An indicator framework for assessing the technology aspect of Integrated Lake Basin Management for Lake Malawi Basin

Effective lake basin management institutions: lessons from African lakes

ABSTRACTThe present study assessed the importance of basin management plans for managing lakes in Malaysia within the context of Integrated Lake Basin Management (ILBM) governance principles. Although ILBM has been promoted since 2007, less than 2% of the lakes in the country have basin management plan in place. Most of these management plans need to be fully adopted, reviewed and evolved as living documents by all relevant stakeholders for successful lake basin management. Increasing demands for resources and development within catchments, as well as emerging threats, require integrated management of lake resources for sustainable use, highlighting the need to develop basin management plans for all other lakes to support their effective management. The present study also provides a narrative for developing an ILBM plan, including consideration of lake characteristics, the linked lentic–lotic water systems comprising lake basins, ecosystem services, participatory planning and for performing continuous lake governance improvements within a cyclical process. Management planning for lakes should address specific focus areas or major threats, continuing the process until all its relevant governance pillars are strengthened. These ILBM plans can eventually be integrated to the larger river basin management and state water resources management planning towards effective water governance.

This paper sought to understand the current state of the management environment of Lake Malawi Basin, deduce a lake vision and develop indicators for assessing Integrated Lake Basin Management (ILBM) in the lake basin. The premise of the study was that targeted indicators are necessary to effectively monitor the lake basin and manage it sustainably. The study focused on the Malawian side of the lake. Interviews, field observations and review of existing lake management and indicator development approaches around the world were the methods employed. It was found that Malawi lacks focus on lakes in its strategies and the existing management of the lake is on a sector-to-sector basis with little coordination. Furthermore, the capacity of lake-related sector institutions is hampered by inadequate resources and unstable flow of funds. It was concluded that the current management of the lake basin is unsustainable and there is need to comprehensively monitor the lake basin as well as formulate and implement management plans and strategies that are based on the knowledge obtained from targeted monitoring. A set of governance indicators was developed taking into account the characteristics of the lake, the values that it offers and the threats that it is facing.

Lake Malawi is the southernmost of the Great Rift Valley Lakes of Africa and boasts the world's greatest freshwater fish biodiversity. Along with its basin, the lake provides many benefits to the country of Malawi. Settlements, agriculture and fishing are some of the major uses of the lake basin, making community involvement a necessary component of its management. With the use of key informant interviews, questionnaire survey, document review and site observations, this study demonstrates the applicability of the Integrated Lake Basin Management framework in the Lake Malawi Basin in regard to stakeholder participation. The main objective was to assess the participation of stakeholders, especially local communities, in the management of the lake basin. The framework applied in this study is discussed. The study findings indicate strong to very strong stakeholder participation, with notably high levels of awareness and women's involvement. Enhancing the understanding of the complex nature of lake basin issues, especially those related to the linkages between the water body and the basin, is a topic requiring further attention.

The natural and cultural heritage of the Lake Skadar/Shkodra basin require the implementation of an efficient management system at the level of the whole lake for the purpose of its continuous protection and the valorization of this unique ecosystem. In this study, we have suggested that there is no difference between the Lake Shkoder Basin Management Strategy (LSBMS) and the Integrated Lake Basin Management (ILBM) which is widely accepted today as a guideline for the achieving of the sustainable management of lake basins. In this chapter, we have reviewed the relevant national and international documents about Lake Skadar such as the Strategic Action Plan (SAP) for Lake Skadar/Shkodra to analyze the current management plans of the lake and basin according to the six governance pillars of ILBM (institutions, policies, participation, technology, information, and finance).

Governance is essential to lake basin management, but it is the most challenged and needs increased attention. Lake Basin Governance performance assessment is designed to measure the progress and impacts of policies, institutions and the roles of various actors in ensuring sustainability. It measures the performance of technical/operational, social/networks, and institutional arrangement that make up the socio-ecological system. Governance performance assessment becomes very necessary with over-emphasis of institutions on resources utilization and exploitation. The purpose of this paper is to present a governance performance assessment framework specifically for lake basins. The Adaptive Integrated Lake Basin Management (AILBM) framework is a diagnostic and prescriptive performance assessment tool with an outcome to produce an adaptive and integrative system with equity, inclusiveness, transparency, accountability and flexibility to problem-solving and resilience. A case study on water governance performance assessment of the Songkhla Lake Basin (SLB) in Thailand is provided for illustration and application and indicated a poor performance rating on governance in the Basin, revealing gaps, defects, strengths and weaknesses in the current system, necessary to recommend future improvements.

