Water management in South Asia

By Syed Mohammad Ali

Concerns about food security and water scarcity are common to all South Asian countries and regions within them. It is not possible to re-organise states on the basis of river system boundaries to ensure better management of water resources. Yet, greater cooperation is still possible between and within the regional countriesThe increasing threat of scarcity has made water management and ownership issues very important over these past two decades. Like other parts of the world, water resources in South Asia are under increasing pressure due to competing demands. Disregard for upstream and downstream riparian rights is bringing not only countries, but regions within South Asian countries, at loggerheads. The growing differences between India and Pakistan on construction of hydroelectric projects has jeopardised the longstanding Indus Water Treaty. Bangladesh, which shares 54 rivers with India, has developed major disputes with the latter, particularly over the Ganges. As an upper riparian, Nepal faces problems constructing dams due to Indian opposition. Dr Zaigam Habib, writing in the South Asian Journal, identifies a polarisation in South Asia between centralised, supply-side projects and smaller, localised alternatives. Tensions between these contending views have impeded exploitation of the abundant hydel potential in Nepal, which it can use to export electricity to neighbouring countries. While several hydroelectric projects have been discussed between Nepal and India, little progress has been made due to opposition because of environmental concerns and displacement of people and fear of large projects in the seismically active Himalayan region. The alternative view in Nepal has been calling for decentralised, environmentally-benign projects to meet Nepal’s needs rather than those of other countries. Bhutan’s water policy has successfully balanced ecological and socio-cultural concerns with the water uses. As a result it has seen impressive inflow of revenues from the sale of electricity to India. These inflows are growing significantly in relation to the country’s GDP. However, one wonders if Bhutan will be able to maintain this balance if it builds more hydroelectric projects. The lessons learnt in this regard are not only relevant for Bhutan but also Nepal and other neighbouring countries.Unfortunately, economists involved in the reform processes underway in South Asia have generally considered development and environmental concerns as mutually exclusive. Environmental concerns have therefore been seen as obstacles to economic growth. World Bank and the Asian Development Bank officials have also been sympathetic to such myopic arguments. Despite the rhetoric, donor-imposed interventions have focused on making public utilities cost-efficient rather than equitable or sustainable. Moreover, the privatisation of water services has done little to provide safe drinking water to all, promote agricultural diversifications or spare more water for the environment and future generations. It is time water sector experts realised that their generalised prescriptions for water management will not work. Plans for harnessing water resources cannot afford to neglect sustainability. We also need specific and localised interventions to determine water stress levels and improve the efficiency of water use other than irrigation and in saline areas. However, articulation of water-related interests at the local level has not received attention and civil society debates concerning water issues remain rather limited. There is an absence of constructive discourse between the technocrats and the environmentalists. Political parties have also not gone beyond regional water demands. Politicians have certainly not focused on solutions like developing water storage capacities in their own constituencies. Instead, technological approaches have gained support. An example of this is the physical integration of river systems, which can turn water resource development plans into a competition among various regions. This has happened despite the already serious differences over water sharing within different states in India, like the Ravi-Beas dispute between Punjab and Haryana or the Cauvery dispute among Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Pondicherry. In Pakistan, there is a water-sharing dispute between Sindh and the Punjab and the NWFP opposes construction of dams over Indus. Despite the tensions, the Indian government has decided to link up 37 rivers to transfer water for drinking, drought relief and irrigation from water-surplus to water-deficient regions. However, according to the Indian River Research Centre, it is impossible to accurately determine which river has surplus or insufficient water and to transfer water to another river system without causing socio-political upheavals and ecological damage. sBesides escalating socio-political tensions, the ecological impact of transferring water from one river system to another is disturbing. A naturally flowing river system delivers nutrients to the seas; this supplements complex food chains; assists ecologically and culturally important fisheries; and protects wetlands and safeguards fertile deltas. A river has to flow its natural course to perform these versatile functions. Diverting it can have significant unrealised consequences. It is clear that concerns about food security and water scarcity are common to all South Asian countries and regions within them. It is not possible to re-organise states on the basis of river boundaries to ensure better management of water resources. Yet, greater cooperation is still possible between and within the regional countries. But it is necessary to implement more localised measures before attempting a more comprehensive approach to water management. Realising the link between pollution, ecological degradation and water scarcity is the first step in this regard. This way, we can promote participatory efforts to revive watersheds and river basins. Alongside water conservation efforts at the grassroots level, these should address the growing water scarcity in the South Asian region.

The author is a development consultant and an international fellow of the Open Society Institutes network. He can be reached at syedmohdali555@yahoo.com

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