Garonne Water agencyFax : (33 5) 61 36 36 77

LOIRE-BRITTANYGROUNDWATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN THE LOIRE-BRITTANY RIVER BASIN

The strong increase in waterconsumption in France, essentiallyfor irrigation, since the last fifteenyears in addition to markeddrought phenomena underscoredthe flimsiness of the available wa-ter resources, particularly fromgroundwater.

Over the whole Loire-Brittanyriver basin which covers a totalsurface amounting to 155,000square kilometers, the yearly abs-tracted volumes by all categoriesof users amount on average to 1.7billion cubic meters, out of whichalmost 1 billion for domestic use,250 million cubic meters for indus-trial use and the remaining, i.e.450 million cubic meters for the de-velopment of irrigation. It shouldbe noticed at this stage that waterwithdrawn for irrigation purposestakes place during a comparativelyshort period (dry season) with the-refore a heavier impact on theavailable water resources. 44 % ofthe abstracted volumes are drawnfrom surface water, 56 % comefrom groundwater.

Taking into consideration theevolution of the drawn volumes inLoire-Brittany for each type of useover the last ten years, one cansee that only the abstracted vo-lumes for irrigation do increase,whatever the origin, surface orground water, due to:

● the drilling of new bore-holes,

● the increase in the withdrawnvolumes,

● the extension of the annual ex-ploitation length (introducing irri-gation of cultivated lands in theSpring).

From 1988 to 1992, severewinter droughts put the emphasison the fact that the limits for exploi-ting some aquifers were locallyreached or so.

Such phenomena led theLoire-Brittany Water Agency toclassify these aquifers in what wascalled I.E.T. (Intensely ExploitedTables). Are considered as suchthe units where abstraction ofgroundwater presents an averageratio above 200 m3 per hectare peryear and where conflicting usesand drying up of permanentstreams are frequently observed inthe summertime.

In the long term, the predic-table consequences will be ex-tremely detrimental to theenvironment if no measure is ta-ken to alleviate the problem.

In order to cope with this issue,the Masterplan for WaterResources Development and

Management (SDAGE) of theLoire-Brittany river basin, a real re-ference and orientation documentfor the water policy over the next15 to 20 years, recommends a bet-ter management of these aquifers.

Thus, for the Beauce aquifer, avast programme for data collectionis launched so as to implement amanagement model.

A representative indicator ofthe aquifer’s general situation wasdefined using the average of refe-rence piezometers’ levels and suc-cessive alert thresholds have beenestablished.

The Water Law of January 1992stipulates that pumping devicesmust be equipped with appropriatemeasurement or assessment of theabstracted volumes.

The metering of the concer-ned volumes also contributes toa better utilization of the avai-lable resource and makes it pos-sible the setting-up of generalrules for distribution and fixingof a price scale that would beboth efficient and equitable.

325,000 hectares are irrigatedin the Loire-Brittany river basin.Installing a meter by an authorizedfitter is subsidized by the river ba-sin agency at a rate of 75 %.Almost 50 % of the total irrigatedsurface of the river basin areequipped with meters.

The Water Agency also inter-venes for a better management ofthe overexploited groundwater byway of a financial incentive.Theabstraction charge is one majortool : it is advisable that it shouldprogressively head towards valuesthat would be more representativeof the collective costs generatedby excessive abstractions.

The Loire-Brittany WaterAgency implemented such a sys-tem in 1997 over the intensely ex-ploited aquifers of its territory. Adouble incentive is planned in or-der to achieve this : there will be aprogressive increase of the abs-traction charge, on the other hand,the financial assistance will be rai-sed, including specific interven-tions, so as to make the localparties concerned aware of theirresponsibilities and to orientatebehaviours in a way that wouldbetter correspond to common in-terest.

