Towards a Sustainable Water Future

Jal Bhagirathi Foundation (JBF) was instituted as a Trust

on January 15, 2002. The organization has taken up the responsibility of creating an environment of Gram

Swaraj – a dynamic, self-reliant and responsive village community, positioning its work and learning at the

national level for further replication thus contributing towards the ongoing debate on pro-poor policies and

the creation of village republics.

The strategy of the Foundation involves ecological restoration, economic revival, strengthening democratic

governance through village-level institutions, developing a cadre of local volunteers, networking with

government agencies, research organizations and non-governmental organizations to facilitate policy reforms.

The organizational structure is a unique integration of a village-level volunteers’ pool and a professional

resource base, both complementing each other’s effort. Presently, the village-level volunteers are being

assisted by the professional and technical workforce to effectively adopt the right-based approach by

sensitizing and mobilizing communities, and by planning, implementing and monitoring development

interventions for strengthening democratic decentralization in the region.

JBF is proactively functioning in Jodhpur, Barmer and Pali districts.

The Foundation has a Board of Trustees comprising four members:

HH Maharaja Gaj Singh is the Chairman, Shri Rajendra Singh is the Vice Chairman,

Shri Prithvi Raj Singh is the Managing Trustee and HH Maharani Hemlata Rajye is a Trustee.

JAL BHAGIRATHIFOUNDATION

About

C O N T E N T S

2SETTING THE STAGE

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PLENARY SESSION, MARCH 29, 200634RESOLUTION MECHANISMS FOR SHARING

WATER BETWEEN RURAL AND URBAN AREAS –THEMATIC SESSION ONE

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6RESOLUTION MECHANISMS FOR WATERMANAGEMENT: POLICY IMPLICATIONS –THEMATIC SESSION THREE

5RESOLUTION MECHANISMS TO MANAGE COM-PETING INTER- SECTORAL WATER DEMAND –

THEMATIC SESSION TWO

INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT – NEGOTIATINGUSER WATER DEMANDS – THEMATIC SESSION FOUR7

8PLENARY AND CONCLUDINGSESSIONS, MARCH 30, 2006

A. Latha, DrResearch Coordinator, River ResearchCentre, India,[email protected]

A.D.JosephRegional Director, Central GroundWater Board, [email protected]

A.J.James, DrManaging Director, PragmatixResearch & Advisory Services (Pvt)Ltd, [email protected]

Abha Sharma, DrCorrespondent, Deccan Herald, [email protected]

Abhimanyu SinghSecretary, Sarvodya Sewa Ashram,India

Adhi Raj SinghVolunteer, Jal Bhagirathi Foundation,India, [email protected]

Abadullah KhulmiDeputy, Water Control Department,Afghanistan

Aditi ThoratOfficer on Special Duty to ChiefMinister, Rajasthan, [email protected]

Aditya PatnaikSecretary, Antyodaya Chetna Mandal,India, [email protected]

Ajay SinghaDeputy Director General, Indo GermanChambers of Commerce, [email protected]

Ajit Kumar Pattnaik, DrChief Executive, Chilika DevelopmentAuthority, [email protected]

Ajit Singh ShekhawatInspector General of Police, [email protected]

Alex JorgensenPrincipal Urban Specialist INRM, AsianDevelopment Bank, [email protected]

Anil PatilFounder Chairman, Maharashtra VikasKendra, [email protected]

Anna Maria CeciDirector, Development CooperationOffice, Embassy Of Italy, [email protected]

Anne MarchalFirst Secretary, Delegation of theEuropean Commission to [email protected]

Apoorva RanjanLocal CSR, Cairn Energy India PvtLimited, [email protected]

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

Arnon Soffer, DrProfessor of Geography, University ofHaifa, Israel, [email protected]

Arshad AliAssistant Program Coordinator, JalBhagirathi Foundation, [email protected]

Asha BothraSecretary, Meera Sansthan, [email protected]

B.L.AryaDivisional Commissioner, Jodhpur,India

B.R.Patel, DrFormer Deputy Director, NSIC, India

Bharti PatelDirector, Svaraj/Oxfam, [email protected]

Bhawani SinghAssistant Program Coordinator, JalBhagirathi Foundation, India

Biplab Ketan PaulCoordinator, Lokvikas, [email protected]

Bishwadeep GhoseProgram Officer, HIVOS, Indiab.ghose@hivos_india.org

Brajesh Singh TomarHydrologist, AFPRO, [email protected]

Carl Gustaf SvenssonCounsellor & Head, Department ofDevelopment Cooperation Section(SIDA), [email protected]

Chakravarty SinghMember-Jal Parishad, Jal BhagirathiFoundation, India

D K ManavalanExecutive Director, AFPRO, [email protected]

David Alkan, Dr.In charge of Central and SouthernRegions, Ministry of WaterResources, The State of [email protected]

Diana SiddiqiProgram Officer, American IndiaFoundation, [email protected]

Dilip N Shindey, DrProgramme Director, BAIF, [email protected]

Dipak RoyProject Officer, UNICEF, [email protected]

Dirk R Frans, DrSociologist & Senior Advisor,[email protected]

Eklavya PrasadDevelopment Consultant, [email protected]

F.M.GolaniChief Engineer, Ground WaterDepartment, [email protected]

G VijayanDirector, Athiest Center, [email protected]

Gauri UmashankerConsultant, Jal BhagirathiFoundation, [email protected]

Gilbert RodrigoDirector, Gandhian Unit forIntegrated DevelopmentEducation,[email protected]

Gopal Singh, RajaChairman- Jal Parishad, JalBhagirathi Foundation, India

HE Mr. Antonio ArmelliniThe Italian Ambassador, India

Hemant JoshiConsultant, UNICEF, [email protected]

HH Maharaja Gaj SinghChairman, Jal BhagirathiFoundation, India

HH Maharani Hemlata RajyeTrustee, Jal Bhagirathi Foundation,India

HRH Prince CharlesThe Prince of Wales, UnitedKingdom

Jacqueline De Chollet, BaronessVeerni Project, Londonjacqueline@[email protected]

Jagveer SinghSr. Programme Coordinator, GramVikas Navyuvak Mandal, India,[email protected]

James KidnerAssistant Private Secretary toHRH The Prince of Wales, UnitedKingdom

Jaswant Singh NathawatDivisional Forest Officer,Government of Rajasthan, India

Kanupriya HarishManagement SystemsRepresentative, Jal BhagirathiFoundation, India,[email protected]

Karan Veer SinghMember-Jal Parishad, JalBhagirathi Foundation, India

Karen Coelho, DrIndependent Scholar, [email protected]

Kulan AminProgram Manager, EuropeanUnion, [email protected]

Kusum AthukoralaPresident, Net Water, Sri [email protected]

L.M.Bhandari, DrGeneral Manager, RajasthanChamber of Commerce andIndustry, [email protected]

Laxman [email protected]

Lizette BurgersChief- Water & EnvironmentSanitation Section, UNICEF, [email protected]

M.A.Khan, DrDy. Director, Central Arid ZoneResearch Institute, [email protected]

M.S.Rathore, DrProfessor, Institute Of DevelopmentStudies, India, [email protected]

Madar SamadHead, South Asia RegionalOffice,IWMI C/o ICRISAT, [email protected]

Maharaj Jai SinghJaipur, India

Mahendra MehtaProgram Manager, Jal BhagirathiFoundation, India

Mahipal SinghAssistant Program Coordinator, JalBhagirathi Foundation, India

Mahaveer KachhwahaAssistant Community Organizer, JalBhagirathi Foundation, India

Mali Ram VermaChief Engineer, PHED, Governmentof Rajasthan, India

Markus StarklProject Coordinator, University ofNatural Resources & Applied LifeSciences, Vienna, [email protected]

Mattia CelioAssociate Expert, WaterManagement & Policies, India,[email protected]

Maxine Olson, Dr.Resident Representative, UnitedNations Development Program,[email protected]

Mohammad Jan RustazadahDeputy Head of Planning, MinistryOf Water Resources, Afghanistan

Muhammad Akram KahlownChairman, Pakistan Council ofResearch in Water Resources,[email protected]

Mustafa Taher Ali SaasaManaging Director, Sell ForceInternational, Dubai,[email protected]

N.M.OjhaRegional Manager, CAIRN EnergyIndia(Pvt) Ltd Indianojha@cairn_energy.plc.uk

Nafisa BarotDirector, UTHAN, [email protected]

Neera Burra, DrSpecial Advisor, UNDP, [email protected]

Niranjan Nath NarhariConsultant, Jal Bhagirathi Foundation,India, [email protected]

O.P.PooniaScientist-B, Central Ground WaterBoard, [email protected]

Oliver BrindHead of Development, The Prince ofWales’s Charitable Foundation, [email protected]

Om Prakash SharmaIndia Team Leader, Wells For India,[email protected]

P.M.PaulDirector, Cecoedecon, [email protected]

Parminder SinghProgram Officer, Jal BhagirathiFoundation, India

Pratap Narain, DrDirector, Central Arid Zone ResearchInstitute, [email protected]

Prema GeraProgram Advisor, SustainableEnvironment and Energy Division,UNDP, [email protected]

Prithvi Raj SinghManaging Trustee, Jal BhagirathiFoundation, India,[email protected]

Purshottam Lal GoyalReporter, Dainik Samachar Jagat,India

Ramya GopalanUNDP, India,[email protected]

Rashmi SaxenaJournalist, India

R S AgarwalDistrict Collector, Jodhpur, [email protected]

R.K.ShuklaExecutive Engineer, CGWB, India

R.M.AbhyankarConsultant, Asia Foundation, [email protected]

Raj PanwarAssistant Program Coordinator, JalBhagirathi Foundation, India

Rajender SinghVice-Chairman, Jal BhagirathiFoundation, [email protected]

Rajendra DharmawatSenior Hydrogeologist, GroundWater Deptt., India

Rajindra De S AriyabandhuResearcher, GWP-South AsiaRegional Office, [email protected];[email protected]

Ramaswamy R Iyer, DrHonorary Research Professor,Centre for Policy Research, India

Raminder Singh,Volunteer, Jal BhagirathiFoundation, India

Rao Raja Mahindra SinghCEO, Mehrangarh Museum Trust,India, [email protected]

Ritu KanotraUNDP, [email protected]

Rita GuptaConsultant, Mind’s Eye, [email protected]

Rohini NilekeniChairperson, Arghyam, [email protected]

Roopal MathurAssistant Program Coordinator, JalBhagirathi Foundation, India

Rosario Centola, DrItalian Development Cooperation,Italy, [email protected]

S C Kumar, Air CommdorSenior Advisor-CII, [email protected]

S Janakrajan, DrResearch Collaborator, MadrasInstitute of Development Studies,India, [email protected]

S P BagadeAdditional Director, Ground WaterSurveys & Development Agency,India, [email protected]

S UnnikrishnanExecutive Member, ChalakudyRiver Samrakshan Samithi, India,[email protected]

S. NarendraEx Advisor to PM, Center forMedical Studies Development,India, [email protected]

S.N.ThanviPrincipal Secretary, WaterResources Department,Government of Rajasthan, India

Saeid FerdowsiProgram Office, Energy,Environment & Disaster, UNDP,IRAN, [email protected]

Sanjay BapnaSecretary, All India CongressCommittee, [email protected]

Sara Ahmed, Dr.Consultant ( Gender), [email protected].

Satish Kumar, Dr.State Representative, UNICEF-Rajasthan, [email protected]

Sergio FeldPolicy Advisor - Environment,UNDP Regional Centre, [email protected]

Sayyed Ahang Kowsar, DrEmeritus Research Scientist, FarsResearch Center for Agriculture &Natural Resources, Iran

Shailendra TiwariIncharge, NRM Unit, India,[email protected]

Shakti Singh, Brig.General Manager, HH MaharajaHanwant Singh Ji CharitableTrust, [email protected]

Shekhar SonalkarHead of the Department,Moolagee Jetha College, India,[email protected]

Shivranjani RajyeJal Bhagirathi Foundation, [email protected]

Shubhang PandyaConsultant, [email protected]

Sompal ShastriEx-minister for Agriculture &Water Resources, India,[email protected]

Sonu JainJournalist, Indian Express, [email protected]

Srinivas MudrakarthaDirector, Viksat, Nehru Foundationfor Development, India,[email protected]

Stephen YoungInfrastructure & UrbanDevelopment Advisor, DFID, India,[email protected]

Suhas ParanjpeCore Team Member, SOPPECOM,[email protected]

Sumeeta BanerjiResource Person, SolutionExchange, [email protected]

Suneet SethiProgram Officer, Jal BhagirathiFoundation, India

Sunita NarainDirector, Centre for Science &Environment, [email protected]

Sunita BhatiMember-Jal Parishad, JalBhagirathi Foundation, India

Sunny SebastianSpecial Correspondent, TheHindu, [email protected]

Surekha SubarwalUNDP India,[email protected]

T. Ramachandradudu, Dr.Director, Watershed SupportServices and Activities Network(WASSAN), India,[email protected]

Tejveer ChoudharySr. Committee Organizer, JalBhagirathi Foundation, India

Udaibhanu SinghVolunteer, Jal BhagirathiFoundation, India

Uma KumariVolunteer, Jal BhagirathiFoundation, India

Umesh VarmaProgram Manager, Gamana, [email protected]

V Kurian Baby, DrSenior Advisor, SEUF(SocioEconomic Unit Foundation),[email protected]

Varalakshmi VemuruSenior Social DevelopmentSpecialist, The World Bank, [email protected]

Varun AryaDirector, Aravali Institute ofManagement, [email protected]

Vishwa Ballabh, ProfRBI Chair Professor, Institute OfRural Management Anand, India,[email protected]

Yasodhara DamarajuNetwork Officer, Capnet SouthAsia, [email protected]

Z.D.KaviaPrincipal Scientist, CAZRI, India

Zaigham Habib, DrConsultant, Lahore, [email protected]

6

Conflicts, Resolutionsand Solutions

Water has been anessential element ofcivilization and today, waterconflicts stand to putcivilization at risk. Onceempires were founded aroundrivers; soon, empires are likelyto fight over them. Water,previously an object ofworship, is now, in manycases, a commodity for sale.The importance of water hasnever diminished – from thetime when temples were

TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE WATER FUTURE

dedicated to Poseidon to thisage when dams anddesalination plants stand astestaments to ourunquenchable thirst for water.

In the past, nature wasequally a nurturer and atyrant. Man was not onlydependent on nature, he wasat its mercy. While natureprovided man with all theelements he required, it couldalso destroy his life, his workand his past in one fell swoop.

Water has been anessential element of

civilization and today, waterconflicts stand to put

civilization at risk

1

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mountains or on the plains,but through masses oflegislation, over land dealsand around private leases. Weare realizing this in a worldwhere there are as manywater conflicts as there arewater problems.

Water conflicts bring intoview larger issues and raisebigger questions – questionsdealing with social equity andstability, the meaning ofdevelopment and the natureof rights, as there is no onewho is not affected by theseconflicts. Water, perhaps, isthe best mirror of inequityand injustice in a society.These conflicts do not justreflect the water situation of acountry, but also its past,culture and economy. Perhapsthe first of these conflicts isover how is water viewed –as a need or as a right ? As aproperty or a resource? Everysociety has its own way ofviewing water and whatworks for one culture may bea cause for conflict in another.

In some societies, applyingmarket laws to water mayresult in a more restrainedand careful use of water.However, in another scenario,it may lead to people beingdenied an irreplaceablenecessity. The viewing of

As man progressed, hiscontrol over the elementsincreased. Rivers could bechannelised and stormspredicted. When man beganto understand, and to someextent control, the elements,especially water, he stoppedfearing them. Sadly, as he lostthis fear he also began to loserespect for all that nature hadprovided him with, forgettingthat the seas may beconquered, but the earthcannot be made to yield morewater.

All ancient civilizationsrealized the importance ofconserving water, and theyhad their own methods ofensuring the efficient andcareful use of water – themainstay of the Indus ValleyCivilization was the extremelyadvanced water managementtechniques – wells, lift andsurface canals, water tanksand irrigation works. Today,we are realizing theimportance of waterconservation anew. However,we are realizing it in thecontext of a world which isconsuming more water than itis replenishing, which has notdecided what is the mostappropriate way of viewingwater, and where rivers donot just flow through the

Organizing Agencies

JAL BHAGIRATHI FOUNDATIONJal Bhagirathi Foundation was introduced as a trust on January 15, 2002.The organization has taken up the responsibility of creating anenvironment of gram swaraj – a dynamic, self reliant and responsivevillage community, positioning its work and learning at the national levelfor further replication, thus contributing towards the ongoing debate onpro poor policies and the creation of village republics.

The Jal Bhagirathi project“Vulnerability Reductionthrough CommunityManagement and Control ofWater in the Drought ProneAreas of the Marwar Region’’is a multi-dimensionalprogramme, intending tomake a significant impact onpoverty alleviation, droughtproofing and women’sempowerment to ensure

sustainable livelihoods and finally impact policy approaches both at theState and National level.

This conference was a continuation of initiatives taken by theFoundation to advocate institutional and policy reforms in bringingtogether practitioners and policy makers to exchange learnings.

THE ITALIAN DEVELOPMENTCORPORATION

The Italian Development Corporation’s activities in India are handledwithin the framework of the “Indo-Italian Cooperation Agreement”signed by the two Governments on Feb. 1981. Since then, theDirectorate General for Cooperation to Development (DGCD), a Divisionof the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has financed several projects in thecountry.

In 1999, the Italian Parliament reiterated India’s status as a “PriorityCountry” for Italian Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. By the end ofthe same year, the “Development Cooperation Office” was set up as apart of the Italian Embassy in New Delhi to coordinate and strengthendevelopment cooperation activities between the two countries.

The programme are executed through bilateral, multilateral andmulti-bilateral channels (e.g. financial support to UNDP, UNIDO, WHO,UNODC, UNICEF, ILO). Besides these, funds of the Italian Governmentare channeled directly to Italian NGOs working with local Indiancounterparts. Furthermore Italian Regions, Municipalities and Provinceshave been sponsoring numerous development projects in India throughthe Decentralized Cooperation mechanism. The most active ones in Indiaare: the Region of Lombardy, the Municipality and the Province of Milan,the Autonomous Province of Trento and Bolzano, the Region of Sicily,Sardinia, Liguria and Tuscany.

