Abstract
Mongolia is not only a water-scarce but also a data-scarce country with regard to environmental information. At the same time, regional effects of global climate change, major land use changes, a booming mining sector, and growing cities with insufficient and decaying water and wastewater infrastructures result in an increasingly unsustainable exploitation and contamination of ground and surface water resources putting at risk both aquatic ecosystems and human health. For the mesoscale (≈15,000 km2) model region of the Kharaa River Basin (KRB), we investigated (1) the current state of aquatic ecosystems, water availability and quality; (2) past and expected future trends in these fields and their drivers; (3) water governance structures and their recent reforms; and (4) technical and non-technical interventions as potential components of an integrated water resources management (IWRM). By now, the KRB is recognized as one of the most intensively studied river basins of the country, and considered a model region for science-based water resources management by the Mongolian government which recently adopted the IWRM concept in its National Water Program. Based on the scientific results and practical experiences from a six-year project in the KRB, the potentials and limitations of IWRM implementation under the conditions of data-scarcity are discussed.
Highlights
Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), which Global Water Partnership (GWP) defined as the “process which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land, and related resources, in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems” [1] is considered as the most appropriate general concept for water management, for developing and transformation countries [2,3]
The lessons learnt for the implementability of integrated water resources management (IWRM) under data scarcity and the role that research projects can play in this context are discussed in the conclusions (Section 5)
The IWRM MoMo project dealt with this data scarcity in two ways: firstly, the project carried out an intensive monitoring program in order to assess current water availability, urban water use, and water quality
Summary
Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), which Global Water Partnership (GWP) defined as the “process which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land, and related resources, in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems” [1] is considered as the most appropriate general concept for water management, for developing and transformation countries [2,3]. Developing and transition countries are often not able to operate independent research and monitoring due to lacking financial, infrastructural, or educational capacities The ESS approach is based on an estimation of incomes and costs linked to the utilization and management of water [15] This is not possible without sufficient data on the water cycle, aquatic ecosystems and the direct or indirect socioeconomic benefits obtained, as well as investments needed to protect water resources. The lessons learnt for the implementability of IWRM under data scarcity and the role that research projects can play in this context are discussed in the conclusions (Section 5)
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