This policy is led in closeconsultation both within the RiverBasin Committee and with repre-sentatives of the farmers. Jean-Louis BesèmeLoire-Brittany Water AgencyFax : (33-2) 38 51 74 27

agencede l'eau loire bretagne

ALSATIAN WINE CHARACTERISTIC SS OM N PVOLUME (g) (g) (g) (g)

Wine gathering, masking, Hectolitre of must 10 60 1 0,1stalking, pressing produced

Wine conditioning Hectolitre of wine 15 50 0,1 -

Reception, storage and Hectolitre 3 15 0,1 -expedition of extra-dry wine

Manufacture of wine-based Litre produced 0,8 4,4 - -aperitif

RHINE-MEUSEBULK ASSESSMENT OF POLLUTION

The social acceptability of the“polluter-pays“ principle or of itscorollary “ who decontaminates ishelped “ depends on their widestapplication.

As regards heavy industry, thecalculation of water charges is ma-de according to the pollution pro-duced and the Agency must carryout measurements and analysesusing the best technology avai-lable to assess pollution loads:sampling teams who sometimeswork 24 hours a day, sophisticatedmethods of analyses in laborato-ries, etc...

But this practice cannot be ap-plied to all economic “ small “ par-ties concerned, due to their greatnumber and dispersion.

A means of solving this pro-blem has been found and accep-ted by the industrialists concernedwhich is entitled the “table of bulkassessment“ (TBA).

The example chosen to illus-trate this TBA is that of theAlsatian vine growers.

Vine growing in Alsace is cha-racterized by the great number ofproducers (one thousand) and byits seasonal character. Pollution isproduced during the grape gathe-ring period (2 weeks per year).

It is impossible to send teamsin the field to the 1,000 producers,to measure the pollution producedin such a short time.

On the other hand, simple andeasily measurable indicators en-able an assessment to be made.

In reality, as all producers workin the same manner, a statisticalmeasurement campaign can thusbe implemented during the activityperiod and the results discussedand accepted by the professionalrepresentatives

For example, the table belowgives some pollution ratios per type of activity.

Therefore it is only necessaryto know the quantities produced toassess, without costly analyses,the generated pollution and levythe corresponding pollution charge.

It must not be forgotten that, inFrance, the “polluter-pays” prin-ciple goes hand in hand with the“who decontaminates is helped“principle and that the payment ofpollution charges enables aid to beobtained for pollution control. It isobvious that the TBA is then lowe-red to take the efforts made intoaccount.

This bulk assessment systemis a simple system that requiresfew means to be implemented andthat enables a better acceptationof the charge-aid system. Thanksto this system, heavy industry isnot considered as the only polluterbut also most economic partners,and which is just.

Denis BesozziRhine-Meuse Water AgencyFax : (33-3) 87 60 49 85

RHONE-MEDITERRANEAN-CORSICA

AN EXEMPLARY “ CONTRACT FOR ANAQUIFER “ IN THE LANGUEDOCThe Astian aquifer:an essential but threa-tened water reservoir

The groundwater table in theastian sands (marine Pliocene)constitutes an essential resourceof the coastal plain situated bet-ween Beziers and Agde towns. It isa confined and artesian aquifer,isolated from the upper aquifers byan argillaceous layer. It is fed byinfiltration in the northern croppingout areas, by peripheral aquifersand by the the alluvial groundwaterof the coastal Herault river in itsnorthern part.

Its high quality water is used at75 % for drinking water supply,mainly during the tourist season,and at 12 % for vine growing.

Unfortunately, this confinedacquifer is threatened by many bo-reholes that are haphazardly loca-ted and whose badimplementation has connected itwith upper aquifers and the de-crease in artesian pressure makesits contamination possible

Its water level at the coastalrim has lowered with a serious riskof salt intrusion.

The collective preparation of a globalsafeguard plan

Aware of the risks faced by thisresource, the users have gatheredinto a Multipurpose Syndicate forStudies and Infrastructures relatedto the Astian Aquifer (SMETA)whose mission is to establish a ba-lance and to implement a globaland patrimonial management ofthe Astian aquifer. The communi-ties concerned (about fifteen ofthem), professional chambers(chamber of agriculture, chamberof commerce and industry) and theHerault Department participate inthis syndicate.

