Environmental Flows elements to support water legislation: policy implications and institutional arrangements in the Water Legislation of Peru
MSc.Marielena Lucen
The E-Flows is the amount of water to:• Achieve fair water distribution between people and environment• Guarantee the continuity of goods and services provided by the river for present and
future generations• Protect the environment against degradation
The E-flows implementation process is challenging because:• Their operationalization in daily management is difficult to achieve• Time frame between 10-15 years• Key elements beyond physical
conditions are required
INTRODUCTION:E-flows
Iquitos-Peru
INTRODUCTION
Pacific Basin Total Users :66%.Water Avb:2%Uses: Agriculture, Mining, Industry, Hydropower
Atlantic Basin Total Users :31%Water Avb:97%Uses: Fishing, Transport,Ecosystem, Hydropower
Reason to shift into a sustainable management approach were : •Inequity in water distribution
Peru water legislation was enforced in 2010 and establishes that a E-flows implementation is expected by 2020
Lessons learnt from South Africa Water Act (1998) and its implementation process as well as other countries experience regarding E-flows were used. Titicaca Basin
Total Users :3%Water Avb:1%Uses: Transport, Mining, Agriculture
To evaluate the principles, instruments and institutional arrangements that the new water legislation of Peru provides to support the environmental flows implementation.
OBJECTIVE
RESEARCH QUESTIONSWhat are the legal provision in countries with experience in environmental flow implementation?
Which are the lessons learnt from South Africa Water Act and other countries experience?
How the Peruvian water legislation support the environmental flows implementation?
What can be recommended to improve the feasibility of E-flows implementation in Peru?
What are the instruments and institutional arrangements for E-flows in Peru's water legislation?
Conceptual Framework
Literature Review
PE National Water legislation of 2009-
2010
SA Water Act of 1998
Other countries experience in E-flows
Analyze the principles, instruments and set ups propose in the Peru water legislation to implement environmental flows.
Identification of the lessons learnt from the SA and the World Bank report and other literature
Summary
Draw up of the conclusions and recommendations regarding the effectiveness of the principles, instruments and institutional arrangement to enforce the environmental flows according to the Peru water legislation
Env-Flows in Water
Legislation
Principl
Inst. ArrangInstr.
DESIGN OF RESEARCH
PERU WATER LEGISLATIONPRINCIPLES
Peru water legislation is based on 4 principles that support the E-flows:Principle of sustainability, principle of efficient water use, principle of protection of the water resources
The environmental flows are defined: “As the volume of water that have to be maintain in water course to protect or conserve water ecosystems, landscape aesthetics and other aspects of scientific and cultural interest”.
Environmental Flow Definition in the legislation
Gocta - Peru
INSTRUMENTS
•Water Uses3 types of Uses: Primary (priority over any other use and first in use in scarcity period), Domestic and Productive (Agriculture, Hydropower, Industry, Health, Mining, Tourist, Transport)
•Considerations for issue licensesRequirement of a hydrological study to demonstrate :“Enough water availability to guaranty the environmental flows, the conditions to assure storage capacity and transport conditions, according to its hydrological cycle”.
•Protection of water resources by means of ecosystem conservation :E-flows
The environmental flows must remain permanently in the water course
Actions to control water quality are mentioned but there is no definition about monitoring programs or how to arrange them Cerro de Pasco-Peru
•Water ChargesGenerally define as a requirement to a obligation to contribute to achieve sustainability.
•Water Management and Planning strategy:
•The National Policy and Strategy of Water Resources includes:Activities, guidelines and principlesTime Frame of 10 years (2010-2020) divided in 3 phases (2009-2010; 2011-2016; 2016-2020)
•The National Water Resources Plan
Institutions involved in the Environmental flows
Ministry of Agriculture Ministry of Environment
Environmental Flows
National Water Authority
INSTITUTIONAL ARREGEMENT
National Water Resources Management System
Water Users Organization (WUO)
Basin Council (BC)
Water Management Authority (AAA) (14)
Local Water Authority (73)
accountability
accountability Accountability, participation platform
accountability
Participation and representation
Board of Directors
Headship
Ministry of Agriculture
National Water Authority (ANA) (1)
LITERATURE SOUTH AFRICA PERU
PrinciplesIWRM Principles Sustainability
ReserveEquity
SustainabilityEfficiency
Instruments
Legal provisions that operationalize the E-flows such as: control of water uses, monitoring process and financial mechanism.
