Water-Energy-

Food Nexus

Dr Shaheen Akhtar

Associate Prof./ HoD IR,

NDU.

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Main Argument

The complex interplay of food, energy, andwater demand and supply requires a nexusapproach to enhance cross-sectoralcoherence, to improve management of theHimalayan headwaters, watersheds, forests,rangelands, soils, and farmlands on whichthe sustainability and stability of flow ofecosystem services depend.

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What is food, water, and energy nexus from aregional dimension?

What is the role of Indus Basin in sustaining food,water, and energy security in the region?

What is extent of dependency of downstreamcommunities on upstream ecosystem services?

What are the challenges of sustaining Indus Basinecosystems for food, water, and energy security?

How nexus approach can enhance sustainability andstability of flow of ecosystem services in thegeneral, especially in case of IB?

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Food, water, and energy

nexus Food, water, and energy are inextricably linked in a nexus,

and actions in one sector influence the others. Food

production requires water and energy; water extraction,

treatment, and redistribution require energy; and energy

production requires water.

The water–energy–food nexus is about understanding and

managing these often-competing interests while also

ensuring the integrity of ecosystems.

World Economic Forum 2011, the Bonn 2011 Nexus Conference,

the sixth World Water Forum, and World Water Week 2012, have

urged an integrated approach to food, water, and energy

security.

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Dynamic relationship among the food,

water, and energy sectors

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Hydro landscape of the region

South Asia has three major trans-boundary basins – in

terms of area, population, water resources, irrigation and

hydropower potential – the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra.

Most of these river basins originate in the Himalayas. They

support rich ecosystems, irrigate millions of hectares of

fields, in the vast area stretching from Indus Basin plains of Pak.

in the west to Ganges plains traversing India & BD to

Brahmaputra basin shared b/w India-China & BD in the east.

Four main co-riparian states are India-Pakistan- Afghanistan

& China in the west; India–Bangladesh–Nepal and China in

the east.

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About 30% of the world’s total glaciated mountain area isin the HKH region.

The Himalayan topography and rivers with abundant rain-fed and snow-fed water resources provide an opportunityfor generating an enormous amount of hydropower. Thehydropower potential of the HKH region is more than 500 GW.

The Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna river system isestimated to have about 200,000 MW of hydropowerpotential, of which half or more is considered to be feasiblefor harnessing .

The contribution of hydroelectricity to total commercialenergy is about 50% in Bhutan, 17% in Nepal, 13% inPakistan, 6% in India, and 4% in Afghanistan.

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Challenges in food, water, and

energy security in South Asia

With just 3% of the world’s land, South Asia has about one-

fourth of the world’s population (1.6 billion people).

More than 40% of the world’s poor live in this region and some

51% of the population is food–energy deficient . About 20% of

the population lacks access to safe drinking water. per capita

energy consumption is among the lowest in the world, only 300

kg of oil equivalent .

Rice and wheat, the staple foods in the sub-region, require

huge amounts of water and energy. Freshwater, once

abundant, is under growing stress due to the increased

demand for competing uses, and climate change is creating

additional uncertainties.

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Rapid population growth with South Asia’s populationprojected to increase from 1.36 billion in 2000 to 2.31 billion in2050 has increased demand for food, fodder, grazing land,water, and other natural resources in the mountains anddownstream .

Rapid urbanization at an annual rate of 2.87%, as compared to 2.34% worldwide is also increasing the demand for water, energy, and food.

The HKH region suffers severe land degradation, inparticular deforestation and forest degradation, erosion,landslides, overgrazing, biodiversity loss, decliningproductivity, and desertification.

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Forest degradation and the loss of vegetation have madethe Himalayan watersheds more vulnerable to erosion,which has led to loss of soil and nutrients, siltation of riversand reservoirs, and increases in the incidence and severity offlooding.

Siltation is not only causing river beds to rise; it is alsoaffecting the water infrastructure, reducing the life ofreservoirs and dams for hydropower, irrigation, and floodcontrol, thus affecting energy and food production.

The increase in water stress and water demand raisesquestions about how to ensure enough water for growingfood without losing hydropower for energy security.

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With a large and rising population,

limited land resources, inadequate

energy supply, and growing water

stress, South Asian countries face a

common challenge of how to produce

more food with the same or less land, less

water, and increased energy prices.

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Ecosystems: regional

dimension The Hindu Kush Himalayas provide ecosystem services that

are critical for water, energy, and agricultural sustainability andproductivity in South Asia.

Much of the food, water, and energy nexus debate so far hasfocused on inter-sectoral coordination for efficient use ofcompeting resources; the emphasis has been on integratingpolicies, mainly for water pricing and withdrawing subsidies toreduce energy demand for water in agriculture or for constructionof big infrastructure to store water to support the growingdemand for water and energy for irrigation.

