Water Issues in South Asia
If there is any single most important issue that mars bilateral
relations among the countries of the subcontinent, it is water. The
issues of cross-border water distribution, utilisation, management and
mega irrigation/hydro-electric power projects affecting the upper and
lower riparian countries are gradually taking centre-stage in defining
interstate relations as water scarcity increases and both drought and
floods make life too often miserable.
Thanks to its location, size and contiguous borders with other South
Asian countries, it is India, in its capacity as both upper and lower
riparian, that has come into conflict with most of its neighbours,
except Bhutan, on the cross-border water issues. Given an atmosphere
of mistrust, an upper riparian India has serious issues to resolve
with lower riparian Pakistan and Bangladesh and, despite being lower
riparian, with the upper riparian Nepal. This, however, does not mean
that India is solely responsible for certain deadlocks, even though
its share of responsibility may be larger than other countries which
have their own physical limitations and political apprehensions.
As elsewhere in the world, and more particularly in the subcontinent
where population explosion continues and environmental degradation
worsens, water resources, like energy, are going to be much lower than
the increasing demand, even if they are harnessed to the most optimum.
Given the depleting resources of water, the issues of human security,
and water security as its most crucial part, are going to assume
astronomical proportions. The issues of water distribution and
management are bringing not only countries of the region, but also
states and regions within provinces into conflict since they are not
being settled amicably within a grand framework of riparian statutes
respecting upstream and downstream rights.
What is, however, quite appreciable is that the countries of the
subcontinent have made certain remarkable efforts to resolve their
differences over water distribution through bilateral agreements.
India and Pakistan signed the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) in 1960
allocating three eastern rivers (Ravi, Sutlej and Beas) to India and
China economy has been falling for many years. Part of this downfall is lack of clean water. You know this, but know one in this world can’t live without water ,so that means water is very important. Climate change, Industrialization, and Government policy all contribute to the chinese water crisis. Of these, the biggest driver is the government policy. The government in China has a strict policy that does not allow the people to have water because China is not using enough money for their water.
Every person requires water for survival. So what would happen if we ran out? North China is undergoing a serious water crisis, which holds a large part of China’s agriculture and population, with China’s government attempting to gain control of the situation they have decided to bring in water from the south. North China does have many factors contributing to it’s water issue at hand, however, in my opinion there are three main issues which the government should gain control of, or the three biggest causes of China’s crisis. these causes include urbanization, global warming, and the worst for last, industry.
Norton, James H.K. India and South Asia. 9th ed. New York: Mc Graw Hill, 2010.
Water shortage is a growing problem for most countries in the world. For China, which has 20% of world’s population and only 7% of available water resources, this problem may become catastrophic (Hofstedt 2010, 72). Therefore some actions and measures should be performed to avoid or at least to weaken future water crisis in China. In this work the following three solutions will be proposed and analyzed in terms of efficiency and applicability: water usage efficiency improvement; adopting the local agencies on controlling water resources; reasonable water pricing.
China’s water supply is running out faster than it can be replaced. Water is being polluted by the environment, wasted because of the law, and a lot of water is being used due to it's growing industry. What is driving China’s water scarcity crisis? China's water scarcity crisis is mainly caused by the government mispricing water, industrialization, and urbanization.
“Over the last three decades, China has experienced breakneck growth, changing from a poor, agricultural country to one of the leading industrial powers of the 21st century. Yet water scarcity has the potential to undermine China’s transformation.”, BGE DBQ Online 2017. Water is a very important natural resource that the United States thankfully has access to everyday. In China, however, the economy is being plagued with an extreme growing crisis of water scarcity which has major complications on daily life. Three major factors that impact and make the situation in China worse is the growth in water pollution(document E), global warming and its effect on the water supply(document A), and lastly the way water is used throughout China( Document
This paper will answer the question, is it ethical to use fresh water as a political or military good? As water decreases in availability in the future, fresh water will be used as a political and military good more and more. Water is one of the few fundamental elements needed to sustain human life. As conflicts arise in the water strained areas of the world, it will be very enticing for one group to hold their opponents water hostage. Without access to fresh water the opponents would have no chance of winning a war and would have to give in to the first group’s demands.
