Informing Water Policies in South Asia

Informing Water Policies in South Asia
Author: Anjal Prakash
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 372
Release: 2018-05-11
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1317560124

This book analyzes water policies in South Asia from the perspective of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). It seeks to address the problems of water scarcity, conflict and pollution resulting from the gross mismanagement and over-exploitation of this finite resource. Highlighting the need for IWRM in mitigating abuse and ensuring sustainable use, it discusses issues relating to groundwater management; inter-state water conflicts; peri-urban water use; local traditional water management practices; coordination between water users and uses; and water integration at the grassroots level. With case studies from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal, the innovative, painstaking and transnational researches presented in the volume deal with questions of equity, gender, sustainability, and democratic governance in water policy interventions. It will interest researchers and students of development studies, environmental studies, natural resource management, water governance, and public administration, as also water sector professionals, policymakers, civil society activists and governmental and nongovernmental organizations.

Water Resources Policies in South Asia

Water Resources Policies in South Asia
Author: Anjal Prakash
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 219
Release: 2020-11-29
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1000084337

Falling or stagnant agricultural growth, increasing dependence on groundwater, climate variability, swift industrialization, and unplanned and unregulated urbanization in South Asia have spawned a variety of challenges for water resources governance, management and use: groundwater overdraft; insufficient, ill-managed and poor-quality freshwater supply vis-à-vis escalating demand; and water pollution. Water policies in each of the South Asian countries thus call for a more holistic understanding for the efficient management, equitable distribution and sustainable use of this scarce resource. Analyzing the economic, demographic and ideological context in which water policies are framed and implemented, this book argues for an integrated framework in formulating and implementing water policies in South Asia. It also highlights some common missing links in the national policies: problems of techno-centric and blueprint approach to water management, growing influence of international donor agencies and inadequate concern for issues such as equity, sustainability, gender sensitivity, accountability, regional diversity in property rights regimes and water management practices, and regional conflicts over water access. The innovative and nuanced knowledge on water resources produced from detailed case studies in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be useful for professionals, academics, policymakers and activists as well as those in development studies, environmental studies, natural resource management and public administration.

Water Resource Management in South Asia

Water Resource Management in South Asia
Author: Anjal Prakash
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 1428
Release: 2022-05-29
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1317341961

This cluster of books presents innovative and nuanced knowledge on water resources, based on detailed case studies from South Asia—India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. In providing comprehensive analyses of the existing economic, demographic and ideological contexts in which water policies are framed and implemented, the volumes argue for alternative, informed and integrated approaches towards efficient management and equitable distribution of water. These also explore the globalization of water governance in the region, particularly in relation to new paradigms of neoliberalism, civil society participation, integrated water resource management (IWRM), public–private partnerships, privatization, and gender mainstreaming. These volumes will be indispensable for scholars and students of development studies, environmental studies, natural resource management, governance and public administration, particularly those working on water resources in South Asia. They will also be useful for policymakers and governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Globalization of Water Governance in South Asia

Globalization of Water Governance in South Asia
Author: Vishal Narain
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2018-05-11
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1317560205

Globalization has significantly redefined the nature of governance in the water sector. Non-state actors—multilateral and transnational donor agencies and corporations, non-government organizations, markets, and civil society at large—are assuming a bigger role in public policy-making for water resource management. New discourses on neoliberalism, integrated water resource management (IWRM), public–private partnerships, privatization, and gender equity have come to influence water governance. Drawing upon detailed case studies from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan, this volume shows the implications of these new global paradigms for water allocation and management practices, institutions and governance structures in South Asia. It suggests that, despite claims to the contrary, they have done little to further human well-being, reduce gender disparity, or improve accountability and transparency in the system. Steering away from blueprint approaches, it argues for a more nuanced and contextual understanding of water management challenges, based on local knowledge and initiatives. This book will be useful to those interested in political economy and water governance, natural resource management, environmental studies, development studies, and public administration, as well as to water professionals, policy-makers and civil society activists.

Water Governance and Civil Society Responses in South Asia

Water Governance and Civil Society Responses in South Asia
Author: N. C. Narayanan
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 279
Release: 2018-10-24
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1317559878

This book addresses paradigm shifts in water policy and governance, and examines the role of civil society organizations in influencing public policy, while focusing on social equity and democratic participation. It illustrates a range of interesting developments in policy formulation, donor–state nexus, and interventions by civil society and voluntary organizations. The collection of articles provides a comprehensive and current narrative of the state–society relations in South Asia under neoliberal governance reforms, their implications and key responses with regard to water policies. Using case studies, it closely investigates the impact, effectiveness, drawbacks and challenges faced by voluntary organizations and social movements working at various levels in the water sector. The work will interest researchers and students of development studies, environmental studies, natural resource management, water governance, and public administration, as also water sector professionals, policymakers, civil society activists and governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Indian Water Policy at the Crossroads: Resources, Technology and Reforms

Indian Water Policy at the Crossroads: Resources, Technology and Reforms
Author: Vishal Narain
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 234
Release: 2016-01-12
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3319251848

