*3.1. Importance of IWRM toward the SDGs*

Madagascar is among the 193 countries that signed the 2030 UN Agenda [22]. Madagascar agreed to the water, energy, and food nexus concept in early 2018 within the framework of the Southern African Development Community. This concept was intended to be integrated into the discussions of IWRM. The island is one of the countries that did not reach the Millennium Development Goals by the end of 2015 [23]. The reduction of poverty by half compared with 1990, Millennium Development Goals targets, and other targets have not been achieved. Thus, Madagascar continues to be confronted by the unfinished agenda of the Millennium Development Goals. Madagascar is at the very beginning of the process of implementing the 2030 Agenda. A great effort is required to address the current and future challenges, such as eradication of extreme poverty and reduction of inequalities; protection of the environment; and access to water, sanitation, and hygiene services [24].

Japan is also committed to extensive domestic and international efforts to achieve SDGs. Japan has led the promotion of SDGs in the national and international community, building upon its strengths in traditional wisdom, cutting-edge technologies, and information. Japan promotes the SDGs on the basis of three aspects: promotion of the society, vitalization of local areas to make communities more resilient, and empowerment of next generations and women [25].

Both countries have attempted to promote the SDGs and align them with the national policies and strategies. The Japanese government sets the SDGs as the focal point of the national strategies: SDGs Promotion Guiding Principles and SDGs Action Plan 2018. To have Madagascar classified as an emerging country, the current government developed a new strategic document called Plan Emergence Madagascar (PEM) (2019–2023) as a component of the General Government Policy (Programme Générale de l'Etat) to ensure tangible progress toward the SDGs. The IWRM and water, energy, and food nexus approaches are used to ensure sustainable water management. Each approach has particular advantages in terms of SDG implementation. However, SDG 6.5 requires nations to "implement IWRM at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation" (https://sdgs.un.org/goals, accessed on 10 February 2020). IWRM must give priority to the creation of infrastructure, construction of local capacity, and development of an information base to provide the foundation for basin-level planning in fragile economies, such as Madagascar [26].

#### *3.2. Water Resources Management*

In Madagascar, only 54% of the population uses an elementary water service, 11% use basic sanitation, and more than 51% practice open defecation [27]. The management of water resources was placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene created in July 2008 by Decree No. 2008-829. The Ministry is responsible for the design, management, coordination, harmonization, and implementation of the National Development Plan and the General Government Policy in the sector. Under the provisions of Law No. 98-029 of 20 January 1999, bearing the Water Code, the Malagasy government created the National Authority for Water and Sanitation (ANDEA), which is an independent, non-user organization that promotes the participatory process to implement the Integrated Resource Management Process in Waters [28]. Policy, legal, and strategic frameworks of Madagascar's water, sanitation, and hygiene sector are in place and are generally well-structured. In a clear alignment with the SDGs, those documents outline the key commitments for increasing access to safe water and sanitation facilities; they also outline commitments for developing IWRM, emphasizing public–private partnerships, and growing the water, sanitation, and hygiene sector. The government has also committed to international frameworks, such as the Sanitation and Water for All initiative, the eThekwini Declaration, the Ngor Declaration on Sanitation and Hygiene, and the Rio Declarations [29]. Framework documents exist and databases are available, but applications at the field level for the project implementation remain limited or almost non-existent; thus, they require an examination. Many projects have begun to experiment with specific tools at the local scale (e.g., resource inventory) or at the regional or national (master plan) scales, but such projects are not widely disseminated. At the community level, implementation of the IWRM concept is considered ineffective [30]. The river basin management is based on the concept of decentralization. There are four levels of water resources administration depending on the territory: national (ANDEA), provincial (basin agency), regional (basin committee), and local (water point committee). Each structure has its role and responsibilities stipulated by the Water Code (Law No. 98-029 of 20 January 1999 and its 13 application decrees; https://jwf-legal2.fr.gd/Lois-183.htm, accessed on 5 March 2020).

In contrast, access to drinking water and sanitation is universal in Japan. An improved water source is available to 98% of the population, and 99% of the population use improved facilities [27]. The ministries involved in water-related matters are the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare; the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries; the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry; the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT); and the Ministry of Environment. Domestic water supply falls under the supervision of the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare; the Ministry of Environment is responsible for water quality and environmental conservation. Generally, water policies in Japan remain fragmented, except for the coordination between the central government and local governments during droughts and water shortages [17]. With its diverse natural environment, Japan has developed region-specific IWRM tailored to regional climatic and social conditions. Japan's IWRM promotes sustainable water use and effective water cycle governance through appropriate policy and frameworks involving relevant sectors and

stakeholders. IWRM is promoted from such perspectives as groundwater and surface water, water quantity, and water quality (both upstream and downstream); it also promotes water efficiency and environmental conservation. In Japan, Water Plan 21 is formulated with three basic objectives: establishment of sustainable water use systems; conservation; and improvement of the water environment and fostering of a water-related culture. Water Plan 21 identifies long-term water supply and demand prospects, as well as means of improving water use stability, through water efficiency measures and effective use of the existing infrastructure [18]. River administration is based on classification of rivers into classes A and B, which contain, respectively, 109 and 2691 river systems [31]. Rivers are managed depending on the importance of their roles for the country. Class A river systems are considered important for the national economy and people's lives; they are administered by the MLIT. Class B River systems are administered by prefectural governments. Each section's responsibility is stipulated by the River Law (Law No. 69 of 4 June 1997) [32].

