Water As a Scarce Resource: Local, Regional & Trans-Boundary Water Issues Approach to water governance • Water in India has become a critical factor affecting development and wellbeing! • Current approach to manage water is ‘engineering’ dominated one, which treats water as a ‘homogenous’ resource • Water is a ‘heterogeneous resource’ and it generates multiple benefits to the society. • These benefits are called ‘ecosystem services’. What are ecosystem services? • Ecosystem services: benefits generated by the environment that are both directly and indirectly contributing to human well-being (MEA, 2005; TEEB, 2010). • Environment is treated as ‘natural capital’ and flow of ecosystem services as ‘income’ • If the capital shrinks, the ecosystem services will shrink but, disproportionately! Ecosystem Services of Water (e.g. Wetlands) • Wetlands: "areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres” Ramsar Convection. Ecosystem Services of Water , e.g. - Wetlands • Water in a wetland, for example, generates four types of ecosystem services (MEA, 2005; TEEB, 2010): • Various Ecosystem Services of Water Resources (see the photographs in supplementary file to session 3) I -Production/Provisioning Services • Production services include goods and services produced in the ecosystem • Provision of: – Food – Water (drinking, irrigation, etc) – Fodder (including grass from pastures) – Fuel (including wood and dung) – Timber, fibers and other raw materials – Biochemical and medicinal resources – Genetic resources – Ornamentals benefits II-Regulation Services • Regulation services result from the capacity of ecosystems to regulate climate, hydrological and bio-chemical cycles, earth surface processes, and a variety of biological processes. • Air quality regulation • Carbon sequestration • Climate regulation through regulation of albedo, temperature and rainfall patterns II-Regulation Services • Gas regulation/air quality regulation • Filtering service that removes organic materials and chemicals from water • Regulation of the timing and volume of river and ground water flows • Protection against floods by coastal or riparian systems (both upstream and downstream flood) II-Regulation Services • Regulation of erosion and sedimentation • Regulation of species reproduction (nursery function) • Breakdown of excess nutrients and pollution • Pollination • Regulation of pests and pathogens II-Regulating Services • Protection against storms • Protection against noise and dust • Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) • Waste treatment • Nutrient regulation • Biological control III-Cultural Services • Cultural services relate to the benefits people obtain from ecosystems through recreation, cognitive development, relaxation, and spiritual reflection • Nature and biodiversity (provision of a habitat for wild plant and animal species) • Provision of cultural, historical and religious heritage • Provision of scientific and educational information III-Cultural Services • Provision of opportunities for recreation and tourism • Provision of attractive landscape features enhancing housing and living conditions (amenity service) • Provision of other information (e.g., cultural or artistic inspiration) IV-Supporting Services • Soil formation, photosynthesis and nutrient recycling • Maintenance of biodiversity • Primary production • Water cycling Questions… • What about ecosystem benefits of other forms of environmental resources such as, forests? • Why despite multiple ecosystem values generated by environmental resources, the resources are getting depleted and degraded? Economic value of ecosystem services: Global level • Costanza et al. (1997). ‘The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital’, Nature, 387: 253 – 260. • Value of 17 ES of 16 biomes was estimated using ‘benefit transfer method’ • Annual value of US$16–54 trillion per year with an average of US$33 trillion per year (this figure was revised to US$125 trillion in 2011) • Global GNP was: US$18 trillion per year in 1997. • What lesson that you learn from the above estimation? Economic Value of ecosystem services World Ecosystem Services -Supplementary Session 2.xls Total Economic Value (TEV) of Water: An alternative Classification of Water Services • Total Economic Value (TEV): a) Direct Use Value (e.g. water for drinking purpose) b) Indirect Use Value (e.g. biodiversity) c) Option Value – People’s willingness to pay for future use of the value Total Economic Value (TEV) of Water: An alternative Classification of Water Services d) Existence Value – People’s willingness to pay for mere existence of water (holiness of Ganga water) * While a) and b) are already there in the four types of ecosystem services we discussed in the previous slides, c) and d) are additional values identified by the environmental economists Why water is a unique resource? • Water-based ecosystem services are heterogeneous in nature: – Some are visible and some are invisible – Some are quantifiable and some are non-quantifiable – Some are direct and some are indirect – Some are objective and some are subjective – Some occur at local level and some are global in nature – Some are short-lived and some are enduring • Can you give examples for all the above services? Non-Linear Impact • Since water generates innumerable ecosystem benefits which are consumed in numerous consumption and production activities in an economy, even a small reduction will cause a larger reduction in human welfare –which is called ‘non-linear impact’! • In other words, economic welfare in an economy can improve tremendously even with small improvement in water resources. Water Management can achieve multiple objectives • Water management in India is based mainly on a narrow, engineering approach that treats water as homogenous resource • Under the engineering approach, the surplus and deficit are measured in terms of physical units (litres, cubic feet, etc). • But, the ecosystem services approach suggests that water should be measured in terms of the value of ecosystem services foregone • Based on the ecosystem services approach, how do you critically assess the national river-linking project? Floods in Chennai (Dec. 2015) • Loss of infrastructure – Rs. 26000 crore • Loss of properties and lives (Non - Quantifiable) • Loss of MSME (Rs, 17,000 crore; 50,000 job lost) • Real-Estate business has been drastically affected • Business firms moving away from Chennai Chennai floods… • Torrential rains occurred in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu towards end of November and first week of December, 2015. • Some 329 TMCft (thousand million cubic feet -1 cubic feet = 26.3168 litres) of fresh water was drained into the ocean in 5 days. • 329 TMC of water is sufficient to meet the water requirement of Chennai city for the next 30 years! • In a state which is always reeling under water scarcity problem, can we drain a huge quantity of fresh water into the ocean? An ecosystem approach would lead to the following questions: – What would have been the value of agricultural output that we could have produced in case the 329 TMC of water had been used in the agriculture sector? – What would have been the household benefits in case the water had been used in the household sector? – What would have been the value of the industrial output if we had used this water in the industry sector? Continue… – What would have been the value of milk, meet and organic manure in case it had been used in the livestock sector? – -What would have been the value of recreational, religious and cultural benefits if we could have produced with that water? – What would have been the value of biodiversity that could have been supported with that water? – So, drinking water in a bottle contains food grains, fodder, milk, meat, industrial output, recreational benefits, and so on. If we adopt ecosystem approach for the following Cases….? • Land acquisition for infrastructure –what happens to the water and various agriculture ecosystems? • Water transfer from rural to urban areas –how to compensate the users for ecosystem services for their losses? • Does Environmental Impact Assessment to be done for development and infrastructural projects take into account the loss of ecosystem services? Water Scarcity- Problem of Mismanagement leads to, • Depletion (Quantity-based) • Degradation (Quality -based) Factors influencing depletion and degradation of water • Population growth • Urbanization (increase in water use –LPCD) • Income growth (garden, car washing, etc) –up to certain level, it is income inelastic and after that level, it becomes highly elastic • Intensive agriculture (GW exploitation, water quality) • Industrialization (water intensive industries, pollution) Degradation –Water Quality Issues • Point-source pollution (industrial) and non-point source pollution (urban, agriculture) • We have some policy on point-source pollution but, no policy on non-point source pollution • Non-point source pollution –rapid urbanisation in India – increased quantity of urban sewage –carries harmful toxic wastes, hospital wastes, waste from meat shops, carcasses of animals, etc Food for thought • Do you know where does your wastewater go from your city/village? • Do you know where is your solid waste being dumped? • What happens to the hospital waste and e-waste? • Where is the septic tank waste being dumped? • What happens to the carcasses of animals? Food for thought • Around 65% percent of the people in India practice opendefecation. Where does the excreta go? • Most of the above end up mainly in waterways which provide raw water for drinking purpose! • What is the implication of all the above on the health status of the people? Who are the most affected ones? What is the economic loss of mortality and morbidity caused by environmental problems? Economic Loss of Health Impact • Mortality (death) and Morbidity (illness) – Income lost/savings lost – Output/service produced lost – Medical Expenses – Income and output lost of relatives More than 40 per cent of the environmental damage cost in India is caused by water-borne diseases (Mani, 2013) Status of Surface Water • Surface water sources are shirking due to problems such as encroachment, sand mining, improper maintenance, etc • E.g. TN state had 42,000 water bodies which generated irrigation benefits, groundwater recharge, etc • At present, there are only 19000 water bodies! • What is the quantum of loss of ecosystem services? GW Exploitation: e.g. Tamil Nadu http://cgwb.gov.in/gw_profiles/st_tn.html • Total Blocks in TN: 239 • Safe – GW development less than 70% of replenished water) - NIL • Critical – (70 % and below 100% development) - 67 blocks (28.03%) • Semi-Critical – (90% -100% development) - 33 blocks (13.85%) • Over-exploited – (above 100%) - 139 blocks (58.15%) Case of Depleting Groundwater Levels • Dramatic increase in