Integrated Water Resources Management: Concept, Research and Implementation

Type Book Section - Modular Concept for Municipal Water Management in the Kharaa River Basin, Mongolia
Title Integrated Water Resources Management: Concept, Research and Implementation
Author(s)
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2016
Publisher Springer
URL http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-25071-7_25
Abstract
Mongolia is a country with limited water resources but a rising water consumption due to an increasing population, urbanization and economic growth, which is largely driven by a booming mining sector. These processes do not only lead to greater water abstractions, but also contribute to water quality and aquatic ecosystem deterioration. Urban areas play a key role in this context, since water abstractions and waste water generation are concentrated here. However, there are considerable disparities between urban centers with centralized water supply and sewage infrastructures and peri-urban regions. Where existant, infrastructures for drinking water supply and wastewater collection and treatment are often in a poor state of maintenance, leading to the contamination of groundwater and surface water bodies with pathogens, nutrients, and other chemical substances. This paper presents components of a modular concept for urban water management at the example of Darkhan Uul Aimag, which were developed and pilot-tested in the context of a project aiming at the development and implementation of an integrated water resources management (IWRM) for the North Mongolian Kharaa River Basin. It is discussed how solutions were adapted to local situations, considering both sustainable resource utilization and local acceptance.

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