Integrated River Basin Management Research Articles

Morphometric analysis of Halda River basin, Bangladesh, using GIS and remote sensing techniques

GIS and remote sensing techniques were effectively used to analyse the morphometric parameters including linear, geometric, basin texture (aerial) and relief aspects of the Halda River Basin, Bangladesh. Along with measuring the morphometric parameters using predetermined formulas, advanced geo-computing tools of spatial analysis, cartography, math, geoprocessing and geometric analysis were employed to carry out the spatial distribution of selected parameters, especially aerial parameters. The linear aspect indicates the basin is six-order and oval-shaped. The bifurcation ratio (4.03) and relevant parameters indicate the moderate effect of geology and structural control is evident. The mean stream length (1.27) and Rho value (ranges between 0.11 and 0.20) indicate high runoff in steep areas and hydrologic storage capacity in flat areas. The stream frequency (0.83), drainage density (1.22), drainage intensity (0.68), infiltration ratio (1.02), length of the overland flow (0.41), and constant of channel maintenance (0.82) indicate the presence of moderate hard rock, less structural disturbances and moderate to high surface runoff in the basin. Basin relief (489 m), relative relief (2.02), ruggedness number (400), Melton's ruggedness number (12.43), and mean slope (9.33%) indicate the potential of high erosion and material transfer. The spatial distribution of selected aerial aspects significantly correlated to elevation and slope. The hierarchical pattern and spatial distribution of the morphometric parameters indicate areas with high slopes and lower-order streams have a high potential to be affected by soil erosion, landslides and flash floods, elsewhere, the areas with low slopes are prone to short-duration riverine floods. The research findings will help policymakers for integrated river basin management, agricultural development, and water management. In addition, researchers of morphohydrological, geological and climatological research will be beneficiary.

Data Communication as a key to integrated river basin management

This article discusses data communication as a key to implement integrated water resource management (IWRM) in river basin management. The performance of a river basin is determined by many aspects/sectors which are managed by different level of governments and various agencies within them. Implementing IWRM requires integrated data information system provided by those various government agencies. Although it has been regulated in the Law No 17 Year 2019, integrated information system reliable to support decision-making process has not existed yet. This article reviews what is the condition of water related data in Bengawan Solo River Basin Management – the type of water related data, the data frequencies, and the data sharing mechanism. It aims to examine data communication among actors and supports the decision-making process in Bengawan Solo River Basin Management. There are three stages were undertaken to achieve this overall aim, that are 1) identifying the type of water-related data need be shared in sharing water resource from the literature; 2) identifying the availability of water-related data identified in the stage 1 in the existing data provided by government agencies; 3) conducting a series of focused group discussion (FGD) to elaborate the use of the available data to understand its limitations to support decisionmaking process. The research found that the implementation of IWRM in Bengawan Solo River Basin is difficult to be achieved because there is a lack of data communication among data providers. It points that the absence of data communication occurred because there is no definite data sharing framework specify what data need to be shared, the frequency of data collection and updating, and the mechanism in sharing data legitimated by all agencies involved in Bengawan Solo River Basin Management. Thus, it reveals that data cannot be used maximally to support effective river basin management not because of technology drawbacks or a lack of data, but its uncertainty on how data needs to be communicated. In addition, there no certainty of who is the responsible agency or authority to fulfill five aspects of data communication. This is the final homework of IWRM implementation in managing river basin in Indonesia.

Prioritization of sub-watersheds and subsequent site identification for soil water and conservation practices using the SWAT-AHP integrated model in the Lower Sutlej Sub-basin, India.

