- Name
- Degree of integrated water resources management
- Indicator purpose
- The indicator tracks the degree of integrated water resources management (IWRM) implemented.
- Abstract
- The indicator degree of implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), measured in per cent (%) from 0 (implementation not yet started) to 100 (fully implemented) is currently being measured in terms of different stages of development and implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). The definition of IWRM is based on an internationally agreed definition and is universally applicable. IWRM was officially established in 1992 and is defined as “a process which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to maximise economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems.” (GWP 2010). The method builds on official UN IWRM status reporting, from 2008 and 2012, of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation from the UN World Summit for Sustainable Development (1992).
- Contact organization / person
- National Hydrological Service (NHS)
- Unit of measure
- Percentage (%)
- Other characteristics
- To further aid interpretation and comparison, the indicator results can be categorized in a similar way to the survey questions: Degree of implementation =
Very low (0-9.9)
Low (10-29.9)
Medium-low (30-49.9)
Medium-high (50-69.9)
High (70-89.9)
Very high (90-100)
Indicator 6.5.1 is supported by indicator 6.5.2 “Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation”, which directly addresses the portion of Target 6.5 “…, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate.”.
- Classification used
- The concept of IWRM is measured in 4 main components:
Enabling environment: this includes the policies, laws, plans and strategies which create the ‘enabling environment’ for IWRM.
Institutions: includes the range and roles of political, social, economic and administrative institutions that help to support the implementation of IWRM.
Management Instruments: The tools and activities that enable decision-makers and users to make rational and informed choices between alternative actions.
Financing: Budgeting and financing made available and used for water resources development and management from various sources.
The indicator is based on a national survey structured around these four main components (UNEP 2016). Each component is split into two parts: questions concerning the ‘National level’ and ‘Other levels’ respectively.
- Disaggregation
- Data would be most reliably collected at the national level. Basin level data can also be disaggregated to country level (for national reporting) and aggregated to regional and global level.
- Key statistical concepts
- The calculations can most easily be carried with Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Once generated, with appropriate tools for spatial analysis, the shapes of the surface catchments and the aquifers can be used to report both disaggregated (for the surface water basin or aquifer) and aggregated (agreement exists on either one).
- Recommended uses
- Indicator 6.5.1 supports policy and decision making by identifying barriers to progress and ways in which these can be addressed.
- Other comments
- The information on the areal extent of transboundary aquifers may evolve over time as such information is generally more coarse but likely to improve because of the evolving knowledge on aquifers. Technical studies and exchange of information will improve the delineation and might also lead to the identification of additional transboundary aquifers.
All the metadata shown in this document was gathered from United Nation Statistics Division. The metadata was extracted from https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/.
- Target 2030
- 5. By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate
