Mainstreaming of Environmental Flows into Integrated Water Resources Management in the WIO Region: A Workshop for Managers and Policymakers - Concept note

Environmental flows improve water management by ensuring a sustainable water supply meets the needs of people, agriculture, energy, industry and the environment within the limits of availability. The application of environmental flows supports the health of aquatic ecosystems and the well-being of people who depend on them. By providing a system for equitable allocation of water, based on available supply, the application of environmental flows can support development and poverty alleviation. Environmental flow assessments provide the tools and the data necessary to help support decision-making processes, which focus on poverty reduction contributing to wider national development activities. The beneficiaries of environmental flow protection are numerous, arguably extending to the whole of society. Environmental flow requirements should be viewed not as a use or allocation of water, but as a necessary and desirable outcome of sustainable water management.

The mainstreaming of environmental flow into IWRM is now a reality to some of the WIO Region countries, as provided in their policies and legislations. South Africa and Tanzania have been in the forefront within the WIO Region. Tanzania in particular has recently implemented environmental flows in preparations of integrated water resources management and development plans (IWRMDP) for its hydrological basins using varied approaches, varying from simple hydrology-based look-up tables to complex holistic methods. The lessons from EFA for IWRMDP culminated in the development of harmonized guidelines (URT, 2016) to aid the Environment Water Requirement (EWR) assessment. The guidelines have been developed from experiences gained during environmental water assessments in five basins, namely the WamiRuvu (Wami and Ruvu Rivers), Rufiji (upper Great Ruaha and Kilombero River Catchments), Lake Victoria (Mara River), Pangani, and Lake Rukwa (Katuma and Songwe Rivers). The guidelines provide guides for carrying out EWA for different types of water bodies in Tanzania and a set of rules related to how the EWA process shall be conducted.