Integrated Drainage Basin Management (DP IB Geography)

Integrated Drainage Basin Management

• According to Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), Global Water Partnership Technical Advisory Committee 2000

“Integrated river basin management (IRBM) is the process of coordinating conservation, management and development of water, land and related resources across sectors within a given river basin, to maximise the economic and social benefits derived from water resources in an equitable manner while preserving and, where necessary, restoring freshwater ecosystems.” 

• Components of integrated drainage basin management (IDBM) include:

  • Water quality

  • Water supply

  • Flood control

  • River channels

• Successful drainage basin management works with the river compared to working against the river

• There are seven key elements to successful IDBM:

  • Integration

  • Timing

  • Participation

  • Scale

  • Knowledge

  • Capacity

• According to the WWF, there is a need for IDBM due to:

  • The freshwater crisis the world is facing

  • The melting of glaciers in Pakistan and India

    • This is increasing discharge in rivers

  • An increase Glacial outburst floods, caused by failures of dams containing a glacial lake

  • Increased land use due to urban development

  • The increasing use of water for agriculture

  • Approximately 12% of all animals live in freshwater and will be affected by reduced or polluted water

Costs and benefits of IDBM

Case Study: Amur Drainage Basin

The Amur basin

• WWF recently launched a project which targets the Amur River in China

• Over 93% of the population in the Amur basin lives on 43% of the land in northeastern China

• Increasingly, the river has been used for hydroelectric power, with dams being built along the river

• In 2019, there were over 100 dams in the Amur Basin

• The basin is home to diverse ecosystems, such as the snow sheep and Siberian tiger

• Environmental threats exist because of rapid population and economic growth due to more people needing to use river basins for water supplies and for governments to use the river basin to support the people

• Most rivers of the basin are usually frozen from October to April

• There are alternating dry and wet periods in the basin, which can last up to 40 years, which means that the basin is either more affected by possible flooding or droughts

• The problems of the water basin expand into Japan because the ecosystems supply nutrients to the Sea of Japan

Floods in the Amur Basin 

• A catastrophic flood took place in the basin in 2013

• The flood led to:

  • Eighty-five deaths

  • Over 100 missing people

  • More than 860,000 people were displaced from their homes

  • Property damage totalled $2.6 billion

  • More than 120,000 people, including 10,000 soldiers, helped with relief and rescue efforts in the Chinese section of the river basin

  • More than 30,000 volunteers helped distribute 53 tons of food and supplies to flood victims in the Russian section of the basin

Integrated Drainage Basin Management 

• Long-term goals for the river basin:

  • Reduce logging in the area to reduce flooding

  • Try to limit overfishing of sturgeon

  • Improve existing international agreements between Russia and China

  • Sharing of data across international boundaries about the river basin

  • Existing areas of protected networks to be regularly assessed

  • Increase wetlands in the area

  • Prevent future dams from being built

  • Improve military security issues in the area

Integrated Management of the Amur Drainage Basin

Conflicts caused by Integrated Drainage Basin Management Plans

• Integrated Drainage Basin Management Plans (IDBMPs) can cause conflicts between different groups of people:

  • Reports suggest that indigenous communities were not consulted in the dam production at Evenkiiskaya 

    • This led to the construction of the dam being stalled

    • There is conflict when local people believe their land is being taken away from them in the form of ‘land grabbing’ for dam building, such as at  Evenkiiskaya

  • The flow regimes of the Zeya and Bureya rivers have changed significantly 

    • This change  resulted in the alteration of the natural floodplain ecosystems of both rivers 

  • There have been suggestions that governments do not listen to Non-governmental organisations such as WWF-Russia 

    • The WWF-Russia has carried out impact assessments on the Amur River Basin

  • Both China and Russia have different legislation about how to manage the Amur River Basin 

    • This is not a constructive way of utilising IDBMPs

  • There might be unclear responsibilities of interested government agencies

    • Departments that measure water quality might clash with urban and rural planners

  • IDBMPs are not usually legally binding which means companies and governments can disregard the plans

  • Governments may disregard the IDBMPs because of the need to use the rivers for economic growth