This book reviews and analyzes emerging challenges in water policy, governance and institutions in India. Recent times have seen the contours of water policy shaped by new discourses and narratives; there has been a pluralization of the state and a changing balance of power among the actors who influence the formulation of water policy. Discourses on gender mainstreaming and Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) are influential, though they have often remained rhetorical and difficult to put into practice. Debate over property rights reform and inter-linking of rivers has been polarized. At the same time, there has been a rising disenchantment with policy initiatives in participatory irrigation management, cleaning up of water bodies and pollution control. Fast depletion of groundwater resources and the importance of adopting new irrigation methods are getting increased focus in the recent policy dialogue. The contributors review current debate on these and other subjects shaping the governance of water resources, and take stock of new policy developments. The book examines the experience of policy implementation, and shows where important weaknesses still lie. The authors present a roadmap for the future, and discuss the potential of alternative approaches for tackling emerging challenges. A case is made for greater emphasis on a discursive analysis of water policy, to examine underlying policy processes. The contributors observe that the ongoing democratization of water governance, coupled with the multiplication of stresses on water, will create a more visible demand for platforms for negotiation, conflict resolution and dialogue across different categories of users and uses. Finally, the authors propose that future research should challenge implicit biases in water resources planning and address imbalances in the allocation of water from the perspectives of both equity and sustainability.

Attitudes to Water in South Asia

Attitudes to Water in South Asia
Author: Gareth Price
Publisher: Chatham House (Formerly Riia)
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2014
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9781784130121

Drawing on interviews with hundreds of policymakers and key stakeholders in five countries in South Asia, this report assesses current thinking toward domestic water management and transboundary water issues and suggests strategies that could help to reframe water as a shared resource rather than a potential source of conflict.

Dirty, Sacred Rivers

Dirty, Sacred Rivers
Author: Cheryl Colopy
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 415
Release: 2012-10-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0199977003

Dirty, Sacred Rivers explores South Asia's increasingly urgent water crisis, taking readers on a journey through North India, Nepal and Bangladesh, from the Himalaya to the Bay of Bengal. The book shows how rivers, traditionally revered by the people of the Indian subcontinent, have in recent decades deteriorated dramatically due to economic progress and gross mismanagement. Dams and ill-advised embankments strangle the Ganges and its sacred tributaries. Rivers have become sewage channels for a burgeoning population. To tell the story of this enormous river basin, environmental journalist Cheryl Colopy treks to high mountain glaciers with hydrologists; bumps around the rough embankments of India's poorest state in a jeep with social workers; and takes a boat excursion through the Sundarbans, the mangrove forests at the end of the Ganges watershed. She lingers in key places and hot spots in the debate over water: the megacity Delhi, a paradigm of water mismanagement; Bihar, India's poorest, most crime-ridden state, thanks largely to the blunders of engineers who tried to tame powerful Himalayan rivers with embankments but instead created annual floods; and Kathmandu, the home of one of the most elegant and ancient traditional water systems on the subcontinent, now the site of a water-development boondoggle. Colopy's vivid first-person narrative brings exotic places and complex issues to life, introducing the reader to a memorable cast of characters, ranging from the most humble members of South Asian society to engineers and former ministers. Here we find real-life heroes, bucking current trends, trying to find rational ways to manage rivers and water. They are reviving ingenious methods of water management that thrived for centuries in South Asia and may point the way to water sustainability and healthy rivers.

Freshwater Governance for the 21st Century

Freshwater Governance for the 21st Century
Author: Eiman Karar
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 271
Release: 2016-10-24
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319433504

The objective of this book is to broadly illustrate the key aspects of water governance, mapping the spectrum of decision-making from techno-centric and eco-centric approaches, to hybrid concepts and people-centric approaches. Topics covered include the challenges for water-governance models, the polycentric model, the integration challenge, water in the decision-making hierarchy, and the rise of water-sensitive design, while also taking into account interdependencies between stakeholders, as well as the issue of scale. The book’s content is presented in an integrated and comprehensive format, building on detailed case studies from around the world and the authors’ working experiences in the water sector. Combining essential insights with accessible, non-technical language, it offers a valuable resource for academics, technicians and policy-makers alike.

Water Policy and Governance in South Asia

Water Policy and Governance in South Asia
Author: M. Anwar Hossen
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2017-03-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1134996896

Dr. Hossen carried out an exceptional program of research in Bangladesh which focused on water governance in relation to human rights, international water law and environmental sustainability. His major argument is that eco-agricultural system encounters major disruptions due to a number of factors including regional hydropolitics and neoliberal and highly centralized approaches to water resource management that follow the principles of "ecocracy." In this context, Dr. Hossen explores three major questions: (i) How can local ecological knowledge be incorporated into national water policy? (ii) What strategies and reforms are required at the international watershed governance level? and (iii) How can human rights principles, including the principle of water as a human right, be used to formulate more effective water policy and governance principles? To answer these questions, Dr. Hossen explores the effects of regional hydropolitics on water management, focusing on three large engineering projects, the Farakka Barrage built by India on the Ganges River, and the Ganges-Kobodak (GK) and Gorai River Restoration (GRR) Projects in Bangladesh. This analysis is based on his research into local knowledge and farming practices during a year of fieldwork in 2011-12, focus group discussions, in-depth case studies and social survey methods. In addition to this primary data, he looks at extensive secondary documents from the government of Bangladesh pertaining to water management, agricultural modernization and institutional structures. The arguments herein are applicable particularly to the Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin countries in South Asia but also to the river basins of other parts of the world.