Session Report Cover Sheet
SESSION CODE: IWRM - 21
Name of Convener(s): Takaaki Niren
DATE:
Session
21- March, 2003
Title:
Integrated
River
Basin
Management in Lake Biwa-Yodo River
Basin
based
on
partnership
among
autonomous stakeholders
Accommodation:
Contact information
Contact No.:
in Japan
Contact E-mail: niren@ses.usp,ac.jp
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Session Report
SESSION CODE: IWRM – 21
Reporter/Rapporteur:Takaaki,Niren
Contact E-mail : niren@ses.usp,ac.jp
1. Key Issues
Historically, there has been conflict between upstream and downstream especially in terms of flood
management. Lake Biwa-Yodo River Basin had the same situation.
Water quality improvement, increasing water recharge capacity in the basin, and preservation of nature
and scenic landscape, are the remaining challenges after the Lake Biwa Comprehensive Development
Project which enabled water resources development for downstream and, at the same time, regional
development for upstream covering flood control, irrigation, water and nature conservation by a unique
financial system of cost sharing among national and local governments.
In 1996, Lake Biwa-Yodo River Water Quality Conservation Foundation launched
"Proposal for
change to more Beautiful Lake Biwa and Yodo River" but there is no particular actions taken so far to
make proposal reality.
Basin-wide common understanding and partnership is necessary for conservation of Lake Biwa, since
the lake is the vital part in whole Lake Biwa and Yodo River basin
2. Actions
Mother Lake 21 Plan, launched in 2000, promotes various sub-basin actions along Lake Biwa to restore
water quality of the late 1960s.
Yodo River Basin Committee, set up by MLIT, is discussing environment, disaster prevention, water use
and participation of Lake Biwa and Yodo River with their basins.
NGO/NPO actions and their linkage are ongoing. They promote for mutual understanding and
cooperation between upstream and downstream. For example, the downstream NPO join to reforest
upstream mountain, and the NPO of upstream Lake Biwa basin raises some vegetables of downstream
spices and bring back to Osaka for sale.
Agreement to set up the water environment conservation network of Lake Biwa and Yodo River Basin
was made among three Governors and three Mayors of the Basin on the occasion of the third World
Water Forum at Kyoto, Osaka and Shiga.
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3. Recommendations / Commitments
Long term goals
It is a long term objective to make sustainable and vital basin society where nature and people can
coexist. For this, we should make a plan and implement the integrated basin management structure for
Lake Biwa and Yodo River Basin, which introducing partnership and linkage among local autonomous
initiatives within the whole basin. On this background, the integrated management
which prospects
public participation and financial responsibility by all stakeholders will be grown up. We believe that this
effort will contribute to attack world water issues.
Short term targets
To set up Lake Biwa and Yodo River Basin Management Structure, including stakeholders and
multi-level government agencies, which make a masterplan for basin environment management and
supporting their actions:
The prerequisites for this structure are,
1. to exchange and share information, knowledge and experience about integrated basin management,
such as the toolbox of IWRM,
2. to introduce incentive mechanism for promoting multi-level actions within the basin including
economic mechanism, and
3. to raise common objectives among stakeholders within the basin through autonomous actions.
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