What it will take to save the Himalayas

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What it will take to save the Himalayas

Saturday, 20 October 2018 | Sandeep Kumar Dubey

Multi-faceted challenges that a fast unfolding water crisis poses to the Himalayan region require an integrated water management policy

Deteriorating water situation in the Himalayan region calls for urgent actions on the part of countries situated in the region to manage the Himalayan ecosystem and its water bodies in an integrated and sustainable manner. Water is a vital resource needed to support life, economy, culture and civilisations. The Himalayas, just like the Western Ghats, plays a critical role as watershed. It provides water, food, energy and myriad ecosystem services to the people living in the region. Water sources of countries in the Himalayan region vitally depend on the monsoon rains and streams emanating from the Himalayas. It is pretty clear now that climate change and global warming have heavily affected rainfall patterns, the concentration of snow and ice and eventually the flow of streams in the Himalayas. This may lead to irreversible changes in the landscape and waterscape of the Himalayan region, inviting catastrophic impact on about 1.5 billion people who are dependent on the Himalayas.

An estimated 50,000 glaciers in the Himalayas are both a boon and bane for mountainous countries like Bhutan and Nepal. These glaciers are a major source of irrigation in summer months. They support farm practices and livelihood of a large population. However, given the speed at which these glaciers are melting and retreating due to changes in climatic conditions, there will be frequent and unpredictable devastating glacial lake outbursts and floods, causing severe damages to lives, livestock and livelihood. Receding water flow in the rivers, erratic and torrential rain fall and frequent floods in the region require both supply as well as demand side management. Conservation practices and water use efficiency are the need of the hour. The fact of the matter is that farming practices in the Himalayan region are water-intensive. In India, for example, farming and its ancillary practices use over 90 per cent of the fresh water.  In the coming years, more water will be required to produce adequate food to support a growing population. Keeping these factors in mind, there are predictions that some of the Himalayan countries, such as Pakistan and India, can turn into ‘water scarce countries’ between 2025 and 2035.  

Besides food, another challenge is energy demand. Fortunately, the Himalayan ecosystem has the potential to meet such demand, provided potential is harnessed sustainably. The relation between economically viable hydropower potential and actual generation is abysmally low. For example, Nepal’s current installed hydropower capacity is 753 MW, whereas its identified economically viable potential is 43,000 MW.  Harnessing energy potential of water streams to the optimum level will enhance energy security net and reduce poverty. However, while installing such structures for water storage and hydro-energy, upstream-downstream linkages must be considered. Transparency in data sharing and joint monitoring of such structures will strengthen cooperation among countries.

Water, a natural gift to humanity, flows through myriad natural veins, such as rivers, to reach people and other creatures on earth. However, access to it is marred by natural barriers, lack of supply infrastructure and geopolitics of basin countries. Major rivers in the Himalayan region, including Mekong, Ganges, Indus and Brahmaputra, are transboundary in nature and have the potential to effect conflict as well as cooperation. Tensions over sharing of river water often surfaces between countries. These persistent tensions may further escalate and pose sever threat to the harmony, peace and stability of the region. Although there exist bilateral treaties between some of the Himalayan countries on sharing of river water, given that some rivers (such as Brahmaputra) are flowing into more than one country, multilateral treaties based on the principle of equity are required. Cross-border dialogues and cooperation are necessary to put in place an effective cooperative mechanism to find and promote amicable solutions to the river water sharing problems. Only through cooperation, a joint management of river basins is possible, to maintain the rich heritage of these rivers.  

What is often ignored in the discussion on transboundary water issues is the inter-basin groundwater. Most Himalayan countries have over drafted groundwater. Over exploitation of ground water has led to salinisation. A case in point is Pakistan where 70 per cent of the tube wells pump saline waters for irrigation.  Adequate supply of surface water through rivers has the potential to keep the use of ground water at minimum and also to recharge ground water. The mental construct of disconnectedness of surface water from groundwater has to go in the interest of better and integrated water resources management (IWRM) in the region. They are interlinked and depend on each other.  Water and health has a symbiotic relationship. Presence of chemicals or pathogens in drinking water can cause severe health problems. For drinking purposes, people in the Himalayan region rely on groundwater as major source. Unfortunately, arsenic, which is the cause for many water-borne diseases, is found in groundwater. Millions of people in Bangladesh, India and China are at risk of consuming unsafe level of arsenic in drinking water.  The multifaceted challenges that the fast unfolding water crisis poses to the Himalayan region require that water be managed in an integrated and holistic manner. IWRM could prove to be a great tool to augment water resources, improve quality of water and bring countries in the Himalayan region together to manage transboundary basins collectively.

(The writer is a freelance commentator)

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