INTEGRATED RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT (IRBM) ABSTRACT 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 in order to maximize the economic and social benefits derived from water resources in an equitable manner while preserving and where necessary, restoring freshwater ecosystems 1 INTRODUCTION A river basin is the entire area drained by a river, including its tributaries. Experts agree that the best approach to conserving the world's freshwater resources is through managing river basins sustainably. We need to make wise choices about resource use, based on an understanding of how to maintain dynamic, living systems in the long term. River basins are important from hydrological, economic and ecological points of view. They absorb and channel the run-off from snow-melt and rainfall which, when wisely managed, can provide fresh drinking water as well as access to food, hydropower, building materials (e.g. reeds for thatching), medicines and recreational opportunities.They also form a critical link between land and sea, providing transportation routes for people, and making it possible for fish to migrate between marine and freshwater systems. By acting as natural 'filters' and 'sponges', well-managed basins play a vital role in water purification, water retention and regulation of flood peaks. In many parts of the world, seasonal flooding remains the key to maintaining fertility for grazing and agriculture. Last but not least, these often very large-scale ecosystems combine both terrestrial (e.g. forest and grassland) and aquatic (e.g. river, lake and marsh) components, thereby providing a wide diversity of habitats for plants and animals. ITS APPROACH AND FRAMEWORK The key concept of integrated river basin management is the participation of stakeholders in decision making or other functions of management, notably in water resources planning. It is crucial to set up a platform in which all relevant stakeholders are represented. This platform is meant to move away from sector approaches and to create environmental, institutional, social, technical and financial sustainability. The function of the platform is to serve as a tool for dealing with conflicting interests in the process of water resources planning and implementation of water development. It can also play a pivotal role in effective conflict prevention and resolution. key IRBM functions are: (i) water balance assessment, (ii) policies and strategies, (iii)legislation supporting regulatory standards, (iv) planning and allocation, (v) surface andground-water quantity and quality, (vi) inter-agency and community-driven coordination,
(vii)capacity building and (viii) public awareness and participation.

Adapted from Integrated Water Resources Management, Global Water Partnership Tecnhical Advisory Commite Background Papers, No 4, 200

The seven key elements to a successful IRBM initiative are:

A long-term vision for the river basin, agreed to by all the major stakeholders. Integration of policies, decisions and costs across sectoral interests such as industry, agriculture, urban development, navigation, fisheries management and conservation, including through poverty reduction strategies. Strategic decision-making at the river basin scale, which guides actions at sub-basin or local levels. Effective timing, taking advantage of opportunities as they arise while working within a strategic framework. Active participation by all relevant stakeholders in well-informed and transparent planning and decision-making. Adequate investment by governments, the private sector, and civil society organisations in capacity for river basin planning and participation processes. A solid foundation of knowledge of the river basin and the natural and socio-economic forces that influence it.

WHERE WE WERE, WHERE WE ARE NOW AND WHERE WE ARE HEADING IRBM in Malysia still focus on its original conceptand issues. There is several issues IRBM focus on are coordination among agencies and states, river sand mining, river pollution, erosion and sedimentation and many more. So based on this issue , IRBM still focuns on water quality and ecological issues. River basins are important ecological units and the river itself reflects all the environmental changes that occur in the basin be it changes in land use or discharges of waste. However, natural basin borders rarely coincide with political and administrative borders, making it difficult to attend to the ecological linkages across basins. In addition, many departments and agencies are involved, each planning and managing its particular sector of water use. THE SUSTAINABILITY COMPONENT OF IRBM ENCOMPASSING ENVIROMENTAL AND ECONOMIC SUSTAINBAILITY The aim of the IRBM plan is thus to provide overall guidance. Its intent is not to dwell on management details, but to establish priorities and balance the various sector interest in a way that facilitates clear and specific actions to address the main issues. It is crucial that an IRBM plan adequately covers and integrates the full array of water concerns, such as resources use and flood mitigation, wastewater treatment, and catchment protection and zoning. Planning requires a long-term vision to seek appropriate environmental investments that fulfill the entire objectives of IRBM. The IRBM plan should identify measures to achieve the planning objectives and specify concrete short-term and long-term actions. Legal And Institutional Framework Malaysia already has several examples of integrated watershed, catchment or river basin planning. Most initiatives have been in the form of IRBM plans, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.

