41167 Integrated anagementM Management basin From Concepts to Good Practice er riv ntegratedI Case Study 3 Tarim River Basin and the Tarim Basin Water Resources Commission, People's Republic of China Integrated Management Acknowledgments This Briefing Note Series was prepared by Peter Mil- lington, consultant, previously Director-General of the New South Wales Department of Water Resources and Commissioner on the Murray-Darling Basin Commission, Australia; Douglas Olson, World Bank Principal Water Resources Engineer and Task Manager for this Briefing Note Series; and Shelley McMillan, World Bank Water Resources Specialist. Guy Alaerts (Lead Water Resources Specialist) and Claudia Sadoff (Lead Economist) of the World Bank provided valuable inputs. The authors thank the following specialists for reviewing the Notes: Bruce Hooper and Pieter Huisman (consul- tants); Vahid Alavian, Inger Anderson, Rita Cestti Jean Foerster, Nagaraja Harshadeep, Tracy Hart, Karin Kemper, Barbara Miller, Salman Salman, Ashok Subramanian, and Mei Xie (World Bank staff). The authors are also deeply grateful to the Bank-Nether- lands Water Partnership Program (BNWPP) for support- ing the production of this Series. Name of Organization: History of Establishment: Tarim Basin Water Resources 1 Commission (TBWRC) Before 1990, water management and administration were carried out exclusively by the Regional (Provincial) Water Resources Bureau (RWRD) and the prefecture and lower- level water departments and stations. In 1992, supported by the World Bank Tarim I project, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) government established anagementM the Tarim Basin Management Committee and Manage- ment Bureau of the Tarim Basin. The World Bank Tarim basin Basin II project supported upgrading and strengthening er these institutions and established the Tarim Basin Water riv Resources Commission (TBWRC) under the set of regional government regulations formally approved in 1997. ntegratedI Basin Characteristics: The Tarim River Basin is located in the southern half of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China (PRC). It is surrounded by mountains on three sides and is a closed basin, with no outlet to the sea. Most of the inner area of the basin comprises the Taklamakan Desert. From the confluence of its three main contributing tributaries, the Tarim River mainstream extends some 1300 km to Taitema Lake. Numerous other rivers coming down from the mountains disappear into the desert. Average precipitation is 50 mm per year in the basin floor. However, precipitation in some spots in the mountainous areas surrounding the basin can exceed 1,000 mm per year and is mostly in the form of snowfall. The three tributary river systems that contribute flows to the Tarim River (Aksu, Hotan, and Yerkand) join just above the Aler gauging station, where the Tarim River begins. In addition, the Kaidu-Konque River Basin, which is hydrologically separate from the Tarim River, contributes water to the Tarim River by means of a man-made transfer channel (see figure 3.1). Figure 3.1. The Tarim River Basin 2 Area: 1,035,500 km2, covering parts of five prefectures or administrative areas 3 River Basin Flow: The total flow in the rivers and tributaries is estimated to be about 35 billion m3. Because of extensive irrigation develop- ment and large natural evaporation losses in the tributaries, actual annual contributions to the Tarim River under existing conditions are estimated to be 2.9 billion m3 for Aksu, 1.2 bil- anagementM lion m3 for Hotan, 0.1 billion m3 for Yerkand, and 0.15 billion m3 for Konque, for a total of 4.35 billion m3. basin Population: er 8,256,600, of which 6,410,900 are in agriculture riv Economy: The Gross Regional Product is approximately $US4.3 billion. Main Economic Activities: Agriculture (cotton, wheat, horticulture, sheep, cattle, forage ntegratedI crops, corn) Main Water Management Concerns: Poor water usage and conservation practices in the upper allowing more flows downstream to rejuvenate the lower basin have severely reduced flows to the lower river, Green Corridor. At the same time, water distribution and leading to the degradation of the fragile Green Corridor. water use efficiency improvements and new crop technol- The result has been the encroachment of desert on this ogy must be introduced in the upper reaches of the basin important environmental area. The challenge has been so that productivity can be maintained, even though gross to reduce water diversions in the upper basin and define water diversions have been reduced. allocations as legally enforceable water quotas, thus Type of Organization: 4 The Tarim Basin Water Resources Commission is a Committee, an Executive Committee that has delegated participative river basin commission comprising regional power from the Standing Committee to make policy and government water-related agencies, the five prefecture- urgent decisions between the periodic meetings of that level administrations (Aksu, Bayingol, Hotan Kashgar, Committee, and a working office and a technical secretari- and Kisilzu), and the central government-controlled State at (the Tarim Management Bureau), the latter undertaking Farms in the basin, all in an equal partnership. There is a the technical program of the Commission and carrying out high-level policy and strategic decision-making Standing water management. 