This syndicate carries out :

● studies, follow-up operations forwater resources and uses,

● information and awarenesscampaigns for the different par-ties concerned on the need forgood resource management,

● dialogue in order to define a glo-bal management policy,

● advice to the users (communi-ties, camp grounds, farmers, ...)for the building of infrastructuresthat reduce impact on the aqui-fer (well designed boreholes,connections with other re-sources, ...).

The different diagnostic stu-dies and the dialogue between theparties concerned have led to theidentification of the following ob-jectives:

● balance of abstractions betweenthe different available resourcesto avoid overexploitation andprotect the Astian aquiferagainst salt intrusion on thecoastal border,

● continuation of the aquifer ex-ploration whenever possible,

● conservation of its high qualityby reducing the connections with upper aquifers,

● overall economic management.

A “contract for the aquifer”

A 5-year action plan has beenelaborated to achieve these ob-jectives. It concerns:

● works for changing the supply ofthe golf course of Agde townusing other resources and was-tewater reuse,

● expertise, filling up or rehabilita-tion of bad boreholes,

● water savings: installation ofmeters, reduction of leaks in thenetworks,

● complementary studies of theresource,

● recruitment of a hydrogeologistto monitor the aquifer and uses,to give technical advice to theparties concerned, to organizeinformation and awarenesscampaigns for the whole popu-lation.

This programme which in-cludes a “ contract for the aquifer “signed by the parties concerned, isestimated at FF 16 million.

An exemplary approach

In France, this programme isone of the first projects for the pa-trimonial management of an aqui-fer. It is in keeping with the new1992 water law.J.L Prime Rhone-Mediterranean-CorsicaWater AgencyFax : (33-4) 72 71 26 01

r h ô n e m é d i t e r r a n é e c o r s e

17The network newsletter - N° 6 - 1st Quarter of 1998

18

HUNGARYEUROWATER-CEC PROJECT

Under the patronage of theHungarian National WaterAuthority (OVF) and the EuropeanWorking Group of ICID, an interna-tional workshop was organized inSiófok (Hungary) on 18-21October 1997, with participantsfrom Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia,Czech Republic, Germany,Lithuania, The Netherlands,Poland, Portugal, Romania,Slovakia, Slovenia, the UnitedKingdom and Hungary.

The workshop was supportedby the EUROWATER Project, theHungarian and German nationalcommittees of ICID, the GermanAssociation for Water Resourcesand Land Improvement (DVWK),the Hungarian HydrologicalSociety and TECHWARE.

The EUROWATER Project,sponsored by the EuropeanCommission and implemented infive EU countries (France,Germany, The Netherlands,Portugal and the United Kingdom)is a guiding model to assess theinstitutional and organizationalstructures and mechanisms inCentral and Eastern Europeancountries.

The main goals of the EURO-WATER-CEC Project are to pre-pare a well detailed survey ofwater resources management inseveral CEC countries and toelaborate ten comparative stu-dies according to the subjects.

In this way, a detailed analysiswill be prepared on the situation ofthe water resources informationpolicy, river basin management(RBM) and transboundary issuesin the CEC area (e.g. Danube,Elbe and Odra rivers). The RBMplanning methods (guidelines forplanning, the consultation process,public participation, etc...), the roleof basin organizations will be des-cribed and compared in connec-tion with river basin management.During the workshop, informationon the International Network ofBasin Organizations (INBO) wasgiven to participants by the OVFrepresentative.

Kálmán PappNational Water Authority (OVF)Fax : (36 1) 212 07 75

POLANDWARSAW RZGWDROUGHT THREATS ON THE TERRITORY OF WARSAW WATER AGENCY (RZGW)

The Warsaw Water Agency,created in 1991, covers 111,000km2 (one third of Poland). It com-prises 25 whole or part voivoid-ships and almost 900communities.

