The concept of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) was first proposed in the 1990s, at the time of worldwide growing environmental awareness and has been recognized as a fundamental principle for comprehensive water resources management, where in various sectors and many stakeholders are involved. However, challenges still remain in the implementation of IWRM in local communities and effective assessment of the influence of human activities on the water environment. IWRM has focused on integrating sectors and organizations that govern various resources, such as surface water and groundwater. However, there appears to be a lack of systematic flexibility, because they have insisted on water allocation plans of the demand side rather than various requests by the users’side, and historical and cultural backgrounds sometimes have not been considered well. Further, local water resources have been under joint management by water users, but there has been a switch to top-down management by public organizations with their increasing involvement, which follows modernization and expansion of irrigation systems. Moreover, qualitative changes are occurring within the structure of society, such as hastening of private assignment of water management. Therefore, new frameworks/guidelines have been requested for local to regional water resources management (e.g. Biswas 2004). Furthermore, the target of IWRM is to focus on “quantity” over “quality.”Water management must consider domestic and industrial water quality in addition to assessing water quantity for agricultural use when assessing global water resources dynamics.

 

   The goal of C-09-Init is to present water resources management at the local level, which is the foundation of IWRM, to be a social implemented, and to develop the knowledge structure and ability for implementing this management among the concerned parties. In particular, we considers a management structure that reflects the relationship among various water users. Based on this specific content and the necessary conditions for establishing the management structure, the project aims to suggest desirable local water resources management guidelines through co-operation between science and society. Furthermore, the tools to implement techniques for a more proactive discussion and to achieve specific objectives will also be developed. Based on research results, information grounded in scientific evidence for further research will be presented to various stakeholders from policy makers to local end water users.

 

   Finally, C-09-Init will propose knowledge structures and functions of water resources management to local-level stakeholders who play the essential role in adapting IWRM into society. The research therefore involves considerable exchange between the scientific evidence of water cycles in particular places and the wide range of stakeholders involved in water management and use. The project’s goals are to develop cooperation between science and society in order to stimulate the co-creation of desirable local water resource management.

Overall progress

 

 In order to accomplish the goals of the project, we have established several study sites in Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt and Japan. Cases in Indonesia and Turkey give us a geographical and hydrological contrast between humid and semiarid to arid regions experiencing increasing demand of water resources associated with rapid economic growth. The Japanese case presents interesting contrast as it shows steady or decreasing demand for water resources. Project researchers have surveyed the management structures reflecting the relationship between water users in each area and observed important background hydrological and socio-economic dynamics.

Project research puts special emphasis on the sites in Indonesia and Turkey as they present a simple hydrological contrast between humid and arid regions, while their historical and cultural differences offer comparative examples of water management structures We have been developing a GIS system to analyze land-use change indicated by satellite observations in relation to other important conditions such as areas affected by flooding and drought. We held stakeholder meetings and conducted action research in field study areas in order to promote mutual understanding of how different actors perceive water-related problems and seek new ways of establishing proper water resources management. Both the hydrological model and GIS system are utilized as information-sharing tools in stakeholder workshops.

   Through these activities, C-09-Init aims at an assessment of the influence of man-made changes in the hydrological cycle of the environments as well as a response to problems that have risen because of environmental impacts. This is an essential topic in the Circulation Program. Moreover, with respect to local water and land management, C-09-Init aims to concretely work on the plans drafted in the Gaia Initiative as an Initiative-based Project. This states that “As human societies design their futures, they require best understandings of the Earth’s natural dynamism and the significance of human action within it. Therefore, the Gaia Initiative investigates of the physiospheric bases of humanity at multiple spatiotemporal scales; and it emphasizes on the description of physical standards related to boundaries and thresholds in order to allow the analysis of and best eco-technological adaptations to dynamic Earth environments.”

 

Individual results of survey and research

 

   The following three points are described as basic results to the end of FR4. 1) We reorganized the project design according to PEC’ comments and focused on the cases in Indonesia and Turkey as major target areas for transdisciplinary studies. 2) Based on the results of our observational survey, we have started collaborative studies, such as meetings,workshops and participatory monitoring in South Sulawesi, Bali and Turkey in collaboration with various stakeholders. 3) Through these collaborative studies, we archived the improvement of water management in South Sulawesi,Indonesia by a series of collaborative meetings with stakeholders,establishment of a new “Forum DAS” preparatory committee in Bali, Indonesia,and the success of a pilot project of “night irrigation” for saving water and achieving higher production.

 

(1) Clarification of conventional water resources management systems in humid areas and attempts to co-creation of knowledge between science and society (Indonesia):

  We further conducted hydrological observations and land use surveys of targeted watersheds in Bali and South Sulawesi, beginning in 2011, and clarified water use and balance in rice cultivation during the dry season.These studies revealed that water users cultivated paddy during the dry season considering their respective geographical conditions while empirically utilizing limited water resources. Moreover, we have established systems in South Sulawesi to realize “co-creation by science and society”supported by various stakeholders, including farmers, local municipalities, and a NGO. In Bali, we implemented a fact-finding survey on water governing structures whose basis is Subak and found that managing communities regarded as autonomous had changed into co-operative associations organized under public policies; and that public-financing systems prompted such dynamics. We have also started surveys on recent land use change under globalization and mass tourism. Subak is widely recognized as an ideal autonomous irrigation system (Geertz 1972, Lansing 1991, 2006; Ostrom 1992); however, we confirmed recent changes in the functions and roles of Subak. As outcomes of natural scientific surveys, isotopic analysis on various water origins in the whole watershed exhibited the importance of deep groundwater flow maintaining stable river flow during the dry period. The effects of the introduction of cash crops, such as clove and banana, on water balance and soil erosion were quantified by the field experiments. These results supported the people’s perception and recognition of recent problems because of land use change.