5 1. Conceptual and Institutional Issues 3. Basin-wide Policies and Strategies The Tarim Basin regulations quite clearly define the Though good progress has been made in defining water responsibilities and powers of the organization. These allocation/quota policies and in implementing these, regulations are the first in China to stipulate by law the other areas of strategic water-related policy will need requirement to establish and enforce water quotas for greater attention in coming years. This is to be expected, anagementM each prefecture. The basin organization has responsibility however, as the prime focus for the last three years has to act in regard to a wide range of basin water-related been to invest heavily in water efficiency improvements basin activities under the authority of the high-level Standing and productivity measures to generate the water savings er Committee. Though the organization is in the early stages necessary to meet downstream water environmental riv of development, the establishment and enforcement of requirements, as well as maintain or improve agricultural annual water allocations -- and as a consequence, the water productivity. The regulations provide for formal delivery of greater water flow downstream to the Green notification, consultation, and evaluation of new projects. ntegratedI Corridor -- has been successfully carried out for several The specific procedures to underpin the regulations and years, which is an impressive achievement. However, ensure that notification occurs effectively have yet to be much remains to be done in terms of understanding the developed. natural resources of the basin and how they react to increasing development stress. 4. Communication and Participation 2. Systems for Water-related Data China has awareness programs in the water and en- vironmental area but these are mainly responses to Data sharing is not systematic among the various agen- international awareness events such as World Water Day cies working in the basin. The Tarim Management Bureau or World Environment Day. New programs to raise the realizes that some form of data sharing agreement needs awareness of basin issues in the Tarim and to involve the to be established and is in the early stages of developing basin stakeholders and water users in a consultative and options for how the data and information is to be shared. participative approach are yet to be developed. Farmers More importance (especially by the Standing Committee) are already showing a real willingness to be involved needs to be given to this, as well as developing a com- through farmer self-managed irrigation and drainage prehensive suite of models to test the impacts of various districts (SIDDs) and lower-level participatory land and policy and strategy initiatives. One recommendation is to water management plans that have been tried at the identify this as a key priority over the next three years in county level in the basin. the organizational strategic plan. Similarly, a sufficiently detailed natural resource inventory of the basin has not 5. Monitoring and Assessing Sustainability been done for thorough understanding of the sensitive or critical resource areas that need careful study and Performance indicators are not yet in place for assess- monitoring. ing the ongoing sustainability of the river basin or the performance of the basin organization and its member prefectures with respect to achieving improvements in resource management. Tasks of the Organization and 6 Staff Complement: There are about 200 staff. Functions of the TBWRC include policy, coordination, regulation, monitoring, and enforcement of prefecture-level water allocations, over- sight of prefecture performance in all aspects covered by the Tarim Basin regulations, data collection and manage- ment, project design and construction/ implementation management, financing through supervision of central government grants, abstraction/discharge permitting through oversight of the prefecture's performance, managing the operating agreements for prefecture control of hydraulic structures, and control of key basin wide projects. The organization of the Commission is presented in figure 3.2. Figure 3.2. TBWRC Organization Board of Commissioners (Standing Committee) of the 7 Tarim Basin Water Resources Commission (TBWRC)* Director General (standing Vice-Chairman of Xinjiang Uygar Autonomous Region) Deputy Director General (Vice-Chairman of Agriculture) Secretary General of the Regional Government, Directors of Water Resources Bureau, Finance Bureau, Planning Commission, Environmental Bureau, Land Administration Bureau, Director of Management Bureau of anagementM TBWRC, and Prefecture Leader form Hotian, Kashgar, Kezilesu-Kirghiz, Aksu, and Bayinguolen Function of Standing Committee (SC) * TBWRC Executive Committee/Office: basin Policy setting & decision-making, review and approval of plans, Operates on behalf of TBWRC between its sessions under er programs, projects, budgets & reports of TMB delegated executive authority of the Standing Committee (SC) riv Administration Management Bureau Functions: Technical operations & services in basin; ntegratedI Responsibility Accountability of the TBWRC (Director) implementation of TBWRC policies & + Authority decisions; monitor prefecture quotas, submit plans, programs, budgets, reports to SC Field Departments/Offices Operations/Professional Departments Administrative Office Hotian Kashgar Hydro-met Data & Planning & Finance Dept/Office Dept/Office Implement Monitoring Dept Department basin-wide duties & Water Planning Water Administrative Kezilesu-Kirghiz Bayinguolen activities Department Supervision Dept Dept/Office Dept/Office of the TBC in the Field Water Management Scientific Research Department & Training Dept Aksu Tarim River Dept/Office Dept/Office Eco-Environment Personnel Department Department 8 9 anagementM basin er riv ntegratedI Copyright © 2006 THE WORLD BANK 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. All rights reserved First printing February 2006 Please check the upcoming WBI training events. www.worldbank.org/wbi/water