India-European Union Water Partnership

• Europe and India share a rich heritage of association. Amongst the first countries to establish diplomatic relations in early 1960s

• Similar water challenges but vary in nature and magnitude: EU and India both face water quantity (water scarcity, droughts and floods) and quality (industrial, urban and agricultural pollution) issues

• India is looking for solutions for sustainable management of its river basins to provide water security for its growing domestic, agricultural and industrial sectors

Background

• EU has important experience in river basin planning and management under the Water Framework Directive, involving inter-State and cross-border aspects

• Water demand does not match (geographically, timely) with availability of water resources

• High spatial and temporal climate variability leading to frequent occurrence of floods and droughts

• Pollution (urban, industrial, agriculture)• Loss of habitats and species (e.g. dolphin)

due to increased water pollution and reduced ecological flows

• Lack of proper planning for managing water at the basin scale

• Enforcement (pollution, water allocation, water pricing)

• Conflict resolution (international, inter-State, sectors)

Key water management challenges in India (1)

Source: CPCB, 2013 and CSE, 2014

Sewage flow in Ganga Basin

• Godavari River Basin• Bilateral agreements over water use exists

between riparian States• Lower riparian regions complaining about

reduced stream-flows during lean season• Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal,

constituted in 1969, yet to give its final verdict.

• Water conflict may escalate due to number of planned water transfer schemes

• Krishna River Basin• As most of the available water is

committed, basin experiences water scarcity during low rainfall years

• Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT) was set up in April 1969

• Tribunal has given final award, still there is high conflict related to water sharing

• It has been further escalated with Telangana (a new State) asking for fresh water resource assessments

Key water management challenges in India (2)

The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) is being implemented since the year 2000. Key aims of the WFD are: • Achievement of good status for all surface waters and

groundwaters by 2027 at the latest• Requirement of no deterioration of water statusWFD Tools include:• Catchment area approach – IWRM• River Basin Management Plans in 6 year cycles• Identified Significant Water Management Issues• Programme of Measures to achive objectives• Stakeholder involvement – public consultation and participation

The European experience (1)

• Similar water challenges (quality, quantity, floods, droughts)• Similar administrative set-up• EU common framework approach, with flexibility for tailor-made

implementation by Member States• Joint effort (Common Implementation Strategy) with Member

States and stakeholders to facilitate implementation by developing guidance and sharing experience

• Data collection and sharing, interpretation and policy-messaging

The European experience (2 – Relevance to India)

Key implementation elements

1. Technical exchange2. Forum3. Workshops4. Business opportunities5. Networking6. Communications

Technical exchange India-EU

• Continuous technical exchange between EU and representatives of the Government of India at different levels, including • high political level (e.g. State Secretary, Secretary) • intermediate level (Chairmen, nodal officers) and • technical level.

• has led to frequent requests for information (e.g. on the Water Framework Directive implementation in Europe, the set-up of river basin organisations, water allocation schema, river basin management plans, legal boundaries of the WFD)

• have resulted in the development of documents and • have driven the celebration of specific events around these themes.

Technical exchange: Blueprint for Water Accounting

Aim• To design a framework for improved water data management and a water

indicator system in India, based on the experiences in other parts of the world.

What• It evolved as a multi-stakeholder consultative process (Dec 2016-Feb 2017)

addressing the identified policy objectives:• Drive efficiency in water use and large-scale demand side water

management through the availability of reliable and transparent water consumption data across sectors

• Provide credibility to the communication of such data with appropriate granularity (spatial and temporal) of data

• Create a knowledge base of current water use and future water demand, a building block for robust and equitable water allocation scheme in IWRM studies and RBMPs.

Results• On the basis of the technical exchange, three task forces has been constituted by

the MoWR, RD & GR to further develop indicators using existing data sets. These task forces has representatives from IEWP team and covers the following themes: water quality; water use efficiency; and cost recovery.

Technical exchange: Water Quality (WQ) IndexAim of the activity:• Contribute to the improvement of the India-WRIS WebGIS regarding water quality aspects as

integral part of IWRM in India. • Enable improved messaging to better support planning, policy and decision-making on different

levels as well as public informationActivities:• Development of a Concept Document including a brief gap analysis and a first proposal towards the

achievement of the aims (short and long-term)• Outline how (i) to improve the current CPCB WQ Index, (ii) to make use of pressure-oriented WQ

indicators and (iii) to develop new WQ Indices• Presentation of the concept and proposals at a Blueprint for Water Accounting Workshop (14 March)

and discussion with the installed Water Quality Task ForceResults:Proposals for improved messaging and visualization through India-WRIS WebGIS regarding• pressures and possible impacts from municipal wastewater along the Ganga River and initial ideas

how to address related upscaling to basin-level;• results of the existing water quality index including discharge illustration;• Proposals how to address other pressures than municipal wastewater making use of pressure

oriented approaches and RBMPs that will be developed.Next steps• Further enhance short-term actions for key river basins in India regarding effective water quality

assessment and messaging in consultation with the WQ Task Force

India-EU Water Fora 2015 and 2016

• Edition 2015 initiated joint work and agreed on priorities for cooperation

• 2016 within the World Sustainable Development Summit • visualizing the different areas of cooperation within the IEWP• showcasing experiences which can enable further cooperation,

between governments, with business and in research

• Including• Ceremonial signature of Memorandum of Understanding• Presentations and discussion• Exhibition area

