Integrated Water Resources on a Basin Level - A Training Manual is an introduction to the principles underlying the integrated water resources management concept: the focus will be on the approaches and management tools that facilitate its application, taking into account the size of the territory, whether it be national and international basins or sub-basins of local interest.

This Manual is destined first to trainers who, through a national or a regional seminar, would bring the participants to produce a diagnosis of their basin and an action plan. A simple and field-tested framework will guide them throughout this learning process. On the other hand, those who would like to perfect their knowledge and improve their capacity to manage water uses in a more sustainable fashion can also use this manual. In both cases, the clientele is made of those who, within national or regional institutions, or non-governmental organizations, have to plan for and manage, on a daily basis, programmes and projects dealing with water uses and the biological resources associated with river or lake ecosystems.

The Manual is divided into two sections. The first one, of a more conceptual nature, presents a review of several definitions and some of the most pressing issues related to integrated basin-wide management. The second section of the Manual, definitely aimed at training, takes the reader and the trainer through the steps of the management framework. The proposed formula is a two-week seminar that has already been applied six times in the past for national and international river basins in Africa and Southeast Asia. Above all, this is a methodological guide that puts emphasis on an optimal use of existing information and expertise within the reach of those who know what to look for and where to find it. The Manual emphasizes the importance of the "human factor" within an exercise aimed at creating a consensus on the sharing of a collective resource - water.

The framework proposed in this Manual is not limited to management on a basin level; it is applicable to a wide range of natural resources management exercises. With the necessary adaptations, this management framework can also be applied to reconcile the needs of human communities with the sustainable use of natural resources.

About the author

Jean Burton is a biologist. He has managed the "Large River Management Project" (Gestion des grands fleuves) since 1990 and has been the coordinator of the Network of French-speaking Managers of Lake and River Ecosystems (Réseau francophone des gestionnaires d'écosystèmes fluviaux et lacustres) since its creation in 1991. Working first on the St. Lawrence River (Canada), he has been a trainer at several international seminars and has taken part in experience-sharing activities on several large rivers worldwide.

To download and/or order a copy

To view and download the Manual (in PDF, 1.67 MB), click here. If you are interested in ordering a single copy, send an email to the IHP Secretariat at ihp@unesco.org.

The French version of the Manual, published in 2001 by the Institut de l'énergie et de l'environnement pour la Francophonie (IEPF) is likewise available online (in PDF, 4.19 MB). For further inquiries, or to order a copy of the French version, go to the IEPF website at http://www.iepf.org, or send an email to iepf@iepf.org.