Review of Integrated Approaches to River Basin Planning, Development, and Management

A review of models for river basin development, operations, management, water quantity and quality, recreational demand, countrywide planning, and multiple objective planning.Piecemeal approaches to river basin development and management may not fully recognize the interactions and interdependencies among components of a river basin system. River basin management that focuses on a single water use, on a single sector, or on the supply to a particular segment of the basin population may inadvertently disrupt other sectors of the economy (in time or space). Hence, advocating for a systems approach to river basin development - for models that could help account for a river basin's key components and help address various objectives.Lee and Dinar review the literature on such economic models, including models that deal with issues of water quality and quantity or with environmental considerations, recreational demand, countrywide planning, and multiple objective planning.Their review may serve as a source of references for those who need to consider whether they can use a model. Readers can evaluate the suitability, advantages, and disadvantages of particular modeling approaches for specific objectives.This paper - a product of the Agricultural Policies Division, Agriculture and Natural Resources Department - is part of a larger effort in the department to implement the World Bank Resources Management Policy. Copies of the paper are available free from the World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433. Ariel Dinar may be contacted at adinar@worldbank.org