Title

Austria: Restoration of Mur River - ecological values and hydropower generation aligned

Panama: Restoration and integrated management in the Zaratí river sub basin

Cambodia: Sharing the Reform Process Learning from the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority
Country
Austria
Panama
Cambodia
Summary

The Upper Mur River is considered one of the most ecologically valuable rivers of Austria. Its systematic regulation began at the end of the 19th century to intensify agricultural land use. Restoration measures started in 1997 and various projects facilitated the renaturation of the river. The project highlights the importance to reconcile key needs for nature conservation with demands for renewable energy generation from small hydro power plants.

The area of Zarati river sub basin belongs to important water recharge zones. There is, however, a need to restore the area, which has been susceptible to degradation. Action has been taken in a bottom-up manner, applying Participatory Rural Assessment. Important lessons can be drawn from this in terms of IWRM, as it sets a clear example of active participation of the communities and the local authorities.

Cambodia’s Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) plagued with maladies of inefficient service, poor coverage and financial losses leading to inefficient water usage, water loss and degradation of water quality, which in turn had affected the environment. PPWSA undertook major reforms and transformed a war-ravaged water utility into a commendable model which had made it one of the more successful water service providers.
Related IWRM Tools
Keywords
Energy Supply Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Danube River Basin
Water Pollution Urban/WASH Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)
Urban/WASH Financing
Lessons Learned

This project is a good example to demonstrate the new "river policy" in Austria that adopts "river restoration" approaches, rather than "river engineering" techniques.

Such methodologies and policy principles fit well with European Water Framework Directive and the beneficiary and participates applying similar holistic methods during future river management works.

An important policy issue that was highlighted by the project is the need to reconcile key needs for nature conservation with demands for renewable energy generation from small hydro power plants.

Through strengthening of the existing social organizations, as well as attitude changes towards the subject of local environment, it has been possible to implement ecosystem recovery processes through the restoration of degraded areas.

It is necessary to establish institutional collaboration mechanisms with communities that have a priority to develop IWRM-related activities.

The implementation of IWRM activities is facilitated by the participatory development of a basin management plan.

Community participation in the development of work plans and diagnostics prior to the execution of the Project has been key to achieving results.

The PPWSA has shown that reforms become successful if the governance framework is supportive and public utilities can make profits or at least break even. The reform does not happen overnight, changes in institutional arrangements and management practices took over 15 years.

The success of PPWSA is a result of several factors including sufficient vision and leadership to push through a culture of change, a desire for change at the local political level , and sufficient autonomy to shared objectives.

This case illustrates that a public sector utility can implement a management approach more akin to that of a private sector company based on results and incentives.

Risks which were identified during the transformation including financial viability of PPWSA, security situation within the country, and government’s inability to carry out reforms. Changes on annual tariffs, finance of connections, flexibility in policy formulation and institutional proposal proved successful.
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