The theme of the seminar was groundwater governance with due consideration to health aspects as polluted groundwater is suspected to have contributed to some diseases prevailing in the areas where groundwater is widely used for drinking.
This book presents recent findings from the South Asian region (SA), broadly including groundwater studies on (a) quantity, (b) exploration, (c) quality and pollution, (d) economics, management and policies, (e) groundwater and society, and (f) sustainable sources. It offers a compilation of compelling, authentic insights into groundwater scenarios throughout the water-stressed South Asia region. Comprising Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, it is the most densely populated region in the world: It occupies approximately 4% of the global land area but supports more than 25% of the global population. The SA region now faces an acute shortage of fresh water due to a rapid rise in water demand and changes in societal water-use patterns. Combining essential advances and perspectives, this book offers a valuable resource for all scientists, planners and policymakers who are interested in understanding and developing the SA and other related areas.
Water Policy Science and Politics: An Indian Perspective presents the importance of politics and science working together in policymaking in the water sector. Many countries around the developed and developing world, including India, are experiencing major water scarcity problems that will undoubtedly increase with the impacts of climate change. This book discusses specific topics in India's water, agriculture and energy sectors, focusing on scientific aspects, academic and political discourse, and policy issues. The author presents cases from the interrelated sectors of water resources, supplies, sanitation, and energy and climate, including controversial topics that illustrate how science and politics can work together. - Challenges the linear and conventional approaches to water management and water policymaking in India that are also applicable in developing countries across South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa - Presents best practice ideas and methods that help science and politics work together - Highlights a key gap of communication between science and policy in water research, with solutions on how this can be addressed
This book presents a unique and up-to-date summary of what is known about groundwater on our planet, from a global perspective and in terms of area-specific factual information. Unlike most textbooks on groundwater, it does not deal with theoretical principles, but rather with the overall picture that emerges as a result of countless observations,
There is growing interest in water accounting, why it is needed, what benefits it brings, and equally important, how it can be put into practice. Water accounting is not a new idea, yet it is an alarmingly simple one. It is about quantifying water resources and uses of water, much like financial accounts provide information on income and expenditure. Interest in water accounting is based on the premise that ‘We cannot plan and manage what we do not measure’ – a statement that few would disagree with. However, given the current focus on water as a precious and limiting resource, the risks of extreme floods and droughts, and water’s central role in the 2030 Agenda, it is difficult to understand why so little attention is given to water accounting and to making sure we have enough water. Indeed, estimates suggest that by 2050, if we continue with our current approach to water management, global water demand will exceed supply by over 40%, which would put at risk 45% of global GDP, 52% of the world’s population, and 40% of grain production (WWDR, 2016). This concern is supported by the World Economic Forum that consistently ranks water crises as a top global risk (WEF, 2015). Reports from South Africa (January 2018) suggesting that Cape Town may be the world’s first major city to face the prospect of running out of water following severe drought, is a timely ‘wake-up call’ for everyone to focus on accounting for water.
This book offers a broad and global level description of the current status of wastewater use in agriculture and then brings the readers to various places in the MENA Region and Europe to explain how some countries and regions have addressed the challenges during implementation. On a global scale, over 20 million hectares of agricultural land are irrigated using wastewater. This is one good, and perhaps the most prominent, example of the safe use potential of wastewater. Water scarcity and the cost of energy and fertilisers are among the main factors driving millions of farmers and other entrepreneurs to make use of wastewater. In order to address the technical, institutional, and policy challenges of safe water reuse, developing countries and countries in transition need clear institutional arrangements and more skilled human resources, with a sound understanding of the opportunities and potential risks of wastewater use. Stakeholders in wastewater irrigation who need to implement from scratch or improve current conditions, find it difficult to gather the necessary information on practical implementation aspects. The main objective of this book is to bridge that gap.
The economies located in East, South and Southeast Asia have witnessed an interesting growth-sustainability trade-off over the last decades. While growth considerations have paved ways for deepened ties with growing trade-investment waves and increasing population pressure necessitated exploitation of hitherto unutilized natural resources, focus on environmental sustainability has been a recent consideration. The growth impetus still playing a key role in these economies, it becomes imperative that the countries effectively address the key sustainability concerns, e.g. air and water pollution, land degradation, loss of biodiversity, climate change issues like CO2 emissions etc. But how prepared is the governance mechanism of these countries, covering not only the legislative and administrative framework but also involvement of the judiciary, presence of spirited civil society and active engagement of stakeholders in policy-framing dialogues, to rise up to these challenges? The book seeks an answer to this question through the environmental governance mechanism and natural resource conservation policies in three vibrant regions within Asia. A holistic development dimension of sustainable development path emerges, through discussion of policies adopted by developed (Japan, South Korea), upper-middle (China, Malaysia), developing (India, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand) and least developed countries (Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal).
The United Nations World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) is hosted and led by UNESCO. WWAP brings together the work of 31 UN-Water Members as well as 37 Partners to publish the United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR) series. Under the theme Water for Sustainable Development, the WWDR 2015 has been prepared as a contribution from UN-Water to the discussions surrounding the post-2015 framework for global sustainable development. Highlighting water's unique and often complex role in achieving various sustainable development objectives, the WWDR 2015 is addressed to policy- and decision-makers inside and outside the water community, as well as to anyone with an interest in freshwater and its many life-giving benefits. The report sets an aspirational yet achievable vision for the future of water towards 2050 by describing how water supports healthy and prosperous human communities, maintains well functioning ecosystems and ecological services, and provides a cornerstone for short and long-term economic development. It provides an overview of the challenges, issues and trends in terms of water resources, their use and water-related services like water supply and sanitation. The report also offers, in a rigorous yet accessible manner, guidance about how to address these challenges and to seize the opportunities that sound water management provides in order to achieve and maintain economic, social and environmental sustainability.