The Italian Development Corporation’s concern for the watersituation in the world and their commitment to addressing moreeffective water management in the drought stricken regions of the globeis expressed through their support of institutions such as the JalBhagirathi Foundation to upscale grassroots experiences into models ofreplication in developing countries.

UNDPUNDP is the UN’s global development network, an organizationadvocating change and connecting countries to knowledge,

experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP is onthe ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions

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water as a right may ensure itsbeing provided to everybodybut could also result in overexploitation and misuse.Viewing water as a propertycould be a step towards bettermanagement of water, yetcould also be a cause ofmonopolization of waterresources. As a resource, waterwould be available to all thosewho have a need for it, yet itwould be difficult to prioritizethese needs.

Just as water conflicts arenot the same in every region,their resolutions can also notbe the same. However, what iscommon in every region is the

succeed in creating a plan forwater management which willserve them well. The future ofwater is not an issueseparated by state or countryboundaries, or divided bysocietal and religiousdifferences. These are linesdrawn by man and are notunderstood by rivers, oceansand rainfall. A river pollutedby one region does notbecome pure when it crossesa boundary into another, andwhile methods of watermanagement may be shapedby religion, society andgovernment, they cannot berestricted to the boundaries

A river polluted by oneregion does not becomepure when it crosses aboundary into another

need to conserve water, toreplenish it and to distributeit fairly. Water cannot bemanaged solely by acommunity, a government oran individual. All three –governments, communitiesand individuals need to worktogether if they are to

set by these institutions.Water management byeverybody at all levels is anecessity that cannot bedenied by anyone, as it isintegral to a sustainablewater future.

A sustainable water futureis not a destination we can

to global and national development challenges; as they developlocal capacity they draw on the people of UNDP and its widerange of partners.

The UNDP in partnership with the Jal Bhagirathi Foundation isworking on the project-“Vulnerability Reduction throughCommunity Management and Control of Water in the Drought-Prone Areas of the Marwar Region’’ which supports socialmobilization efforts and strengthens people’s organizations forsustainable natural resource management. It also attempts toensure women’s empowerment and advocates community rightsover common property resources. UNDP has been instrumental inactively supporting the advocacy efforts of the Jal BhagirathiFoundation and partnering to organize better donor coordinationin Rajasthan to promote water policy reforms.

One of the most important agencies of the UNO, UNICEF – TheUnited Nations’ International Children’s Fund, is devoted to thecause of welfare programmes for women and children around theworld, particularly in developing countries.

UNICEF has been working in India since 1949. The largest UNorganization in the country, it is currently implementing a $400million programme from 2003 to 2007. What makes UNICEFunique in India is its network of ten state offices. These enable theorganization to focus attention on the poorest and mostdisadvantaged communities, alongside its work at the nationallevel. Women and children are able to access basic services such asclean water, health visitors and educational facilities, and theseservices are of a high quality. At the same time, UNICEF reachesout directly to families to help them understand what they mustdo to ensure their children’s future. UNICEF uses its community-level knowledge to develop innovative interventions to ensure thattheir initiatives bear fruit.

UNICEF and The Jal Bhagirathi Foundation have joined handsto strengthen the traditional water management techniques forensuring water conservation through rainwater harvesting,sanitation and empowerment of the community for droughtmanagement.

The Swedish Agency for International Development Cooperation,SIDA, is a government agency under the Ministry of ForeignAffairs. SIDA is a global organization. Its head office is in Swedenand it has field offices in some 50 countries. SIDA’s goal is tocontribute to making it possible for poor people to improve theirliving conditions. SIDA’s support to health, education and culturehas the aim of making sure that more citizens are active andcommitted. Like other Swedish government agencies, SIDA worksindependently within the framework laid down by the SwedishParliament and Government. They specify the budgets, thecountries with which Sweden - and thereby SIDA - is to workwith,and the focus of Swedish International Development Cooperation.

SIDA has been a major donor in promoting traditional watermanagement in India by supporting eminent institutions such asthe Tarun Bharat Sangh and the Centre for Science andEnvironment, amongst others. They have once again comeforward to co-partner the Jal Bhagirathi Foundation in organizingthis conference to better understand water conflict management.

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The conference “ Towards A Sustainable Water Future –Strategies to Address Competing Claims” was held at UmaidBhawan Palace, against the majestic backdrop of theMehrangarh Fort, in the city of Jodhpur, known worldover forits historic traditions of water conservation, ingenious and lifesustaining step wells, and awareness amongst the peopleabout the importance of water. There could not have been amore appropriate setting than this place, where it is possibleto view both problems and solutions, conflicts and resolutions.A place where one can see the debilitating absence of waterand the inspiring presence of innovative methods to conserveand replenish it.

This conference brought together people with ideas andexperiences as diverse as themselves – from the Prince of

reach, it is a state which wemust create and maintain, asthe world is evolving and willcontinue to do so. The watermanagement plans ofhundred, fifty or even twentyyears back are inappropriatetoday. In the same way, theresolutions adopted today willhave to be constantly revisedand altered with every newinvention, every newmovement and every little

Wales who carries compassion in his heart wherever he goes, tothe Maharaja whose concern for the people is expressedthrough his efforts to help them, from the bureaucrat whoshapes the policies of today, to the farmer who is affected bythem, from the NGOs and activists working at the grassrootslevel, to the international agencies supporting them – theconference had delegates from places far and near – Israel,Maharashtra, Pakistan, Orissa, Sri Lanka, Kerala, Thailand,Afghanistan and many more.

The participants deliberated on the four thematic sessions ofthe conference –l Resolution mechanisms for sharing water between rural and

urban areasl Resolution mechanisms to manage competing inter - sectoral

water demandl Resolution mechanisms for water management - policy

implicationsl Integrated water resource management - negotiating user

water demandsThe passionate and enlightened discussions of the

participants were interwoven with the colourful and vibrant folktraditions of the region. The inauguration took place throughthe offering of water to the Tulsi plant, symbolizing thenourishing and nurturing power of nature, and was followed bythe singing of folk songs showing awareness about water andwater issues ingrained in the people of the desert. A gatheringwas also organized at Mehrangarh Fort, where all present couldcommand spectacular views of this ancient and hardy land.

The conference was an effort towards retaining the wisdomof ancient cultures, which has developed and evolved overcenturies , while finding solutions to the problems which havemultiplied and increased in magnitude in recent years.

A sustainable waterfuture is not a destinationwe can reach, it is a statewhich we must createand maintain

change in attitude. Whenwith the passing of every daythere is a change in the veryworld for which we have tocreate a water future, wecannot afford to becomplacent or lax. Asustainable water future is not

only requires an awareness ofthe water situation and themeans to tackle the waterproblems of today, but alsothe ability to predict howchanges in diverse fields willaffect the water situation, andwhether these changes will bepositive or negative.

All the development whichhas taken place till today hasbeen the product of immensetalent and skill. It is required

that this talent and skill bechannelised into the creationof a sustainable water future,as without the fulfillment ofthis most basic necessity, notjust development, butexistence itself is impossible.

The Setting – Speakers,Subjects and Venue

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It is my privilege towelcome here HRH the Princeof Wales, HE AntonioArmellini, Dr. Maxine Olson,Mr. Carl Gustaf Svensson andall participants and delegatesto this conference.

I am honoured that HRHthe Prince of Wales has comeback here to us in Jodhpur.He had previously visited theTarun Bharat Sangh. He issomeone who has a keeninterest in charitable works,and his charities and trustsrange over a number of issuesand regions. He has 350charities which he attends toin England and we werefortunate to have been hisguests at Windsor Castle lastyear. Water and Rajasthan aretwo of his passions and he has

WELCOME ADDRESS DELIVERED BY

HH Maharaja Gaj Singh ofJodhpur, Chairman, JalBhagirathi Foundation

This conference is going toaddress concerns on the

increasing demand of waterand the global shortagesthat we are witnessing

hosted and helped a numberof NGOs in India, amongstthem the Barefoot College, JalBhagirathi Foundation, TarunBharat Sangh, JVF, Wells forIndia, INTACH, etc. He issomeone who, in his position,is able to influence things,

and he is deeply concernedabout the traditional aspectsof life and the environment,things that are very close tomy heart too. Sir, a very warmwelcome to you here today.

This conference is goingto address concerns on the

increasing demand of waterand the global shortages thatwe are witnessing. Today, theissues that concern us all areaccess to water, and controlover it. By 2025, we are toldthat 40 percent of the world’speople, more than 3 billion,may be living in countriesexperiencing water stress andchronic water scarcity. Thisimbalance between demandand supply has resulted in acrisis that is leading toconflicts – these conflicts canbe broadly divided into threegroups – the conflicts arisingwhen water is transferredfrom rural areas to meet thedemands of urbansettlements, those created bycompeting intersectoral waterclaims where different users

2SETTING THE STAGE

11

of water come into conflictover limited water resources,and the conflicts triggered bythe absence of clear policyand regulations.

It is the endeavour of thisconference to discuss theexperiences of practitionersfrom different sectors, todebate on resolutionmechanisms and to preparean abstract that may be usedas a reference by the

its activities to only Rajasthanand India. We are also takingpart in a number ofconferences, and now wehave gone global. The JBFparticipated in the water fairrecently concluded at Mexicoat the World Water Forum. Itwas the only Indian exhibit atthe fair and there wereapproximately 3000 exhibits

practitioners and policymakers working in the watersector. Closer to home, thosewho are familiar with thecrisis here, and we haveactually witnessed watercrises recently– there waspolice firing in Sriganganagar,where the demand of thefarmers was to release waterfrom the canal immediatelyfor their crop; from theBisalpur town dam, which waslargely made for irrigationpurposes, water was divertedbecause Jaipur was in a crisis;closer to home in Jodhpur, inMathania and Ransigaon, thewater tables have dropped solow because in earlier days,before the canal, a lot of thegroundwater was diverted toJodhpur. The pollution of theriver Luni is also a verydisturbing factor – dyeing andprinting industries aredischarging their effluentsinto the dry river bed, which

is polluting not only the riverbed but also the wells that arearound.

These are some of theissues we have to addresstoday. The JBF has beenactively working in thedistricts of Jodhpur, Pali andBarmer to solve the drinkingwater problem throughtraditional systems ofrainwater harvesting whichare more resilient and

The JBF has been actively workingto solve the drinking waterproblem through traditionalsystems of rainwater harvestingwhich are more resilient andresponsive to the changing needs

responsive to the changingneeds. With the support ofthe Italian DevelopmentCorporation, the UNDP, andthe UNICEF, the JBF has beenworking in approximately 200villages in the Marwar regionfor the past four years andhas been successful to someextent in solving the drinkingwater problems in theseareas.

It is heartening to knowthat when the UNDPconducted a mid termevaluation of the projectactivities, it emerged thatduring the short span of time,there has been a 95%increase in the availability ofdrinking water for humansand livestock – 97.6%households have beenbenefited by our projects and95% of the desert communityhas also benefited.

I would like to share withyou that JBF is not restricting

from all over the world. Thestalls became a conclave ofdiscussions betweendelegates from neighbouringcountries like Pakistan,Bangladesh and Sri Lanka,and provided a vibrantenvironment for discussion ofwater related issues from thedifferent regions. It alsobecame the meeting point forall the Indian NGOs and intrue Rajendra Singh style, heheld a meeting there sittingon the floor and all the otherNGOs joined him and theyhad this meeting in Hindi

which caused a great amountof stir in the conference as themedia and others wanted toknow what they were talkingabout.

Finally I would like to thankall of you present here for yourinterest in this field and ofcourse the Italian DevelopmentCorporation who aresupporting us, the UNDP for

their help throughout ourwork – past, present andfuture, the UNICEF, and ofcourse the SIDA, forco-hosting this importantevent of the JBF.

Once again, I welcomeyou all here today and hopethat this conference willthrow up some veryinteresting and problemsolving steps ahead so thatwe can address this verypressing need of everybodyfor water. Thank you somuch.

SETTING THE STAGE

12

Speech by HRH The Prince of Wales

access to clean water and sanitation. Formany communities across thedeveloping world, the provision of cleanwater is the first and most essential stepout of a life of poverty. These challenges,coupled with the ever-growing demandsof cities, and of our modern lifestyle forever-increasing quantities of water, areputting a truly unsustainable strain onrapidly-diminishing resources.

I am particularly pleased that youhave been addressing the critical issue ofconflict over water resources. This, at somany levels, afflicts people’s lives – and

Simple traditionalsystems such as waterharvesting, check-dams, johhads andponds, can relieve thepressure on the riversystems and the groundwater from which somany conflicts stem

Your Highnesses, Your Excellencies,Ladies and Gentlemen, I cannot tell youwhat a pleasure it is for me to be here inJodhpur. I am so grateful to His Highnessfor inviting me to speak. I have takenwhat interest I can in this whole subjectof water conservation and specifically inwhat His Highness has done through theJal Bhagirathi Foundation. I accepted HisHighness’s invitation and I wasdetermined to come because I minddeeply about the future of my childrenand my grandchildren.

As some of you may know, I have hadthe privilege today of going with TheirHighnesses to the village of Artiya to seeat first hand the issues that you have

been addressing in your conference.Three years ago I visited Bhaonta withRajendra Singh and Bunker Roy both ofwhom I have admired for over 20 yearsand who show the need to work at thelocal level. Until you have seen theextraordinary resilience and fortitude ofsmall communities in desert areas,struggling to survive with the mostmeagre of water resources, you cannotbegin to understand the urgency of theseissues.

What particularly struck me todaywas the way in which small community-

based projects, helped but not dictatedto by the international agencies, canmake such a difference. It is in this waythat the Jal Bhagirathi Foundation, andother organizations represented heretoday, have been transforming so manypeople’s lives. I have been enormouslyimpressed by the work that you aredoing, and wish you everyencouragement with it.

I would not presume in such anerudite gathering to quote the terrifyingstatistics that underpin the global watercrisis. Nobody needs reminding thatwater is essential to life. The falling watertables, the unreliability of piped supplies,the huge number of communities with no

in my view it poses a very real, andgrowing, threat to local and evenregional security. I spoke at my olduniversity in Cambridge about thissubject 13 or 14 years ago. Addressingthese conflicts, and addressing the wholeissue of conserving and valuing water asa resource, has to start at the micro-level.I have always been so inspired by thosestruggling at the micro-level - it is worthlistening to them.

In the UK and elsewhere I have in myown way tried to empower people at thelocal level. If villages can work togetherto address their water needs, districts,states and nations can follow theirexample. Simple traditional systems such

as water harvesting, check-dams, johhadsand ponds, can relieve the pressure onthe river systems and the ground waterfrom which so many conflicts stem.I wish I had a PhD in Common Sense asthat is what is needed to solve mostproblems. I do believe more thananything else that we need to rediscovertraditional wisdom in all these areas. Thisis of crucial and fundamental importance.People have developed an extraordinaryunderstanding of how to work inharmony with nature. So I make a plea toyou here today.

SETTING THE STAGE

13

Firstly, voluntary organizationsworking in this field in India andaround the world need to cometogether and articulate with onevoice the need of communities suchas Artiya, the village we saw today.Together they should also createmuch greater awareness of the depthand breadth of traditional knowledgeand wisdom.Secondly, governments and theprivate sector need to work moreclosely with organizations such as theJal Bhagirathi Foundation in full andlisten to their advice. We need tocreate an environment which fostersand promotes such organizations andschemes. We need to ensure thatsuccessful community-ledprogrammes are not negated by themore unscrupulous amongst us

Your Royal Highness, Your HighnessMaharaja Gaj Singh, Your HighnessMaharani Hemlata Rajye, Shri RajendraSingh, Shri Prithvi Raj Singh, Dr. MaxineOlson, distinguished guests,

I am most honoured and pleased toparticipate in the Asia-Pacific regionalconference: “Towards a sustainable waterfuture – Strategies to address CompetingClaims”, organized by the Jal BhagirathiFoundation.The past decade has been a witness to amassive increase in the exploitation ofunderground water by farmers thatunfortunately will never be replaced. Thisincreasing dependence on waterextracted from deep underground in amanner that is unsustainable is indeedthreatening and it seems that nobodyhas seriously worried about its effectsover the long period.Today the world grows twice as muchfood as it did a generation ago, but ituses three times as much water to growit. Two-thirds of this water is meant forirrigation purposes – massivelyunsustainable in future.The groundwater boom is turning tobust. Fifty years ago in Gujarat, bullocksdriving leather buckets could easily liftwater at 10 metres from open wells. Nowinstead even tube wells dug at 400metres are running dry. Millions offarmers are migrating to urban slums andare compelled to work as constructionworkers and labourers across India. Giventhe rate at which the water tables aredropping they are left with limitedchoices.From China to Iran and Indonesia toPakistan, rivers are running dry under theimpact of increased exploitation. Millionsof small farmers have bought pumps andare sucking water from beneath theirfields. India, China and Pakistan areestimated to account for more than halfthe world’s total use of underground

water for agriculture.The consequences of the eventual,

inevitable failure of underground watercould be catastrophic. It is a slow-burning drought disaster that will oneday affect hundreds of millions of people.Yet so far it has not registered on theradar screens of governments or aidagencies as much as it should have.

International strategic studies areshowing that in the near future there isthe likelihood that wars will be fought onwater issues. Conflicts will arise betweenrural and urban areas, between statesand between regions of the world. TheHimalayan reservoir only is providingwater for more than 500 million people.

Speech byH.E. Mr. Antonio Armellini,Italian Ambassador to India

Today the worldgrows twice asmuch food as it dida generation ago,but it uses threetimes as muchwater to grow it

without proper recompense and duerecognition of such programmes andwhat they have done to regenerateindividual communities.

If our children and grandchildrenare to have a secure future on thisplanet, the proper stewardship of theworld’s water resources simply has tobe continually addressed. I wish youevery encouragement with thesplendid work that you have beendoing, and which you are now takingforward.