Droughts are frequent inPoland. Water resources are notusually large and regular. The ave-rage water resource per inhabitantper year is three times less thanthat in Western Europe. The nor-thern region, where the numerousMazurian lakes are located, hasthe largest water resources but thecentral region (Mazovia plain andLublin Plateau) has the greatestdeficit in surface water due to in-sufficient rainfall.

Upon the request of theWater Agency, the WarsawInstitute for Meteorology andWater Management has carriedout a survey to identify the re-gions that are the most threate-ned by drought.

The drought survey was car-ried out using data coming from 62rain gauging stations, 27 heat gau-ging stations, 96 water level indi-cators, 83 gauging stations forgroundwater levels. These datawere collected during the 1951-1995 period.

The multi-annual rainfall ave-rage of the Water Agency territoryvaries between 467 mm (inSulejow) and 733 mm (in PilicaCity). The major part of this territo-ry receives between 550 mm and600 mm of mean rainfall.

Generally speaking, a particu-lar drought period usually lasts 1 to2 months. However, droughts, las-ting more than 3 months, 8 monthseven, were observed between1966 and 1995.

Observations were systemati-cally made from 1951 onwards toanalyze the evolution of the waterflow on the territory of the WarsawWater Agency. An increasing trendwas observed in most of the eas-tern and northern parts of the re-gion.

However, most of the south-western part of the region is cha-racterized by negative coefficientsand the highest decrease in the re-sources occurred in the Pilica andBzura river basins.

Shallow groundwater directlyfeeds surface water. The water le-vel in most wells does not exceed7.5 m and is most often lower than5 m.

In order to continue assessingthe trends in the evolution ofgroundwater levels, the meanyearly level was calculated in gau-ging stations having longer obser-vation periods: the negativecoefficients were found in the sou-thern part of the region and rea-ched - 3 m in the central part of theLublin Plateau, this means a relati-vely high decrease in the ground-water level.

The evolution of groundwaterlevels is the best indicator ofconstant and lasting changes inwater resources quantities.

SEINE-NORMANDYA “POLLUTEC INDUSTRY 97” SYMPOSIUM ORGANIZEDBY THE SEINE-NORMANDY WATER AGENCY

This symposium gathered 180participants. The EuropeanCommission, in particular, wasable to express its views on theevolution of the aid policy for enter-prises in the environmental field.The river basin management prin-ciple was clearly confirmed. Theimplementation of preventive ac-

tions and adapted environmentalmanagement methods and auditswere widely illustrated. The sym-posium proceedings are availableat the Agency.

Contact:Nathalie THOMASSIN

EUROPEAN PROSPECTS FOR THE AGENCY

In addition to the developmentof a partnership network in theform of twinning agreements with“sister“ organizations in the coun-tries of the European Union (thelast was signed on 15 October1997 with the ConfederacionHidrografica del Guadalquivir inSevilla), the Seine-NormandyWater Agency has initiated, toge-ther with other partners, the crea-tion of a European Forum forEconomy and Water, a site formeetings and debates betweenthe parties concerned and theEuropean Commission (DG XI) onlegal and economic problems inparticular (application of the pollu-ter-pays principle) but also techni-cal issues (systems for water

quality assessment) on water ma-nagement in river basins.

Contact:Xavier DURAND-DELACRE

The seminar, organized by theWater Agencies in Strasbourg on 5and 6 November 1997 on the topic“ Concerted river basin manage-ment, from dialogue to joint deci-sion-making “, is in keeping withthis policy. INBO was widely repre-sented.

P. F. Ténière-BuchotSeine-Normandy Water AgencyFax : (33-1) 41 20 16 09E.mail : dai@aesn.fr

CONCLUSIONS OF THE SURVEY● Atmospheric droughts, cha-

racterized by insufficient rain-falls as compared to normalones, are frequent.

● Droughts are most often ofshort duration: from 1 to 2months. The droughts lastingseveral months (meteorologicaldroughts) or even exceeding 24months (soil droughts) havebeen exceptionally observed.Droughts in rivers are short ho-wever and rarely exceed 3months.