Prioritization of watersheds is a crucial step in integrated river basin management. It guides resource allocation, planning, decision-making, stakeholder engagement, targeted interventions, and monitoring and evaluation efforts. By identifying and addressing priority watersheds, comprehensive and sustainable management of water resources can be achieved within a river basin. The aim of the current study is to prioritize watersheds using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and site suitability analysis for the implementation of soil and water conservation structures (SWCS) in the prioritized watersheds by using an analytical hierarchy process (AHP) of the Lower Sutlej Sub-basin, India. The model was calibrated with observed data from 2017 to 2019 with the first 2years (2015-16) as a warm-up period. Furthermore, validation of the model was done using 2-year data from 2020 to 2021. The model showed successful performance in terms of the R2 range from 0.72 to 0.89, the NSE range from 0.67 to 0.73, the PBIAS range from - 26.70 to 11.30, and the RSR range from 0.51 to 0.57 for stream flow and sediment yield during calibration and validation period. The basin's average annual soil loss ranged from 3.08 to 21.63 t/ha/year, a watershed with the WS2 index seeing the highest rate of soil erosion (21.63 t/ha/year). Hence, WS2 was found to be a top priority. In addition, the site suitability analysis of the prioritized watershed (WS2) reveals that about 1.42% of the area is extremely suitable, 16.14% is highly suitable, and 35.58% is moderately suitable for SWCS. According to the site suitability map validation, both dam locations were found in highly suitable areas, so the developed site suitability map is accurate. This research will help sustainability planners and managers make more informed decisions when building SWCS at suitable sites for better land and water conservation.

Opportunities and challenges of interdisciplinarity in river water environmental ethics and integrated river basin management

AbstractThis paper examines the ethical issues of water environment in the context of river management in practical engineering and technological applications. In particular, three important issues are discussed in this paper referring to two actual engineering cases in ancient and modern China, that is, the construction of ancient Dujiangyan irrigation project in Sichuan, China, and the modern practice of integrated operation of flood control and pollution prevention in Huai River Basin. The three issues include how to consider the trade‐offs between flood control and irrigation, how to balance flood control and contamination prevention related to sudden water pollution incident, and how to ensure the protection of water environments and ecology in rivers under the grand challenges of natural environmental changes and high‐intensity human activities. Finally, this paper concludes by emphasizing the future development of water environmental ethics and its interdisciplinary integration with modern science & technology in smart river management in China.

Accelerated integrated watershed management enhances agricultural carbon sequestration and water use efficiency in an endorheic basin

With the continuous promotion of integrated river basin management (IRBM) in endorheic watersheds, the oasis surface processes have undergone significant changes. However, these underlying surface characteristics have not been well integrated into models for simulating carbon-water flux thus far. In this work, a regional SWAT-TECO model was constructed by coupling the modified TECO simulator with irrigation, film mulching, and soil hydraulic redistribution processes within the SWAT framework. The results indicated that the carbon sequestration and water use efficiency (WUE) showed an increasing trend after IRBM implementation in Heihe endorheic basin. WUE was projected to improve under future climate change and can be further enhanced by a maximum of 6.37 % through improving irrigation water use efficiency by 20 %, maintaining existing planting scale, increasing film mulching by 20 %, and reducing fertilizer application by 10 %. These findings can guide the formulation of high-water efficiency agricultural management strategies in global endorheic basins.

'One River, Two Systems': Hong Kong's River Management.

Hong Kong (HK), one of the world's most densely populated metropolises, is home to over 200 rivers and streams extending about 2500 km in length. During the 1970s-1990s, most of these rivers were converted into artificial canals, to which the local society pays little attention. Since the 2010s, the HK government has initiated river revitalization to enhance the social-environmental roles of rivers. This study employed a mixed research method, including literature and policy analysis, expert interviews, field visits, and a public survey, to identify key challenges in HK's Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM). The findings highlighted the lack of IRBM's institutional arrangements in HK, characterized by a fragmented 'one river, two systems' approach without both coordination and collaboration. The Water Supplies Department (WSD) impounds upland streams as reservoirs for securing the local water supply, while the Drainage Service Department (DSD) manages heavily channelized, culverted downstream serving as storm drains with diminished ecological functionality. One significant barrier to the implementation of IRBM in HK was the limited public participation, although our survey revealed a high level of public willingness to participate in river management. Presently, river revitalization efforts have achieved limited success, with ecological measures appearing mostly "cosmetic" and the conservation of freshwater biodiversity neglected. This further underscored the pressing need for the embracement of IRBM in HK to safeguard basin-wide freshwater ecosystems. Our survey also indicated low public awareness of river revitalization initiatives and widespread dissatisfaction with their outcomes. In conclusion, we proposed the development of IRBM in HK by instituting river basin coordination, prioritizing river ecosystem restoration in revitalization projects, and involving the public through tailored strategies.