Few systematic efforts have been made to understand thespatial and regional dimensions of the nexus, to examine the

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spatial patterns of resource availability and use, howresources flow, upstream–downstream linkages, andthe potential benefits of addressing challengesthrough regional and river-basin approaches.

Failure to recognize the value of HKH ecosystemsresults in inadequate measures to manage theheadwaters of the subregion’s rivers, theircatchments, watersheds, and vital natural resources,posing a serious threat to the sustained flow ofecosystem services critical for food, water, andenergy security in the HKH and downstream.

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Dependency of downstream communities

on upstream ecosystem services

The most distinctive feature of the nexus in SouthAsia is the high degree of dependency ofdownstream communities on upstreamecosystem services for dry-season water forirrigation and hydropower, drinking water, andsoil fertility and nutrients.

So far adequate measures have not been taken toprotect the vital Himalayan ecosystem resourcesthrough coordination between upstream anddownstream stakeholders.

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Role of IB in Sustaining food, water, and

energy security

Pakistan is one of the world’s driest countries with a an

average annual rainfall of about 240 mm. It is a ‘single basin’

country & its dependence on external water resources is 76%.

The population and economy are heavily dependent on an annual

influx into the Indus river system. The basin accounts for 21 % of

GDP, 45 % employment, and more than 60 % of its exports.

It is estimated that about 50-80% of the inflows in the Indus

River system is fed by snow and glacier melt from the Hindu

Kush Karakoram part of the HKH. With over 5000 glaciers, the

upper IB has a glaciated area of about 15,000 km2, which

corresponds to about 2700 km3 of stored ice, equivalent to about 14

years of average Indus River system inflows.

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The Hindu Kush Karakoram and western Himalayas are thesource of about 90% of the lowland flow of the Indus River andits tributaries.

In Pakistan, food, water, and energy security depends heavily on thestate of the Indus River.

In the Indus River system in Pakistan, 800 potential sites havebeen identified. The collective potential of hydropower in the IndusRiver system is about 60 GW, but only 6720 MW (11%) have beenrealized.

The Indus irrigation system, the world’s largest contiguousirrigation system, irrigates about 14.3 million hectares offarmland, representing about 76% of the cultivated area inPakistan; it enables the production of more than 80% of the foodgrains of Pakistan and cash crops, in particular cotton.

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Growing water stress in Indus

Basin

With the basin’s population of 215.8 million, the annual per

capita water availability of only 1,329 m3, is much below the

threshold of 1,700 m3 and is lowest when compared to GBM (3473)

and Helmand (2589) basins in the region.

Pakistan’s per capita water availability has dwindled from

5,600 cubic meters at the time of independence to 1,066 cubic

metres in 2010. It will fall to just 858 cubic meters annually by

2025 when Pak pop will rise to 208 million.

India per capita water availability has fallen from over 5000

cubic meters in 1950 to 1545 cubic meters by 2011 & will hit

1000 cubic meter per person in 2025.

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Drivers for water stress range from rising population,industrialization, urbanization to climate change- glaciermelt, fluctuations in precipitation patterns; increasinggroundwater use, and direct withdrawals from the river.

Agriculture sector the largest consumer of water in Pak. &India, with about 90% of the available flow utilized. Pak96.03% & India 86.46%.

Overpumping and inefficient irrigation techniques haveled to sharply declining groundwater levels, loss ofwetlands and salinisation of agricultural lands.

Pakistan has very little water storage capacity, barelystore 30 days of water in the Indus basin, while India canstore for 120-220 days, Egypt up to 700 days and the US for900 days.

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The nexus approach to water-energy-

food

security

South Asian countries face serious challenges as to how to

provide adequate food and nutrition, access to modern energy,

and safe water and sanitation to a burgeoning population

without degrading the natural resource base.

The Himalayan ecosystems are critical for ensuring food, water,

and energy security not only in the HKH region but also in

downstream river basins. As water, nutrients, and other

ecosystem services flow downstream from the Himalayas, the land

use and management practices at the headwaters and in Himalayan

watersheds affect the quantity and quality of water, energy, and

other resources critical for sustaining agriculture and food security

downstream.

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The nexus approach recognizes the interdependencies ofwater, energy, and food production and aims to systemize theinterconnections to provide a framework for assessing the use of allresources and to manage trade-offs and synergies.

To address the nexus challenges, a two-pronged approach isneeded: first, to enhance cross-sectoral coherence and second,to improve management of the Himalayan headwaters,watersheds, forests, rangelands, soils, and farmlands on whichthe sustainability and stability of flow of ecosystem servicesdepend. Harmonize policies among the three sectors, taking into

account interdependencies of resources across both sectors andscales, upstream and downstream, as well as the role ofHimalayan ecosystems in long-term security of water, energy,and food in the region.