groundwater exploitation in post- independent India – Emergence of tube well technology • 70% of India’s irrigation need is met by groundwater sources • 80% of domestic water supplies is met by groundwater sources • Groundwater is a capital asset. Its depreciation is not accounted for in the GDP estimation! Case of Depleting Groundwater Levels • Why overdependence on groundwater? – Low water storage capacity • India can barely store about 30 days of rainfall compared to as much as 900 days in the major river basins abroad (USA, Australia) – Sheer lack in piped delivery in everyday supply • On supply side, two source of financing – budgetary & user charges have been declining & falling Depleting Groundwater Levels in India • Groundwater levels sunk by more than half in many parts – e.g., One foot a year in Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana & Delhi • Loss of 109 cubic km of groundwater during 2002–2008 – e.g., Bangalore: Over 2 lakh bore-wells pumping between 100–400 million liters per day Traditional Water Management Systems in India • e.g., Tank irrigation in South India – Chola, Pandya, Vijayanagra & Kakatiya Kingdoms – “Virtue & prosperity will increase only when tanks and irrigation canals are constructed and favour shown to poor cultivators in the matter of taxation and services” – Emperor Krishnadevaraya of Vijanagaram Water Tank in Kerala Water Tank in Tamil Nadu Depleting groundwater levels Policy failures: Artificially under-pricing of key agri-inputs like power • Shift in irrigation pattern • Private use (tube-wells – ground-water) over collective use (tanks, ponds, etc. – surface-water) Water Tank in Tamil Nadu • Do we have efficient institutions to monitor & regulate groundwater extraction? • Why not establish water markets for efficient allocation of water resources? • Are there well defined property rights in water resources? A rural scenario – Natwargadh village in Gujarat An urban Scenario – A parched Delhi slum Water scarcity: Implications Water scarcity – Equity implications Sugar farmers diverting water in Maharashtra • Maharashtra - A Land of Sugar Barons – Sugarcane cultivated on 3% of irrigated land but consumes 80% of irrigated water – State’s 2nd biggest dam Ujani built in 1980 supplies 117 TMC of water Water scarcity – Equity implications Sugar farmers diverting water in Maharashtra – 60 TMC illegally diverted to 6 lakh hectares sugarcane fields spread across 3 districts with 50 sugar factories run on cooperatives basis – Politicians are shareholders – Creating acute water shortage in hundreds of villages located in eight taluks of Solapur district – Water supply from dam is meant to be reserved for crops like Chillies, Jowar, Bajra, Groundnut, Maize, Tur, Wheat & vegetables - Less water-intensive crops compared to Sugarcane Another face of corruption Water scarcity – Equity implications Rural vs. Urban - Water diverted from rural to urban areas – e.g., Delhi's Might, Renuka's Plight • Renuka Dam on Giri River in Himachal Pradesh – A solution for Delhi’s water scarcity Site of Renuka Dam “People in Delhi need to realize that dams are short-term solutions. This is not a problem of supply, but of wastage and poor management." An NGO activist Water scarcity: Political implications • River water sharing – Cauvery River: Karnataka & Tamilnadu – Palar river –Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu – Mullai Periyar –Kerala and Tamil Nadu Water sharing – Bilateral level • Indus Water Treaty 1960 – India (the land beyond the Indus) & Pakistan • Under supervision of World Bank • Rights of lower riparian states • Ravi, Beas, Sutlej: India • Eastern flowing rivers • Indus, Jhelum, Chenab: Pakistan • • Western flowing rivers • Limited general storage–, power Storage– & flood storage–capacity given to India • India provides hydrological data Average rainfall less than 240 mm Only one-quarter of the land is The most effective treaty cultivated • Permanent Indus Commission (> 100 meetings) 90% of fresh water used for irrigation & agriculture • An illustration of cooperation between two World’s largest contiguous irrigation hostile nations system Water sharing – Bilateral level • The onset of water war • Construction of dams upstream by India • India accused of stealing water • Indus has about 10 times more water than Colorado River in US & 3 times more water than Nile in Egypt • Need for megadams – Punjab province or Sindh province • Wastage of Indus water in sea by Pakistan • Intensive irrigation & poor drainage practices • Water supplies around cities are unaccounted for–leaked or stolen Global warming: Reduced snowfall & receding glaciers in Western Himalayas Depleting groundwater levels in Pakistan • The Economist, ‘Pakistan, Water – Going with the flow’ (February 11th, 2012) “Without some drastic action, Quetta [in Balochistan] , with more than 1 million people, may have to close down. Quetta’s thirst could become a national phenomenon.” “Around Quetta… water table is now 330-340 m below surface & estimated to be falling by 3.5 m a year. Over 2,000 tube wells have dried up.” Implications for India? Water sharing – Bilateral level China begins building dam on its side of the Brahmaputra • China has more than half of 50,000 dams in the world, Only 22 dams in 1949 – Planning a mammoth $635 Bill. investment in water infrastructure over next decade – Ignoring social costs – Affecting natural ecosystem, Displacement of poor villagers