Table 1 lists IWRM framework documents, institutional supports, and some examples of lessons learned from the river basin management in Madagascar and Japan.

**Table 1.** Difference between IWRM framework documents in Madagascar and Japan.



**Table 1.** *Cont.*

The table shows that both countries have laws and regulations to support IWRM and IRBM. The institutional support for IWRM implementation in Japan (MLIT) is operational, in contrast to Madagascar (ANDEA). In Madagascar, ANDEA leads decisions and actions coordinated at three established basin agencies and the 22 regional basin committees. However, the framework documents are not applied effectively; this has led to unsuccessful implementation of basin Agencies and basin committees, as well as non-establishment of the National Fund for Water Resources. Consequently, there is confusion concerning the roles and responsibilities assigned to the regional and local basin committees. In contrast, Japan's MLIT has 10 regional offices, each of which controls approximately 12 local river offices. Each organization is independent in its fields and activities and has an autonomous budget. Notably, the concepts of IWRM and IRBM require major participatory roles for all the stakeholders involved. Some reports have indicated that difficulties in the implementation of IWRM in Madagascar are caused by customs, land ownership problems, and the lack of consultation between the local population and the authorities [33]. In contrast, Japan's law requires public participation in the planning process, which makes river basin management very specific. Stakeholders work together on decentralized sites at the level of catchment areas or on the national level. The Japanese national IWRM plan, referred to as Water Plan 21, is formulated for the involvement of more than one

local government. The establishment of the Coordination Committee for the Promotion of a Sound Water Cycle, which involves the five water-related ministries, promotes better integration and coordination of water resources. Nevertheless, a previous study noted the incompatibility of river basin organizations with the current administrative systems, which has led to conflicts between the ministries involved in water management [17]. The example projects presented in Table 1 demonstrated that IRBM represents a key factor for accelerating local development and managing water resources and their environments.

Madagascar can learn three important strategies from Japan: effective implementation of the existing IWRM frameworks; intersectoral cooperation at the river basin level and decentralization of decision-making; and sustainable management of the available water resources by minimizing adverse environmental and social impacts.

#### *3.3. Impact of Climate Change in Madagascar*

Madagascar established the National Climate Change Coordination Office, which reports to the Ministry of the Environment, Ecology, and Forests, in 2010 [34]. According to Decree No. 2015-092 of 5 March 2015, this Ministry is responsible for the implementation and coordination of actions, as well as the mainstreaming of climate change issues in various social and economic sectors. The impacts of climate change have been severe during the past two decades: extended drought periods, increased rainfall variability, cyclones' intensification, and floods associated with cyclonic disturbances [35]. In addition, temperatures continue to increase in nearly all the regions, and the precipitation decreases by 3% per year in some regions [36]. Furthermore, the flooding has considerably increased over the past few years in coastal cities, which has resulted in crop failures. Indeed, the maximum temperature is rising faster in the rainy season than in the dry season, except in the humid tropical climate region and at high altitudes in the center of the country. Madagascar is one of the least-developed countries with insignificant greenhouse gas emissions [35]. Primary sectors, particularly agriculture and fisheries, are prominent in the national economy. However, the country has severe problems with soil erosion and deforestation, which reduce soil fertility and productivity, thus increasing the vulnerability of agriculture and fishing-based livelihoods. Therefore, decreased agricultural yields and poor fishery performance may lead to increased food insecurity, which aggravates poverty. Moreover, the electrification level is extremely low, such that only approximately 20% of the households have access to electricity. This explains the nation's dependence on wood as fuel, which is expected to persist in the short term. Climate change will affect forests because increased temperatures and lower rainfall will lead to increased tree die-off, forest fires, fuel buildup, and insect abundance [37]. By 2050, the temperature is expected to increase by 1.1–2.6 ◦C across Madagascar [38]. A study conducted by the WHO and the UNFCC [39] showed that the mean annual temperature is projected to rise by approximately 4.1 ◦C from 1990 to 2100 under the high emissions scenario Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5. If global emissions decrease rapidly, the temperature rise will be limited to approximately 1.1 ◦C. In addition, the risks of vector-borne diseases (e.g., malaria and dengue) are expected to increase toward 2070 [40]. The increasing rate of deforestation in Madagascar is most likely associated with demographic growth and poor environmental law enforcement. If nothing is done to rapidly curb deforestation, Madagascar risks losing almost all of its tropical forest and associated biodiversity within the next 50 years [8]. Land use is the main sector in which large greenhouse gas emissions reductions must be achieved. In this scenario, biomass, hydropower, solar, and wind energies contribute to most of the electricity generation from 2030 onward [41]. Previous research suggested that climate change will increase future risks to health and well-being [40]. Madagascar has a policy framework to address those challenges: the Disaster Risk Resilience National Strategy for Disaster Risk Management (2016–2030) and the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (2015–2030). Moreover, the country is committed to mitigating climate change (Law No. 98-1068 of 18 December 1998, ratifying the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action in 2005; Sendai

Framework in 2015; Paris Agreement in 2016), reducing the climate change vulnerability, and promoting effective adaptation measures.