Workshops

• Three workshops have been developed with the following topics: • River Basin Management Planning and Governance, • Water allocation, water economics and eflows in River Basin Management, • Technical exchange on River Basin Management Planning.

• relevant for the water policy and management framework India is currently developing.

• have positioned the EU as a counterpart for India on exchanging on river basin planning, which is also a strength of the EU water legislation and its implementation.

• The relevant information from the workshops (e.g. agenda, presentations, conclusions, background documents) is available online.

Workshop: River Basin Management Planning and Governance (June 2016)

Aim of the workshop:• Analyse governance challenges in the Ganga River Basin focusing on key issues

regarding River Basin Management Planning as well as the role and establishment of River Basin Organisations

Conclusions:• Towards implementation regarding RBOs and governance in river basins: Make use

of pilot cases in India to establish functioning mechanisms for RBM;• Create informal structures that provide a platform of exchange (top-down and

bottom-up approaches - like the EU Water Directors) and to build mutual trust for enabling a frame of working together

Workshop: Water allocation, water economics and eflows (September 2016)

• Aim• Promote the setting of agreed targets, rules and implementation

procedures for water allocation including environmental flows• Considering socio-economic and cultural aspects within the river basin

planning and management, so that water allocation contributes to sustainable growth and development in India

• Conclusions• A robust allocation regime, which allocates water where it is most

needed in normal times and in times of scarcity, is an essential driver for sustainable development, at state and basin level. It mitigates water-related risks.

• Some of the core requirements of a robust allocation regime are currently missing in the Ganga River Basin and in the National Ganga River Basin Management Plan

• A stepwise approach to eflows is recommended, building on the experiences of other countries in the world, in particular Mexico

Technical exchange on River Basin Management Planning

• Aim• to provide practice-oriented support for the development of the IWRM

Plans for the river basins of Krishna, Godavari and Mahanadi.• To identify approaches to address existing and future conflicts about

water between States (in basins, due to water transfers)

• Conclusions• Solving intra-state issues and problems will pose a key challenge;• Cooperation between States is good and can also be regulated by law;• Focus should be on Long-term planning;• Stakeholder involvement will be a critical issue;• Explore “benefit-sharing”

Business opportunities

• One business meeting March 2016 was entirely focused on business opportunities in India

• EU businesses have been invited to participate in other IEWP events, with different roles (e.g. speakers, exhibitors, participants).

Networking

• The IEWP has teamed up with other National (e.g. FICCI, TERI) and international (e.g. 2030WRG, OECD, WWF) players,

• and cooperated with other donors (e.g. World Bank, Israel, Australia) in order to build a better network aimed to promote sustainable water policy and management in India, and provide solutions and learned lessons based on previous experiences in the same area.

• Specific activities include • Joint organization of the National Workshop on "Blueprint for Water

Accounting in India" (New Delhi), with 2030 Water Resources Group• Cooperation for the “India – EU Water Partnership workshop: Water &

Industry” (September 2016), • Participation in other events, meetings or work initiatives.

Communications

• A website (http://www.eip-water.eu/india-eu-water-partnership-iewp) has been set up hosts all information, including details for the events that have been organised.

• Activities have been promoted on Twitter (mainly via @EU_in_India),

• A slideshare account (www.slideshare.net/IEWP) has been created and presentations have been uploaded

Main results• Formal endorsement of the India-EU Water Partnership (IEWP) by the

European Union and India • Capacity building of water managers on River Basin Management planning

and governance• Blueprint for Water Accounting in India• Roadmap for improving visibility and impact of water quality monitoring

data• Regarding policy dialogue, areas of common interest have been identified,

and fixed in the work programmes of the IEWP for 2016 and 2017• Business opportunities have been identified for a wide field of interest,

and followed up regarding RBMPs.

Priorities for 2017

• Sustainable development of river basins• River rejuvenation – River restoration• Ecological flows• Water use in Irrigation – Water Use Efficiency• Water use in Irrigation - Solar pumping for Irrigation• Sustainable and optimal groundwater use and recharge• Capacity building and organizational development

Let’s build it together:

http://www.eip-water.eu/india-eu-water-partnership-iewp

Thank you for your attention