SETTING THE STAGE

14

Each aquiferhas its owncountdown todestruction. Aseach bubblebursts, it willundermine theworld’s ability tofeed itself

This certainly will not happeneverywhere at the same time. Eachaquifer has its own countdown todestruction. As each bubble bursts, it willundermine the world’s ability to feeditself. This isn’t just a crisis for thedeveloping world. According to recentcalculations, a tenth of the food needs ofthe world is grown using undergroundwater that is not being replaced byrainfall.

Countries where farming does notrely on artificial irrigation, have little ideaof how much water it takes to grow ourfood. It takes between 2000 and 5000litres of water to grow 1 kilogram of rice,for instance. That is more water thanmany households use in a week, for just abag of rice. It takes 1000 litres (of water)to grow a kilo of wheat, 11,000 litres of

water to grow the feed for enough cowto make a quarter-pound hamburger andbetween 2000 and 4000 litres for thatcow to fill its udders with a litre of milk.Clothing only adds to the hydrologicalpain. You could fill 25 bathtubs with thewater that grows the 250 grams ofcotton needed to make a single T-shirt.One peculiarity of India’s water is that agreat deal of it neither reaches rivers norcollects underground. The monsoon rainsevaporate in the sun or run away in flashfloods. So one solution being widelydiscussed all over the globe is to catchthe rain. “Rainwater harvesting”

therefore appears an effective responseto an environmental challenge in thepresent circumstances.Rainwater harvesting has been pioneeredin India, yet it may offer solutions muchmore widely. In countries as far apart asMexico, Peru, China and Tanzania,governments and communities areexperimenting with similar schemes thatavoid the need for large infrastructure,empowering communities in watermanagement in villages, and restoresome ecological balance, because theycan only tap the rainwater that actuallyfalls.A major factor is effective control at thelocal community level. Few individualfarmers can successfully catch their ownrain and store it underground – and thisquickly dissipates into the wider aquifer.

But when an entire village does it, theeffects are often spectacular. Watertables rise, dried-up streams flow againand, with more water for irrigation, theproductivity of fields is transformed.By some estimates, 20,000 villages in

SETTING THE STAGE

India are now harvesting their rains. Ofcourse there is no more water thanbefore, but local harvesting does seemto be a key to using it more efficientlyand sustainably. It might just rescue theworld from hydrological anarchy.

I am proud to note that the UNDP/JBF project for “Vulnerability Reductionthrough Community Management andControl of Water in the Drought-Proneareas of the Marwar Region”, which isnow in its second year of activity, issupported by my Government. This isboth for Italy and India a veryprestigious project; it entails a totaloutlay of approximately 3 million Euro,and is part of the continued engagementof the larger UNDP-Government of India“Natural Disaster Risk ManagementProgramme”.

The Water-harvesting project inRajasthan holds such relevance to thecurrent scenario that we would like toensure sustainability of the programme,by continuing our support also in thefuture.

I take this opportunity to thank JalBhagirathi Foundation for raisingawareness of issues on water harvestingthrough the organization of thisimportant event.

Thank you.

15

Rising population,disregard ofenvironmental resourcesand mismanagementhave put a tremendouspressure on watersupplies

Your Royal HighnessPrince Charles,Your HighnessGaj Singh ji, distinguisheddelegates from Afghanistan,Pakistan, Iran, Israel, SriLanka, United Kingdom andIndia.

All of us who are gatheredhere are fully aware of theimportance of water – forhealth, for livelihoods and forthe condition of theenvironment that sustains usall. I am pleased to speak toyou this morning on behalf ofthe United Nations, andspecifically the UNDevelopment Programme andUNICEF – two organizationswhich together represent thebreadth of the issue withinthe United Nations – fromhealth and sanitation tolivelihoods and environment.We are pleased to partnertogether to support thisconference. I also wish toacknowledge the support ofthe Government of Italy, whomakes UNDP’s supportpossible.

In recent years, waterrelated interactionsthroughout the world havebecome increasingly hostile,in both water scarce andwater rich regions. Risingpopulation, disregard ofenvironmental resources andmismanagement have put atremendous pressure onwater supplies. As the claimsintensify, the impact becomessevere on the poor in bothurban and rural areas andparticularly on women andchildren, who remain thepredominant providers ofwater to the household.

rights have been able toresolve the competing claimsinternally.

However, the situationbecomes more complicatedwhen communities mustrelate to other stakeholderswho are accessing the samesource of water. It is here thatsharp variations betweeninterests, priorities, roles,responsibilities andaccountabilities emerge.

Over the next two days,we will explore strategies foraddressing competing claimson water. Governments, civilsociety and communities theworld over are struggling todo so, and some promising

water sector is an area whichrequires a great deal of work,on the ground as well as awider sharing of lessons andexperiences. As we begin theconference, may I suggest thatwe remember the followingthree fundamentals:l At the micro level, wherepeople live, we must prioritize– a minimum amount of wateris essential for everyone. Thequality of life and health mustbe first. Child and maternalmortality rates are too high,and can only be brought downif water is available forcleanliness. Sustainablelivelihoods, within the capacityof the water supply over thelong term, are also a highpriority. Water for the poorfarmer and herder is anessential ingredient ofemployment generation inrural areasl Formal and informalinstitutions for governance willneed to incorporate waterconflict management roles andmechanisms and build theircapacities accordingly todeliver on this accountl Finally, principles ofparticipation, transparency,equity and non-discriminationwill have to remain central toapproaches and mechanismsthat seek to find solutions toprevent, minimize and resolvecompeting claims

I will end on this note withthe hope that we will allbenefit from the deliberationsduring the next two days, andtake back with us emerginggood practices as well as areasthat need our furtherattention.

On behalf of the UnitedNations, I thank you all forjoining us and look forward tobeing part of the discussions.

Speech Delivered by Dr Maxine Olson,Resident Representative, UNDP, India

SETTING THE STAGE

In the past two decades,promotion of and support tocommunity basedmanagement of naturalresources, has demonstratedconsiderable success insustainable use andmanagement of theseresources. In many places,strong and inclusivecommunity institutions atlocal levels with awarenessabout their resources and

strategies have begun toemerge.

Approaches beingrecommended for managingcompeting claims andinterests include both“hard’’and “soft’’ options rangingfrom legal mechanisms, toparticipatory and consensusbuilding multi-stakeholderdialogues, to specific waterpolicy instruments.Conflict management in the

16

Dear friends,At the outset let me

thank you for this honour tosay a few words in thisconference on ‘Towards ASustainable Water Future:Strategies to AddressCompeting Claims’.

I would like tocongratulate the JalBhagirathi Foundation fortaking this initiative andbringing together thisenlightened group of peopleto address the problem ofwater management that isgaining increasingimportance and is a matterof great relevance to ourcommon sustainable futureacross the world and in India.

It is gaining importancebecause, today, with rapidurbanization there is anincreasing demand for waterin the urban areas andincreasing pollution. Thereare reports that increasinglyfarmers around the cities findit more profitable to exportground water to the citiesand neighbouring townsthan using it in farming. Atthe same time agriculturetoday needs far moresupport in view of thedeteriorating situation in therural areas.

I also think that groundwater management posesthe most difficult challengetoday. It meets the drinkingwater needs of more than80% of the Indianpopulation. While rain fedagriculture is practised in

Oxfam – Svaraj is analyzingthe urban-rural competingdemands on water in andaround Bangalore. There areseveral other successfulinitiatives that focus on themanagement of water.

Management of thisresource therefore needsinnovative solutions which inturn require informationabout the rates of recharge indifferent types of aquifers,reasons for groundwatercontamination and mitigation,and so on, which you are wellaware of. At the same time,perhaps more importantly, itis about people gettingtogether to identifyinnovative solutions inmanaging water.

There are several moderntechniques to assess variousaspects of groundwater forbetter management. SeveralSwedish institutions havebeen working in this field formany years and I am alsopleased that several of ourpartners in India areattempting to build linkageswith those institutions inSweden.

Sweden in accordancewith the new country strategyfor India puts increasingemphasis on technicalcooperation and assistancewhere Indian and Swedishstakeholders could look forsolutions to our commonproblems. It is a “sharedresponsibility’’. I will bepleased if this platform cangerminate many Indo Swedishpartnerships which cancapitalize on each others’technical strengths.

Once again thank you forthe honour and wish you allthe best for a successfulconference!

Address of Mr. Carl Gustaf Svensson,Counseller and Head, DevelopmentCooperation Section, SIDA

Sustainable managementof groundwater, thereforeis an imperative forsustainable livelihoods,particularly for the poor

is an imperative forsustainable livelihoods,particularly for the poor.Today the situation is suchthat there is an increasingdemand for water in the faceof decreasing availabilitymostly due to our inability tomanage water effectively.

Sweden, through SIDA, inthe past as well as in thepresent has financed severalinitiatives in watermanagement. The famousMARK II hand pump, whichsignificantly improved thedrinking water situation inIndia and elsewhere is a result

SETTING THE STAGE

most parts of India, over 60%of supplemental irrigation inIndian agriculture is fromgroundwater. And there aremany parts of India where thegroundwater levels aredepleting to alarmingly lowlevels. Further, the presenceof fluorides and arsenic ingroundwater is putting thepoor at a serious health risk.Sustainable management ofgroundwater, today, therefore

of joint Indo-Swedish effortsthrough UNICEF. Groundwaterrecharge has been observedin certain aquifers throughsimple rainwater harvestingtechniques in Alwar, not veryfar from New Delhi. Theorigins of the Jal Bhagirathiinitiative could be found inAlwar and I am pleased tonote that they have furtherimprovised on that initiativeby Tarun Bharat Sangh.

17

Historically, developmentof all kinds has taken place inareas rich in water. Astechnology advanced, newmethods of using waterevolved, driving thedevelopment to greaterheights, thus fueling thedemand for water.Unfortunately, thisdevelopment has had alopsided emphasis towardsextraction and use of waterrather than replenishing andrecharging it. Driven by thegreed and profit motives, manhas been using this abundantbut limited gift of naturewithout a thought to thefuture. This disregard for thelaws of nature has led to thesituation becoming soprecarious that the sceptre of

widespread desertificationand prolonged drought islooming large.

Disregard for the future isnot just evident in theincreasing demand for waterand its ruthless exploitation;even more blatant is the levelof care shown in preservingthe quality of water. The bulkof water which is used comesout as waste. It is the natureof this waste that is a causefor concern. The urbandomestic sewage, the noxiousindustrial effluents, theinsecticide and chemicalladen agricultural seepage, allhave resulted in thedeterioration of the quality ofwater making it unfit not justfor human consumption buteven noxious in many places.Development has had a

lopsided emphasis towardsextraction and use of waterrather than replenishing andrecharging it

3INTRODUCTION

PLENARY SESSION, MARCH 29, 2006

18

In most cases, social andpolitical reality have beenresponsible for the conflict ofinterests, as decisions basedpurely on merit require nodebate or justification. Thegovernment’s arguments infavour of large projects listtheir benefits as a largerreach and standardization,along with the ability to caterto larger areas. In the face ofthese policies, the room forcommunity specific projectscentering around local peopleis little.

However, large projectsseem to benefit only thepowerful, and to solely servetheir needs, these peoplebeing the big industries, thecontractors and those withpolitical clout. The resultantapathy towards local andcommunity based initiatives isperplexing as both qualityand quantity are heavilyweighted in favour of localcommunity based initiatives.

Large centralized water distribution systemjuxtaposed against decentralized communitybased local water conservation systems

Nafisa Barot –Uthan, India

management plans, asopposed to the two thousandvillages covered by theNarmada. In the villagescovered by the Narmada,water users’ associations hadto be set up before theinitiation of water supply, but

It is important that the role of civilsociety be reinforced and deprivedsections be empowered, as theseare necessary for a sustainablewater future

Both quality and quantity are

heavily weighted in favour of local

community based initiatives

were not, due to the lack ofeffort and initiative. In theabsence of these measures,only 10% of the villagesreceived water as per thenorms set by thegovernment.

How money is wastedbut not given to localprojects is shown by thecase of Balesna village,where the rechargingsystem of the communitysucceeded in ensuringfluoride free water totraditionally high fluorideareas through rain waterharvesting. The village alsohelped forty other villagesin harvesting rain water; yetwhen a request for apipeline to carry water froma distance of about onekilometer was made by thevillage, it was given pipedwater from a dam quite faraway by the government.

Without theamalgamation of data interms of demand andavailable resources, it is verydifficult for the centralizedand decentralized systemsto go together. It isimportant that the role ofcivil society be reinforced,and deprived sections beempowered as these arenecessary for a sustainablewater future.

Decisions based purelyon merit require nodebate or justification

The situation is clearlyillustrated by the example ofsupply from the Narmada asagainst the local systems. InGujarat, three thousand fivehundred villages had theirown system of watercommittees and water


19

In view of the increasing conflictstaking place, the issue of watergovernance has become extremelyimportant – there are conflictsbetween brothers, between villages,between regions and between statesover the use of water, and somepredict water wars. However, it is easyto understand water conflicts byviewing them through the perspectiveof traditional thought and philosophyabout the control and rights of water.

Three major thoughts emerge inour philosophy of water:

A hundred years in the past, waterwas viewed as a community property,given by nature to sustain lives and itsimportance was realized by thecommunity, which conserved it anddistributed it with discipline. The aimwas to maintain a balance, i.e. returnas much to nature as was taken.

Another thought has been that oftreating water as a commodity. This isa recent development with thosesubscribing to this thoughtconsidering water as any othercommodity of economic transactionsto be exploited, procured and sold fora profit.

The third school of thoughtconsiders water as a human right,vesting upon the welfare state the

To harmonize various interests and to

resolve conflicts, it is imperative to

understand that the solution lies in the

disciplined use of water by the community

responsibility to provide water toall – hence creating the desire tohave water security legislation.

Conflicts have arisen due tothe differences in viewpoints ofthese three factions, all of whichvie for different forms of watergovernance. The conflict in Lavaka Bas between the communityand government had arisenbecause the ownership of waterwas given to the governmentunder the Irrigation and DrainageAct. The genesis of the recentconflicts in Amravati and Bisalpuris of a similar nature.

To harmonize various interestsand to resolve the conflicts it isimperative to understand that thesolution lies in the disciplined useof water. A case in point is thearea of the recharged Arvari river.The renewed flowing of water inthe river has led to the people ofthe area realizing that unplannedexploitation would lead the riverback to the same fate. Hence theformation of the Arvari Parliamentwith the people deciding uponthe amount of water to beharvested, the cropping patternand the use and conservation ofwater. The sustained availability ofwater in the region due tocommunity effort can beacknowledged as an importantsolution to conflicts of this nature.

It is easy tounderstand waterconflicts byviewing themthrough theperspective oftraditional thoughtand philosophy

Water governance-Understanding thephilosophy of water

Rajendra Singh,Jal Bhagirathi Foundation

The three prevalent ways of viewing waterl As a community resourcel As a commodityl As a human rightConflicts arise due to the differences inperspective


20

Sustainability andcompeting claims mayappear divergent conceptsbut they are inter-related. Itis the demand for water thatultimately decides thesustainability of water – touse the terms of economists.

To maintain sustainabilityof water resources, the oftrepeated maxim of Gandhijithat nature has enough foreveryone’s need but notenough for everyone’s greedis to be kept in mind.

It is the greed that makesunsustainable demands onnature. For the resolution ofconflicts and themaintenance of sustainability,proper management ofdemand is required. Ineconomic philosophy,demand is good; it leads toincreased production anddevelopment, andeconomists encouragedemand, not control it.However, in the case of watermanagement this approach isinappropriate. Theavailability of the source isfinite, hence the demandneeds to be tailoredaccordingly. The traditional

economic supply sideresponse is not applicable asthe scope to augmentavailable resources is limitedand should be cautiouslyundertaken.

The answer lies inrestraining the demand.Therefore, there is a need for-l Efficiency in the use of

water in agriculturel Re-examination of the

rural – urban water supplyparameters. Need isnormally projected in percapita norms which arefairly high; there arepeople in favour of further

l Social and political reality have been responsible for theconflict of interests, as decisions based purely on meritrequire no debate or justification

l Large projects seem to benefit only the powerful, andsolely serve their needs, these people being the bigindustries, the contractors and those with political clout

l Quality and quantity are heavily weighted in favour oflocal community based initiatives

l It is important that the role of civil society be reinforced,and deprived sections be empowered as these arenecessary for a sustainable water future

l Conflicts arise due to the differences in the way peopleview water – some view it as a community propertygiven by nature to sustain life, some as a commodity andsome as a human right

l The solution lies in the disciplined use of waterl It is the demand for water that ultimately decides the

sustainability of water. For the resolution of conflicts andthe maintenance of sustainability, proper management ofdemand is required

l All water supplied returns as waste, hence the recyclingof domestic and municipal waste, agricultural residuesand industrial effluents is important

l The precious nature of this life sustaining element needsto be recognized and efforts made at economicefficiency and conservation in its use

l A sincere effort to reorder our lives needs to be made

Key Points of the Plenary Session,March 29, 2006

Maintaining sustainability ofwater resources

In reply to a question on what wouldhappen if India were to attain thestandards of consumption reached in thewest, Mahatma Gandhi is said to haveremarked: “My God! We shall soon stripthe earth bare, like locusts”. Those wereprescient words and early precursors tothe environmental movement that was toemerge much later

should be reduced andrecovered. All watersupplied returns as waste,hence the recycling ofdomestic and municipalwaste, agriculturalresidues and industrialeffluents is needed.

l Controlling the demandswithout which a watercrisis cannot be avertedand sustainabledevelopment cannot be alikelihood. It is imperativethat the precious nature ofthis life sustaining elementbe recognized and effortsmade for economicefficiency andconservation in its use anda sincere effort made toreorder our lives.