Middle East – Water related conflicts Israel vs. Palestine, Israel vs. Syria • Israel: “Water is the blood in our veins” – Former PM Levy Eshkol declared in 1962 • 6 Days 1967 Arab-Israel War led to Israeli occupation of West Bank in Palestine & Golan Heights in Syria – 2/3rd of Israel’s water comes from these occupied territories – 42 deep wells in West Bank aquifers supply 25% to 40% of Israel’s water – West Bank Palestinians prevented from digging deep wells for their own (only upto 140 m in depth); Israel wells up to 800 m – Purchase water from Israel when their shallow wells run dry in summer – Golan Heights (13–29 miles wide) • • Vantage point for monitoring Syrian movements Catchment area for Jordan River (200 miles) – provides 30% of Israel’s water Water sharing – Continental level • Tributaries in 10 countries: Riparian states The Nile politics • 300 million dependent • Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea • Burundi, Rwanda, Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda • The Great Lake States facing severe water scarcity EGYPT • Use of Nile’s water for development a bone of contention ERITREA • • SUDAN ETHIOPIA • • • CONGO RWANDA UGANDA BURUNDI, TANZANIA KENYA Egyptian Civilization & Nile 1959 Treaty: Egypt (87%) & Sudan (13%) • All rights over river’s use 97% of Egypt’s water requirement 95% of Nile’s runoff originates outside Egypt Blue Nile in Ethiopia provides 85% of Nile’s flow • Ethiopia & Eritrea • Nile Basin Initiative with support of international institutions Water sustainability initiatives Small & decentralized water harvesting structures Water sustainability initiatives at IIM Kozhikode Onset of Monsoon After two weeks How Kunnamangalam panchayat benefited from this water conservation endeavour? After monsoon Water catchment area Water channel around pond Successful intervention for water conservation e.g., ‘National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA)’ Successful intervention for Water Conservation A farm pond in a village in Dharwad district, Karnataka A farm pond constructed in Hadmatiya village, Jamnagar district, Gujarat, ensures water for irrigation Successful intervention for Water Conservation Gujarat Governments’ Multi-fold Water Conservation Measures • 1999 Election, A drought year: “Pehle paani, phir Advani” • Construction of 10,700 check-dams up to 2000 • Construction of > 1 lakh check-dams during the last decade – Farmers contribute 5% initially; state-owned agency provides 50% as subsidy & arranges a bank loan for the balance of 45%; – NGOs play an important role Check-dam on Seasonal River in Kasargod district in Kerala Successful Intervention for Water Conservation ‘Economic Impact’ • Groundwater recharge • Recharging dry rivers – Boosted agricultural growth in Saurashtra & Kutch region (70% of area in Gujarat is semi-arid & arid) • Agriculture growth rate in Gujarat around 11% vs. around 3% in India • Water conservation & management dams one of the contributing factor111 Benefits of check-dams vis-à-vis big dams 7 wells in surrounding are recharged by each check-dam 10 hectare of land is benefited by each check-dam Require less operation & maintenance vis-à-vis big dams No question of ‘Acquisition of Land’ Do we require National River Linking Project? Hiware Bazar – A village with 54 Millionaires Located in Nagar Taluka of Ahmednagar in Maharashtra Watershed Development Program Miracle of Water – Transformation of a drought-prone village For details See Hiware Bazar at http://hiwarebazar.epanchayat.in/ See ‘From Rags to Riches – Hiware Bazaar Village’ on YouTube Development in Hiware Bazara Water scarcity – industry vs. locals – Coca-cola vs. Locals in Plachimada in Palaghat District, Kerala • Commissioned bottling plant in 2000 • Plant in 34 acres, drawing water from 6 bore wells & 2 open wells – Extracted around 6.35 lakh liters/day • By 2002 local water supply depleted and polluted • Agitation by local people – Brand erosion – Coca Cola closed the plant in 2004 • Govt. of Kerala asking for a compensation of around Rs. 216.26 Crores for the effected local people – Compensation for: Agricultural loss; Health damages; Cost of providing water; Wage loss & opportunity cost; Cost of pollution of water resources Payment of environmental services What the companies are doing…..? – Coco-cola: Rain water harvesting structures, construction of checkdams, restoration of ponds & traditional water bodies – Positive water balance in 2010 – Over 6 billion litres of water being conserved through 700 structures in 300 communities – PepsiCo: Well recharge, check dam building & drip irrigation in Aurangabad, Neelamangala, Panipat & Sangareddy – Positive water balance in 2009 – Recharged 2 billion litres of water and benefitted 41,000 community members What the companies are doing…..? – Hindustan Unilever: Check-dam building, building bunds on agricultural lands etc. • Saved 50 billion litres of water in 180 villages across 17 districts • 2015 target: Water conservation activities across 1,000 villages – Criticism: Recycling of waste-water missing??? Can we categorize these initiatives as ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ ? ITC Integrated Watershed Development in Semi-arid regions Water conservation & soil enrichment, enabling farmers to extend the cultivation cycle and return to multiple cropping “Water Boots”, by Roman Signer, makes a splash and a point : Without water, We are nothing.
