Talking with an Expert on Rivers' Needs for Water
From World Rivers Review, June 2003
Jackie King has studied southern African rivers and wetlands
for 26 years. A freshwater ecologist at the University of Cape Town, she is a
specialist on the impacts of dams on rivers and an expert in the emerging field
of environmental flow assessments – studies that determine the range of impacts
to a river from reduced river flows. King's studies on South African rivers'
environmental flow requirements influenced the writing of the South African
Water Law, which requires the maintenance of an "ecological reserve"
of water in all of the country’s major aquatic ecosystems. King also led the
recently completed study for rivers affected by the Lesotho Highlands Water
Project. International Rivers' Ryan Hoover interviewed King at the Environmental Flows
for River Systems conference held at the University of Cape Town in 2003.
Environmental flow requirements (EFR) have major
implications for how rivers are used and managed. Could you explain a bit how
they relate to dams specifically?
JK: Over 200 EFR methodologies have been developed
throughout the world, and dams have been the major driver behind many of them.
There are two major kinds of these dam-related EFRs, and they are about equally
common. Firstly, there are many countries that are still building dams and that
will continue to do so throughout this century. This means that there are a
whole lot of flow assessments that could be done before a dam is built or even before it is designed. Then
there is another kind of flow assessment that is done for dams which could be done to rehabilitate a river to
the extent that the design of the dam allows that to happen. In Australia, they
are looking at flow restoration methods, which would put water back that has
been taken away by dams. In South Africa, however, the drive has mostly been to
do flow assessments on rivers where we expect to build dams. Now that we have
studied many of those rivers, we are starting to look at existing dams to see
how we can change them for the benefit of communities and ecosystems
downstream.
Are there other places where EFRs have actually changed
the operation of a dam?
JK: I think that it is very common in the USA now, because
the major era of dam construction in the US is over. The best sites have been
taken, and the biggest rivers have been dammed. They’re now looking into how to
manage those dams in a more equitable way. The relicensing of hydroelectric
power schemes in North America has presented an opportunity to have a complete
re-look at how the dams have damaged the river. Some re-licensing processes
have included vast changes in how dams are allowed to operate in the future
because of the concerns and unhappiness of a whole load of stakeholders who
weren’t listened to originally.
What are the main challenges to implementing EFRs?
JK: Political will and collaboration between countries where
there are shared rivers. These are problems because countries have different
agendas and are suspicious of each other. It’s for this reason that I would
like to coin another term to describe EFRs. We started with “instream flows”
and then we moved on to “environmental flows” and I think it is time to move on
to another term. I’m not sure what it would be yet, but it might be something
like “managed river flows.” Many people are scared of the term “environmental
flows.” The term “environmental” is a very peaceful term for me, but it’s not
for a whole lot of other people who are going to be involved in decision-making
in particular. They think it is just about fish, and I think we have something
here that’s much more powerful than that. We have a tool which we can use to
describe the whole range of options for how people could live in their
catchments in the future. It’s a tool which allows us to say, “If you do this in
this Country A, this will be the consequence in Country B for the river and for
the people. However, if you do this there will be this consequence…” What this
process is about is putting holistic options on the table about how to manage
flows for everything and everyone.
The Lesotho Instream Flow Requirement study has been
described as a benchmark study in many ways because of its complexity and
comprehensiveness. You and your team were very instrumental in that process.
What are some of the lessons that have been learned from that experience?
JK: The first lesson is that flow assessment should be done
right at the very beginning of the planning stage. It shouldn’t be something
you do after the design of the dam is finished, because it should be the flow
assessment that allows you to see which options are possible. Another thing to
do is to compare a number of different flow options and their results for the
river and people. Then you add on to that the economic implications of each of
those flow options. On top of that you add which ones would be acceptable to a
wide range of stakeholders such as biodiversity treaties, people who run river
rafting trips, departments of tourism and others. So lots of options must be
put up front to let everybody understand what their choices are and what the
implications are. You might come across a group of farmers who say, “Oh, we’d
like the river to look like such and such with all the nice fish in it.” So we
say, “Okay, that means you’ll need to eradicate 50% of the irrigated land in
this catchment.” This could change their opinions considerably. Stakeholders
need to have all of that spelled out so they understand the full range of
implications. Then you know what you’re going to build and how you’re going to
design it. To do it the other way round doesn’t make any sense.
When a community learns that there is to be an IFR
process in their catchment, what should they know about the process, what
should they be aware of? What are some things that environmental activists
should be aware of?
JK: I think there should be a public participation process
that starts right at the very beginning as well. Communities should be voicing
their concerns early on, so that the people who are doing the studies and
creating the scenarios make sure that every scenario contains a bit of
information about something that someone is worried about. If someone is
worried about their river rafting business, or a Red List fish species, you
say, “In option 1, this is what it means for the river rafting and this is what
it means for the fish. In option 2, this is what it means…” So, right from the
beginning we need to know everybody’s concerns in order that they be reflected
in the options. Then they need to find representatives among themselves, which
is incredibly difficult, but essential if their concerns are to be addressed.
If stakeholders can effectively do these things, they stand a better chance of
influencing decision-making and achieving their desired result for their
catchment.