● The Lublin region is the mostthreatened of the territory of theWarsaw Water Agency.

● Particular attention should bepaid to the Pilica and Bzura ri-ver basins where the long-termtrend of the evolution of ground-water flows and levels is negati-ve. The same has been obser-ved in the evolution of ground-water levels and water quantityin rivers in the southern and south-western regions. This is athreat for the future.

Andrzej BadowskiWARSAW RZGWFax : (48-22) 846 61 97

The network newsletter - N° 6 - 1st Quarter of 1998

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RUSSIAN FEDERATIONTOMSK STUDENTS MASTER A NEWSYSTEM FOR WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

The River Tom is a large WestSiberian river: its average flow rate is1,130 m3/s, its length 827 km, its ba-sin area 62,000 km2. The largest ofthe exploited coal mines of Russia,the Kuznetsk, is located in its basinas well as many chemical, metallur-gical, petrochemical, machine-ma-nufacturing and atomic industries inthe Kemerovo and Tomsk regions.As a result, the Tom has becomeone of the most polluted rivers. It haspractically lost its significance fordrinking water supply and fishing pur-poses. In the winter months, the mi-nimal monthly flow consists of wastewater by almost 80%, the total volu-me of which exceeds 2,000 millionm3/year. More than 300 tons of petro-leum products, almost 70 tons of for-maldehyde, 230 tons of iron areannually discharged into the Tom,without taking into account its tributa-ries.

New management struc-tures were organized in 1994,operating like the French ones,namely: the Committee andDirectorate (agency) of the Tombasin.

The main aims of this new ma-nagement system are:● the improvement of the environ-

ment in the basin;

● the supply of a high-quality drin-king water to the population;

● a better waste water treatment,● the training of the new execu-

tives,● the adaptation of the French

system to the Siberian condi-tions.

Within the “ Siberian agree-ment “, uniting all the regions ofSiberia, a decision has been ma-de to create a similar manage-ment structure in the whole Obriver basin, the area of whichmakes up 4.8 million km2 with a li-ving population of nearly 30 millionpeople. Management for such alarge basin is an incredibly compli-cated task and implies the trainingof the relevant executives.Therefore, the Russian FederationCommittee for Higher Educationhas made the decision to train en-gineers in this field at the TomskPolytechnic University. It is ob-vious that the solution to the eco-nomic and environmentalproblems of the Siberian river ba-sins depends first on the effectivetraining of its executives.S.l. Shvartsev, O.G. Savichev Tomsk Polytechnic University

CZECH REPUBLICDEVASTATING SUMMER FLOODS IN THE MORAVA RIVER BASIN

It was Friday the 4th of Julyand many people were bent onspending their weekend and holi-days anywhere in nice Moravianand Silesian country.

During the weekend, heavyrain fell in the spring area of theMorava river. Maximum daily rain-fall reached about 200 mm andmade up about 13% of the yearlyaverage, and for 5 days, the maxi-mum rainfall ran to about 30% ofthe average yearly amount(around 500 mm). Floods startedon Saturday 6th, and continued onthe 7th and 8th of July. Peak flowin rivers was often higher thanQ100yr: Strákonice on the Moravariver reached 850 m3/s, Dluhoniceon the Beèva river 840 m3/s.

A similar situation also affec-ted the Odra River CatchmentArea in the Czech Republic,Poland and north-easternGermany and partly some regionsof the Elbe River Basin in theCzech Republic.

The total flooded area was bet-ween 520 and 560 km2 (almost 3%of the basin) and the conse-quences of heavy rainfall, floods,erosion in the Morava River Basinwere unprecedented.

Floods caused 20 deaths and3,000 citizens were homeless. 150towns and villages were partly orentirely flooded, 15,000 houseswere damaged and 1,000 flats ful-ly destroyed. 30 alluvial watersources were devastated.

Non-point pollution was massi-ve and more than 20 wastes dispo-sal sites were washed out into therivers. Structures and devices forwater management were dama-ged or are now non operating(destroyed water intakes, broken-down water supply systems, cho-ked or scoured sewers, floodedwaste water treatment plants).