 

(2) Outcomes of the collaboration work with various stakeholders in Indonesia

   1) Bali: The first stakeholders meeting in Bali was held in September 2013. Over 50 leaders of Subak in the Saba River watershed in the north of Bali Island and related government officials from various sectors attended the meeting. Most participants described problems that had recently arisen between Subak members and outsiders, such as illegally dumped waste associated with water pollution and illegal construction on irrigation canals. Because Subak comprises farmers, it was difficult to resolve these problems beyond Subak governance. Participants realized the necessity for communication beyond the Subak governance; therefore, we are now preparing comprehensive meetings on watershed management involving other stakeholders outside Subak. The second stakeholders meeting was held on October 2014. Based on the recognition of recent problems raised by rapid land-use change with urbanization and cash-crop introduction, the Forum DAS (river committee) preparatory committee was established,comprising heads of Subaks, officials and engineers in local governments,scientists, and NGO workers. After nine preparatory meetings held From December 2014 to August 2015, the Forum DAS was officially launched on October 22, 2015.

 

   2) South Sulawesi: The absence of proper communication among water managers (gate operators on irrigation canals), who are employed by both the government and water users’associations, was clearly identified in the stakeholders’ meeting in Sulawesi January 2014, in which approximately 100 leaders of farmers, water managers,and government supervisors participated. After this meeting, we supported autonomous discussion among water managers. All meetings, including small ones, were recorded to trace changes in awareness and behavior and to describe our actions to stakeholders. Through these meetings, a detailed water allocation schedule was established and shared with water managers and farmers, improving the performance of water allocation and consequently rice production in 2014. In 2015, we extended this “action-meeting series in collaboration with stakeholders” to other irrigation districts, resulting in success.

 

(3)Integrated understanding of the impacts of institutions, technologies and outlook on natural resources of water users related to water resources management(Turkey):

   

Since decentralization in the 1990s, Turkey has had governance problems such as an information division and unclear attribution of responsibility. In particular, excessive use of water and fertilizers has increased soil salinity in the government-initiated irrigation project in the Harran Plain. We have continued to observe water quality including salinity, hydrology, and land use changes; and have found that increasing numbers of farmers are growing citrus in the Seyhan Basin, because of increased price. This crop requires more water, and government subsidies are changing crop patterns in the Harran Plain. We have conducted a questionnaire survey regarding the willingness to pay and farmers’ behaviours and their recognition of water use. The results revealed that most farmers are dissatisfied with the new water law and government policies. This law prevents farmers from communicating and building mutual trust with public sectors. In the first stakeholders meeting in March 2014, we attempted to promote mutual understanding among various stakeholders and stimulate them to proactively co-operate for better water management. After the meeting, a water users’association (WUA) consulted us with regard to avoiding excessive irrigation and resultant decrease in production. We proposed a night irrigation system. With operational support from an NGO and funding from the Coca-Cola Foundation, the WUA conducted a pilot project. The two-year project was very successful, achieving the irrigation water- saving (200 mm in 2014 and 260 mm in 2015) and higher crop production (15-18% in 2014 and 22-25% in 2015). The night irrigation project will be supported by UNDP in the following year.

 

 (4) Development of tools for sharing information among stakeholders

   We have been developing a GIS system(tentatively called “Atlas of Water Resources”), including land use change analyzed with satellite data, various statistics, and areas devastated by flooding and drought in the past. Both the hydrological model and GIS system have been used as tools in workshops to share water resources management information among various stakeholders..

Through the research activities, the project has proposed knowledge structures and functions of water resources management to local-level stakeholders who play the essential role in adapting IWRM into society. The research therefore involves considerable exchange between the scientific evidence of water cycles in particular places and the wide range of stakeholders involved in water management and use. The project’s goals are to develop cooperation between science and society in order to stimulate the co-creation of desirable local water resource management.

Publications and outreach

we have extended local collaborative action research at each site and attempted to summarize our results and experiences with special emphasis on comparison and integration among case studies through various methods;international conferences (7^th World Water Forum(April 2015, South Korea), 10^th International Symposium in RIHN (June 2015, Japan), and EuroSoil 2016 (July 2016, Istanbul)), stake holder meetings (Bali: October 22,2015, Sulawesi: February 1, 2016, and Turkey: December 14 and 16, 2016), books(two books in English and one in Japanese, in preparation), articles, Guiding Manual (February 2016, Indonesia). Even after the project completion, local activities at all sites are expected to be continued by collaboration among stakeholders.