An implementation plan
Prioritization: Reserve, international and the rest.Water Uses 11 different typesReserveQuality objectivesClassification SystemWater chargesNational Monitoring and Information System
National Water Resources StrategyCatchment Management StrategyStrategic plan to facilitate implementation (Pilot implementation)
Prioritization: primary, domestic and productive.Water Uses 3 different typesProtection of the environment by means of ecosystem conservationWater charges
National Water Resources Policy and Strategy implementation work plan(Pilot implementation)National Water Resources Plan
Selection of the environmental flow assessment according to the particular circumstance. An oversight authority is recommended to achieve fairness
Assessment selection and developing by external consultants
Assessment Methodology according to Ministry of Environment and Agriculture
FINDINGS
LITERATURE SOUTH AFRICA PERU
Instrumentos
Legal provision of stakeholder's participation regarding awareness of the benefits from environmental flow
Participation process regarding management strategies, institutional arrangement and Reserve
Public participation only in the conformation of the Basin Council
Arreglos
Institucionales
Legal recognition of institutional arrangement to support enforcement of the environmental flows.
Ministry of Water and Environment Affairs (preexisting)Department of Water Affair DWA (preexisting)Catchment Management Agencies CMA (19 new)Water User Association WUA (new)
National Water Resources Management System (1 new)National Water Authority (1 new)Water Management Authority (14 new)Local Management Authority (73 new)Basin CouncilsWater User Association
FINDINGS
The principles of efficiency and sustainability are seems to be a worldwide consensus to include them in the water legislation
Environment as a legitimate user and minimum level of ecosystem health
The National Monitoring and Information System / Monitoring Provisions
Pilot basin implementation
Include different actors in the environmental flows assessment
Promotion of the environmental flows benefits in the participation process
Institutional Arrangement for the environmental flows
Amazon-Peru
Lessons learnt from the literature and South Africa Water Act
CONCLUSIONSPeruvian water legislation link the E-flows to the aquatic requirements without link them with the people welfare.
The Peru water legislation does not provide enough details on how E-flows should be assessed and monitored in practice
The Peruvian institutional setup for the water management and consequently the E-flow implementation will be managed by Ministry of Agriculture which can hinder the implementation of the environmental flows in the future due to the confluence of political interest.
The new water management setup requires establishment of many new administrative body, however their roles and responsibilities are not clearly defined, and it is not clear how the coordination among them will be organized.
Political and economic interest in the selection of the E-flows assessment.
Amazon River-Peru
CONCLUSIONS
The Peru water legislation proposes a pilot basin to learn by doing although the basin chosen are already over-allocated and overused; this can hinder the application of E-flows.
The Peru water legislation does not envisage a participation procedure that brings to the spotlight the benefits provided by environmental flows enforcement.
The E-flows implementation show mixed results in different context. The implementation process is a long term effort that depends on the existing capacities and need to be carefully design to clearly link the E-flows benefits with people welfare.
The Peru water legislation provides a time frame of 10 years to achieve enforcement of the environmental flows which is reasonable given the complexity of the process.
Amazon River-Peru
RECOMENDATIONS•Link the E-flows with human requirements not only aquatic requirements
•Design of environmental flows monitoring programs
•Clear division of roles and responsibilities of all the organizations involved
•Include an oversight authority in the selection of the environmental flows methodology
•The pilot basins should range between non-over allocated and over allocated basins
•Inclusion of participation procedures to promote E-flows
Cuzco-Peru
