A Framework of Watershed Managementfrom the Viewpoints of Project Risk Management
Tsunemi WATANABE
Kochi University of Technology

ABSTRACT: Under tighter project environment constraints, project risk management is rapidly becoming apopular tool in practice in the world. Its application field may not be limited to project management. Actuallya golden rule of project risk management is a useful guideline in many fields: Risk should be managed bythose who can do so best. As far as infrastructure development and management is concerned in the post war
period in Japan, however, generally people have been pushing many risks towards public governments. This
attitude often contradicts with the project risk management principle. The project risk management should beused as a conceptual tool to discuss a direction of how people and government should develop and manage
infrastructure. Setting the principles of project risk management as an analytical viewpoint in watershedmanagement, thus, the objectives of this paper are to reinterpret some of the Asian wisdom to coexist with
the nature, to overview the history of infrastructure development and management in the post war period inJapan, and to discuss a direction of how people and government should cooperate in watershed managementin Japan.
KEYWORDS: watershed management, project risk management, cooperation between government andpeople
The project risk management should be used as a

1. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

conceptual tool to discuss a direction of how people
Under tighter project environment constraints,

and government should develop and manage

project risk management is rapidly becoming a

infrastructure. Setting the principles of project risk

popular tool in practice in the world. Its application

management as an analytical viewpoint in watershedfield may not be limited to project management.

management, thus, the objectives of this paper are to

Actually a golden rule of project risk management isreinterpret some of the Asian wisdom to coexist witha useful guideline in many fields: Risk should be

the nature, to overview the history of infrastructure

managed by those who can do so best.

development and management in the post war period
andin Japan, and to discuss a direction of how people

management is concerned in the post war period inand government should cooperate in watershed

Japan, however, generally people have been pushingmanagement in Japan.

As

faras

infrastructuredevelopment

many risks towards public governments. This
attitude often contradicts with the project risk
management principle.

2.

OVERVIEWOF

PROJECTRISKMANAGEMENT

Regardinginfrastructuredevelopment

andmanagement after the post war period, at least two
observations are made from the viewpoints of risk

Main elements of project risk management are tomanagement: high cost and no or undesirable

identify, structure and analyze, and respond to majorachievement of risk efficiency for multiple parties.

risk factors. Risk management process is a tool forHigh costs are caused by unreasonable risk

assisting a project manager to conduct the above

allocation. Watanabe points out that as far as

whole series of sub-processes. Application results

infrastructure development is concerned Japaneseare often represented with the trade-off between

people have often been pushing many risks to thereturn and risk. Here, return is usually defined as theconstruction industry including the government. This

expected value of what the manager will achieve as

attitude may have pushed the costs of infrastructureher/his objective, and risk is defined as the variancedevelopment. Theoretically if one party takes muchof what she/he will achieve as her/his objective. Itrisk, the party puts contingency fee to prepare for theshould be noted that time or costs to take measuresrisk (Watanabe 2006).

are included in expected time or costs.

Yoshida points out that recent Japanese public

Measures bringing a situation with lower risk andworks tend to be implemented on the adversarial axis

higher return are desirable. If either is improved

between the public administration and residential

without sacrificing the other, that situation is said topeople or citizens and that this axis should be

be in “risk efficient.” Measure B is more risk

redirected into dialogical axis to achieve consensus

efficient than measure D since the both expectedbuilding (Yoshida 2006). As a result, sometime or cost and its variance associated with measuretransaction does not necessarily put the all

B are smaller than those associated with measure D.

transacting parties in risk efficient conditions.

None of measures A, B, and C is more risk efficientPippatanapiwong and Watanabe (2001) define

than the others. The goal of risk management process

multi-party risk efficiency as the situation in whichis to obtain risk efficient measures such as A, B, andall parties in the transaction are in risk efficient

C (Figure 1).

conditions. For successful project risk management,
it is important to take risk management measuresthat are able to achieve the multi-party risk
efficiency. In reality, however, this is not necessarilyachieved. Even if this is achieved, risk efficientconditions are not necessarily desirable for allparties.
For example, human beings take a significant
amount of water for hydraulic power generationfrom many rivers. As a result, little water is left forFigure 1 Concept of Risk Efficiency

underwater creatures. This water allocation enables
only the human beings to enjoy “convenient” lives

3. CHARACTERISTICS OF INFRASTRUC-

but often puts lives of underwater creatures in danger.