River basin change index for integrated river basin management of Langat River, Malaysia

Abstract A river basin change index (RBCI) is introduced as a management tool to evaluate integrated river basin management (IRBM) implementation. The framework comprises water governance (WG), river basin organisation (RBO) and technical indicators. WG indicators encompass effectiveness, efficiency, trust and engagement. RBO indicators examine the management capacity and resources in operation and expansion. The technical indicators measure the outcome of IRBM implementation corresponding to each policy in the IRBM plan. Data sources range from questionnaire surveys, official reports and recorded data from the relevant agencies. The indices are calculated by comparing the current value to a reference value, which may be historical or target performance, or average performance of other river basins. RBCI value in the range of 0.9–1.1 characterises regular year-to-year fluctuation. A lower index value <0.9 indicates negative basin change, which may be due to negligence, retardation or disastrous regress in the basin IRBM in deteriorating order. A higher index value >1.1 indicates positive basin change which may be attributed to notable improvement, outstanding attainment or breakthrough advances in the basin IRBM in successive order. The tool is useful to facilitate long-term continuous improvement process and is presently undergoing pilot-testing for the Langat River basin, Malaysia

Advancing integrated river basin management and flood forecasting in the Cagne catchment: a combined approach using deterministic distributed models

Abstract To achieve an integrated river basin management for the Cagne catchment (France) and better predict floods, various modelling tools are integrated within a unified framework, forming a decision support system (DSS). In the paper, an integrated modeling approach employing deterministic distributed hydrological (MIKE SHE), hydraulic (MIKE 21 FM), and hydrogeological (FEFLOW) models is presented. The hydrological model was validated with recorded data and following a sensitivity analysis for optimizing grid resolution with 20 m. The hydraulic model based on MIKE 21 FM utilizes the results generated by the MIKE SHE model as boundary conditions, producing inundation maps for both normal and extreme periods. The hydrogeological model addresses the various complex relationships taking place within the catchment and was validated with piezometer data. The integration of these three models into a DSS provides a valuable tool for decision-makers to manage the Cagne catchment and the water-related issues more effectively during various hydrological situations. This comprehensive modelling framework underscores the importance of interdisciplinary approaches for addressing complex hydrological processes and contributes to improved flood management strategies in the catchment.

Bridging gaps in groundwater management in International River Basin Districts (IRBDs) – through harmonized monitoring and data sharing

Study regionEurope, with focus on Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, Sweden), the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), Finland, Poland, and Ukraine. Study focusThe Water Framework Directive (WFD) aims to obtain harmonised holistic Europe-wide water management based on an integrated river basin management model. This study analyses the efficiency of national groundwater monitoring programmes in meeting cross-border demands for harmonised data in IRBDs. Emphasis is placed on the core parameters, oxygen content, pH, conductivity, nitrate, and ammonium, specified by the WFD to be monitored in surveillance monitoring programmes. The findings offer recommendations for national water authorities on infirmities in groundwater management and how they could improve data transparency and availability for enhanced long-term management of shared resources. New hydrological insights for the regionA questionnaire distributed to nine European countries indicates large national differences in the extent of groundwater monitoring. This study highlights several key recommendations for moving forward with transborder groundwater management. Firstly, it is imperative that all nations adhere to ISO standards for field practices and analysis. Secondly, transborder collaborative projects to harmonise e.g., design of monitoring programmes, sampling, and analysis and cooperation on data analysis must be established. Lastly, there is a need to enhance the accessibility of groundwater data and associated metadata. The achievement of the WFD objectives encounters obstacles, due to weak transborder integration and the effects related to administrative boundaries.

Integrated River Basin Management for Sustainable Development: Time for Stronger Action

Malaysia has numerous policies, institutions, and experts with foresight and vision for its development. Nevertheless, river basin management has been lacking due to several factors such as insufficient proactive leadership roles of institutions, as well as locally authorized bodies. Reviewing of stakeholders’ role in the PENTA-HELIX partnership model (i.e., government, business, academia, community, and NGO) reveals that individuals and institutions with proactive and effective leadership roles along with top-down and bottom-up approaches can create a more strategic policy implementation resulting in better outcomes in river basin management. Local authorities with proactive leadership roles should be encouraged to use a creative and innovative key performance indicator system accompanied by mentoring and training, as well as education, to inspire a passive to active attitude change. A local authority with sound leadership roles can develop proper partnerships with its many stakeholders to improve awareness with more multitasking activities. These can be achieved by motivating all the related stakeholders towards more commitment to creating a sustainable environment. Identifying and recognizing local authorities to manage the rivers will result in more powerful actions in river management. It is essential to ensure quality control and quality assurance at various levels to bring sustainability science at the multi-stakeholders’ platforms towards an integrated river basin management to achieve a better living quality for everyone.

