2008 / 01

Defining Environmental Flows For Sustainable Water Management

Melanie Durette ISSN 1171-0853

Introduction
Previous conventional approaches to water allocation generally allocated water firstly to meet the demands of agriculture, expanding cities, and industry, and any remaining water in the system would be left over to provide for the natural functions of ecosystems (Brandes et al., 2005). Increasingly, however, due to an ever growing demand for water resources and climate change, this residual amount has been falling short of being capable of adequately supporting ecosystem functions. Although there is a large amount of information on and support for water allocations which support environmental needs of a system, also known as environmental flows or environmental water allocations, national and international environmental polices do not yet adequately account for them (eFlowNet, 2006). A general definition of environmental water flows is the water regime provided within a river, wetland or coastal zone to maintain ecosystems and their benefits where there are competing water uses and where flows are regulated (Dyson, Bergkamp, & Scanlon, 2003). Environmental flows are not reflective of the amount of water required to maintain an ecosystem in close-to pristine condition, but rather relate to the amount of water that might be allocated to a system after a process of assessment of various economic, social and environmental factors. This Knowledge Note examines how Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have recently defined environmental water flows in order to integrate them into national policy and planning for sustainable water management.

Reform Framework Agreement provided that in relation to water entitlements, state governments would give priority to formally determining allocations or entitlements to water, including allocations for the environment as a legitimate user of water (Gardner, 2005). Despite this, Schofield et al. (2003) later found in a review of water allocation policies and practices in Australia that states had been slow to implement programs and legislation that accounted for environmental flows. For example, legislation in Australia more often than not failed to stipulate a specific commitment or set clear measurable standards for river health; rather the focus remained on maintaining or slightly improving existing conditions in an already highly modified or degraded river system. Subsequently, the 2004 Intergovernmental Agreement on a National Water Initiative relaunched the efforts to define and manage environmental water allocations through a renewed commitment to the 1994 COAG Water Framework (Gardner, 2005). The COAG Water Framework initially defined environmental water or environmental water allocation as water that is set aside for the environment in order to maintain or restore waterdependent ecosystems, thereby distinguishing environmental water from water provided for other instream uses of the community, such as water quality and recreation. The National Water Initiative continues to make this distinction and in allocating water for the environment applies two concepts: Ecological Water Requirements and Environmental Water Provisions. The latter concept of environmental water provisions are known in Australia as environmental water allocations, and are equivalent to environmental flows as discussed in this Knowledge Note. Ecological water requirements are the water regimes needed to maintain ecological values of water dependent ecosystems at a low level of risk (Gardner, 2005). They are determined on the basis of the best scientific 1

Australia
The impetus to defining environmental water allocations in Australia came in 1994, when the Council of Australian Government (COAG) Water

information available or through the application of local knowledge. They will also inform the determination of environmental water provisions. Environmental water provisions are the water regimes that are provided as a result of the water allocation decision-making process taking into account ecological, social and economic impacts (Gardner, 2005). Thus, in Australia, environmental water provisions or allocations are generally specific volumes of water left in or released into rivers, lakes, or reservoirs, to restore or maintain particular ecological values of the water body (Gardner, 2005). In certain cases, they may also be determined through consideration of water quality, water temperature, information relating to terrestrial and aquatic flora and fauna, and water level and pressure of groundwater resources (Gardner, 2005). Most recently, the 2007 Brisbane Declaration defined environmental flows as the quantity, timing, and quality of water flows required to sustain freshwater and estuarine ecosystems and the human livelihoods and well-being that depend on these ecosystems. The Declaration reflects the principle that environmental flows are essential for freshwater ecosystem health and human well-being.

and environmental flows, defining the latter as the flows and water levels required in a waterbody to provide for a given set of values which are established through a regional plan or other statutory process (Ministry for the Environment, 2008, p. 7). Ecological flows, on the other hand, are defined as the flows and water levels required in a waterbody to provide for the ecological integrity of the flora and fauna present within waterbodies and their margins (Ministry for the Environment, 2008, p. 8). Generally, the provision of water for ecological values forms a significant component of the final environmental flow and water level. However, additional flows or higher water levels might be required to provide adequately for the other values that form part of the environmental flow component (Ministry for the Environment, 2008). While the proposed NES will assist the decision-making process, the determination of appropriate environmental flows and water levels remains a regional council decision based on the characteristics and associated values of the individual water resource. In each case, a specific determination of environmental flows will take into consideration the regional policy statements and regional plans for that area, national policy statements, and relevant provisions of the Resource Management Act (Ministry for the Environment, 2008).