In 1970, East Pakistan, about the size of Wisconsin, had a substantial population of 66 million, meaning that each square kilometer holds about 400 people (Disaster 174). It is located precisely where two large river systems, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, unite to form the biggest delta in the world, the Ganges River Delta. A delta is a triangular deposit of sediment at the mouth of a river, naturally where it diverges. The two rivers conduct silt from as far as the Himalayas to the floodplains of Bangladesh, which are about 1,200 miles apart. Being one of the world’s most fertile croplands, the floodplain is densely populated. Farmers are forced to move farther and farther out into the delta, triggering them to face the perilous monsoon season, which is from June to October. One third of East Pakistan is no more than twenty feet above sea level, maximizing the death toll of life-threatening storms (History 3). The a...
Poverty is one of the primary concerns the world faces in its road to development. Eradication of poverty tends to be the prime aims of governments worldwide. Lack of proper nutrition is a major cause contributing to poverty. Improving agricultural standards can help in producing more food and thus counter the lack of food factor. One way to improve agricultural standards is to develop the irrigation methods used. Irrigation is closely related to poverty. Irrigation benefits the poor through higher production, higher yields, low risk of crop failure and higher and year round farm and non-farm employment. Irrigation leads to high value market oriented agricultural production [1]. However, in developing countries like India, the agricultural sector is heavily dependent on the south-west monsoons. In view of the rising temperatures worldwide due to global warming and changes of weather patterns associated with it, dependence on rains is not always a possible solution. Failure of proper rains can cripple the agricultural sector which can lead to an overall rise in poverty. Thus...
Many of these in later years shall need to be addressed as tension rises: Saving and consumption of water Improving drinking water supply Increasing access to clean water supply Decreasing tension between war-ing nation over resources With the population expected to rise 40-50% within the next 50 years, the demand for water in Agricultural needs and Environmental needs will rise as well, creating a more desperate water crisis. Developed countries struggle with managing water consumption. Our high demand in agriculture, industry, and domestic use further complicates this issue. With increasing urbanization and extravagant changes in lifestyle, our use and wasting of water will only increase.
There is a global shortage of drinking water. A person might wonder how this can be if seventy percent of the earth’s surface is covered by water. Most of the Earth’s water is unsuitable for human consuption. Ocean water is salt water, which makes up 97.5% of all water on the planet. Freshwater is only 3.5% of all the water on Earth. Drinking water is sourced from bodies of freshwater.
Agriculture is the lynchpin in the economy of Pakistan and 67% population of this country is living in rural areas with more than 60% earning their bread and butter directly or indirectly through this sector. Pakistan is also blessed with integrated and largest irrigation system of Pakistan serving approximately 18 million hectare of cultivated land. The water of the Indus River and its principal tributaries (Kabul, Swat, and Kunar from the West, Jehlum, Chanab, from the East) feed this system. Thus the reliance of Pakistan agriculture Pakistan on this irrigated system as more than 80 percent of agricultural output comes from irrigated farms. Likewise, 40% of the world’s food supply is produced on the irrigated land (Johnson III 1995). However, canal water is a critical input for agricultural productivity and it’s inadequate and non-availability at critical stages of the crop is forcing farmers devoid of timely application on inputs resulting considerable reduction in yields. It is also apt to mention that agriculture uses 95% of water in Pakistan compared to domestic or industrial usage (Bhatti et al., 2009). The requirement of Water in Agriculture was 149 Million Acre Feet in 2000 and 215 MAF in 2013 and will rise to 277 Million Acre Feet in the year 2025. This situation warrants for immediate action as further deterioration will be suicidal and can harm the federal fabric of this country as well.
Gustafsson, J. (1992). An Analysis Of Groundwater Vulnerability And Water Policy Reform In India.Environmental Management and Health, 13, 175-193.
One main causes of water scarcity is water mismanagement worldwide. Water mismanagement has become a crisis of governance that will impact heavily ...
Cherain, T., Unni, K., and Sophie, L. 2010. China – India water shortage. Bloomberg News. http://www.grailresearch.com/pdf/ContenPodsPdf/Water-The_India_Story.pdf (accessed November 1, 2010).