State Water Cadastre (AM0039)

5. State Water Cadastre: Creation and introduction of a unified information system for water resources
Commitment Start and End Date Commitment Start: November 2018
Commitment End: August 2020
Lead implementing agency Water Resources Management Agency of the Staff of the Ministry of Nature Protection
Person responsible from lead implementing agency Hrant Zakaryan
Title, Department Head of Water Resource Cadastre and Monitoring Division of the Water Resources Management Agency
E-mail [email protected]
Phone +37411 818 543
Other actors involved Other state actors involved Water Committee of the Ministry of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources, State Committee of Real Estate Cadastre
Civil society, private sector Non-governmental organisations
Issues subject to regulation - Updating the State Water resources’ Cadastre program,
- establishing contacts between the available databases within interested organisations and the database of the Water Resources Management Agency of the Ministry of Nature Protection by providing complete water resources information.

Main objective - Raise the level of effectiveness of regulation of water resources management by ensuring sustainable use of water resources in terms of nature protection and economy,
- raise the level of public awareness and participation in the issuance of permits for water use.
Brief description of commitment The Water Resources Management Agency of the Staff of the Ministry of Nature Protection of the Republic of Armenia manages the State Water Cadastre, which constitutes an information system. Currently, works are being carried out to update the State Water Cadastre, and after updating, the complete data, except for information containing official, commercial and other secret protected by law, will be posted on the relevant website all legal and natural persons may make use of. At the same time, in case of availability of appropriate software, it will also be possible to implement the function for granting permits electronically.
OGP challenge addressed by the commitment Improvement of public services, promotion of public integrity

Relevance to OGP values From the perspective of accessibility of information, the creation and introduction of a unified information system for water resources will serve as a major impetus in terms of transparency of the sector and improvement of the provision of public services.
Ambition  introducing more transparent and effective mechanisms for providing information about water resources
 managing risks and reducing administration
 ensuring public participation in the process of solving issues related to water resources management
Promotes efforts for implementation of SDG Goals or Targets 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Verifiable and measurable criteria for performance of commitment Start Date: End Date:
Revising the terms of reference for updating the database of the State Water Cadastre November
2018 March
2019
Bringing the database of State Water Cadastre into compliance with the requirements set under Decision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia No 68-N of 2 February 2017 March
2019 June 2
019
Establishing a relationship between the tabular and spatial components of the State Water Cadastre June
2019 September
2019
Designing a unified database for water resources September
2019 December
2019
Launching a new database of the State Water Cadastre by providing a link between the state information database and inventory data submitted by the interested departments January
2020 August
2020

5. State Water Cadastre

Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan: [54]

Brief description: The Water Resources Management Agency of the Staff of the Ministry of Nature Protection of the Republic of Armenia manages the State Water Cadastre, which constitutes an information system. Currently, works are being carried out to update the State Water Cadastre, and after updating, the complete data, except for information containing official, commercial and other secret protected by law, will be posted on the relevant website all legal and natural persons may make use of. At the same time, in case of availability of appropriate software, it will also be possible to implement the function for granting permits electronically.

Milestones

5.1 Revising the terms of reference for updating the database of the State Water Cadastre.

5.2 Bringing the database of State Water Cadastre into compliance with the requirements set under Decision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia No 68-N of 2 February 2017․

5.3 Establishing a relationship between the tabular and spatial components of the State Water Cadastre

5.4 Designing a unified database for water resources.

5.5 Launching a new database of the State Water Cadastre by providing a link between the state information database and inventory data submitted by the interested departments.

Start Date: November 2018

End Date: August 2020

Context and Objectives

Since the 1980s, Armenia has had no monitoring of underground water basins. Thus, the Water Resources Management Agency has difficulties assessing the available water for use and providing relevant usage permits. Also, according to the agency, there is a lack of accurate assessments of surface water balance. [55] Information on water use permits is published on the website of the Water Resources Management Agency. [56] However, due to the lack of accurate data, the information on available water resources is not accessible to the public.

This shortage of information hinders the ability to check the legitimacy of issuing water permits and contributes to a lack of transparency of water resource management. For example, according to various reports, groundwater outflow in the Ararat valley exceeds the inflow due to an over-issuance of water permits. Many local communities have limited access to drinking and irrigation water as a result. [57] Stakeholders mention other issues, such as inefficient water use, unjustified losses in the water system, illegal intake of groundwater, and overuse of river water by hydroelectric stations. [58]

This commitment aims to consolidate the information on all available water resources in the country into one database. The database would provide a map that visitors could use to check the use permits available for specific water resources and to see the permitted purpose of water use (e.g., drinking, economic, industry, irrigation). The database will be available online free of charge. It would exclude personal data and classified information, such as official and commercial information, or other secrets as defined by law. [59]

The government also plans for the platform to allow users to file their applications for water permits online by using the available map. [60] Apart from improving water resource management, the database will provide comprehensive and open information on available water resources. This will contribute to public oversight of water usage and verification of justification of relevant permits. As a result, it is expected that the effectiveness of water resource management will improve and that the ecological risks related to overuse, or unjustified use, of water will minimize. Thus, this commitment could significantly improve the accuracy and availability of water data as well as water resource management in Armenia. In the long term, this data could improve public oversight of water usage and facilitate greater accessibility to water for drinking and irrigation in communities where it has been scarce.

Next steps

For effective implementation of the commitment, it is critical that the government successfully completes inventory of water resources that could provide a basis for further collection of information on water use, quality, and monitoring data. Doing so would provide accurate information on the surface and groundwater resources in the country. This would serve for more effective water management and transparent distribution of water resources. Mechanisms should be established to ensure continuous updating of the database.

So that the information serves its purposes, public awareness campaigns should be carried out by the government and interested stakeholders. Experts also note the population’s low level of environmental awareness. In parallel to creating the database, it is necessary to initiate trainings on how to use the database with initiative groups and local civil society organizations. The government must also execute awareness-raising activities among communities, especially those vulnerable to violations of water resource use.

5. State Water Cadastre

Completion: Limited

According to the Ministry of Environment representative responsible for the commitment, by the end of the action plan period, the database on water resources included approximately 85 percent of the information available from the ministry. This represents significant progress compared to the baseline of 10 percent, but the database has not been made available to the public. The database includes information on the volume, quality, flow, pollution, and usage of water resources, by water source (including surface and underground water). However, technical issues and delays linked to COVID-19 prevented the full interoperability between the databases of various state agencies. There are no plans yet to make the database publicly accessible anytime soon. [43]