WATER P-NOTES ISSUE 25 JanUary 2009 47313 Lessons for Managing Lake Basins Measuring Good Governance L akes and reservoirs play a central role in inte- The six components of good lake basin gover- grated water resources management. Yet lake nance processes that were developed are: policy, and reservoir basins have not received sufficient institutions, rules, stakeholder involvement, knowl- attention in global water policy discussion, even edge, and finances. though lakes are essential to the lives of much of the world's population, and provide habitat for aquatic life. An analysis of experiences and lessons learned Policy development is key for from 28 lakes around the world sought to identify resource management practical lessons learned from management of lake basins, create new knowledge on lake basin man- Lake specific policies are rarely developed to man- agement, fill an important gap in knowledge of lake age the resources of lake basins. Instead, govern- basin management in developing countries, and ment directions are contained in sector-specific derive lessons from internationally funded projects.1 (typically water or environment) policies for use of The main focus of this note is to summarize the the lake basin, with little explicit recognition of lake monitoring and evaluation indicators of good gov- basin management in lakes that cross national or ernance in lake basin management that were devel- international boundary lines, otherwise known as oped under the above listed report, building on the transboundary lakes. management experiences of 28 lake basin manage- · Good policies must be sensitive to local circum- ment case studies carried out under the Lake Basin stances. Consistent, high-level political support Management Initiative described in Table 2.1 in the is essential for policies to succeed. Well-inten- World Bank report. The major signs of progress in tioned policies have failed in the past because lake management (such as changes in the trophic they did not take sufficient account of the lim- state of the lake or its environmental status and nu- ited ability of local populations to respond to trient loads entering the lake or reduction in stress changes. on the lake from point and nonpoint sources of pol- lution) are slow to detect and often hard to measure in the short term (Box 1). 1 The partnership consisted of the World Bank, Global Environ- In such cases progress is measured through pro- ment Facility (GEF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Ram- cess indicators that measure the development of the sar Bureau, United States Agency for International Development enabling environment for lake basin management (USAID), the Bank--Netherlands Water Partnership Program over the short to medium term rather than through (BNWPP), the Shiga Prefecture in Japan, and two NGOs--the environmental status or stress reduction indicators International Lake Environment Committee (ILEC) and LakeNet. The World Bank was the GEF implementing agency and ILEC (which are measured over the medium to long term). was the executing agency. This note reports key findings from Lessons for Managing Lake Basins for Sustainable Use prepared by the Environment Department (Team Leader: Rafik Hirji), (World Bank Report 32877, December 2005). Read- ers may download the complete paper from www.worldbank.org/water. WATER P-NOTES Box 1. Environmental status and stress reduction indicators Environmental Status Indicators Environmental status indicators directly measure the environmental quality of the waterbody. In practice, it can be difficult to detect improvements in water quality in the short-to-medium term as a result of management interven- tions, partly because of the time it takes for many interventions to be implemented, partly because of long reten- tion times and complex response dynamics of large waterbodies, and partly because of the confounding effects of climate variability and developments in the catchment of the lake. Examples of the environmental status indicators proposed by the GEF include trophic status, reduced chemical concentrations, improved recruitment of target fish species, socioeconomic improvements, reduction in sediment loads from lake basins. Table 2.1 in the main document shows the extent and status of causative problems affecting the 28 study lakes. Although there are improvements in environmental status of some lake basins in both the industrialized and devel- oping countries, overall, there has been only limited improvement in the environmental status of most lake basins. In some cases, improvements have been as a result of engineering interventions, such as sewage treatment plants or canals, which have led to short- or medium-term results. In other cases, it is the result of a prolonged effort to reduce pollutant loads from industry through enforcement of regulations and incentive programs. Stress Reduction Activities While undertaking on-ground investments to reduce the stress on lake basins does not guarantee that the status of the waterbodies will improve, the existence of these interventions is a positive indicator. There have been significant structural and non-structural investments in the study lake