Most plans have been prepared by a single agency and this gives a bias that is reflected in the plans. The challenge is how to improve the implementation of IRBM. The Sabah Water Resources Enactment of 1998 was an early and important step towards integrated management, as it created the first legal framework for IRBM in Malaysia. In Peninsular Malaysia, Selangor pioneered the new paradigm with the creation of LUAS in 1999. The environmental conditions and economic situation of each state must be considered before designing a model that fits into the local legal and institutional system. Nevertheless, there are many similarities between the states and it should be possible to give general recommendations and create a model legislation that the states can adapt and adopt. Institutional Challenge It is easy to identify the challenges, namely to: 1. Achieve effective and efficient integration 2. Maintain expertise, skills and,focus of specialised agencies 3. Avoid creation of bureaucraticcomplications 4. Develop frameworks with clearmandates 5. Streamline legislation, administration and procedures 6. Ensure stakeholder participation HURDLES AND OBSTACLES DUE TO IRBM IMPLEMENTATION IN MALAYSIA In Malaysia there are Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) and the Department of Environment (DoE). Government agencies related to direct beneficiaries of the river systems include the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology & Water, Ministry of Agriculture & Agrobased Industries, Ministry of International Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Tourism. DIDs scope of responsibilities encompass planning, design, implementation and management of the following focus areas: i) Irrigation, ii) Drainage, iii) River Engineering, iv) Coastal Engineering and v) Hydrology. Under the Ministerial Functions Act 1969 (Act 2), Ministers of the Federal Government Order 2009 (P.U.(A) 222), the Minister of NRE shall be charged with the responsibility for DID in the following subjects; Planning and development of flood and drought forecasting systems, management of hydrological data and information and assessment and management of national water resources, Planning and management of river basins Planning and development of infrastructure as well as water management for crops and other agricultural needs. Planning and management of flood mitigation programmes, Development and management of coastal zones to reduce coastal erosion and sedimentation problems at river mouths, Managing and regulating the implementation of storm water management programmes in town areas. DoEs main scope of responsibility in the context of river management, is related to water quality through enforcement of the EQA 1974 and related regulations though DOE has

their own river rehabilitation and management strategies in place. In the early days, these two departments were even under different federal ministries, not only until recently in 2004, were the two departments were placed under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
Although DID and DOE are under the same provisional cluster of the federal government now, integration or cooperative ties between the two in relation to IRBM implementation has been relatively slow. This of course is from an outsiders perspective. DID as an entity, has a multitude of resources at their helm, with historical and hydraulic data available and going back since the early 1960s. In addition DID officers, whom mostly consist of well-trained engineers, posses the technical prowess in implementing engineering controls related to IRBM. Unfortunately, their resources are now under-utilized specific only to flood mitigation and control. This is not to say that focus on water quality and ecology has not been given, but from a specialists point of view, the effort that has been put in is insufficient. Figure 2.2 : National Water Quality Standards (NWQS) and its designated uses (DOE, 2008) DOE whose primary focus is on water quality and ecology, does not specifically have an IRBM strategy in place, or at least a flood mitigation one, though many technically sound river rehabilitation studies have been conducted. DOE is the primary arm in charge of enforcing the Environmental Quality Act, 1974 (EQA, 1974), which document contains various regulations related to controlling point source discharge from all industries in Malaysia, as defined by the act. This is a very important point to consider in IRBM implementation, particularly when as discussed previously, legislative and supporting regulatory standards must be in place to ensure a successful outcome of the initiative. From previous river rehabilitation studies conducted by DOE, sound technical recommendations have been made in improving rivers overall water quality and ecology, as a direct function its Waste Assimilative Capacity (WAC) relative to the National Water Quality Standards (NWQS)

SOLUTION AND STRATEGIES

Solution how IRBM can be efficiently and successfully implement in Malaysia 1. both protection of ecosystem services and poverty alleviation needs to be explicit objectives of IRBM 2. using the river basin as the unit of management allows the plight of interconnected parties to be considered in order to balance the costs and benefits of different interventions to deliver the most efficient, equitable and sustainable option for development 3. valuation of ecosystem services and recognition of resource limits and thresholds need to be given special attention in order to identify management actions that are effective for mitigating key threats to ecosystem integrity and the services they provide 4. decision-making processes on the river basin must be inclusive of all affected stakeholders who should be involved in throughout preparation, implementation and monitoring 5. integrated assessment is needed to inform a process of negotiation and to resolve conflicts between new objectives and existing practices as well as to set management targets that are quantitative, time-bound, costed and where action is funded and responsibility allocated

6. economic and institutional arrangements to create incentives for IRBM need to be selected appropriately that allow the sharing of costs and benefits in sustainable management options. Direct payments, full-cost pricing schemes and recognition of property rights couldall have the potential to address both poverty and environmental degradation. Strategies on centralize water resource management in Malaysia, an independent committee deemed the Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara (SPAN) or National Water Services Commission, whose members consists of various experts and stakeholders, was set up. It is hoped that with the setting up of SPAN, a concerted effort towards IRBM will be able to take off. To achieve this, SPAN will have to take all the various factors discussed above into account. SPANs role under the SPAN Act 2006 is defined as follows (SPAN, 2006) 1. To advise the Minister on all matters in relation to the national policy objectives of the water supply and sewerage services laws and to implement and promote the national policy objectives 2. To implement and enforce the water supply and sewerage services laws and to consider and recommend reforms to the water supply and sewerage services laws 3. To ensure the productivity of the water supply and sewerage services industry and the monitoring of operator compliance with stipulated services standards, contractual obligations and relevant laws and guidelines 4. To increase concerted efforts towards improving the operational efficiency of the industry and in particular the reduction of non-revenue water through short-term, medium-term and long-term programmes 5. To advise the Minister on a fair and efficient mechanism for the determination of tariffs that is fair to both consumers and licensees and to implement tariffs that have been establish through appropriate mechanism and tools; 6. To ensure the national development goals pertaining to coverage, supply and accessto water supply and sewerage services are achieved 7. To ensure long-term sustainability of quality of water and sewerage services through continued capital works development 8. To formulate and implement a plan so that all reasonable demands for sewerage services are satisfied and in consultation with the relevant authorities, prepare a sewerage catchment plan formulating the policy and general proposals in respect of the development of any new sewerage system and measures for improvement of any existing sewerage system.