Threat of epidemics (hepatitisA, leptospirosis etc.) and heavymosquito calamities had to becontrolled.

About 200,000 domestic andwild animals died. Crops were de-vastated causing losses in agricul-ture.

About 500 km of roads and150 km of railway were destroyed.

The estimate of the damageand losses amounts to about 800 -850 million USD.

It was the “ biblical deluge “that fell on our region!

Ladislav PavlovskyPovodí Moravy, a.s.Fax : (420-5) 746 244

20

GENERAL ASSEMBLYVALENCIA - OCTOBER 1997

FINAL RESOLUTIONS

Mrs. Isabel TOCINO, Spanish Minister for the Environment opened the INBO General Assembly

The 1997 General Assemblyof the International Networkof Basin Organizations took

place in Valencia - Spain - fromOctober 2 to 4 at the invitation ofthe Spanish Authorities.

The works were honoured bythe presence of Mrs. IsabelTocino, Spanish Minister for theEnvironment, who officially ope-ned the debates, as well as RitaBarbera, Mayoress of Valencia.

The Assembly gathered 105delegates who represented 61Member-Organizations from 27countries.

The General Assembly tooknote that 102 Organizations of 42countries have, up to now, ex-pressed to the PermanentTechnical Secretariat their inter-est in becoming either full“Members” or “Observers”.

The delegates reaffirmed theirsupport to INBO’s Charter prin-ciples and decided that becominga member would be, from now on,subjected to the payment of an an-nual subscription amounting toUS$ 1,000 for 1998 that aims tocover the expenditure of theNetwork management and the pu-blication of the “NetworkNewsletter” as a priority.

The French Water Agenciesconfirmed their commitment tohelp financially the Secretariat in1998, during this phase after which the number of subscriptionsshould increase.

The Assembly congratulatedthe Mexican Authorities, Messrs.MESTRE and CHAVEZ, his suc-cessor, in particular for their wayof carrying out the Chairmanshipof INBO since the Morelia GeneralAssembly in March 1996.

The Assembly unanimouslynominated Mr. Juan ManuelARAGONÉS BELTRÁN, Presi-dent of the Jucar HydrographicConfederation, as new INBOChairman until the next GeneralAssembly in 1998.

It also nominated the followingmembers of the Liaison Bureau:● Africa: Mr. A. KOUADIO (Ivory

Coast),● America: Mr. H. MENDEZ

ACOSTA, regular member,and Mrs. M. BALLESTEROVARGAS, substitute member(Costa Rica), Mr. R. GARRIDO(Brazil), regular member, andMr. V. ROSADO LUA (Ecua-dor), substitute member, Mr. D.BRAVO (Colombia), regularmember, and Mr. J.-M. LATU-LIPPE (Quebec), substitutemember, Mr. R. GARCIAMAYEN (Mexico), regularmember, and Mr. V. BENE-VIDES (Brazil) substitute mem-ber,

● Asia: Mr. R. USMAN (Indone-sia),

● Western Europe: Mr. J. M.SANTA FE, regular memberand J. A. LLANOS BLASCO,substitute member (Spain), Mr.J.-P. CHIROUZE, regularmember, and A. DUCHEIN,substitute member (France),

● Central and Eastern Europe:Mr. A. BADOWSKI (Poland)and Mrs. A. M. PELIN (Roma-nia).

● Mr. G. CHAVEZ ZARATE(Mexico), Mr. M. OSTOJSKI(Poland), as former Chairmen,Mr. J.-F. DONZIER (IOW) whorepresents the PermanentTechnical Secretariat.The Assembly also decided

that Mrs. G. SERBU (Romania),Messrs. E. MESTRE (Mexico), G.LASCU (Romania) and E. NOAIN(Spain) would be “HonoraryAdvisers” of INBO as formerChairmen or members of theLiaison Bureau, thus acknowled-ging their efforts to widen the sco-pe of the Network.