New Zealand
In 2003, the Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry jointly launched the Sustainable Water Programme of Action (SWPA). In 2004, the Stakeholder Reference Group on the SWPA met to address water allocation issues in New Zealand, specifically how water allocation and use systems are not adequate to deal with increasing demands for water while at the same time sustaining the important natural, cultural, amenity and economic values of water resource systems (Ministry for the Environment, 2004). One of the conclusions reached by the Reference Group was that environmental baselines, including ecological and social considerations, should be determined first before identifying priorities for allocation and the volume of water available for allocation for commercial use. Currently in 2008, the Ministry for the Environment is considering a national environmental standard (NES) which will complement and enhance the existing Resource Management Act process for establishing environmental flows and water levels. The NES is currently being proposed as a means for providing a selection process for choosing the appropriate technical methods in the evaluation of the ecological component of environmental flows and water levels (Beca, 2008). In an approach similar to Australia, the Ministry for the Environment distinguishes ecological

South Africa
South Africa has undertaken significant water reforms over the past decade that account for environmental flows and is a world leader in terms of its water law and policy (Dyson et al., 2003). The starting point for environmental flows in South Africa is the National Water Act of 1998 which mandates the protection of water needs for the effective functioning of all ecosystems. This legislation provides for the setting aside of a reserve in relation to water resources that is not subject to competition with other water uses (Dyson et al., 2003). The reserve consists of two parts: the basic human needs reserve to provide for the essential needs of individuals, and the ecological reserve to protect the aquatic ecosystems of the water resource. The ecological part of the reserve, which relates to environmental flows, is defined as the quantity and quality of water required to protect aquatic ecosystems in order to secure ecologically sustainable development and use of the relevant water resource (s. xviii (b)). South Africa further provides a good example of how environmental flows, if they are to be effective, are defined on a watershed-by-watershed basis (Brandes et al., 2005). Since the concept of an ecological reserve reflects the specific purpose of water to sustain a certain state of the ecosystem, for example, 2

to support subsistence fishing and recreation, the amount of water required for each reserve will be different and determined on a case-by-case basis. The country is divided into 19 water management areas, each containing one or more watersheds. A catchment management agency will eventually be created for each area and be responsible for developing its own catchment management strategies including water allocation plans that must account for water to meet the ecological needs of that specific area. These strategies though are guided by national policies and standards. In terms of conservationism, South Africa is also a leader in terms of its water rights regime as all other water demands are secondary to the meeting of water for the reserve of a watershed (Brandes et al., 2005).

governance and sustainable water management in Canada. Report by the POLIS Project on Ecological Governance. Victoria, B.C.: University of Victoria. Dyson, M., Bergkamp, G., & Scanlon, J. (2003). Flow: The Essentials of Environmental Flows. Cambridge: World Conservation Union. eFlowNet. (September, 2006). Special issue: Developing a global environmental flows network. eFlowNet Newsletter, vol. 3(1). Gardner, A. (2005). Environmental water allocations in Australia. Paper for the Sustainable Water Management International Symposium. Canberra: Australian National University. Ministry for the Environment. (2004). Water programme of action: Water allocation and use (Technical Working Paper). Wellington: Ministry for the Environment. Ministry for the Environment. (2008). Proposed national standard on ecological flows and water levels (Publication No. ME 868). Wellington: Ministry for the Environment. Schofield, N., Burt, A. & Connell, D. (2003). Environmental water allocation: Principles, policies and practices. Canberra: Land and Water Australia.

Conclusion
Dyson et at. (2003) have suggested the process of defining environmental flows in a specific context poses one of the greatest challenges today to those charged with managing water resources. However, even for countries such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, where definitions of environmental flows have been articulated and become part of national policy, a multitude of challenges related to environmental water allocations are yet to be addressed. For instance, legislative and policy frameworks are still rudimentary, inconsistent and generally inadequate to account for environmental water flows (Schofield, 2003). Therefore, while internationally the awareness of the need to account for environmental water flows in water policy and planning is growing, crucial questions about the allocation of environmental water remain unanswered.

Contact
Author: mdurette@synexe.com Synexe www.synexe.com synexe@synexe.com PO Box 6295 Wellington 6141 NEW ZEALAND +64 4 889 2152 PO Box 1344 Springwood Queensland 4127 AUSTRALIA +61 7 3102 1940

References
Beca. (2008). Draft guidelines for the selection of methods to determine ecological flows and water levels. Report by Beca Infrastructure Ltd for Ministry for the Environment. Wellington: Ministry for the Environment. Brandes, O., Ferguson, K., MGonigle, M., & Sandborn, C. (2005). At a watershed: Ecological