EFFECT OF CLIMATE CHANGES

Climate Change will affect basic elements of life access to water, food production, health and environment. But the most worried are poorest countries, climate change be fully integrated in development policies and international funding should support improved regional information on climate change impact In Malaysia temperature becomes the most factor climate change observations since 1968-2002 show that the average temperature of the Malaysia surface temperature has increased around 0.49 0.910C. Malaysia sea level has risen at an average rate of 1.25 mm per year over 1986 to 2006.

there are areas of Concern for Long Term Perspective 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Risks to unique and threatened systems. Risks of extreme weather events Distribution of impacts and vulnerabilities. Aggregate impacts. Risks of large-scale singularities

There is high confidence that neither adaptation nor mitigation alone can avoid all climate change impacts; however, they can complement each other and together can significantly reduce the risks of climate change. Determining what constitutes dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Responding to climate change involves an iterative risk management process that includes both adaptation and mitigation and takes into account climate change damages, co-benefits, sustainability, equity, and attitudes to risk.

CAN IRBM IMPLEMENTATION WHERE A DIFFERENT APPROACH IS BEING USED? A program known as Pollution Prevention and River Water Quality Improvement Programme was initiated with a view to rehabilitate rivers with serious pollution problems to ultimately meet its beneficial uses. Among the key objectives of this programme are: (i) To identify all the point sources and non-point sources of pollution in the subject river basin and to determine the pollution loads and their impact on water quality of that river; (ii) To prepare and to implement plans of action for the rehabilitation and improvement of river water quality from the polluted/slightly polluted category to clean category according to the water quality classification for purposes of potable water supply, recreational activities and tourism (iii) To conserve and continuously maintain the clean status of river water quality after the rehabilitation and qualityimprovement works have been completed. six rivers were initially selected for detailed feasibility studies in the rehabilitation programme. The six river basins are Sungai Langat, Sungai Segget, Sungai Tebrau, Sungai Melaka, Batang Rajang and river systems in Cameron Highlands. Studies for the Sungai Langat, Sungai Segget and Sungai Tebrau Basins have been completed in 2003. The study on Sungai Melaka commenced in 2003 and will be completed in 2004. while studies on rivers in Cameron Highlands and Batang Rajang Basins began in early 2004 and will be completed in 2005. For the other remaining 20 riverbasins, DOE continues to embark on its enforcement and awareness programmes. The Pollution Prevention and River Water Quality Improvement Programme has four stages of activities. Firstly is the detail study of the river basin in terms of pollution sources and impact on the quality of the water in the basin. Secondly, based on the findings of the study action plans to reduce, prevent and abate pollution action plans for enhancement of water quality and the river system for beneficial uses such as water supply, recreational and tourism products are to be formulated. Thirdly, the accepted action plans will then be presented to various responsible agencies for funding application and allocation for implementation and finally the operational and maintenance plans to ensure conservation and sustainability of the achieved water quality.

REFERENCES 1. Tackling poverty and promoting sustainable development: key lessons for integrated river basin management A WWF DISCUSSION PAPER, Richard McNally and Sylvia Tognetti 2. INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON HARMONISING ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS WITH SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL OF RIVER BASINS 24-26 March 2010 IRBM in Malaysia DID Initiatives By Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Malaysia 3. Logical Framework for Managing Sarawak River Basin through Integrated Hydrosystem Approach By: Engr. Charles Bong Hin Joo, Grad. IEM , and Prof. Frederik Josep Putuhen 4. Water Resources and Global Warming: Focus, Water Supply Ir. Salmah Zkaria. PhD. Director General, National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia (NAHRIM) Chair, Working Group II, Prep NC2 Vulnerability and Adaptation 5. Pollution Prevention And River Water Quality Improvement Programme
By Hajah Rosnani Ibarahim, Director General of Environment, Lee Choong Min, Director, River Division, DOE 6. http://www.wwf.org.my/about_wwf/what_we_do/freshwater_main/freshwater_conserving_ri ver_basins/focus_areas/projects_irbm_for_kinabatangan_river_basin/ 7. http://www.water.gov.my/home/20?task=view&lang=en 8. Integrated Water Resources Management. Liu Heng, PhD, Professor,

Vice President, Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute (NHRI) Vice Chairman, Chinese National Committee of UNESCO-IHP 9. MOVING TOWARDS INTEGRATED RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT (IRBM) IN MALAYSIA Abdul Rani A. Baginda and Zaki Zainudin 10. INTEGRATED RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT,
By Datuk Ir. Hj. Keizrul Abdullah, Director-General, Department of Irrigation and Drainage; and Bo Christensen, Chief Technical Advisor, IRBM Project