basins. These include investments in sewage treatment upgrades (and advanced wastewater treatment), reforestation and soil conservation in the lake basin, biological control of nuisance species in the lake, dredging of sediments, hypolimnetic aeration of lake waters, rehabilitation of littoral wetlands and construction of artificial wetlands. · It is most important that sector-specific policies coordinating institutions, to advisory institutions. are consistent and supportive of lake basin Diverse forms of agreement between institutions to management. Actions in one sector affects the establish management roles have been used-- from performance of other sectors; policies must vision statements to memoranda of understanding reflect the need to address what happens often to international agreements and conventions. upstream of a lake, or in the lake basin, and must reflect the need to address sector-specific · Lack of technical and administrative skills was policies in lakes with boundaries that cross often cited as an impediment to institutions in multiple lines, or transboundary lakes (Aral Sea, carrying out their functions. Lakes Chad, Baikal, Nakuru, Naivasha, Bar- · Successful institutions develop a diversity of link- ingo, Ohrid, Peipsi/Chudswkoe, Sevan, Chilika, ages. Most important are direct links to senior Dianchi, Laurentian Great Lakes, and Toba). decision makers, including politicians. These links take time to construct and should be built as early as possible. Links among sectoral agen- Institutions are at the core of lake cies, as well as informal links (such as those that basin management often exist between scientists) are also impor- tant. Strong institutional links with communities Formal institutions assume a variety of leadership are very important, to pass local information positions for lake basin management. Institutional upwards to institutions and to promote a genu- responsibilities may encompass resource devel- ine sense of stakeholder involvement. opment, service delivery, regulatory, advisory, or · Institutions need to be flexible and responsive coordinating roles. Informal institutions, such as to changing priorities. Institutions must adapt to traditional village committees or NGOs, can also match their activities with the changing devel- play important roles. A diversity of transboundary opment needs of the lakes. In the case studies, institutions were described in the case studies, from flexibility and responsiveness were particularly those with resource allocation responsibilities, to important for expanding inclusiveness of stake- 2 ISSUE 25 · JANUARY 2009 holders, and addressing a wider range of man- · Rules are especially difficult to establish for agement issues. transboundary lakes because of divided sover- · Transboundary institutions can be successful at eignty. There were numerous examples where any of these roles and under any of these legal laws and regulations had been, or were being, forms, as long as they have the political backing harmonized for the sharing of fishery resources of the member states and the resources to carry in transboundary lakes, in many cases with out their functions. assistance from GEF. In some cases, the suc- cessful joint management of fisheries resources · Trust was seen as a vital ingredient in trans- has led to improved cooperation on a wider boundary lake basin management. range of problems. Although international obligations are another catalyst for harmoniz- ing transboundary regulations, governments rules are essential to promote in developing countries often find it difficult to cooperation deal with the complexities of these obligations. Rules are needed to ensure that lake basin resources are allocated fairly and efficiently. They Public participation leads to better can be expressed as command and control (CAC) management statements (usually national laws, regulations or by-laws) or through economic instruments such as tariffs, levies, fines, and subsidies. CAC and eco- Involving stakeholders in decisions leads to greater nomic instruments have complementary character- acceptance of rules, incorporates local knowledge istics. There are a number of examples where these in decisions, reduces the cost of enforcement, can approaches have been successfully combined, such increase political interest, contributes to the long- as at Lake Dianchi, China, and Lake Laguna de term viability of management interventions, and can Bay, Philippines. help give voice to marginalized groups. Stakehold- ers can play different roles--from advisory to deci- · Affected communities should be involved direct- sion making. It is important that their role is clearly ly in establishing and implementing the rules. spelled out, in legislation if necessary. Some of the most successful examples of com- munity participation in developing rules were · The time and effort required for stakeholder in efforts to establish rules governing access to participation is almost always underestimated. fisheries resources. Examples of community par- Grants of only a few years duration to assist ticipation in rules included the voluntary mora- with community development are not long toria on fishing at Lakes Baringo