Adaptive changes in traditional settlements in the Loess Plateau of the Yellow River Basin over 500 years

AbstractBasin settlements are social‐ecological systems that embody human–land relationships in river basins and face the challenge of adaptive development. The traditional human–land relationship in the Loess Plateau of the Yellow River Basin has changed under the combined effects of human activities and natural disturbances. Traditional settlements face the challenge of balancing conservation, development, ecology, and livelihood. To clarify the long‐time evolution process of settlements in this region, a framework of “population–production–ecology” coupled system in the Loess Plateau of the Yellow River Basin was proposed from the perspective of social‐ecological systems. Based on long‐term time‐series data, the evolution of the regional human–land relationship and the coupling coordination degree of the system were identified. Further, based on the differences in the levels of systems, the adaptation of basin settlements to the external environment was analyzed using water resources as an example. The results showed that the coupling coordination degree within the basin had been decreasing, suggesting the disintegration of the dynamic mechanism of regional development. Moreover, the changes in the development pattern of basin settlements were more delayed compared with those in the basin environment. Overall, this study provides suggestions for the development of sustainable integrated river basin management strategies.

Digitalization and hydroinformatics

Digitalization and hydroinformatics

GIS-based risk assessment of tropical surface water pollution by integrating hydrogeological and anthropogenic parameters

Surface water pollution is a huge issue worldwide that keeps growing in magnitude and complexity which leads to millions of people don’t have access to clean water resource. Numerous studies on vulnerability, hazard and risk assessment of water pollution had been conducted yet most of them only focused on one of the three risk components. Therefore, the objective of this study was to apply a geospatial approach that integrated hydrogeological and anthropogenic parameters to assess the risk of surface water pollution in Selangor River Basin, Malaysia. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) were applied in hydrogeological vulnerability assessment. WRASTIC index was used in anthropogenic hazard assessment. The risk map showed that high-risk zones were mainly located in areas where development and agricultural activities are extensive. Conversely, low-risk zones were in areas that were mostly covered by forest with few developments, such as the upstream region. The results also revealed that high and very risk levels were dependent on soil media and presence of land use and anthropogenic activity especially agriculture, industry, and wastewater presence. The risk map also showed that developed area with high hydrogeological vulnerability would have higher risk of pollution compared to areas without any anthropogenic hazard. The risk map can assist stakeholders to identify at risk of pollution. This allows for better decision-making in integrated river basin management.

Geospatial modeling to assess the past and future land use-land cover changes in the Brahmaputra Valley, NE India, for sustainable land resource management.