TURE DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT

Suppose that securing a sufficient level of water flow

AFTER THE POST WAR PERIOD

rate is an ideal goal for underwater creature. Ifvariation of water flow rate is too large, this situation

value and variance of what each child achieves as

is too risky. This may be medium return but too highher/his objective, respectively. Then the caring isrisk, which may not be risk efficient. If water flow is

considered a low risk and low return task, and thehardly left for underwater creature, this situation

nurturing may be perceived as a high risk and highmay be low risk low return. Even if this is risk

return task. In principle the swing seems nothing

efficient, too low return cannot be accepted bymore than consensus building steps towards ideal

underwater creature.

goals with lower risk and higher risk. The swing is
an indispensable step towards a risk efficient

4. LESSONS LEARNED FROM AN ACCIDENT

solution.

IN A DAYCARE CENTER
Difficulty in achieving risk efficiency can beobserved in other field. The author would like tointroduce a case study of an accident in a daycarecenter. This case study actually suggests a hint of
how to achieve the risk efficiency.
An accident occurred that a child died of heatdisorder while playing in a daycare center in
Ageo-city in 2005. After the accident, there was a

Figure 2 Significance of the swing from project risk

discussion that assuring safety is of course importantmanagement viewpoints

but that free nursing is also important. Nishikawa
distinguishes between caring and nurturing andYoshida says that major steps towards thedefines caring as “making a child stay away fromconsensus building include listening honestly to eachany danger” and “nurturing as encouraging a child toother, swinging, accepting each other, and creating

live vividly at each moment by making a small

responsibilities each other (Yoshida, 2006). Creating

failure and learning from it (Nishikawa, 2006) .”responsibilities each other is equivalent to initiating

Nishikawa further states that “discussions swings

to take risks each other.

between caring and nursing. This swing is a proof of

Nishikawa further claims that public space reallysound daycare center.” and that “nurturing becomes

becomes “my important place” by not developing

only“for the citizens” but walking “with the citizens

possiblebyofficially

andunofficiallyembedding the opportunities in administration of the2005).”

daycare center for sharing the above-mentioned

In order to create “my important place,” it isswing, bringing up worries and problems associatedimportant to go through these four steps. However,with nurturing from the both staffs and parents, andthis is never easy. In the following sections, thus,discussing among parents how the nurturing should

two possible measures are discussed to realize thesebe. It is important for parents and staffs to stay close

steps: straightforward presentation for making

so that they can share a fear of incident.”

peopleSignificance of the swing from project riskreconsidering meaning of convenience.

management viewpoints is explained in Figure 1.
Here return and risk are defined as the expectedfeelasenseofresponsibility

andPRESENTATION

When young staffs in the agricultural sector

FOR MAKING PEOPLE FEEL A SENSE OF

participated in a cleanup event of the river and found

RESPONSIBILITY

plastic bags and bottles farmers left, the staffs were5.

STRAIGHTFORWARD

shocked and shamed with their colleagues’ behavior.
straightforward

This incident becomes one of turning points inpresentation for making people feel a sense of

attitudes of some people in the agricultural sector

responsibility. People belonging to an organization

towards the river. Some cooperative activities arewith a hierarchical structure often have a difficulty instarted by the agricultural sector and the inland water

listening to others honestly. They often act as

fishery sector in solving drought problem andcomponents of their organizational system, that is,

agricultural muddy water problem to improve thereplaceable and invisible even though they do notriver environment and to restore the sweetfish.

want to do so. They can only speak “language

Young people in the agricultural sector are creatingprescribed by the system.” They have a difficulty inresponsibilities.

The

firstcomponent

istalking about not only other peoples’ feeling but also

Even though a sense of shame is not felt, feelingtheir own feeling. Especially many Japanese public

surprised may be sufficient for some people to create

administrators have this fate (Kato, 1997). For

responsibilities. One of the students of the author

example, it is often said an administrative officer

had no interest in Monobe river until he went to theresponsible for compensation negotiation associatedestuary of the river and observed that it was blockedwith dam construction is discouraged to have a chatwith deposit. He was first very much surprised with

with residential people who are required to move out

this condition. Then he watched excavation project

the dam site. Thus, it is often extremely difficult for

to open the blockage. According to him, he wassuch a replaceable and invisible component to dochanged when he watched a moment when thehonest listening.

estuary was opened and water started flushing from

Straightforward presentation seems effective toovercome barrier for honest listening and to reachthe river to the sea.
Stories after critical accident occurred in Tokai

the final step of consensus building: creating

villagearegoodexamplesofdemonstrating

responsibilities and risk each other. Here three actual

significance of sharing deep sorrow. Yoshida actually

examples of paths to consensus building are

asked each mother whose child may have been

described: recalling a sense of shame, feelingexposed to critical accident to write private papers.

surprised, and sharing sorrow.