Dr. Ramaswamy R Iyer- Former Secretary, Water Resources-GOIMember; National Commission for Integrated Water Planning


increasing them. Thiswould be disastrous – infact there is a need toscale them down

l Recycling and multiple useof water in industries

l Technological innovationsin the efficient use ofwater

l Waste control shouldbecome an important areaof attention – waste

21

Urbanization by its very natureinvolves a large conglomeration ofpeople within the limited areas ofcities. As the population grows thecities rise vertically, leading to asituation where an acre of landwhich earlier held a family nowprovides living space for thousandsof people. And the life style of thesepeople is different from that oftheir counterparts in rural areas: thetechnology they use for their dailychores, for their construction, fortheir recreation, and the modes theyuse to supply water, all result intheir consuming far more waterthan those living in rural areas. Thishigh concentration of people insmall areas and their extraordinarilyhigh per capita demands of waterbecome the scourge of urban watermanagement.

Urban areas cannot be selfsufficient in their waterrequirements, hence water is drawnfrom the surrounding rural areas.The source of supply could besurface and ground water. In theearly stages of supply when waterwas relatively abundant, surface

INTRODUCTION

4

High concentration of people insmall areas and their extraordinarilyhigh per capita demands of waterbecome the scourge of urban watermanagement

water was tapped, but as the demandincreased the groundwater came to beexploited more and more. Initially noobjection was raised by the rural areasas they could not foresee the results ofthe water transfer.

As water demands increased,economic interests got involved, andprivate bore wells started selling water.This unlimited tapping of water has ledto an apocalyptic scenario–thegroundwater levels have goneuntenably low, the suppliers of waterthemselves are facing severe drinkingwater shortages and the quality ofagriculture has taken a severe beating,leading to unemployment andmigration. Deforestation has disturbedthe rain cycle, sandmining and soilerosion have led to degradation ofriver basins; and the pollution of thecity has come to plague the rural waterresources.

People in rural areas, faced with achoice between existence andextinction, are coming out in forceagainst the transfer of water to urbanareas. This conflict of interests needsto be addressed at the earliest beforeit escalates into an uncontrollablesituation.

RESOLUTION MECHANISMS FOR SHARING WATER BETWEEN RURAL AND URBAN AREAS – THEMATIC SESSION ONE

22

In Israel, water is a scarcecommodity. However, a judiciouscombination of technology, educationand awareness has helped tackle theproblem successfully and thoughextremely important, it is not so much ofa scare now as many other problems.

A study of the rehabilitation of thesouthern coastal aquifer in Israel amplyillustrates the success of the Israeli watermanagement policies. This aquifer islocated in a region with erratic rainfallaveraging between 300 and 500mm perannum, and drought once in five yearson an average. The aquifer is located ina densely populated area with irrigatedfarmlands and a number of industries. Itsupplies 15% of the national waterresources.The pressure on this aquifer comes froml competing land usesl over exploitation of the aquifer

Rehabilitation of the IsraelSouthern Coastal Aquifer

l increasing sealed ground surface areal water contaminationl scarcity of rainfall and frequent

droughtsl increasing salt content in the

groundwaterThe plan and measures to recharge thisaquifer are:

WastewaterTreatment Plants InThe SouthernCoastal Aquifer

l Massive seawater desalination plants– three large coastal desalinationplants have been set up and theirproduction last January was 100million cubic meter per annum. Thecost of desalinated water comes toabout 55 US cents while cost ofnatural water in Israel is about 25cents, that of tapped water is 35cents, and that of ground water is10-15 cents. At this cost it can be asustainable mix with other sourcesof water

l Desalination plants for other salinewater and brine disposal

l Low salinity water supply–thequality of desalinated water is 20ppm which is very good quality

l Upgrading of waste water treatmentplants and their use in irrigation –which is proving very useful and theagricultural productivity is alsoattracting the Muslim population toit, though they traditionally considerit impure

l Waste water transport andreclamation systems

A judicious combination of

technology, education and

awareness has helped reduce

water stress in Israel, where

water is a scarce commodity.

Though still extremely

important, it is not so much of

a scare now as many other

problems

The aquifer islocated in adenselypopulated areawith irrigatedfarmlands and anumber ofindustries


David Alkan - Ministry of Water Resources, Israel

23

Case study details:Dobbabalapur taluka in Bangalore is

faced with severe water problems for bothdrinking and agricultural purpose.

The City Municipal Corporation (CMC),responsible for supplying water fordomestic use, supplies water once a weekfor a maximum of two hours.

Almost 90% of the households haveto buy water for drinking purpose frombore wells in surrounding fields, which isagain often of very poor quality. CMC hasdug 104 bore wells in the area, out ofwhich 35 wells have already dried up dueto overexploitation.

The daily requirement of water in thetown is 70 lakh litres per day. People havedug private wells in and around the town,which have now either mostly dried up orhave poor quality salty – hard water. Thepublic supply system includes: 4 OHTs,145 small square type tanks and 147public taps. Only a little over one-third ofhouseholds have legal water connections.

Jakkala Maduvu project was initiatedto supply water to Doddabalapur at thecost Rs 23 crore. But people dependentupon the source of water, from which thewater was to be supplied, are protesting

Ms. Bharti Patel – SVARAJ (Oxfam India Society), India

This case study highlighted issues pertaining to sharing ofwater between different water users from rural, peri-urban andurban regions located along the Arkawati River basin inKarnataka. Arkawati river basin has a catchment area spreadover 4351 sq kms and flows through the rural districts ofBangalore for about 190 kms, with 150 big and 1084 smalltanks in its catchment area. This case study provides an insightinto conflicts emerging due to competing water claims andvested interests of different stakeholders settled along theArkawati river basin and the conflicting government policies.Such issues are reflected in the main causes of the conflictoutlined below:l Granite quarrying - a strong mining lobby threatens or tries

to buy out the movement leaders

against this project, it being the onlysource of water for them.

The problem of water scarcity isfurther compounded by factors such as:l Pollution resulting from sewage water

from the city’s open drainage andpoor sanitation system

l Solid waste from city and peri urbantown disposed off directly into thetanks or feeder canals

l Effluents from 80 dyeing units andother industries flowing directly intothe tank

l Sand mining and sand filtering – this disturbs the ecologicalbalance of the area

l Industries – small number of apparel dyeing and chemical unitsare making it difficult to monitor the pollution levels in thebasin

l Dumping of solid waste and sewage water from Bangalore cityand other adjacent towns along the river catchment areapollutes the river and has brought dumpyards to the backs ofthe villages

l Rise in the use of chemicals in commercial crops in ruralBangalore

l Contract farming of cash crops leading to monoculturel Ground water is seen as private property and overexploited

resulting in depletion of ground water levels to below 500 feetl Conflict triggered due to water privatization policy

Sharing of water between rural, urban and peri-urbanareas located along Arkawati River Basin in Karnataka

l Lack of people’s involvement andparticipation in resolving issues

l Lack of trust in people’srepresentatives due to the commonperception that representatives arehand in glove with other vestedinterests

l Private water market is booming withprivate water tankers visiting thetown daily

l CMC has contracted out its work ofdelivering drinking water to privatesuppliers, as a result of which the

C A S E S T U D Y

Doddabalapur taluka in Bangalore


24

poor will end up paying a higher pricefor a basic amenity like water

l Due to lack of regulations, groundwater exploited by private landownersfor irrigation

l Decline of tanks and lakes over the pastfew years. For instance, Bangalore hadaround 262 lakes, of which only 81arealive today. The Bangalore station andbus stop are built on lake bodies andthe housing of many poor communitiesare on tank beds which flooded duringrecent floods

Conflict resolution measures:l Community mobilisation for active

participation and collective action toresolve issues

l Use of integrated approach andmechanisms for co-ordinateddevelopment of water resources at thebasin level, with the participation ofpublic, private, civic society andcommunities

l Use of media to highlight the issues andeducate people

l Campaigns to save Arkawati river basin– Arkawati Kumudvathi RiverRejuvenation Committee constituted,with members drawn from NGOs,CBOs, panchayaths, industry andgovernment

l Arkawati Jal Chethana Samithiconstituted to raise awareness amongstpeople and a youth squad constitutedfor tank protection

l A farmer’s body “Karnataka RajyaRaitha Sanga’’ constituted to representthe issues of farmers in resolvingconflicts

l SHG groups involved for their rolesbeyond activities around thrift andsavings and non-agri enterprises

Challengesl Increasing pressures of urbanization on villages of the basinl Land prices have gone up and people are willing to sell or give their lands on

leasel The case of individual rational contradicting with collective relationshipsl Alternative employment opportunities in non-farm activities such as serving in

resorts, working in quarrying, sand filtering etc are more attractivel Organizing people around the issues of “hunger”, “sustainability”, “alternative/

traditional agriculture” is challenging in these semi-urbanized area

Opportunitiesl Bangalore is still getting 20% of its drinking water from a reservoir in the

basin (Tippagondanahalli). People from Bangalore have a stake in conservingthe water resources in the catchments area

l Industries are dependent upon ground water in rural/peri - urban areas aroundthe city

l Bangalore International Airport Area Planning Authority has been given themandate to save natural river valley

l Local administrations - Panchayats, CMCs and other Government bodies arefacing the challenge of supplying drinking water to the citizens and they arequite sensitive to the importance of rejuvenation of water resources in this area

Critical learningsl Need for basin/ sub-basin approachl Integrated approach – keeping in view various usages such as, drinking water,

livelihood water and survival of the eco-system and bio-diversity in agriculturel Need for a curative as well as preventive strategy and to examine causes of

water conflicts such as: inequitable distribution of water, regulations andpolicies which favour the rich and mega projects, indiscriminate pollution ofwater and water bodies; lack of consideration for those who have little choicebut to use the polluted water and to live closer to dumping grounds of citywaste in their back yard

l Radio programmes used in order tounderstand the cultural realities ofriver rejuvenation work throughrejuvenating the memories of thepeople in the catchments area

l To deal with issues pertaining toconflicts arising due to quarrying inthe basin – need for photo and videodocumentation to highlight the

extent of the quarrying and its impacton the basin. Meetings and discussionwith local people to be organised toseek their understanding and buildawareness in the community aboutthe consequences of over exploitationof the resource. Consultations withquarry workers whose conditions ofemployment breach safety and labourregulations

l The groups themselves are activeparticipants in the assessment ofwater bodies and its sourcevulnerabilities; clarification of the riskto public health; facilitation ofnegotiation between water user andwater losing groups in urban, peri-urban and rural settings; developmentof participatory planning proceduresacross the relevant basins andaquifers


25

Arkawati

lllll Public-Private relationships are defined by 2 partnerships

lllll In the Government-Civil-Society-Community partnership,it is Private which is on the outside, looking in foropportunities

lllll In the Private-Government-Community partnership, it isCivil Society which is on the outside, looking in to ensure thatsocietal obligations are met

lllll In both, it is Community which is the most affected

Community Private

Civil Society Government


Drainage Network of Arkawati Sub Catchment

26

The rapidly expanding city ofChennai has a population of over fivemillion within the metropolitan limits,and an agglomeration of another threemillion. Water brought from surroundingareas is used to meet the water demandsof the city. There are two regions fromwhich Chennai gets its water – Poondiand Palar. Poondi reservoir, whichsupplies water to Red Hills a reservoirused to supply water to Chennai city andTamaraipakkam through an openchannel, has been built at the cost ofsixty five lakhs, with bunds stretchingover eight kms, sixteen surplus floodgates and a capacity of 3231 Mcft. Thereservoir has now been silted to around5-8 feet and the construction of a cofferdam has led to siltation up to 18 feet ata particular place in the reservoir. ThePalar region, which supplies water toChennai through 302 bore wells andwells, consists of twenty three villages.Around eighty two filter points aredrilled on the river bank in Palar village,and from each bore well forty trips aremade daily to Chennai, at the rate of Rs40 for each 12000 litre tanker and Rs 70for each 20000 litre tanker. The village

tank has now dried up, and the land hasbeen sold for the construction of aninternational school. Wells, previously ofa depth of 25 feet, have been deepenedto 60 feet, and are still dry. Only threeout of five hundred wells in this regionhave water in them, and are functioning.Recently, a resolution was passedrestricting the rights to sell water and theDistrict Collector was also informedabout the same.

Resolution mechanism for sharingof water between Chennai city andsurrounding rural areasGilbert Rodrigo-Gandhian Unit for IntegratedDevelopment Education (GUIDE), India

Achievements of Resource Protection Committees (RPCs)At local leveln Protection of water resources through desilting, growing and planting

trees in catchment area and practising less water intensive agriculturen Prevention of small level encroachments and illegal resource

exploitation

At district leveln Prevention of illegal sand mining in the river bedn Prevention of illegal soil mining in the tank bedsn Prevention of commercial water exploitation

In the Palar region, the farmers arewilling to sell their water as it notonly ensures a regular income butalso is more lucrative thanpracticing agriculture

In the Palar region, the farmers arewilling to sell their water as it not onlyensures a regular income but also is morelucrative than practising agriculture. Theregion has been facing labour scarcity asthe labour has moved out to nearbyindustries for work. Sand mining, whichprovides an alternative employmentoption but also seriously disturbs theecosystem, has been taking place at analarming rate. The agriculturalproductivity of this territory hasdecreased considerably – the regioncultivated two paddy crops every year;


27

now it yields one crop with difficulty.The Palar region has been witness to

water conflicts in two sites – Velliyoor inThiruvallore district, and Palayaseevaramvillage, situated on the banks of the Palarriver.

Veeliyoor, located close to Red Hillswas once known for its heavygroundwater potential. In 1969 under aUNDP scheme, water was supplied frombore wells through pipes connected toRed Hills. This resulted in water scarcityin the area, which led to digging of morebore wells in Velliyoor. In 2001, some ofthe farmers also started leasing out theirwells for supply of water to Chennai. Thisresulted in decline in availability of waterfor agricultural purposes. Farmers whogave their wells on lease refused to abideby any regulations or restrictions as thiswas a lucrative economic option forthem. The profitability of the actencouraged more farmers to supplywater from their bore wells to the city. InAugust 2004, the drinking water borewell of the village dried up, and thevillage panchayats decided to stop thesupply of water to Metro Water. The

Multi-stakeholderconsultationshave not been avery effective toolfor conflictresolution in thisregion andsituation

farmers benefiting from Metro Watertried to get a stay order, creating tensionin the village between the two factions offarmers – the ones who wanted tocontinue water supply to Metro Waterand the ones who wanted to use thewater in the wells for agriculturalpurposes. The protests took the form ofroad blocks and damage to publicproperty with farmers breaking pipelines.Several farmers were subsequentlyarrested under the PPD Act. With thedelay in negotiations by officials, asolution to this conflict is yet to befound.

In Palayaseevaram village, onceidentified as an important source ofwater in the region, six bore wells weredug in 1967 to supply water to Chennai.More wells were dug later to increase thewater supply, and in 1995 a sugar millcum distillery was established in the area.The over exploitation of water resulted inthe reduction of agriculture to 10percent, with agricultural land being leftfallow and unused. Agricultural labourhas been migrating to areas outside thevillage to find other employment options,

young women have been engaging indistress labour and working on sub-optimal wages.

In Chennai, multi-stakeholderconsultations have not been verysuccessful as people from Chennai city donot take interest in resolving the conflictand even the affected villages are notconsistent in participating or offeringresistance. As a result, multi-stakeholderconsultations have not been a veryeffective tool for conflict resolution inthis region and situation.

As an alternative, village levelresource protection committees havebeen formed with equal participationfrom men and women. These villagebodies are linked at the block and districtlevel and are emerging as a river basinnetwork. This has been possible throughproblem analysis and bringing togetherpeople through tools such as PRAexercises. This has helped in theprevention of pollution by industries andthe introduction of water monitoring andwater auditing.


28

The displacement of people,the destruction of traditionalways of managing water and thedegeneration of natural andforest resources due to thetwenty four years’ war and sixyears’ drought have all beencauses for damage to theenvironment in Afghanistan.

A policy of integratedmanagement of river basins hasbeen adopted by thegovernment to meet thechallenges in the water sector.Integrated Water ResourceManagement (IWRM) is acombination of stakeholders andthe government, and does notdifferentiate between rural andurban areas, as owing to theprocess of urbanization, theformer are likely to turn into thelatter.

The river basin approachincludes the natural riverboundaries, according to whichwater management is planned,while ignoring the political andadministrative boundaries.

The aims of river basinapproach are:l representation of users in the

basin areasl equitable sharing between

rural and urban areas

l monitoring of the evolutionof the river basindevelopment andmanagement plans

l balance of user andenvironmental needsIt is intended that the

management of urban watersupply will be carried out byseven independent andautonomous companies, andthat of rural areas bycommunity associations.Through the identification ofsub-basins and participation ofstakeholders, community basedwater management is beingreintroduced, i.e. the traditionalsystem of the ‘miro’ for theoperation and maintenance ofirrigation systems. Through theamendment of water laws,these community associationsare being made into legalentities.

The development of waterusers’ associations is also beingcarried out in areas wheretraditional systems are indisuse.