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Strengthen coordination mechanisms among upstreamand downstream countries to maximize synergies andminimize trade-offs in resource use, and take a river basinapproach to protect Himalayan ecosystems, catchments,watersheds, and headwaters and to harness the potential ofwater resources, as the benefits of sustainable watershedmanagement transcend national boundaries.

In exploiting hydropower potential, take the ecological,environmental and social implications of hydropowerdevelopment seriously into account. Detailed studies oftechnical and economic feasibility are required to identifypotential hydropower areas and to demarcate fragile zoneswhere heavy construction must be avoided, for example athigh altitude and in vulnerable watersheds.

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a nexus-based adaption approach – which integrates

a nexus perspective into climate change adaptation

plans and an adaptation perspective into

development plans – is crucial for effective

adaptation.

The complex interplay of food, energy, and water

demand and supply requires a holistic approach and

institutional mechanisms to coordinate the actions and

strengthen complementarities and synergies among the

three sectors of water, energy, and food.

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The interfaces among water, energy, food, and

adaptation

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IWT & Nexus Approach

Political asymmetry is a critical factor in shaping the

transboundary water agreements.

The powerful economy in shared catchments has higher potential

to use and develop water resources.

The IWT divides the transboundary rivers, disintegrating the basin.

The disagreements on implementation of the treaty have become

frequent and stronger as with time as upstream hydropower

development , high water stress and climate change create serious

challenges for Pakistan.

The IWT does not consider ground water aquifer, environmental

flows to keep eastern rivers operational, pollution and

environmental degradation, climate change.

There are gray areas i.e. number of dams India can build on

western rivers & cumulative impact on downstream flows.

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The periods of dry river reaches is increasing for allIndus tributaries despite floods and heavy monsoon.

There are also consequences of non-consultative,expensive and narrow process of dispute resolution.

Pakistan need to adopt an inclusive approach to workin three areas; Implementation of existing IWT:

Real time data sharing through installation oftelemetry system;

Transparency in data sharing regarding theconstruction of Indian projects on W. Rivers;utilizing Article VII on Future Cooperation.

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identifying emerging gaps and proposing

remedial measures.

Sharing of Environment Impact Assessment

(EIA) of the Indian projects on the western rivers

will build trust.

Assessment of the cumulative impact of the

Indian hydro projects on W. rivers on the down

stream flows & environment.

Pursuing collaboration in joint research &

knowledge generation, to respond to climatic

threats & environmental degradation.

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The study of the behaviour of Himalayan glaciers:

Both sides need to form a group of experts to study

behavior of glaciers whether advancing or

decreasing. The largest challenges stem from

inadequate information and monitoring, and limited

scientific understanding of these high elevation glaciers.

India-Pak need to declare all glaciers protected area.

Siachin must be demilitarized.

Coordination in transboundary watershedmanagement in IB. It is critical to maintainsustainable flow, to control soil erosion,sedimentation & floods, esp flash floods.

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Watershed management projects should factor in

climate change, and some ‘dedicated climate change

adaptation projects’ should be designed to deal with

high-risk watersheds within UIB.

both sides need to work together in mapping

deforestation and its impact on Indus watershed in

UIB and coordinate strategies for sustainable

conservation, protection and development of forests

in the region.

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Integrated Water Resources Management

• Internal water resource management becomes v. imp

given the fact that physical separation of the Indus

tributaries has hampered the possibilities of efficient

integrated basin management.

• In view of growing demographic change adding to water

scarcity, it is the responsibility of both countries to

ensure internal water resources management by

following the principles of Integrated Water Resources

Management (IWRM) & share best practices in water

conservation techniques in agriculture, industrial &

domestic uses.

• A nexus approach can be adopted in internal water

resource management31

Conclusion

Water plays a vital role in both food and energy

production, and in sustaining the ecosystems that

support agriculture and other economic activities that are

critical for achieving food security

Despite the inherent interconnections between food,

water, and energy production, agencies often work in a

fragmented and isolated way.

Poor sectoral coordination and institutional

fragmentation have triggered an unsustainable use of

resources and threatened the long-term sustainability of

food, water, and energy security in the region.

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Understanding the linkages within the food, energy,

and water nexus can provide opportunities to

increase resource use efficiency and enhance

cooperation and policy coherence among the three

sectors. The nexus perspective should help to promote

interdisciplinary and mutually beneficial actions.

Pakistan shares a large tributary river Kabul on

Indus with Afghanistan, where there is no water

agreement as yet. A nexus approach can be adopted to

enhance sustainability of shared Kabul river and its

ecosystem.

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