The General Assembly ex-pressed a great interest for theFrench initiative of organizing,from 19 to 21 March 1998 inFrance, an InternationalConference on Water and

Sustainable Development atMinisterial level, within the frame-work of the Commission onSustainable Development. It ex-pressed the wish that INBO be of-ficially associated to thisConference, as an internationalorganization specialized in thesector. The Assembly thanked theOrganization Committee for orga-nizing, during the Conference, anINBO workshop on river basin ma-nagement.

The delegates were informedof the initiatives of the “GlobalWater Partnership” and the “WorldWater Council”. They asked theChairman to examine how to crea-te a link with these organizations.

The Assembly was pleasedwith the unquestionable successof the “Network Newsletter” publi-cation and the opening of theInternet site: http://www.oieau.fr/riob

It insisted on the advantage forthe Member-Organizations ofcontributing to the “newsletter”and extending the Web site withthe requested information on the“Member-Organizations”, theagenda of events and seminars,the identification of educationalmaterials and available informa-tion, the inventory of competentconsulting firms and service provi-ders, and a new file of Member-Organizations capable ofmobilizing experts at internatio-nal level for missions of generalinterest for INBO as well as a listof experts (International College).

It requested the PermanentTechnical Secretariat (IOW) to di-rect “discussion forums” on theWEB in 1998, especially on the to-pics already dealt with by INBO:

● “the funding of basin Organiza-tions” (Valencia General As-sembly),

● “Information necessary for de-cision-making” (Morelia Gene-ral Assembly)

● “Masterplans for better mana-ging our rivers” (Constanzaworkshop);

● as well as on other importanttopics such as the “water users’participation”The Assembly adopted the re-

commendations presented at theend of the technical seminar ofOctober 3, 1997, on “the finan-cing of Basin Organizations”and mandated the Chairman toensure that a wide disseminationis made to the interestedInternational Organizations and tothe Organization Committee of thenext International WaterConference in France.

The delegates examined theprogress of the “AQUADOC-IN-TER” project for the dissemination ofinstitutional documentation betweenMember-Organizations and theysaw a demonstration of the experi-mental model presented by IOW,which is to become operational onInternet before the end of 1997.

They insisted that theOrganizations of the Countriesquickly nominate their “NationalRelay Documentation Centre”(NRDC), if they have not alreadydone so, and on the importance ofparticipating in the first Aquadoc-Inter Management Committee,which was subsequently held inLimoges, FRANCE, on December11-12, 1997 (see page 3).

Finally, the delegates appro-ved the programme of the firstINBO’s “International trainingcourse” on the topic “Creation ofBasin Organizations”, which wouldbe co-organized by Spain andFrance in 1998.

Simulations of the provisionalprogramme as well as of the regis-tration conditions will be sent tothe Member-Organizations and tobi- and multilateral CooperationOrganizations so that they can en-visage sponsorships to make thisproject successful.

The Assembly thankfully retai-ned the invitation of the BrazilianAuthorities to host the next INBOGeneral Assembly in SanSalvador de Bahia (Brazil) from2 to 4 December 1998 as well asthe meeting of the Liaison Bureauthat will precede this Assembly byseveral months. It also noted theproposal of Poland for 1999 andColombia for 2000 that will beexamined by the Bureau.

The General Assembly under-lined the advantage of strengthe-ning technical seminars and chosethe following main topics for theParis workshop: “users’ partici-pation in water managementand the funding of the latter“.

They were also pleased withthe setting up of a first RegionalNetwork for Latin America (RR-LA/RIOC), following the Constitu-tive Assembly in Brasilia (Brazil)on July 9-10, 1997 and the prelimi-nary meeting in Costa Rica of theOrganizations of Central Americaand the Caribbean on May 14-16,1997.

It encouraged the AfricanMember-Organizations, followingthe first meeting in Abidjan (IvoryCoast) in November 1996, to setup one or several INBO’s RegionalNetworks, whatever the geogra-phical territory.

The network newsletter - N° 6 - 1st Quarter of 1998