Despite the high priority ofwater management, the lack oftrained staff has been a serioushandicap in the progress of thissector.

l It is necessary to create awareness about the fact that ajoint effort is required for conserving and usingresources in the best possible way for the rural, peri –urban and urban sectors, and that these efforts aremost effective when carried out in unison

l The culture of using recycled water for domestic,agricultural and industrial purposes must be inculcated.Perception of recycled water should change from“waste water’’ to “used water’’. Water literacy must bepromoted and awareness created, beginning from theschool level

l Migration from rural areas to urban areas occurringbecause of unemployment, lack of educational andhealth facilities and lack of other facilities should bediscouraged by targeting the causes. Waterconservation needs to be linked with creatinginfrastructural economic, social and cultural facilities

l Dialogue between stakeholders, donors, NGOs,communities and markets must be promoted ascompared to the current isolated functioning of thefour major stakeholders

l Rainwater harvesting must be promoted in a systematicand scientific way

l Water loss through transmission and leakage of watermust be reduced as this accounts for the loss of 40% ofthe total water supply

l All water projects must be interconnected at the village,town, taluka and city level to facilitate best water usefor communities; these are separate at present

l Unprecedented and unlimited market freedom has tobe questioned

l The inequity in water allocation across users has to bereviewed

l Panchayats must to empowered to manage naturalresources, including the river portions which passthrough their villages

l Treatment plants for sewage need to be madecompulsory for every town, city and mega city, throughamendments in current laws and directives

Sharing of water betweenRural & urban AfghanistanMohammad Jan Rustazadah-Ministry of Energy and Water, Afghanistan

Key Points of Thematic Session One-summarized by Dr. S. Janakrajan, MadrasInstitute of Development Studies (MIDS), India

The aims of river basin approach are –lllll representation of users in the basin areaslllll equitable sharing between rural & urban

areaslllll monitoring of the evolution of the river

basin development & management planslllll balance of user & environmental needs

Integrated Water ResourceManagement (IWRM) is a combinationof stakeholders and the government,and does not differentiate betweenrural and urban areas, as owing to theprocess of urbanization, the formerare likely to turn into the latter


29

5

Water has become a scarcecommodity and it has manyclaimants. Whether it is the urbandomestic demand or ruralagricultural requirements, whetherit is water for industries ornavigational purposes, whether itis water for fisheries or animalhusbandry, the supply remainslimited and the demand everincreasing. This competition forthe scarce resource leads toconflict. Till now the scales havebeen weighted in favour of theurban sector and the economicallymore powerful sections to thedetriment of the rural and

agricultural sector. This equationmay change now as the moreaggrieved sectors, facing a strugglefor survival, become more assertiveand organized.

The challenge facing the watermanagers is to manage thedemand to reasonable levels andstrike a balance between varioussectors keeping in mind therequirements of the variousstakeholders. Formulating thepolicy, the laws and evolving thegovernance of water to minimizeconflict, has to be the target of theday.

Formulating the policy, the lawsand evolving the governance ofwater to minimize conflict, hasto be the target of the day

RESOLUTION MECHANISMS TO MANAGE COMPETING INTER - SECTORAL WATER DEMAND – THEMATIC SESSION TWO

INTRODUCTION

30

Recently, there has beenmuch use of MultiStakeholder platforms(MSPs). The earlier processeswhich brought stakeholdersto the table were driven byconflicts; however thesystems were not all inclusiveand some stakeholders wereexcluded which in itselfsowed seeds for furtherconflict. Their exclusion fromdecision making was boundto lead to conflicts. MultiStakeholder Platforms are aprocess of getting over theseproblems.

For the MSPs to beeffective they need to begiven sufficient teeth to getthe parties to the table. TheMSPs should play afacilitating role, not just inconflict resolution per se butin changing perceptions,bringing people together andraising issues. They ought tohave an accommodativeapproach that canincorporate variousviewpoints.

While deciding uponissues or coming to aresolution they should ensurethat the productive potentialof the ecosystem is notdisturbed. This is acompromise of the nointervention in ecosystem

The Multi Stakeholder Platforms should play afacilitating role, not just in conflict resolutionper se but in changing perceptions, bringingpeople together and raising issues. They oughtto have an accommodative approach that canincorporate various viewpoints

Multistakeholder platformsNeed to evolve commonframework

Issues and conflicts emerging fromintersectoral water transfer around Hyderabad

Suhas Paranjpe – SOPPECOM, India

The increasing urban water demands of Hyderabad have led toan increase in the number of supply areas to the city. At presentSingur, Krishna, Manjira, Osmansagar and Himayatsagar are themain sources of water supply. However, despite the increase in thesupply sources, the demand has been so intense that the waterresources of the supply areas have been put under severe pressure.

A study of the Manjira river shows the problems caused bydiverting water to meet the urban demands. Manjira river used tocater to the irrigation demands of Nizamabad region and the citysupply to Nizamabad. In 1980, Hyderabad also started sourcing itswater from the Manjira river. As a result there has been areduction in the water supply for irrigation to Nizamabad and theNizamabad city supply has also been affected. This has led toprotests, agitations and strikes as the needs of the people ofNizamabad have gone unfulfilled.

To resolve the crisis the government is trying to augment thesupply for Nizamabad through tapping of the Godavari river. Thegovernment has also been trying to build canals but the allocationof irrigation water from the Singur dam has not been decided asyet and a proper network of canals has not been prepared. Atpresent the resolution methods include both short term and longterm responses such as taking coercive action by arresting theprotesters or non-intervention as the conflict may be self-diffusing(short term response) and tapping of new resources to increasethe water supply, good governance by those in power andacknowledgement of the people’s water right (long termresponses).

To resolve the crisis the following suggestions are to be takeninto considerationl Allocation between agricultural and urban sectors to be

decided on sound assessment of quantity wise and time wiseavailability and demand for water

l Both urban and irrigation sector to manage their demandsl Compensation and negotiation to be put in for water transfersl Adoption of basin wide water management strategies

Mattia Celio-IWMI, India

When all the different stakeholders areinvolved in decision making and resourcesare allocated on the basis of soundassessment of needs and resources then theconflicts arising due to intersectoral demandsare likely to decrease

approach. Besides this, theprinciple of equity should berecognized and those beingadversely affected should begiven an important stake.Also, sharing of surplus orshortages should form a partof the negotiations.

MSPs are fast evolving anddeveloping on the threeplanks of equity,environmental sustainabilityand participation.To be successful;l The MSPs have to take

into account theheterogeneity of thestakeholders

l Need an approach whichcan accommodate variousinterests

l Need access to reliabledata and information anddigital support systems

l Need community supportand the help of a researchagency

l Need to make a distinctionbetween right holders andstakeholders

l Need to distinguishbetween direct andindirect stakeholders andgive different weightage tothem

l Need to differentiatebetween livelihood stakes,and government andcommercial stakes

Singur30 TMC60mgd

Singur1.46 TMC45 mgd

Osmansagar3.9 TMC25 mgd

Himayatsagar2.97 TMC15 mgd

Krishna270 MGD(2021)

Rainwaterharvesting

Groundwater

Hyderabad


31

At Lake Uramiyah a new approach ofecosystem based management with ashift from mechanical protection toconservation and sustainable use hasbeen adopted

Increasing urbanization andgreater per capita waterconsumption by city dwellers hasput a crushing strain on thetraditional rural water supplysystems and raised a plethora ofissues which seek immediateattention and answer.

Anuradhapura, the old capitalof Sri Lanka, is an importantBuddhist pilgrimage place, atourist destination and aburgeoning urban centre to whichis added a large military camp.During festival time, almost 1.3 to1.5 million pilgrims come to thecity. The army itself accounts for36% of the municipal supply.

Development Board (NWSDB)entered into an agreement withthe irrigation department tosource the water from the tanksand the community was ignored.Here the issue of water rights andownership came to the fore asunder the Puranagama system thecommunity controls the use anddistribution of water which isregulated by a close knit kin group.This century old customary systemwas ignored; therefore, an anomalybetween the state’s viewpointabout water control and customaryrights also emerged.

The threat to the customaryrights and to their livelihood led

Water transfer from agriculture –Situation in Sri LankaKusum Athukorala – Net water, Sri Lanka

the people on a path to agitation.Protests were launched, there wasthreat of violence to the projectstaff, the Human Rights’Commission and the SupremeCourt were moved and NGOshelped mobilize support and createawareness.

The issues highlighted by theAnuradhapura experience are –l The validity of customary rightsl The displacement of peoplel The loss of livelihoodl The need for balance in the

water distribution in urban andrural sector

l The need for community/

Uramiyah Lake Basin, IranSaedi Ferdowsi – UNDP, Iran

Lake Uramiyah is Iran’s largest national park. It is alarge 5000 km saline lake which hosts no plant or fishlife except blue green algae which support a singlespecie of brine shrimp (Artemia Urmiana). This is a richsource of food for many bird species including greaterflamingo and white pelican. The lake is a RAMSAR siteand a UNESCO biosphere reserve.

The lake has a basin of 51876 km, about 65% ofwhich is mountainous. It spreads into three provincesand hosts 15% of the flora species of Iran, including290 rare or endemic ones.

As a result of over-exploitation of the area there wasa 3.5m fall in the lake level and up to 7 km of shoreswere exposed and salinity was at saturation point. Thisdegradation led to a collapse in Artemia Urmianadensities, the flamingo disappeared (no nestingsince1998) and pelicans reduced from 400 to 16breeding pairs. In the agricultural sector there wasshortage of irrigation waters, ground water levels felland there was saltwater intrusion from the lakes.

To set right this dismal state of affairs in order torestore, conserve and sustain the ecosystem of lakeUrmiana, a new approach of ecosystem basedmanagement with a shift from mechanical protection toconservation and sustainable use has been adopted.This approach, beside other things –l regards the ecosystem as the most appropriate unit,l integrates environment with other sectors,l involves stakeholders in decision making and

management plansl brings together new partners (government. NGOs,

private sector)l seeks win-win solutionsl uses economic incentives andl encourages wise use of resources

To meet the increasingdemands of water forAnuradhapura, water from thetanks of the Mahaweli river basinwas tapped. Traditionally, waterfrom these tanks was used fordomestic, agricultural and otheruses like fishing, flower and rootgathering, etc. but with theincrease in urban water supply thetraditional water uses of the localcommunities came under threat.The cultivation of paddy suffered,there was uncertainty over thefuture of fishing and issues likesand mining cropped up.

The National Water Supply and

stakeholder participation in issues of watertransfer

l The need for clear policy guidelinesl The need for streamlining use of resources

like sand mining, fishing and use ofgroundwater etc

C A S E S T U D Y

32

This case study highlights intersectoral demands andconflicts between various stakeholders dependent upon theChalakudy river in Kerala. The Chalakudy river originates in theAnnamalai region of Tamil Nadu, passes through some of therich and dense forest areas, and is the collection of several falls,of which Athirapally and Vazhachal waterfalls are the maintourist destinations.

The Proposal to build a seventh Athirappilly hydroelectricproject on Chalakudy river triggered several debates andcampaigns and problems of river water usage were highlighted.

The main stakeholders and sectors affected by Athirappilyhydroelectric projects are:

l Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments: Tamil Nadu is therecipient of water from four dams; Kerala State ElectricityBoard (KSEB) which controls the river and its catchmentarea

l Kadar tribes who are dependent on the river for theirlivelihood, and are displaced with each new project to areasunsuitable for their skills and way of life

l Irrigation departmentl Tourism potential as the river has several waterfalls and

passes through densely forested areal Environmental concernsl Lakhs of people from almost 19 panchayats dependent on

the river for their drinking and irrigation water needsCrux of inter-sectoral conflictl Lack of hydrological data base for the riverl False and fabricated data base of Kerala State Electricity

Board (KSEB)l Impact of regulated downstream release by the two KSEB

damsl Daily flow pattern changes in river as decided by power

demand in the Statel One more hydro project will further worsen the scarcity

The matter was referred to the High Court, to which the courtordered a public hearing on the proposed hydroelectric project,and the recommendations given by the Public HearingsPanel were:l A comprehensive Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)l Budgeting of waterl Study of ecological aspectsl Consultation with different departments, panchayats and

NGOsl A new public EIAl Opportunity for public hearingl Extension of the study to downstream areas

But in 2005, when Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB)gave clearance to the project for the second time, more thanthirty organizations representing local panchayats, tribal groups,local samithis, civil engineers etc. came together to formChalakudy River Protection Forum (CPF) and Public Interest

River Basin Approach toManage Inter-SectoralConflicts – Chalakudy RiverDr. A. Latha – Chalakudy RiverSamrakshan Samithi, India

The Proposal tobuild a seventhAthirappillyhydroelectric projecton Chalakudy rivertriggered severaldebates andcampaigns andproblems of riverwater usage werehighlighted

C A S E S T U D Y


33

Litigations (PIL) were filed in the High Court against the project.This organization created awareness amongst the people, petitionedthe government, initiated campaigns and held dharnas. This resultedin the plans for another project being shelved.CPF used the following strategies to campaign on the issue:l Panchayath level meetings and campaignsl Panchayath resolutions to CM of Keralal Sit ins (dharnas) and small group meetingsl One day fastl Media featuresl Letter campaignsl ‘River For Life’ walkl ‘Water Rights’ Conventionl Indefinite Satyagraha at Athirappilly from Dec 23rd 2005

onwardsl Other groups joined in solidarity

Strategies that worked:l Continuous interactions, workshops, meetings with panchayath,

tribals and farmer groups from 2001 onwardsl Public hearing became the foremost platform for raising

upstream/downstream linkages for the first time in Keralal 10 panchayath submitted resolutions – concerns pertaining to

downstream impacts of damsl Print and visual media spread the issue at wider levelsl Need for Post facto assessment of dams on rivers acknowledged

by Planning Boardl Inter state river disputes became a hot topic in Keralal CPF activities and indefinite satyagraha became a learning

process for the communities about the issueSome of the lessons learnt form the Chalakudy River experience canbe summarized as follows:l Future and present water needs of different users at the river

basin level to be taken stock ofl Need for clarity about the basis for apportioning river waterl Need for a platform to address

upstream/downstream linkageproblems inclusive ofcommunity needs

l Need for maintenance ofminimum flow in the river

l A participatory river basinmanagement plan with riverrestoration as the main agenda

Key Points of Thematic Session Two -summarized by Dr. Sara Ahmed, India

Three key areas of concerns emerged from the discussionn Multistakeholder processes and constructive dialoguesn Need for institutional frameworkn Economic incentives and tradability

l Multistakeholder processes are gaining popularity, but forthem to be really effective, institutional support has to beprovided both at the state and community level. The role ofthe multistakeholder consultation needs to be recognized bythe government, and due weightage given to the viewsemerging from their dialogues and deliberations. Stakeholderprocesses and partnerships are sometimes complex and costlyand they are not a panacea for solving all the problems.These partner ships need to be built on transparency, sharingof information. and availability of reliable data, which atpresent is lackingl The most important and largest stakeholder in IWRM isthe state. IWRM by its very nature entails the projects to beundertaken in vast areas over inter district, inter state or eveninternational levels. Besides, the number of departmentsdealing with resources is very large and synergy needs to bebuilt up amongst them. Thus for the success of IWRM thegovernment has to play a pivotal role at both the policyformulation and implementation level. At the recent conclavein Mexico, Indian government representation wasconspicuous by its absence, this needs to changel In IWRM, the diversity of stakeholders and their interestsare both very diverse and intertwined, and the cost ofcompensation to the people who may have to suffer lossescould be huge. Hence, there is need for economic incentivesand tradability

34

INTRODUCTION

The way water is vieweddetermines how it ismanaged, and thus thedifferences in watermanagement strategiesadopted by different culturesall over the world. A watermanagement policy has a lotto do with how society hastraditionally utilized andreplenished water.

Being an irreplaceablenecessity for life, water usedto be an integral part of asociety’s structure, rituals andreligion. With the passing ofthat way of life and thecreation of a moreheterogeneous society, therearises the question of howwater is viewed by thissociety and on what basispolicies should be made forthe management of water insuch a society. In ahomogeneous society stilllinked with its roots, it is

6

comparatively easy to makepolicies on water, as thetraditional attitude towardswater gives hints as to whatwill work in the present times.However, in a more complexsociety it is difficult todetermine whether waterpolicies should be based onthe past of a society, or thedirection in which it isheading. Very often, there aresome sections of society

which feel that the old way ofmanaging water is the rightway as it has worked wellover time, and that modernlife needs to be adjusted tothis method of managingwater, there is the othersection which believes thatwater management policiesneed to cater to the demandsof a changing world which ismoving away from its past.

Whatever the problems

and concerns of policymaking, it is necessary tohave a comprehensive policyon water. The absence of aclear policy on water onlyleads to exploitation andmisuse of water resources, asthey are not offences in theabsence of any legalenactment. Without a waterpolicy, conflicts are morelikely to arise and less likely tobe resolved.

Where a cohesive and wellstructured water policy hasbeen integrated into thefabric of modern society, thenature of water is more likelyto be that of a concern, notthat of a conflict. However,where attempts are made toimplement an unsuitable andill defined water policy, moreconflicts are likely to arise.

It is therefore necessary tohave the right water policy,acceptable to all stakeholders.

The absence of a clear policyon water only leads toexploitation and misuse ofwater resources

RESOLUTION MECHANISMS FOR WATER MANAGEMENT: POLICY IMPLICATIONS – THEMATIC SESSION THREE

35

A conflict between the state and civilsociety arose when a water policy had tobe formulated. This water policy wasneeded as there was competitionbetween various segments over theallocation of water resources. Thesesegments included irrigation, domesticwater supply and hydro power amongstothers. The main difficulty in theformulation of a water policy was theabsence of an apex body amongst the

Rajendra de S Ariyabandhu - Global WaterPartnership - South Asia Regional Office, Sri Lanka

Water policy development – Importance,conflicts and recommendations

In terms of local contextthe tradition, cultureand philosophy of theplace must be kept inmind and there shouldbe an open, transparentand consultativeprocess which reachesthe masses

arrangements were unacceptable. Thepolicy had a poor and non-transparentconsultation process and violated thehuman right to water, making it acommodity. The policy also favouredbulk users, while denying rights to thepoor. In the face of the protests, thegovernment temporarily withdrew thepolicy and the water policy processwas a significant factor in the changeof government in 2001.