Проблема поводження з твердими відходами є однією з найбільш важливих еколого-економічних і соціальних проблем регіонального розвитку. Щорічно в Полтавській області утворюється близько 480 тис. т (1,6 млн м3) твердих побутових відходів, які видаляються на 377 санкціонованих полігонах та звалищах твердих побутових відходів та 4,5 млн т промислових відходів (з них 200 тис. т – небе-зпечні відходи). Спостерігається тенденція до щорічного збільшення утворення як промислових, у тому числі і небезпечних, так і побутових відходів. При цьому питання, орієнтовані на отримання бажаного ефекту використання потенціалу сфери поводження з відходами, як частини сукупного потенціалу економіки регіону з урахуванням екологічних факторів та як результату сукупної дії уча-сників сфери поводження з твердими відходами, до сих пір не отримали відповідного вивчення. Вра-ховуючи це, у статті розроблено та науково обґрунтовано теоретико-концептуальну модель уп-равління системою поводження з твердими відходами на регіональному рівні, на основі якої сформу-льовано алгоритм прийняття рішень у сфері поводження з відходами, визначені оптимальні управлі-нські стратегії у даній сфері і механізми їх реалізації. Розроблений алгоритм дозволяє вирішувати поставлені задачі оптимізації розвитку сфери поводження з твердими відходами при заданій мно-жині змінних і параметрів стану системи для конкретного типу життєвого циклу відходів або роз-робити оптимальну систему поводження з ними виходячи із заданих параметрів системи у регіоні. Визначені цільові функції управління сферою поводження з відходами, які направлені на оптимізацію економічних, екологічних та соціальних критеріїв розвитку регіону. Також надані рекомендації щодо удосконалення механізмів комплексного регіонального управління сферою поводження з твердими відходами по всіх етапах їх життєвого циклу, які сприяють досягненню екстремальних значень ці-льових функцій управління даної сфери. Отримані результати дослідження спрямовані на створення основ для розробки цільових програм охорони навколишнього природнього середовища, управління відходами в контексті синергічного розвитку регіону.

This study discusses some fundamental institutional rationales to support the participatory approach of integrated lake basin management (ILBM). Based on five propositions for institutional change embodied within evolutionary economic thinking, an institutional change pathway (ICP) framework is constructed composed of eight institutional factors and four socioeconomic constraints. By merging theILBMgovernance themes with theICPinstitutional factors and socioeconomic constraints, anILBM‐ICPmatrix is developed. TheILBM‐ICPmatrix indicatesILBMhas focused on institutional factors of (i) opportunities, (ii) choices and (iii) incentives, with lesser emphasis on (iv) competition, (v) investment and (vi) payoff. For a more balanced institutional foundation forILBM, incorporation of the financial mechanism of payments for improving ecosystem services at the watershed scale (PIES‐W) forms an effective complement to the ILBM concept.PIES‐Wfeatures the rationale of coordinating human stakeholders’ conservation services (CS) for improving ecosystem services with human stakeholders’ needs for ES as a basis for survival. This study calls upon the political and scientific communities to merge their visions and coordinate their actions in leading institutional improvement ofILBMso as to contribute to sustainable ecosystem governance.

Comment on “Abrupt change in tropical African climate linked to the bipolar seesaw over the past 55,000 years” by E. T. Brown, T. C. Johnson, C. A. Scholz, A. S. Cohen, and J. W. King

Chapter 25 - What will it take to make Indian cities water resilient? Case of integrated lake basin management at Indore

Practical experience of solid domestic waste (MSW) management in Ukraine and developed countries is analyzed. Theoretical volumes of MSW accumulation taking into account statistical factors are studied. The generalized method of MSW accumulation volumes allows forecasting their formation from the factors and evaluating the morphological composition of MSW in the region. The system for optimizing community waste management at the collection and disposal stage with the quality of the optimality criterion has been proposed. The degree of recycling and the costs of collecting and transporting waste should be taken as a criterion for optimising the urban waste management system at the collection and disposal stage. The quality analysis of the waste management system in the Zhytomyr region made it possible to identify the main problems in municipal waste management and the main reasons for their occurrence. The survey shows that the main problem in the area of waste management is the low efficiency of the existing management system, accompanied by the introduction of outdated and inefficient management methods with the lack of effective interaction of all participants in the waste management process and, above all, the lack of public involvement in solving the problem. The authors concluded that at the present time Zhytomyr city and Zhytomyr Region faced the following problems in the area of solid waste management: the number of spontaneous landfills has increased; the number of modern waste collection bins is insufficient and there are no bins for separate waste collection; the quality of solid waste collection services is inadequate; there is no recycling plant in Zhytomyr; large amount of household waste in the city landfill and absence of monitoring of its impact on the environment.