and Naivasha enough to be effective. in Kenya. However, the Lake Malawi/Nyasa · There are many useful tools for building involve- case study makes it clear that problems can ment. Tools include technical programs (includ- also arise from community participation, such ing small grants programs), use of existing as internal community tensions, corruption, institutions (such as local government, water- inadequate education of committee members, shed protection groups, and nongovernmental and reluctance by authorities to transfer respon- organizations (NGOs) or community-based sibility to local levels. organizations (CBOs), as well as engagement · Enforcement of rules can be problematic, but in the strategic action program (SAP) planning relies on participation of people who are stake- process. There are also costs to developing holders. In developing countries, enforcement stakeholder groups, including the potential dilu- of rules can be challenging due to a lack of tion of ownership and authority of institutions. data, equipment, knowledge and training; a · Small grants projects with a focus on local lack of political and administrative leadership; development and poverty reduction are impor- and resistance from stakeholders who do not tant for promoting stakeholder involvement. accept the legitimacy of the rules. Increasing There are clear examples where, once stake- the involvement of stakeholders improves the holders possessed sufficient knowledge, they acceptability of rules. were willing to sacrifice short-term profits for 3 WATER P-NOTES long-term benefits, but there were several coun- means there are lakes that support commercially terexamples where lack of involvement led to valuable industries that do not pay for use of the unenforceable decisions. water resource. There are also lakes that possess internationally important resources, particularly high biodiversity, where there is no mechanism Scientific information guides for levying resource use charges. Lakes with decision-making poorer resource users tended to regard user charges as too difficult to implement. Scientific information has been important in guiding · There may be more opportunities to implement decision-making at a number of lakes. For exam- user charges among both wealthier and poorer ple, scientific information played a central role in resource users. When combined with legal improving management of sustainable use at Lakes backing, local autonomy, and local retention of Naivasha and Chilika and the Laurentian Great funds, even very poor fisher folk were willing to Lakes. However, scientific information could have pay resource-use fees in the Tanzanian part of been used to clarify issues in more lakes. Lake Victoria. Establishing local sources of funding is essential Key lessons In the developing world, the most successful lake · Long-term commitments require a programmatic management experiences have been where there approach to lake basin management. have been relatively large quantities of national · There is international responsibility for protecting finance spent; international funds do not appear to global lake values. The global community is a have had a major impact, even accounting for their beneficiary of the resources of lakes, that have leveraging, where they have been a predominant globally important values, such as biodiversity. source of funds. There is no mechanism for these beneficiaries to · Government approaches to international funding provide resource user fees for the protection and sources, such as GEF, sometimes do not ade- continued enjoyment of these lake values. quately take account of local needs. Activities · Promotion of lake resource use charges can tended to cease when GEF projects were over, provide a stable financial base for lake man- in spite of government undertakings to continue agement if introduced as part of a package with funding. The GEF needed to find more effec- increased local autonomy, retention of funds, tive ways to develop mechanisms for generating and improved understanding based on scientific local sources of funds as well as seeking stron- studies. ger and more enforceable commitments from governments to continue to support lake basin · The GEF can better coordinate projects in all management after GEF projects closed. these areas to improve lake basin management. Transboundary management of lake basin · The principle of payments for the use of local problems should be extended to other GEF lake basin resources was widely supported but programs. A mechanism for GEF lakes proj- applied inconsistently. Resource-user charges ects to share experiences and knowledge, and were most common in lakes with relatively improve efficiency in dealing with GEF adminis- wealthy users, although not in all cases. This trative procedures. The Water Sector Board Practitioner Notes (P-Notes) series is published by the Water Sector Board of the Sustainable Development Network of the World Bank Group. P-Notes are available online at www.worldbank.org/water. P-Notes are a synopsis of larger World Bank documents in the water sector. 4 THE WORLD BANK | 1818 H Street, NW | Washington, DC 20433 www.worldbank.org/water | whelpdesk@worldbank.org