Successive governments tried torevise the policy; however, the changeswere also opposed and thegovernment appointed committeesand task forces to work towards

lllll Need forunderstanding of thelocal context in termsof tradition, cultureand philosophy

lllll Cautious use ofexternal expertise

lllll Selection of modulesshould be suited tothe local context

lllll Respect for existinginstitutions, and theirconsultation indecision makingprocesses

lllll Need for open,transparent andconsultative processreaching the masses

lllll Recognition andrespect of thepolitical environment

lllll Exclusion of someissues from the policydocument, in thelikelihood of thedocument beingrejected in totality

finding a solution, with the PrimeMinister taking control of thepolicy process. Changes wereintroduced in the form of increaseddecentralization, greater power towater users and the river basin asthe unit of decision making;however, these changes were notconsidered satisfactory and theprotests continued. Afteralternative policy proposals by thesame government, the reformprocess was shelved.

many institutions and legislations.It was suggested that a comprehensive

legislation be devised and a permanentinstitution be created for coordinationbetween the various parties implementingand affected by the legislation

When a body was created and legislationapproved, it faced severe opposition fromcivil society, human rights activists andenvironmental NGOs, as the policy contents,tradable entitlements and new institutional

Some of the lessons drawnfrom this experience

36

conflicts were usedas instruments forwater utility reformsin a rural setting,resulting in improvedgovernance

Kerala has a tradition of strong,decentralized, financially sound and fairlyindependent Gram Panchayats. In 1999the state government handed over 1050drinking water schemes to the GramPanchayats but unfortunately the schemewas a non-starter. Thus, a package ofrehabilitation of these schemes wasstarted in which 127 schemes were takenover. As per the plan, the scheme was tobe taken over by the gram Panchayat - aTransition Management Committee was

Utility reforms and stakeholderconflicts in KeralaV. Kurien Baby-Socio-Economic UnitFoundation (SEUF), India

The stakeholders were encouraged toresolve the conflict among themselves. Aplatform was provided to them to discussand sort matters out, with a package ofincentives and disincentives offered tothem.

The platform helped in consensusbuilding, mutual trust and credibilitybuilding of the stakeholder. A betterappreciation of each other’s problemsand limitations was evolved and capacitybuilding was done through knowledgeand awareness creation.

Solutions started to emerge locallythrough a process of accommodation,withdrawal, force and consensus. Thusconflicts were used as instruments forwater utility reforms in a rural setting,resulting in improved governance andinstead of reverse reforms the focus wason drive reforms.

users, privileged and those withinadequate supply, illegal connections,misuse etc.

2. Inter micro micro conflicts -between existing consumers and thosewanting to join, conflict for control of theCommittee, etc.

3. Micro micro conflicts because ofpolitical ideology - In a Gram Panchayatruled by the Communist Party theopposition came from the Congress andso on.

set up which would be responsible forrestructuring and rehabilitation of thescheme. Finally the scheme was to behanded over to the community for100% ownership and maintenance. Tillnow 51 schemes have already beencompleted.

The stakeholders in the process werethe government of Kerala, the KeralaWater Authority, the Trade Unions,NGOs, the Gram Panchayat, thePolitician and of course the Community.The type of conflicts that emerged were:

1. Intra micro micro conflicts i.econflicts within the existing scheme;between the satisfied and the dissatisfied

The Process

Iterative Process

Capacity buildinginformed decision

CONFLICTMANAGEMENT

PLANHow to address

Stakeholder concerns

CONFLICTANALYSIS

Desk Analysis

ParticipatoryAnalysis


37

An increase in urban waterdemand and the ruthlessexploitation of rural waterresources by policyimplementers has led to astage where farmers havelost their means of livelihoodand have become labourers.This conflict has been seen inVeliyoor, where farmers haveagitated against thecontinuous depletion of theirwater resources, creating illwill and animosity.

The government’s policyof tradable water rights hasallowed for the exploitation ofgroundwater withoutimposing any responsibilityon the municipal bodies fordeveloping other sustainablelong-term options, makingsustainability difficult.

In Chennai, thegovernment has responded tothe water crisis by setting upa 100 mld plant fordesalination of seawater andannouncing the creation ofothers in the public andprivate sector.

The suitability ofdesalination as an answer to

Chennai’s water problemsneeds to be examined.Desalination, being an energyintensive technology, hasbeen adopted by the waterpoor and energy richcountries of the Persian Gulfand the Arabian Peninsula.However, its practicality in anenergy poor nation like Indiais questionable. Therequirement of electricity forevery cubic metre of waterproduced by desalination is6 kwh, which the Chennaigovernment intends toprovide through coal burning,creating a situation wherethere is a CO2 – water trade-off. The rainfall in thecountries that have adoptedthis technology is only 1/10 ofChennai’s average rainfall,which is 1200 mm per year.Also, desalination has beenadopted due to the absenceof alternative options forensuring the required watersupply, whereas in Chennai,other low cost options areavailable, which may beconsidered more feasible asthe cost of desalination is

the most impact on.As the effectiveness of

desalination as a solution toChennai’s water problems ishighly questionable, otheralternatives need to bedeveloped for mitigatingChennai’s water problems.Through the recycling of wastewater for industrial use, therevitalization of water bodiesand the introduction ofrainwater harvesting, theproblem of pollution can becountered, as these measureswill lead to the recharging ofground water and preventionof floods, while supplyingwater for a variety of purposes.

DesalinationEnergy intensive technologyAdopted by water poor and energy rich countriesAdopted in the absence of other solutionsCan lead to marine desertification

Desalination in ChennaiHigh cost of installation and functioningAlternative solutions availablePromoted in a non-transparent manner

Rs. 500 crore for installationof the plant and Rs.45 to 50for the production of everykilo litre of water, which ismuch higher than thetraditional systems.

As the water desalinationin Chennai is meant to be anaddition to the existing watersupply, it will not act as adeterrent in the currentscheme of exploitation ofground water. Desalinationhas amongst its by-products aheavy brine effluent that sinksto the seabed and has beennoted as a cause for marinedesertification, as on the Gulfcoastline. This brine effluent

Urban water supply inChennai-conflictingvisions

THE CITIZENS’ WATER FORUM,CHENNAIWorks to keep ownership of waterresources in public handsExplores and advocates sustainablemodes of water supplyPushes for halt to extraction from peri-urban areasCreates citizens’ pressure for accountableand transparent water governanceAdvocates stronger role for elected localgovernments in policy-making on water

would have a disastrous effecton marine flora and fauna,endangering the marine lifeof Chennai’s waters. This,along with the use of otherchemicals, is likely to highlyaggravate the pressure on theseabed, impinging upon thelivelihood of the fishermen.

The government has beenpromoting this project in ahighly non-transparentmanner without consultingthose sections of society thatthe project is likely to have

Solutions to the waterconflict can be reached whenthe inequalities of waterdistribution are highlightedand the dominant interestschallenged, communitycontrol over water resourcesintroduced, and water miningis halted. These measures willlead to a nullification of thewater problems that are to betargeted by the desalinationprogramme, saving bothcapital and natural resources.

Dr. Karen Coelho – India

38

Resolution mechanisms for watermanagement require an understandingof the thoughts of the people on waterand the place of water in their cultureand society. In Israel and around, thereare many communities like the Bedouins,the Arabs, the Jews and others. Theculture and philosophy of thecommunities treats water as somethingclose to God, a divine gift, ensuring thatthere are no wars or conflicts over water.

Model for resolution mechanismsin the Israeli Context

Industrial needs are to beaccorded due importanceas the industries areresponsible for bringing inmoney, creatingemployment and absorbingfarmers from rural areas

Jordan, each of the states beingpolitically antagonistic to Israel.However, conflict over water has notoccurred. As per the Israel – Jordanagreement, water is supplied to Jordan.Israel and Palestine have been at war, yetthe water supply from Israel to Gaza andRamala has never been stopped.Similarly, in the past five years of theIntefadah, water supply pumps havenever been sabotaged.

In Israel and around, there are many communities likethe Bedouins, the Arabs, the Jews and others. Theculture and philosophy of the communities treatswater as something close to God, a divine gift,ensuring that there are no wars or conflicts over water

Resolution

mechanisms for

water management

require an

understanding of the

thoughts of the

people on water and

the place of water in

their culture and

society

to study the problem, the procedure,data on population and land availability,and to prepare a model for the users, i.e.,the farmer, the industrialist, etc.Industrial needs, being very vital, needto be accorded due importance as theindustries are responsible for bringing inmoney, creating employment andabsorbing – farmers from rural areas,these functions being very important inthe face of the population explosion.

This government-backed teamshould, after studying the needs,problems and the availability of water,come to a reasonable compromisesolution, as compromise can be seen asthe crux of the solution. This team wouldalso ensure the acceptance, ratificationand implementation of thesesuggestions.

This point is amply illustrated by watermanagement in the Jordan River Valley.The Sea of Galilee, the lowest fresh waterlake from which water is taken to GolanHeights and the desert of Israel, ispresent in this river basin. The rivervalley has five riparian states, i.e.Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Palestine and

It is in this background that a modelfor a resolution mechanism is suggested.The most important thing in this model isto form a professional team comprisingthe various stakeholders andacademicians, fully financed by thegovernment and in no way dependent ondonations. The work of this team being

Dr. Arnon Soffer- University of Haifa, Israel


39

The challenges posed bywater scarcity for policymakers, managers and users,coupled with the risingintensity of water conflicts hasmade it difficult for thegovernment to deal withwater issues. The governmenthas proposed river linking asa solution to these problemsin seeming ignorance of itsimplications, which include,amongst other things, moreclaims and counter claims.

The presence of conflictsin a developing society needsto be accepted as inevitable.These conflicts need to bemanaged and minimizedeffectively to gain from thepositive implications of well-managed conflicts, i.e. stepstowards widespread justiceand equality in the socialstructure. Conflicts are also an

There are manifold causesand contexts of conflicts,including:l The exclusion of relevant

stakeholders from theprocess of decision makingand implementation

l The encroachment uponresources

l Theftl Negative externalities of

development, as seen inthe Sardar Sarover Dam.

l Policy triggered conflictswhere the paradigm ofdevelopment may bedefined in an arbitrarymanner as in the UNICEFnorms for urban rural percapita water requirementin Rajasthan (150 to 160litre for urban and 70 litre[including cattle] in ruralareas)

l Resource use conflicts

n There is a need for participatory consultative policy making.The problems arising due to the absence of such a policy areillustrated by the following examples

l The Sri Lankan Policy and its eventual suspensionl Chennai’s Metro Water, a financially strong entity, yet non-

participatoryn Water policy should not be viewed in isolation but in

conjunction with the interrelated Agricultural and Energypolicies

l Excessive pumping of ground water due to cheap energy pricingl Water intensive cropping patterns promoted by Agricultural

policies leading to stress of water resourcesn Two views were expressed over urban–rural relations over

water, whether water should shift from rural to urban areasl The inevitability of these transfers due to increasing

urbanizationl These transfers are unequal negotiations, discouraging good

agricultural practices or resource conservationn The absence of incentives for economy in water use and the

wasteful use of water is a cause for concernn Extensive decentralized water resource use in this country makes

regulation difficultn A new legal framework and National Water Policy are important

as regulation is a necessityn Need for a holistic water policy was expressedn Need to distinguish between stakeholders as the term multi

stakeholders needs explanation, everyone being a stakeholder-a primary, secondary and problem causing

n Concern expressed over turning water, a primary life need into amarketable commodity through tradable water rights

The nature and managementof water conflictsDr. M S. Rathore – Institute ofDevelopment Studies, India

l Issues of rights andresponsibilities (upstream/downstream/head/tailhead)The mechanisms for

resolution for these conflictswhich can be envisagedpresently are;l Policy reforms, which have

been demanded by certaindonors, leading to theattempt at intersectorreforms

l Mediator or third partyintervention

l Federation of institutionswhere groups join hands inidentifying a cause andresolving it

l The comparatively newphenomenon of multi-stakeholder platforms, ofuntested effectiveness andconsiderable promise

Key Points of Thematic Session Three -summarized by Dr. Ramaswamy R Iyer

important source oforganizational learning, whichis required in both policyformulation and theresolution of future conflicts,as the proper study andanalysis of the nature andcauses of present and pastconflicts can lead to theformulation of more effectivesolutions for future ones.

where there is aninfringement of traditionalrights

l Inequality amongststakeholders across casteand class lines

l Unjust laws andinappropriate policies

l Individualism v/scollectivism

l Issues of property rights

The presence of conflicts in a developing societyneeds to be accepted as inevitable. Theseconflicts need to be managed and minimizedeffectively to gain from the positive implicationsof well-managed conflicts, i.e. steps towardswidespread justice and equality in the socialstructure. Conflicts are also an important sourceof organizational learning, which is required inboth policy formulation and the resolution offuture conflicts

40

Water resources areneeded by everybody andeverybody has their owndemands on water. It is notjust difficult but alsoimpossible to satisfy all thesedemands, as water resourcesand infrastructure are limited.Very often, demands aremade without taking intoconsideration the availabilityof water and the needs ofother users. This leads to asituation where those, whohave the maximum access towater in terms of landholdings or money, get theirdemands satisfied, even ifthose demands areunreasonable.

Water may be treated as acommodity by some, but theminimum basic requirementof water needs to be fulfilledfor everyone, because if wateris a commodity, it is not acommodity which can bereplaced. Also, a number ofsubsistence occupations have

IINTRODUCTION

water as one of the basic andirreplaceable inputs.Inequitable distribution ofwater is bound to lead to asituation where there arewater conflicts.

It is necessary to deviseresolution mechanisms whichmanage to give all users equalimportance while successfully

utilizing all available waterresources in a sustainablemanner.

Very often, when water isprovided from a single source,those who have access to thatparticular source are likely toexploit that water, whileinfringing upon the waterrights of others. By adding

supplementary sources ofwater, not only is the stress onthe main source reduced, butscope is left for a more justdistribution of water.

These additional sourcesdo not need to be large scaleor primary sources of water,but in a situation where everydrop counts, the tapping ofsmall sources to satisfysmaller demands, is areasonable step.

Not only do multiple watersources allow for better waterdistribution, but also give thesmaller or disadvantagedusers scope for negotiationwith the bigger and morepowerful users. In situationswhere there is a tussle overwater sources, it is necessaryto look for complementarysources while usingnegotiation to bring downdemands and increaseresponsibility towards waterreplenishment andconservation.

7

where there is a tussle overwater sources, it isnecessary to look forcomplementary sourceswhile using negotiation tobring down demands

INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT – NEGOTIATING USER WATER DEMANDS – THEMATIC SESSION FOUR

41

In Afghanistan the main, problemsfaced by policy makers are those arisingdue to lack of authentic data andinformation. Policy makers lack the mostbasic knowledge about the quality andquantity of surface and groundwater andits location. As water policy was not apriority for policy makers previously,

Measures needed in Afghanistannnnnn Prevention of overcutting of forests

nnnnn Construction of drainage systems to tackle water logging

nnnnn Establishment of agro economical zones

nnnnn Conservation measures through integrated water management

nnnnn Formation of water users associations

Adoption of riverbasin managementsystems along withthe development oftraditional irrigationsystems must be apart of the waterpolicy of thegovernment

Water resources – competing demandsand integrated managementAbadullah Khulmi - Ministry of Energy and Water, Afghanistan

modern conservation measures and theloss of knowledge about traditionalwater preservation practices has createda situation where water conservation isnot widely understood and practiced.

In the face of these challenges themain need is that of countrywidecollection and assessment of data so that

rewards which are gained from thesharing of experiences and problems.

The lack of adequate infrastructurehas been another significant hindranceto effective water management. Thewater supply system has a lowefficiency, being in need of repair andupgradation. The lack of awareness of

there is no reliable record of irrigationpractices, flood prone areas, croppingpatterns and quarrying activities. This isprobably due to the political and socialinstability in the recent years. With theabsence of information about indigenousmethods of cultivation and irrigation, it isnot possible to make a comprehensiveand applicable water policy forAfghanistan.

The implementation of those policieswhich already existed or which havebeen formulated recently is constrainedby the lack of coordination betweenvarious agencies, whose areas offunctioning and decision making are notclearly defined. The professional capacityof those employed is insufficient as theopportunities for modern training andexposure have been limited, at best. Thescattered and fragmented populationdistribution combined with anadministration still in the process ofacquaintance with the intricacies ofAfghan society, polity and physiology,has restricted the prospects for people’sparticipation, therefore limiting the

effective water supply andmanagement system can be planned,irrigation schemes devised andcommunities trained in the proper andefficient use of water. Also, thegovernment and private sectorpersonnel need to be trained andeducated about water managementsystems and practices. Adoption of riverbasin management systems along withthe development of traditionalirrigation systems must be a part of thewater policy of the government.


42

New settlements in areasof water scarcity can causetremendous pressure on thewater resources of the areas.Such demographic pressureson water management can beobserved through theoccurrences taking place afterthe settlement of the nomadicBedouins by the governmentof Iran, which has an annualrainfall of about 240 mm andis mainly dependent ongroundwater. The settlementwas done in an area wherethere was little groundwater,making extraction unviable,and agriculture impossible.The subsequent migration ofthe Bedouins to the townsand their inability to findlivelihoods there led to theiradoption of a life of crime.

However, large scalerainwater harvesting, madeviable and effective by thepresence of large tracts ofalluvial soil, has been adoptedas a measure to combat thepressures of nomadicsettlement. Also, public

awareness about this problemand its ramifications is beingincreased; groups such asAquitopea have been workingtowards creating knowledgeabout the balanced use ofwater, and about watershortages. Attempts havebeen made to resettle thenomads, a measure whichrequires much ground levelpreparation and successfulmotivation of the nomads.Steps such as mapping of theland, laying of canals andapproval of money have beensuccessfully accomplished bythe government, however,this scheme has faceddifficulties in implementation,such as;l The traditional leadershipof the Khans on the tribes hasweakened without analternative developingcausing difficulties in decisionmakingl Lack of understanding ofthe nomad mentality andrequirements by the westerneducated technocrats

Large scale rainwater harvesting, made viable andeffective by the presence of large tracts of alluvialsoil, has been adopted as a measure to combat thepressures of nomadic settlement. Public awarenessabout this problem and its ramifications is beingincreased; groups such as Aquitopea have beenworking towards creating knowledge about thebalanced use of water, and about water shortages

Addressing competingclaims– Case study, IranDr. S. Ahang Kowsar – Fars Research Centerfor Agriculture and Natural Resources, Iran

Water conflict resolution in Gujarat –Stakeholder approach.Sriniwas Mudrakartha – VIKSAT, India

Multidimensional facets ofindustrial pollution and watermanagement are seen in theKhari river in Ahmedabad,including;l agriculture water probleml drinking water probleml health and migration

concernsSevere land and water

pollution has been caused bythe industrial effluentsdischarged by industries around Ahmedabad, the sewage ofindustrial estates and the system of disposing pollutants by thereverse bore technique.