Satellite remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) have revolutionalized the mapping, quantifying, and assessing the land surface processes, particularly analyzing the past and future land use-land cover (LULC) change patterns. Worldwide river basins have observed enormous changes in the land system dynamics as a result of anthropogenic factors such as population, urbanization, development, and agriculture. As is the scenario of various other river basins, the Brahmaputra basin, which falls in China, Bhutan, India, and Bangladesh, is also witnessing the same environmental issues. The present study has been conducted on the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam, India (a sub-basin of the larger Brahmaputra basin) and assessed its LULC changes using a maximum likelihood classification algorithm. The study also simulated the changing LULC pattern for the years 2030, 2040, and 2050 using the GIS-based cellular automata Markov model (CA-Markov) to understand the implications of the ongoing trends in the LULC change for future land system dynamics. The current rate of change of the LULC in the region was assessed using the 48years of earth observation satellite data from 1973 to 2021. It was observed that from 1973 to 2021, the area under vegetation cover and water body decreased by 19.48 and 47.13%, respectively. In contrast, cultivated land, barren land, and built-up area increased by 7.60, 20.28, and 384.99%, respectively. It was found that the area covered by vegetation and water body has largely been transitioned to cultivated land and built-up classes. The research predicted that, by the end of 2050, the area covered by vegetation, cultivated land, and water would remain at 39.75, 32.31, and 4.91%, respectively, while the area covered by built-up areas will increase by up to 18.09%. Using the kappa index (ki) as an accuracy indicator of the simulated future LULCs, the predicted LULC of 2021 was validated against the observed LULC of 2021, and the very high ki observed validated the generated simulation LULC products. The research concludes that significant LULC changes are taking place in the study area with a decrease in vegetation cover and water body and an increase of area under built-up. Such trends will continue in the future and shall have disastrous environmental consequences unless necessary land resource management strategies are not implemented. The main factors responsible for the changing dynamics of LULC in the study area are urbanization, population growth, climate change, river bank erosion and sedimentation, and intensive agriculture. This study is aimed at providing the policy and decision-makers of the region with the necessary what-if scenarios for better decision-making. It shall also be useful in other countries of the Brahmaputra basin for transboundary integrated river basin management of the whole region.

Assessing the water security effectiveness of integrated river basin management: Comparative case study analysis for lesson-drawing

Climate change, population growth, over-abstraction and industrial pollution are impacting the security of water resources globally, raising policy relevant questions over the optimality of institutional arrangements for their management. This paper seeks to add to this debate by assessing the effectiveness of integrated river basin management for achieving water security, in two case studies: the Konya Closed Basin in Turkey, and the Kern County Subbasin in California. A modified Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework is employed to compare biophysical, community and governance factors in these cases to show how they influence water security, measured through a dedicated set of indicators. Results show that differentials in water security outcomes between the cases is, in part, related to how organizational rules compel actor participation in planning processes and the degree of coherence between multi-level institutions, particularly inter-agency collaboration. On this basis, the paper then engages with the public policy theory literature on lesson-drawing to assess the potential for policy learning for these specific contexts and other countries. The significance of the study therefore relates to its holistic integration of governance analysis, comparative case design and lesson-drawing for informing future river basin institutional design in achieving effective water security.

A Review of Stakeholder Engagement in Integrated River Basin Management

To address water-related issues of river pollution, floods, droughts, and ecological water allocations, there is a need for an integrated river basin management (IRBM) plan for the successful management of all the river basins in the country. Stakeholder engagement is one of the important elements for the effective implementation of IRBM. In this study, a systematic bibliometric analysis has been successfully carried out to identify the trends, patterns, and research gaps in the establishment of stakeholder engagement frameworks in IRBM. Three renowned scientific databases were used to quantitatively assess the published literature on stakeholder engagement. The search contributed by providing a clear understanding and mechanisms for an effective stakeholder engagement, thus highlighting the research gap, whereby there is a lack of an effective stakeholder engagement framework for IRBM. Based on the analysis results, it was found that many pieces of literature have been written about the implementation of IRBM, including the importance of stakeholder engagement or participation. However, there is very limited study on how effective stakeholder engagement could be carried out to enhance water management at the river basin level. The findings also recorded that stakeholder engagement can serve as a form of social learning, and leadership plays a significant role in ensuring the effectiveness of stakeholder engagement in IRBM. From the review analysis, it was concluded that further research studies need to be carried out at the river basin level to formulate an effective stakeholder engagement framework for the sustainable management of water.

Identification of Water Pollution Sources for Better Langat River Basin Management in Malaysia