She then bound these papers in the file andThe first two examples occurred in Monobe rivercirculated it through hand-in-hand to mothers. Many

flowing in Kochi in Japan. The river used to bemothers were actually accusing themselves because

known for a very clean stream but is now facing athey could not protect their child. In the next monthcritical situation of a sharp decrease in catches ofafter the file is started to be circulated, Yoshidasweetfish. Its annual catches were beyond 70 tons inreceived more than 1,000 faxes from readers. Many

the beginning of 1980s but became less than one ton

mother readers said “I first put off the light from myin 2006. Though existence of sweetfish is consideredheart when the light is unnecessary.”a symbol of a clean stream, many farmers who have

These three stories show that straightforward

been enjoying a sufficient amount of water intake arepresentation is a worth-while attempt for the honest

indifferent to this sweetfish crisis.

listening through mutual creation of responsibilities.

6.

RECONSIDERINGMEANINGOF

CONVENIENCE

themselves most of the time.
It is never easy for them to survive in the heart ofthe mountain. They can only do so by carefully andThe second component is reconsideration of

more importantly enjoyably observing any change inmeaning of convenience. Ohnishi (Ohnishi, 2006)

the nature as well as acquiring and practicing

successfully demonstrates this necessity through hiswisdom which have been taking over from theirinterviewing people for years who have been living

ancestors over the generations. In this sense throughin old Tokuyama village, which went under water

dialog with the nature they always conduct risk

due to dam construction. An old man says, “We havemanagement of avoiding and responding to factors

to move with our legs to do our works, but we canto threaten their lives. Furthermore their pursuit of

do them in the range where we can walk. Cars andreturn and risk management are united and can nottrains were not really necessary before. We could

be separated. Independence and unification are themanage without them. Living in the heart of thepillars of their convenience.

mountain is not as inconvenient as you imagine. We
actually think it is convenient.”

However, they are never overconfident. Ohnishi
observes them and says, “They very often clasp their

Ohnishi then says, “Meanings of “convenience”

hands in prayer towards the gods of fire, water,

are totally different in between the current generation

ground, and light. The god lies in anything.” Theand old generation. The old people never feelauthor observes that this pray is practice of one ofconvenient in the world where everything can be“the golden rules” in project risk management:

operated with one switch. Jo-san, the name of an old

minimize risks that you do not control (Kashiwagi,lady, always says that living in a city is inconvenient.

2004). No matter how hard each party tries to…The terra may have provided human beings withmanage risks, certain risks may be out of her/his

everything which are needed for them to be alive.”

control. In project management such risks may be(Description with the underline was inserted by thetransferred to other party through contract. Theauthor.)behavior of the old peoples of appreciating for

Ohnishi also describes Jo-san as follows: “She istoday’s happiness and peace, today’s return, andenjoying this earth very very much. She works very

praying for tomorrow’s happiness and peace,

hard to eat, but she is never unhappy to do so. She

reciprocal concept of tomorrow’s risk, is consideredseems to be telling me that her outlook on value ofequivalent to behavior of an excellent projectwork is fundamentally different from our objective

manager of pursuing return while minimizing risks

of work, that is, to eat.”she/he does not control.

The author interprets the two meanings ofThis independent and unified management by theconvenience as follows. For people of the current

old people is totally opposite to the people of thegeneration, it is a possibility that they pursue return,current generation. The current people pursue theirthat is, whatever they want to do without risk, that is,return but hand most of “rights” of managing

being worried about any life-threatening event. Forlife-threatening events to other people such asthe people in the old generation, it is enjoyment to begovernment. Thus, the full dependency of risk

united with the nature, that is return, and to have themanagement of one’s own life on others andassurance, that is opposite to risk, of living in theseparation between the return pursuit and the risk

nature where they can well manage their lives formanagement are the pillars of their convenience.

Now sustainability of water environment is in
critical conditions. Physical and mental health of nota few Japanese is also seriously questioned. Under
this situation, the full dependency and separation ofthe return pursuit and the risk management is not awise idea. The current people should change theirconcept of convenience to more independency andunification of the return pursuit and the riskmanagement.
REFERENCES
Kashiwagi, D. (2004), Best Value Procurement, 2ndedition, Performance Based Studies Research Group,
Arizona
Kato, T. (2002), Japanese for citizens, Hitsuji Shobo,
Tokyo, Japan (in Japanese)
Nishikawa, T. (2006) My important place, Hands on
Saitama, Saitama, Japan (in Japanese)
Ohinishi, N. (2006) Treasures in my village,
Information Center Pub. Tokyo, Japan (in Japanese)
Yoshida, R. (2006) Consensus building withlistening to each other, presented at constr. mgt.
committee of the JSCE, Tokyo, July 27, 2006 (inJapanese)
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