To provide a platform to the aggrieved, increase awarenessabout environment and work towards the management of waterfrom the Sabarmati basin, the Sabarmati Stakeholders’ Forumwas formed. Constituted in 1998/99 its strategies included;l increasing awareness about the probleml increasing public participationl involving the mass medial petitioning the High Court

The people first went to the Court in 1978, a PIL (PublicInterest Litigation) was filed in 1989 and 1995. The High Courtruled that1% of the industries’ gross production would be givenas compensation to the villagers. Treatment of the effluents wasalso initiated by the industries. In 2004, another PIL was filed toensure that the funds accrued from the industries were used onlyto tackle the pollution and related problems. A committee underthe Chief Secretary was formed and the Gujarat Pollution ControlBoard became a more active presence, resulting in the reductionof pollution levels by 80%.Presently, the needs are:l recharging of ground waterl compensation to those suffering from health problems,l classifying of industries as polluting/ non polluting for better

monitoring and to levy collection

responsible for making lawsl An attitude of neglecttowards public infrastructurecaused by the system ofproviding state facilities inthe form of free services.

The importance ofcreating a feeling ofresponsibility andstakeholding increases due tothe presence of theseproblems, as these arerequired for the successfulimplementation of theplanned programmes.

The stakeholderspetitioned theHigh Courtthrough PILswhich led to amore activepresence of theGujarat PollutionControl Board.This led to thereduction of thepollution level byeighty percent

43

The Charghad Irrigation Dam inMaharashtra was constructed on the riverCharghad, in 2001 for irrigation purposes.The five villages in the canal commandarea benefited as it was now possible forthem to grow wheat and onions alongwith cash crops like oranges. However,the sixteen downstream villages startedfacing water scarcity as before theconstruction of the dam the river had

CRITICAL LEARNINGnnnnn Surface water ownership

with the State – to berealized by the community

nnnnn Responsibility for allocationof surface water to rest withthe Irrigation Department –creation of awarenessamongst stakeholders

nnnnn Recognition of the value ofwater by all stakeholders inirrigation and rural watersupply sectors

nnnnn Payment of a realistic pricefor services

nnnnn Reduction of demand forcanal water throughimprovements in theefficiency of the canalcommand area, irrigationsystems, etc

Controlled utilization of waterfor irrigation needs to beincorporated in projects toavoid potential conflictsbetween drinking waterneeds and irrigation needs

Water sector mechanism inMaharshtra – Conflicts and strategiesS.P. Bagde – Groundwater Surveys andDevelopment Agency, India

been perennial and had filled the wells inthose villages.

The villagers from the sixteen villagesfacing the water shortage undertook apadyatra (journey on foot) to the dam,for jalsatyagraha demanding the releaseof water. The villagers in the canalcommand area threatened to performjalsamadhi (immersion in water) if waterwas released from the dam. Theauthorities tried to stop the padyatra ofthe villagers from the downstreamregion, however, the protestors turnedviolent, and broke the only valve of thedam, releasing water into the river andfilling the main canal with stones.

Despite the protests anddemonstrations, no water has beenreleased from the dam so far.

To find an effective solution toconflicts of a similar nature, it isimportant that some action be taken,and some measures are suggested in thiscontext:

l Downstream people’s riparian righton surface water to be ensured byIrrigation Department i.e minimumflow of good quality

l Service delivery to be ensured(reliable, affordable and sustainable)through infrastructure already createdby 16 villages

l Right to life – fundamental right(Article 21 of the Constitution of

India) to be ensuredl Drinking water priority – National

and State Water Policy to befollowed

l Conjunctive use, micro irrigation tobe practised in canal commandarea

l Participatory irrigationmanagement involvingstakeholders

l Watershed development to becombined with canal irrigation

l Water allocation priorities (Article5, NWP, 2002) giving highestranking to drinking water do notget implemented because theirrigation authorities whilesupplying water for irrigationduring the cropping season do nottake into consideration theminimum water levels required tobe maintained for drinking watersupply in the months of waterscarcity. These water levels to bemaintained

l Controlled utilization of water forirrigation needs to be incorporatedin projects to avoid potentialconflicts between drinking waterneeds and irrigation needs

l Major policy changes in the lawsgoverning surface and groundwater in the country


44

The Chilika lagoon is a remarkableexample of the restoration of an eco-system through integrated waterresource management of the lagoon andthe drainage basin.

The complex ecosystem of the lagoonwas plagued by a multitude of problemsranging from shrinkage of the lagoonarea due to siltation, decrease in thesalinity level, decrease in the fishdiversity and yield, degradation of basiclife support systems resulting in declinedproductivity both in the lagoon and the

Dangeipahad micro watershedChilika Lagoon, Orissa

The localcommunities werestrongly encouragedto actively participatein the planning andmanagement of thelagoon and drainagebasin resources

Dr. A.K. Patnaik – Chilika Development Authority, India

study of the Dangeipahad microwatershed reflects the problems, theapproach and the solutions of the entireproject. A study of this micro shed hadrevealed:l land degradation in the drainage

basinl flow of silt in the lagoonl acute shortage of drinking water in

the areal depletion of natural resourcesl reduction in productivity leading to

inter and intra village conflictsThe communities realized that their

callousness towards the environmenthad led to this degradation and as ameasure of atonement they observedthe “Atmasudhi Prayaschita Divas” on3rd of June 2001. As a result of theoutreach programme, awareness in the

communities has increased and in theDangeipahad water shed area, theyplanted seeds of indigenous species andtook an oath not to cut a single tree orallow any outsider to do it. This becamea movement in the entire watershed ofthe Chilika lagoon and every yearstarting from the 3rd of June, anAtmasudhi Prayaschita Week isobserved. Conservation andenvironment protection have becomeethical and moral components of the lifeof the communities in the area.

At each micro watershed level,watershed associations have beenformed and they are key to themanagement of natural resources withequitable benefits to all. All adults frommicro watershed villages are members ofwatershed committees. The generalbody of the committee, through a

and drainage basin resources. It wasmade clear to them that in arriving atany decisions or solutions, the ecologicalcharacter of the lagoon should not beconsidered negotiable. It was impressedupon them that the uninterrupted flow ofbenefits was possible only throughrestoration of the ecological balance ofthe region. In the participatorymanagement of the watershed, due carewas also taken to ensure that it helped inproviding the communities a sustainable

C A S E S T U D Y

drainage basin area, and the decliningproductivity/resources which had led toan intense rivalry between the variousstakeholders.

The strategy adopted for restorationincluded; targeted studies of the complexecosystem and to trace the root cause ofdegradation, preparation of a restorationplan keeping in mind the entireecosystem, improvement of thehydrological regime to enhanceproductivity, integration of thewatershed in the management withmicro watershed as a functionalecological unit, community participationand an extensive outreach programme tocreate awareness about the value andfunctions of the wetland.

The local communities were stronglyencouraged to actively participate in theplanning and management of the lagoon

livelihood. The programme started withthe work on the drainage basin which isabout 4000 square kilometers in areaand provided the fresh water flow tomaintain the ecological integrity of thelagoon. The erosion of the drainage basinwas causing large scale silt flow from thecatchment to the lagoon and it posed thebiggest of management problems. A


45

Recognizing the activities of the Chilika DevelopmentAuthority in the restoration of the wetland, it wasconferred the prestigious Ramsar Wetland ConservationAward and the Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Purashkar foroutstanding achievements in the management of thelagoon and its drainage basin. Also, Chilika was the firstsite to be removed from the Montreaux record in 2002

drafting committee, drafts the rules forthe management which are deliberatedupon in the general body and thenadopted. The watershed committees havea fair representation from the landless,the socially weaker sections and women.The watershed associations areregistered under the Registration ofSocieties Act.

To ensure the involvement of thecommunity and the sustainability of theproject, the watershed community sharea part of the cost towards maintenanceand improvement of the watershed assetscreated after the project period. Thewatershed associations and user groupshave been able to efficiently implementthe micro plan and ensure equitabledistribution of the benefits, inconsultation with the community.

Rainwater harvesting has been one of

the most successful initiatives in theproject with the structures beingdesigned and installed by the localcommunities. As a result, the aquifershave been recharged and the localecosystem and economy depending uponit has benefited. The increased moisturelevel in the soil has made possible asecond cash crop for the farmers and theyield per hectare has also increasedconsiderably. The wells have also beenrecharged and the intricate link between

the ecosystem, water and livelihood isapparent to the local communities.

Through self-help groups, womenhave also been participating actively inwatershed management and thesegroups also focus on capacity buildingand skill improvement of women.Through micro credit mechanisms, theself-help groups have also adoptedincome generating activities. Theseactivities have empowered the women,who are now better placed to takedecisions on financial matters.

The success of the project lies in thefact that for the communities, there havebeen increased earnings from land andnon-land activities, reduced debt, andimproved livelihood and food security.Also, there has been reducedenvironmental degradation andreduction in the silt load going into thelagoon. Migration in search ofemployment has reduced by eightypercent as the vulnerability of theecosystem to drought has reduced.Improved agricultural incomes for smallfarmers and increased wage labouropportunities for the landless haveprovided the benefits of prosperity tothe most impoverished. Inter andintravillage rivalries and animosities havegreatly reduced as a result of bothattitudinal and economic transformation.

1972-73(824 sq km)

2001(790(sq km)

Chilika Lagoon

Chilika Lagoon

46

The Mekong River is the longestin South East Asia and the twelfthlongest in the world. Approximately65 million people, belonging to overa hundred ethnic groups, depend onthe natural resource base that thebasin provides to sustain theirlivelihoods.

Agriculture, together with fishingand forestry, employs around 85% ofthose living in the region.

The Mekong River Basin is rich inresources, yet its inhabitants areamongst the poorest in the region.There are conflicting interestsregarding how the river basinresources are to be distributed andused. Networks betweencommunities tend to be fragmentedwith few exchanges between them;thus they have limited ability tomanage their resources together.

“ The Community DialoguesInitiative” seeks to break downartificial borders and reunite peoplewho have common needs,particularly with respect to shared

A Story about a river and itspeople – Promotingtransboundary community tocommunity dialogueSergio Feld - UNDP - Bangkok Thailand

natural resources. In August 2005,five representatives of sixcommunities from Thailand, Laos(PDR) and Cambodia met in ChiangKong to discuss and seek solutions fortheir concerns.

People living in the Mekong areaare highly dependent upon thesurrounding environment and naturalresources for their survival. Thismakes them particularly vulnerable tofluctuating water levels, bank erosion,decreasing water quality and reducedwater uses for their livelihoods. Oftencommunities lack the capacity todemand information and participatein decisions that affect what happensto their natural resources.

Different communities can learnfrom each other and identifysolutions to move forward. Peoplehave an opportunity to cometogether and share their pastexperiences and exchange ideas. Thepriorities of the communities ofdifferent countries are:Cambodial Develop a community forest near

villagesl Develop a community fishery area

in the Sesan river.Thailand-l Improved soil and water quality

with the use of simplebiotechnology

Key points of Thematic Session Four –summarized by Madar Samad,IWMI, India

l Genuine multistakeholder participation – It isextremely important in identifying issues,understanding the dimensions of the problem,bringing about a reconciliation of interests,formulating common goals, preparing publicawareness and providing a community basedforum for the government to interact with. Thisis amply illustrated by the efforts of the UNDP inthe Mekong River Basin where a consensuscutting across national boundaries has been builtup. Another example of the CDA’s success is therestoration of the Chilika water shed in Orissal Need for Comprehensive National LevelPolicy – This would define the role andresponsibility of the various governmentagencies, civil society and the community, andprovide a legal framework to water governance.In areas and regions where community levelparticipation and stakeholder intervention hasfailed, as evident in the case study of the IndusRiver Basin management from Pakistan, the needfor such a policy becomes imperative. InMaharashtra, the state level water policysucceeded in minimizing the conflict throughWater Users’ Associationsl Need for holistic approach to watershedmanagement – Water management is anextremely complex issue with various strandsbeing intertwined. The problems which manifestthemselves are a result of a plethora of closelyinterrelated causes of all which need to betackled to reach a solution. The integratedapproach to the Chilika lake watershedmanagement stands out as an example of thesuccess of such an approach

The trans - boundary communitydialogues initiative is a UNDP managedinitiative. The UNDP works with keypartners to create better management ofthe environment and natural resourcesbetween neighbouring countries andseeks to involve communities in thedecisions that affect their lives

“ The Community DialoguesInitiative” seeks to break downartificial borders and reunitepeople who have commonneeds, particularly with respectto shared natural resources

l Conservation of fish stocksl Protection of the river bank with aquatic

plantsLaos PDRl Protection of the river bank.l Conservation of fish stocks through zoning

areasl Development of skills for grassroots research

The networks across the rivers have beenstrengthened as a result of:l Sharing of ideas and strategies to protect

common resources and interestsl Stronger ability to express local needs by

coming togetherl Finding local solutions for fairer

management of natural resourcesl Enabling people to demand better

protection for their environment acrossborders

47

In the urban context, three basicchallenges are encountered, i.e.demographic pressures, rapid industrialgrowth and vast urban expansion. Thesechallenges lead to a number of problems,the consequences of which are asfollows:l Scarcity of land for urban usel Drinking water scarcity – Inadequate,

inequitable, unsafe and irregularsupply

l Transport/traffic congestion and badroads

l Lack of adequate drinking water andsanitation

l Water stagnation and lack ofadequate storm water drains

l Degradation of coastal ecology andseawater intrusion

l Lack of land for housingl Mushrooming of slums – Unsanitary

living conditions in slums, opendrainage systems and lack of accessto toilets

l Unhealthy solid waste management –including bio-medical wastes

l Unhealthy wastewater management

Delivery of urban services andemerging conflicts between urban -

peri-urban and urban –rural populations

8

All this results in pollution of air, waterand land. To reduce these stresses,metropolitan cities exploit the resourcesof peri – urban areas by –l Dumping solid wastesl Dumping urban sewagel Transporting groundwaterl Encroaching upon landsl Encroaching upon surface water

bodies such as tanksl Resulting in severe environmental

and health implications:This leads to enormous pressure on

peri urban areas and conflicts arise due-to the divergent interests of urban andperi-urban areas. Poor urban planningcoupled with inefficient governanceresults in ecological and environmentaldegradation, increasing the chances ofsevere and unmanageable pressure onpresent as well as future generations.

The case study of the Chennai waterproblem amply illustrates this problem.

The following solutions can beconsidered for resolving these problems:l Technical – mega civil engineering

plans to bring water from distant

In the urbancontext, threebasic challengesare encountered,i.e., demographicpressures, rapidindustrial growthand vast urbanexpansion

PLENARY AND CONCLUDING SESSIONS, MARCH 30, 2006

S. Janakrajan - India

48

places – through the supplyaugmentation approach like theriver linking project.

l Economic response – price as aninstrument – full cost recovery –as a measure of watermanagement – an off-shoot isthe ongoing process ofprivatization of water –willingness to pay for waterdebate; conventionally it may beexpected that waterconsumption and water price areinversely related; if prices go upconsumption could be expectedto go down

The key issue in India is not only that wateris never a part of urban planning, but theperi-urban issues are completely ignoredand given the least importance in the overallurban planning process

There is an urgent need to look into theperi-urban issue from the angle of a singleecosystem and as a part of an integratedsocio-economic developmental process inan economy.This encompasses issues such as long-term perspective and participatory planningand governance, and a broad basedpartnership and a sustained dialogueamong all key stakeholders – This is indeedthe need of the hour!!

There appears to be a need for acomprehensive national water law.

The universal requirement of water has a widerange of issues on which conflicting claimscompete. They could be river water sharing,anxieties of downstream users, water qualityissues, environmental and ecological concerns,inter-group conflicts, inter-sector conflicts,conflicts over water transference, conflicts overstate control and civil society initiatives, conflictsbetween the state and the people, etc.

The conflicting claims may arise at theinternational or national level, hence different

l In developing countries, evenif prices go up, consumptiondoes not go down, becausepeople’s critical minimumneed is not fulfilled and theconsumption level wouldnever change until the criticalminimum level is attained

l Advocacy of IWRM – goodconcept – but we do nothave the enablingenvironment particularlybecause of a fragmentedinstitutional structure – whatwe have is a messed upsystem

frameworks exist to resolve and minimize them. Atthe international level there are treaties,agreements, international law, commissions, etc.Generally the principles adopted are based onequitable opportunities, equitable utilization,protection of the interests of the lower riparianareas. However, there is no comprehensive WaterResource Convention like the BiodiversityConvention or the Kyoto Protocol.

At the national level, India’s existing policyframework is inadequate. The National WaterPolicy of 1987 did little else apart from accordingpriority for drinking water. The NWP 2002 doesnot take the policy much further except that itfacilitates private sector participation in waterprojects. There is a need for a policy promoting aholistic, harmonious and sustainable view of waterwith mechanisms for prevention and resolution ofconflicts.

The existing laws focus on rivers, canals andirrigation, and conflict resolution mechanisms existmainly for inter-state river water disputes throughadjudication. Other kinds of water related conflictsare not dealt with. Civil society initiatives andcommunity management have no backing in law,neither are there any clear principles of corporateversus community use.

Resolution mechanisms for watermanagement – Policy implications

Presentation by Dr. Ramaswamy R Iyer


49

Integrated Water ResourceManagement is a processwhich promotes thecoordinated development andmanagement of water, landand related resources, in orderto maximize the resultanteconomic and social welfare inan equitable manner withoutcompromising thesustainability of vitalecosystems (GWP–2000). Itbasically entails themanagement of water for basichuman needs, foodproduction, livestock,environment, industry andcommerce while maintainingthe resource base of bothsurface and ground water, andbiodiversity throughintegration of the naturalsystem and humanrequirements.

The maintenance of naturalsystem and human systemrequires:Natural Systeml Integration of freshwater

management and coastalzone management.

Integrated water resourcemanagement-negotiatinguser demandsPresentation by Madar Samad

The issues raised and experiences shared in the conferencewere categorized by Dr. A.J. James under the heads of StateGovernance, Civil Society, Donors, and Essential Action, asgiven below.

