Photo credit: Ray in Manila, Visual Hunt
Policies and Institutional Arrangements
Coherent national policies encouraging integrated solutions to water and energy need to be developed and implemented in a timely manner, consistent with sustainable development and climate change objectives.
Institutional and legal frameworks for the integrated management of water and energy also need to be developed and implemented at national and regional levels. Many nations still depend on independent institutions to manage water and energy without taking into consideration the high interdependence of these two factors and current and future impacts from climate change. Only some nations already have frameworks in place to manage these factors in an integrated fashion.
Relevant ministries in nations all over the world need to formulate coherent water and energy policies and programmes, taking into consideration national priority needs, the availability of resources, the interests and competencies of local actors, options for mobilization of financing, established legal and regulatory requirements, as well as environmental and climate concerns. Several developing countries have seen an advantage in combining the concerned ministerial portfolios of water and energy. Among others, the following countries have established Ministries of Water and Energy: Afghanistan, Angola, Barbados, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Nepal, Norway, Pakistan, Qatar, Rwanda, Somalia, and South Sudan. In other countries, ministerial portfolios on water, irrigation and energy are linked with other issues, including the development of other infrastructure, or other natural resources or industries, and environmental protection. Several countries have established departments specifically dedicated to enhancing the development and use of renewable sources of energy. Regardless of the particular national institutional arrangements, the main concern remains the inter-sectoral and inter-disciplinary coordination in the planning processes. Extensive consultations with concerned stakeholders also need to be institutionalized and implemented. Another important dimension is the actual allocation of resources for integrated water and energy development by the respective central planning authorities and finance ministries.
Norway
In order to ensure coordinated investment in infrastructure and a sustainable production, distribution, and consumption of both water and energy, the Government of Norway established the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) in 1921. Today, NVE is a Directorate under the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and is responsible for the management of the country’s water and energy resources. NVE aims to ensure an integrated and environmentally sound management of the country’s water system, promote efficient energy markets and cost-effective energy systems, and contribute to efficient use of energy. NVE engages in public consultations wherever needed, supports research and development, including on climate change, and implements its own international development assistance programme on water and energy.
More information on the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate is available at:
South Africa
South Africa is one of the first developing countries in Africa that has conducted a comprehensive national water and energy modelling study. The study was carried out by the Energy Research Center of the University of Cape Town (UCT) as a part of the World Bank’s Thirsty Energy Initiative. The research incorporated water supply and infrastructure costs into the energy model SATIM to better reflect the interdependence of water and energy. The modelling effort has demonstrated the multiple benefits of rational and integrated long-term planning of water and energy infrastructure investments. As shown by the model, some additional investments in the energy sector can realize significant saving and benefits in the water sector.
More information about this study is available at:
International Energy Agency:
Morocco
Morocco has merged the two public utilities in charge of water and electricity: National Office for Potable Water and electricity National Electricity Office. Merging these public utilities then created an integrated utility, the National Agency for Electricity and Potable Water. This is a national programme for promoting solar pumping in water-saving projects for irrigation has been developed. It has a budget of about US$ 40 million and foresees the development of 3,000 PV pumping systems with a total peak installed capacity of 15 MW. The objective is to improve agricultural yield and productivity, while saving on water and energy.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia is one of the first developing countries which has established integrated institutional arrangements for the coordinated management of water and energy. In Ethiopia, the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity is in charge of all the activities, planning and infrastructures related to water and electricity, as well as sanitation, allowing for an effective approach to the water-energy nexus.