Implementation of IWRM in the Pungwe River basin has taken the first important steps since the establishment of ARA-Centro in 1998.
The enabling environment through national laws and policies is in place and concrete activities occur. The application of indicators shows that considerable steps have been taken towards an implementation of IWRM in the Pungwe River basin. Examples are the licensing of surface water users and participation of stakeholders through an established basin committee. On the other hand, there are many further steps to take. Presently the implementation is not judged to have reached halfway.
On the other hand, the indicators also show that essential parts of IWRM are missing, such as water allocation criteria that take into account efficiency and economic benefits and sufficient funding of the IWRM activities through water fees or the polluter-pays-principle. The lack of cross-sectoral coordination in the field of pollution control seriously hampers the implementation of IWRM. The national water law and statutes of ARA-Centro give the regional water authority the task to license effluent discharges. However, also the Ministry of Environment (MICOA) has regulatory responsibilities through the right to penalise polluters for non-compliance. There is a grey zone of responsibilities between the ARAs and MICOA, which prevent clear instructions for the staff of ARA-Centro do deal with pollution control. The limited implementation of water allocation criteria and pollution control is worrying for the Pungwe River basin. The last years records of low flows in the lower river basin and the accelerated water quality problems due to mining activities indicate that clean water resources may be a scarcity in the near future in the basin. This may severely affect the economic development of the region.
The staff of ARA-Centro gave the following main recommendation to a newly established RBO based on the experience in the Pungwe River basin:
- Governmental or external support is necessary for starting up the activitiesÂ
- Emphasise on institutional capacity building, especially to raise the human talents in IWRM
- Put effort to market IWRM among stakeholders
- Essential to coordinate with other government bodies
- Decentralise the organisation and increase the presence of staff in the field.