Lake Baringo is a shallow, internal drainage, freshwater lake located in the Kenyan Rift Valley. The lake is an important source of water for humans and livestock, as well as a significant income source for local communities through activities such as tourism, biodiversity conservation, and fish sold in local markets. The lake has been subject to overfishing, as well as to greatly enhanced sedimentation as a result of land use changes in the drainage basin. This paper provides an analysis of the conditions prevailing at Lake Baringo, and examines in detail the management response to the problems facing the lake. The roles of the many and varied institutions in the lake basin's management are discussed, and an analysis of internationally funded projects designed to ameliorate the situation is provided.

Global lakes are expected to witness a growing incidence of droughts under climate warming, but the propagation from atmospheric water deficit (AWD) to lake drought, mediated by basin water deficit (BWD) as a key intermediary, remains underexplored at the lake basin scale. This study investigated the propagation from AWD to lake drought in 1,617 lake basins across China using a copula‐based approach. 19% of AWD events cascaded to lake droughts via BWD, while 57% of lake droughts were traceable to antecedent AWDs. These results underscore the significance of basin modulation in determining the responses of lake droughts to climate variability. Notably, the propagation ability for reservoir basins was higher than that of natural lake basins, indicating that reservoirs are more susceptible to AWDs than natural lakes. A classification framework for China's lake basins was further proposed for lake drought management. 28% of lake basins exhibited lake drought intensification through the AWD‐to‐BWD path, necessitating climate‐adaptive measures. 6% of lake basins faced lake drought intensification driven by BWD with no AWD occurrence, requiring integrated lake basin management. 18% of basins with lake drought intensification were controlled by lake‐specific hydrological conditions, demanding localized strategies to maintain water stability. The remaining lake basins exhibited a reduced probability of lake drought occurrence. This study provides actionable guidance to tailor lake drought management, prioritizing climate‐vulnerable basins or lake‐specific interventions.

The supply of solid waste management service has always been a major environmental concern for the city of Kampala. The introduction of service charges in the area of solid waste management is getting much attention due to continuous financial shortage of the city government to provide this service at an affordable cost. The proper pricing of these services is believed to bring efficiency and sustainability in this area. Thus the current study was undertaken to examine the extent of solid waste management problem and the determinants of household’s ‟willingness to pay for improved solid waste management services in kawempe. The contingent valuation method (CVM) is used to analyze households‟ willingness to pay. A logistic regression is adopted for empirical analysis for 50 randomly selected households, descriptive results indicates that 64% of households in the study area were practicing illegal dumping, i.e., disposing solid waste in open-space, street or drainage channels, 30% paid for solid waste collection services and 70% of them were not satisfied with city council in the area of solid waste management. However majority of the households (64%) were willing to cooperate with the city council in co-financing solid waste collection activities in order to improve the deteriorating situation. The average willing to pay in terms of shillings per month was USh 3000, this amount was influenced by household income, education, age, and time spent in the area and home ownership. There is a greater chance for success in the solid waste collection services if city dwellers are constantly trained and monitored to improve their sanitation, hygiene and solid waste management practices. Lastly a socially acceptable charge should be set to avoid the free-rider problem among the benefiting households.

This report discusses the concept and progress of IWRM/IRBM in Malaysia, with a subsequent focus on the problems and challenges facing Lake Chini, one of the two largest freshwater lakes in the country. Lake Chini is located within the Pahang River Basin, the largest river basin in Peninsular Malaysia. The lake is a popular tourist destination, and the various infrastructure developments needed to enhance its marketability have resulted in degradation of the natural environment, as well as infestation of aquatic plants over most of the lakes’ surface area. This report also discusses the need for integrated basin management as the logical approach for holistic management of the entire Pahang River Basin, in order to ensure the management of Lake Chini for sustainable use, including retention of its importance, not only for eco-tourism, but also as the source of the livelihood of the indigenous people living in the lake ecosystem and catchment area.