New Perspectives: Reconsideration of IWRM from the Viewpoint of Design Science

Integrated water resources management (IWRM) is a key concept of water management in the twentieth century. The definition developed by the Global Water Partnership in 2000 is too penetrating the academic and decision-maker society. Although the concept of IWRM has a long history of more than 70 years, many critiques of the currently accepted definition have been generated by water scientists. Reconsideration of IWRM from the viewpoint of design science and especially sustainability science is important for creating new perspectives of IWRM. The use of IWRM toward a sustainable society was examined in relation to water sustainability and the evaluation of a water resources development project with sustainability. During the 7th World Water Forum (WWF7) in Korea in 2014, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) proposed “Principles on Water Governance: From Vision to Action,” and the World Water Council (WWC) reported a discussion paper entitled “Integrated Water Resource Management: A New Way Forward.” Through the review of these international trends, the largest impact factor affecting IWRM is climate change. The influence of climate change on water issues became clear by the International Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC AR4), and a strategic adaptation plan and methods for IWRM were proposed.