The shutdown of drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) at the Langat River Basin, Malaysia, which provides drinking water to almost one-third population in the basin, is very frequent, especially due to chemical pollution in the river. This study explored the pollution sources in the Langat River based on eight specific water intake points of the respective DWTPs to suggest an integrated river basin management (IRBM). Analysis of Al (250.26 ± 189.24 µg/L), As (1.65 ± 0.93 µg/L), Cd (1.22 ± 0.88 µg/L), Cr (0.47 ± 0.27 µg/L), and Pb (9.99 ± 5.38 µg/L) by ICP-MS following the Chelex® 100 column resin ion exchange method found that the mean concentrations except Al were within the water quality standard of the Ministry of Health (MOH) as well as the Dept. of Environment (DOE) Malaysia. However, the determined water quality index based on physicochemical parameters (2005–2015) at the midstream of Langat River was Class III, which needs substantial treatment before drinking. The linear regression model of Al, As, Cd, and Pb suggests that water quality parameters are significantly influencing the increase or decrease in these metal concentrations. Moreover, the principal component analysis (PCA) and the hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) also support the regression models that the sources of pollution are both natural and man-made activities, and these pollution sources can be clustered into two categories, i.e., upstream (category 1) and mid to downstream (category 2) in the Langat River. The degraded water quality in the midstream compared to up and downstream of the river is mainly due to human activities apart from the natural weathering of minerals. Therefore, the implementation of policies should be effective at the local level for pollution management, especially via the proactive leadership roles of local government for this transboundary Langat River to benefit from IRBM.

Successful Approaches to Integrated Water Resources Management: A Mini Review

River basins must be handled in a comprehensive and integrated way. To achieve that, Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) is a strong concept that will increasingly win discussions on natural resource management. IRBM focuses on the integration and coordination of policies, programs and practices. It focuses on problems relating to water and rivers. It advocates for improved skills and increased financial, legislative, management and political will. Many developed countries have expanded strongly functional and stable institutions for IRBM. These structural models have developed through the years, and are being gradually imposed and encouraged by policymakers and funders in developing countries. The main goal of this research is to identify and combine the main goals, concepts, effective practice examples and lesson learned of Integrated River Basin Management that emerged from the best practices management of River Thames in United Kingdom, European Unions’ Water Framework Directive, IWRM Canada and Malaysia. This research’s methodological approach compares the implementation structure of IWRM in four countries. The countries were chosen based on their numerous efforts in the field of water resource management. This is a practical water management framework focused on a holistic view of society’s goals integrated into good governance and sustainable development concepts. It also explains the advantages of expanding the idea behind IWRM core concepts.

Successful Approaches to Integrated Water Resources Management: A Mini Review

River basins must be handled in a comprehensive and integrated way. To achieve that, Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) is a strong concept that will increasingly win discussions on natural resource management. IRBM focuses on the integration and coordination of policies, programs and practices. It focuses on problems relating to water and rivers. It advocates for improved skills and increased financial, legislative, management and political will. Many developed countries have expanded strongly functional and stable institutions for IRBM. These structural models have developed through the years, and are being gradually imposed and encouraged by policymakers and funders in developing countries. The main goal of this research is to identify and combine the main goals, concepts, effective practice examples and lesson learned of Integrated River Basin Management that emerged from the best practices management of River Thames in United Kingdom, European Unions’ Water Framework Directive, IWRM Canada and Malaysia. This research’s methodological approach compares the implementation structure of IWRM in four countries. The countries were chosen based on their numerous efforts in the field of water resource management. This is a practical water management framework focused on a holistic view of society’s goals integrated into good governance and sustainable development concepts. It also explains the advantages of expanding the idea behind IWRM core concepts.

Taxonomic and Functional Responses of Species-Poor Riverine Fish Assemblages to the Interplay of Human-Induced Stressors

The effects of human-induced stressors on riverine fish assemblages are still poorly understood, especially in species-poor assemblages such as those of temperate South American rivers. In this study we evaluated the effects of human-induced stressors on the taxonomic and functional facets of fish assemblages of two central-southern Chilean rivers: the Biobío River (flow regulated by multiple dams) and the Valdivia River (free-flowing). The study design considered reference condition, urban polluted, and urban-industrial polluted sites. To evaluate the effects of stressors on fish assemblages we assessed: (i) components of beta diversity; (ii) spatial and temporal patterns of fish structure using a multivariate approach; and (iii) functional diversity (specialization, originality, dispersion, and entropy) using linear models. We found a strong association between taxonomic and functional fish assemblage facets with a predominance of natural processes in the Valdivia River reflected in marked temporal dynamics. In contrast, the Biobío River showed a clear loss of association with seasonal pattern, and both taxonomic and functional facets appeared to respond significantly to pollution zones. Implementation of stricter environmental policies and integrated river basin management are instrumental for conserving species-poor fish assemblages in Chilean temperate rivers characterized by low functional traits redundancy.