STATE GOVERNANCE

l Policy formulation and review to set priorities of water use,equitably allocate water rights and quantities (e.g. minimumflow rates in canals), define boundaries for wateradministration, and to re-examine norms of water use andindustrial location, to address special problems of wetlands(ensuring minimum ecological flow), to include waterconservation in all activities of the government, keeping inmind the priorities of the poor and disadvantaged groups(who may not want to be part of private interventions)

l Legislation to back policies so that they become law and aretherefore not only applicable more widely, but may beenforced by legal means

l Effective policy enforcement mechanisms to ensure thatpolicy is effectively translated on the ground, even if theviolators are government departments themselves

l Coordination within government between sectoral policiesand regulations (e.g., electricity, water, health) as well asprogrammes (that envisage large-scale investment in water,e.g. the NREGA and Bharat Nirman)

l Improving existing or creating new institutions (e.g. Inter-State River Water Tribunals, Maharashtra Water ResourcesRegulatory Authority)

l Effective legal instruments (PIL; Maharashtra Managementof Irrigation by Farmers Act; Maharashtra WRR Act; RTI Act)

l Compensation for those who lose access to water and otherresources as a result of projects or programmes of agovernment and donor agency

l Pre-empting conflict by insisting on multi-stakeholderconsultation at all levels of project formulation,implementation and evaulation

CIVIL SOCIETY

l Sustained and effective multi-stakeholder dialogue, makingsure the right stakeholders are consulted, within a clearly-defined process of consultation

l Judicial activism to pave the way for effective multi-stakeholder dialogue, when vested interests prevent thelatter

l Campaigns in the media to express civil society needs andto ensure that these are heard by policy makers and othercivil society organisations

l Public hearings to inform local communities and spreadawareness of conflict issues

l Panchayat Resolutions to formally register conflicts at thelowest tier of local governance

Summary of sessions andkey discussion pointsDr. A.J. James

l Integration of land andwater management

l Green water and bluewater integration

l Integration of surface andgroundwatermanagement

l Integration of quantityand quality in waterresources management

l Integration of upstreamand downstream waterrelated interests

Human Systeml Cross-sectional

integration in nationalpolicy developmentplacing water relateddevelopment within theeconomic and socialsectors.

l Macro-economic effectsof water development.

l Basic principles forintegrated policy making.

l Influencing economicsector decisions.

l Integration of allstakeholders in theplanning and decisionmaking process.

l Integrating water andwastewater management.For Integrated Water

Resource Management to besuccessful, it needs anenabling government whichprovides appropriatemanagement instruments,and properly definesinstitutional roles with clearmanagement boundaries,regulations and conflictresolution mechanisms.

50

DONORS

l Coalitions to mobilize and effectively campaign andlobby for better water governance by the state, bringout conflicts into the public domain, assist civil societygroups actively engaged in conflicts

l Inclusion of the younger generation in waterconservation and conflict resolution througheducational campaigns in schools

l Pre-empting conflict by insisting on multi-stakeholderconsultation at all levels of project formulation,implementation and evaluation – and ensuring thatcommunities can protect their rights if they do not wantprivate intervention in water use

REQUIREDl Conceptual clarity among civil society, government

and donors on issues such as who the stakeholdersare and that conflicts are not necessarily negative

l Accurate information from government andindependent research institutions on the status ofwater resources at basin, aquifer, watershed and locallevels; on government regulations, plans, and on pastexperience with conflict resolution

l Awareness within civil society, government anddonors on existing water laws, other experiences withconflict resolution – and how to do it

l Capacity within civil society to lead conflictresolution negotiations at all levels (particularly thegrassroots) and to ensure these are done in atransparent and inclusive manner

l Adequate consultation with stakeholders during theformulation of donor and government projects andprogrammes, during their mid-term evaluations, evenby the Planning Commission and other government anddonor agencies

ESSENTIAL ACTION1. State Governancel A memorandum from conference participants to all

state and national government ministers and secretarieslisting the key mechanisms they would likestrengthened or put in place by the state

2. Civil Societyl A web-based and hard copy compendium of possible

conflict resolution mechanisms based on pastexperience, to guide future action

l Broadening the membership of a civil society coalitionon water conflicts

3. Donorsl An open letter from conference participants to donors

requesting for more consultation in project formulation,implementation and evaluation, and support forcapacity building of civil society organisations foreffective conflict resolution

The scarcity of water, itspollution and the sheer povertythat it causes, is something thathas brought the issue of waterto the centre stage. However,before talking of conflictresolution one must realize thatconflict is inevitable unless onestarts doing things differentlyand starts thinking differentlyabout what we are doing withwater. At present, conflict resolution is spoken of almost as if anew department is to be set up: either the real nature of theproblem has not been understood, or it has not beenincorporated in our souls.

The issues of water for livelihood security, water for people,water harvesting and the supply of water to people have allbeen discussed in this conference. It is clear that the effortsbeing made to provide and supply water are inadequate. The80’s and 90’s have left us a rich legacy of people who haveworked in this field, like Rajendra and Anna, and theunderstanding we have today of the methods which would notwork, is due to their efforts. These two decades were very richin research work, documentation and experimentation. This iswhat we inherited. Till the year 2000 the answer was seen inhardware. This hardware solution entailed bringing in pumpsand pipes, building hand pumps, creating storage facility anddiverting water long distance. This, it was realized, could not bedone at the scale required in India. Even if the hardware werecreated, the problem of sustainability remained; the countrysimply did not have the wherewithal to maintain and repair thepumps, pipelines, etc. This solution was both inequitable andunsustainable.

However, in the year 2000, it was realized that a differentsolution was required, but even then, it was only a partialunderstanding of the message: it was understood in terms of itswords but not in term of its politics. This is clear when one seesthe translation of all the effort that has happened, whether it isin the community based water management projects, rainwaterharvesting, watershed work, work under the EGF – theEmployment Guarantee Scheme – or water conservation work.Today there is enormous attention on water harvestingstructures. Water harvesting has become part of the languageand policy of government. Today, the major task is to see thatpolicy becomes practice, to make sure that the government,donors and all other agencies understand that these are not justtechnocratic solutions, that it is not just about building a hand

Keynote AddressSunita Narain – Centre for Scienceand Environment, India


51

This is the otherchallenge: to upscale, totake the extraordinaryexperimentation of the90s to a level required inthis country

pump but managing a watershed. We have to understand thepolitics which we haven’t been able to incorporate deepenough in our policies. Before talking about the people’sparticipation and the community’s participation, we have tounderstand how these processes will be incorporated at thevillage level where the gram sabhas, the panchayats and thefragmented bureaucracy do not have control over their waterbodies and land.

The biggest tragedy is that we talk about integrationwithout thinking that integration will take place by the people

and therefore, the integration will have to be at the villagelevel. This is the other challenge: to upscale, to take theextraordinary experimentation of the 90s to a level required inthis country. The Employment Guarantee Act is anextraordinary opportunity- in which other country would onefind that the labour of the people is taken to build assets notonly as a drought relief but as a relief against drought. Theeffort should be to make these opportunities work at a levelwhich is required in this country. The opportunity does exist-the Finance Minister launched a Restoration of Water Bodiesprogramme two years ago; it was called a pilot project. But thetragedy is that the learning of the pilot project has not beenused to formulate full scale programmes. We are constantlyundertaking pilot projects but we do not learn what works andwhat doesn’t from them .That is why conflicts are inevitable.

The main task ahead for us is to learn from the past 20years and to incorporate the learning not just in words but indeeds. The biggest fear with water harvesting is its becoming agovernment project without a heart and soul, and ten yearslater, we realize that it doesn’t work.

The expectation that the poor people will manage theirwater resources will never work. It is our responsibility, theadvocates and believers of the idea of rainwater harvesting; wehave to make sure that it works even if it becomes agovernment project. We have to demand changes where theyare required, as it is a matter of life and death. The biggest land

is the forest land; it can become the biggest source ofwatersheds, and provide us with water and food security, butwe have never integrated forests in our watershedprogrammes.

The role of civil societies – I don’t know the role ofgovernment or donors but I do know what is the role of civilsociety. It needs to be aggressive and to make sure that whatwe believe in and advocate, the government does not gowrong with that.

We know water is the determinant of this country, we knowwe need distributed growth, but it can happen only if wecreate a distributed water management system.

We know the government is responding by creatingprogrammes, but until we get the coordination right, wherethe communities participate, not just as token representatives

but as real stakeholders, we will not be able to bring change.As a civil society, we cannot remain a genteel, passive voiceand function as extension agents of the government. Wecannot say that we’ll deliver for you and our ten villages will bebetter than yours. It is not a race for ten villages, we have tokeep the pressure on the government to see that they don’tmess up the programme that we believe so strongly in.

If India’s urban water management system fails, there will beconflicts which we will not know how to resolve –it is alreadybeing seen in the states where the conflicts are going to bemaximum – in Ganganagar, in Tonk, in Maharashtra. Every stateof India will have skirmishes as urban India’s demand for watergrows more and more.

In the West, seventy percent of water is in cities andindustries and thirty percent is in agriculture. In India, we haveseventy to eighty percent water in agriculture and twenty to


52

thirty percent in cities and industries. We are urbanizing andindustrializing as the rest of the world but also remaining poorand rural. We will never see a transition as in Europe or evenLatin America where everybody has gone and settled in thecities. If seventy percent of the nation is urban, then urbanwater is a priority, but we will always remain 70:30, or at themost, 60:40; if large numbers remain in rural areas, conflicts willoccur. Therefore drastic changes are needed in policy and theway urban India manages its water.

Every city is looking at increased water availability becausethis is considered a sign of wealth and prosperity; cities aremore powerful so they can source water from further away. Thefurther you go, the higher the distribution losses, higher theinequity and higher the cost. Even the rich in the cities cannotpay for the water in the cities or the waste they generate, e.g.

Both waste managementand rain water harvestingneed a phenomenal inputof technology, innovation,and a complete change inthe way we look at water

in Bangalore – with Kaveri water – water price is going to beforty rupees per kilo litre. Today Bangalore is highest withrupees 5 per kilo litre and Delhi 2.2 rupees per kilo litre; 80%of the water that reaches homes leaves it as waste. No city canpay only for water, it must also pay for waste management andsewage management, but we do not. That is why every one ofour rivers is like an open drain. With what the villager gets –water being taken away, waste being generated, more pollutionin the river – conflict is bound to happen.

The only way urban and rural India can ensure that conflictsdo not happen is when they completely change the way theylook at water. The cities have to stop sourcing water fromoutside and look at their internal resources first. Jodhpur has to

look at Padamsar and Ranisar, and recharge its step wells –recharge them not because it is pretty to do but because it isimperative to do so. If it recreates the water system, the cost ofdelivery will be lower, and the cost of supply will be lower, andpeople will be charged only for what they get from outside asdeficit. We must reuse, recycle and segregate our domesticwaste to put it back into ponds and lakes and to recharge ourgroundwater. Both waste management and rain waterharvesting need a phenomenal input of technology, innovation,

and a complete change in the way we look at water.Water conflicts are going to be inevitable and they are not

going to be polite. The solutions needed are less genteel andare difficult, but achievable. We have to build a water-prudentsociety particularly in the cities and industries. We have to learnfrom the wisdom of the poor so that it becomes the practice ofthe rich.

Thank you.


53

1. Civil society role and democracy,PRIs, etc.: We have to define our ownrole in today’s context. The issue ofwater conservation is the idea of a largenumber of people, so the role of CivilSociety is to make sure theimplementation of the idea alsohappens, the way we believe it shouldhappen. This will be the critical nextphase of the water challenge. So, wehave to work with and work against thegovernment. Today, redefining the termsof democracy, with or against does notmean we are enemies of thegovernment. The role of Civil Society isto ensure that our idea is implementedproperly2. How to scale up? We can talk of theincredible work of 1990s, but we have tomake sure it scales up. Civil Society mustdebate its role more clearly – we have tomake sure our overall goal remains thesame – but the scale needs to bechanged. Civil Society has traditionallyprovided models that can be upscaledbut Civil Society has been weak onbeing able to take the experiment to alarger scale. This needs to change3. How to work with the panchayatsystem? We have created villageinstitutions, but the weakest part of thePanchayat is its representativeness. Thepanchayats have not been able toinfluence government policy enough.Integration of land and villagebureaucracies must happen at the villagelevel – forest, water, PHED, etc. Thereare certain models, the challenge is totranslate them into policy. The role ofwatchdog is to be played to ensure thatpolicy becomes practice4. What is the space for NGOs inthis? How do we work for and againstgovernment? Keep our independence inorder to push, prod and scream to getthe change. This is where a balance hasto be struck. I am not working againstthe government. That is only in the mindof a petty bureaucrat, who personalizesgovernment as one person. Here iswhere the maturity of today’s CivilSociety must show up. We have becomeextension agents and lost our bite. We

must get back our bite so that we canmake a difference. So, yes, spaces aregetting smaller and smaller, and we aregetting more and more compromised inthese spaces. We are at a crossroadtoday. Our dreams and visions arecommon, but they are also those ofothers – what we need to do from now isdifferent5. Free riders: We don’t evenunderstand who are the free riders in oursociety. In water debate, every one issaying that its the farmers who get freepower, free water. But they don’t getelectricity when they need it, and usetheir own money to dig their wells, andto energize them with diesel. Theiragriculture does not give them thereturns they deserve. That is wheredemocracy is failing – because we arefailing. No politician will have the guts tosay they will subsidize the rich in thename of the poor – but they do it all thetime. We have not been able to showthat they are. If you can get that researchout, it will change the nature of thedemocratic debate in this country6. Political will: There is a lot of political

will in this country. All politicians ask uswhat to do about water. They are desperateto do something. They understand thatwater will make or break their electoralfuture. Water is centre stage. But they don’tknow what to do about it. They are in theclutches of their bureaucrats andtechnocrats who say give us five years, noproblem, we will get you the dams,pipelines etc. We have to get to politiciansand show them there is a way to do thingsdifferently7. Urban sector: I am not againstprivatisation, I just don’t think it is feasiblein our part of the world. In countries likeJakarta, the drinking water model is soexpensive that private entrepreneurs cannever recover their costs. So they can onlysupply to a small segment, partly, withouttaking back the waste. Even if we pay Rs. 10for a bottle of water, those companies donot pay a penny for the water they take!And they don’t take back the waste. Soprivatization is not a simple answer – let’snot even look at it as for privatization oragainst but as: how can Indian cities look atwater and waste? How can an Indian get abasic legal entitlement to water? Can wemanage systems better? I believe economicgrowth is inevitable, but the economicgrowth – as and when it happens – happensin a way that is least socially divisive andmost environmentally friendly. That willonly happen when we start thinkingdifferently. To do this, conflict managementis not the name of the game – democracyis. The more enabled the democracy, themore media and civil society action, themore the chances of success

An audience interaction with Ms Sunita Narain was one of the high points of theconference. Questions on issues ranging from the role of civil society, the urbanwater situation, conflict resolution and the role of government were put to MsNarain, who answered by dividing them into broad categories as given below

The more enabledthe democracy,the more mediaand civil societyaction, the morethe chances ofsuccess


54

It must be our endeavourto take everyone along, forthere is no room fordifferences anddivergence on this issueas this is a matter ofsurvival, a matter of lifeand death

His Highness the Maharaja Sahib,Rajendra Singhji, Ms Sunita Narain, I amvery glad that so many people andparticipants are here after having traveledlong distances, some even from foreigncountries, to attend this conference,where you’ve discussed an essential andimportant issue – the right to use water –the most basic necessity and need of life.

Over these two days, the delegatesand participants have had very enrichingand lively discussions, sharing theirthoughts and experiences.

For making this conference fruitful, I

Vote of Thanks byHH Maharani Hemlata RajyeTrustee-Jal Bhagirathi Foundation

would like to express my gratitude to theUNDP for supporting our activities andproviding help in organizing this event,The Italian Development Corporation forsupporting us, UNICEF who has beensupporting our projects and activities andwho also co- hosted this event, the SIDAwho extended their support to us for thisevent. Without the support of ourpartners, it would not have been possibleto have this conference.

I would also like to thank Dr SatishKumar and Mr. Deepak Roy of Unicef forparticipating in this conference, Ms.Prema Gera who has been a great help tous in organizing this event, themoderators of the four thematic sessions– Dr S Janakrajan, Dr Sara Ahmed,

Dr. Ramaswamy R Iyer, Mr. MadarSamad, who summarized theproceedings of the discussions held, DrA.J. James for sharing with us the keypoints of the discussions of varioussessions, Ms Sunita Narain, for attendingthe conference and sharing herthoughts.

I would like to thank Maharaja GajSinghji, Rajendrasinghji, PrithvirajSinghji, Mahendra Mehta and all themembers of JBF without whosecontribution it would not have beenpossible for all of us to be here.

In the end I would like to make twopoints – one, the issue of water poses achallenge that is so great that it requiresthe efforts of all of us to face it, and byall of us I mean not just the civil societybut also the politicians and the

bureaucrats. It must be our endeavour totake everyone along, for there is no roomfor differences and divergence on thisissue as this is a matter of survival, amatter of life and death. It is the civilsociety which has to ensure thisconvergence and move ahead incollaboration with them, for the enormityand the urgency of the task is such thatwithout the resources and activeparticipation of all segments of thesociety, especially the government, itcannot be accomplished before it is toolate.

Two, ensuring water security foreveryone is an endeavour in which thereis no room for failure, for failing toprovide safe water to a person istantamount to denying the person aright to live. Water is a life source for all

living things in this world and thegovernment, the civil society, and thecommunity all must see to it that thebasic requirement of all is met in areasonable manner. To fulfill this aim ourefforts should be guided at conservingwater by adopting efficient methods ofutilization, water harvesting, recycling,putting it to multiple use, ensuring itspurity and harnessing the waterresources only to a viable level. We hopethat the future generations will benefitfrom our prudence and sensitivity andhave a water secure future. I wish eachone of you the best in your endeavour intackling this common problem and hopefor your success.

Thank you all so much.


55

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Towards a Sustainable Water Future