International Conference on:
Community Based Water-Resource Management in Northeast India: Lessons from a Global Context
28-30 January, 2011 at Guwahati City (India)
A conference being organised by PFI Foundation, Guwahati
With financial assistance from the Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India
The North Eastern Region (NER), comprising the eight Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, is endowed with bountiful water resources carried by its numerous rivers originating mainly from the Trans Himalayas, Middle Himalayas and the Sub-Himalayas on the north, Patkai-Purbachal hills on the north-east and east and Karbi-Jaintia-Meghalaya-Garo hills on the southern fringe. The Brahmaputra in the northern part and the Barak (Meghna) flowing through the southern margins along with their numerous tributaries are the two main river systems that have created a very dynamic and powerful hydrologic regime in the region. A third river, the Irrawaddy, flowing through Myanmar at the easternmost flanks of the region also drains a part of it mainly through some of its tributaries like the Chindwin. The Brahmaputra originates at the Tibetan plateau, passes through Arunachal Pradesh and Assam and merges with the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. The Barak has its origin at the Manipur-Nagaland border, passes through the southern part of Assam and outfalls in the Bay of Bengal after merging with the Brahmaputra by the name of the Meghna. The Irrawaddy has its source in Myanmar, passes entirely through Myanmar and empties in to the Bay of Bengal near Andaman and Nicobar islands. Thus all the three major rivers of the region and many of their tributaries are international in character with their courses lying in more than one country and their basins shared by several countries.
Individually the basins of the Brahmaputra, the Barak and the Irrawaddy occupy 68.42% (1, 74,528 km2), 16.36% (41,723 km2) and 7.27% (18,539 km2) of the region and together they account for 92.04% (234790 km2) of the region’s geographical area. But the Brahmaputra and the Barak, the catchments of which jointly claim 84.78% (216251 km2) of NER, remain the most dominant hydrological systems having the greatest impact on the environment and lives of the people. The surface water resources available in the region amounts 652.8 billion cubic meters that gives it the highest (34%) share in the country’s total surface water resources potential although the region represents only 8 percent of the total Indian landmass. The per capita and per hectare availability of water in this region is the highest in the country.
The valleys of the Brahmaputra and the Barak in Assam are the seats of numerous wetlands of different sizes and shape most of them originating from abandoned river courses and located close to the parent rivers. There are about 5,213 nos. of wetlands in Assam occupying nearly 10,123 sq. km area (13 percent of the total geographical area of the state) and distributed in 23 districts of Assam. Most of these wetlands are significantly rich in biotic resources and diversity and support the sustenance of many riparian communities. Two of them viz. the Deepor Beel (In Assamese Beel means a freshwater wetland) in the vicinity of Guwahati city and the Loktok in Manipur are wetlands of international importance designated as Ramsar Sites.
In situations of scarcity, decisions about access to and use of water involve actors at the intergovernmental, governmental, regional, community, and household levels and often become highly politicized. The needs and perspectives of large- and small-scale farmers, of small- and medium-sized enterprises, of households, and of fisher folk and others who earn their livelihood from water can differ significantly. At the same time, level of commitment of the different actors to conservation practices and to protection of water resources from contamination may also vary, and the question of whose interests prevail and receive top priority can create considerable tension.
Paradigm Shift
While it is true that the present utilisation of the colossal water resource potential of the Brahmaputra river system is dismally poor, the policies and practices for the utilisation of these resources in the future need to have a broader outlook and a changed paradigm and philosophy of development akin to water resources management principles. As against the adhoc, piece meal, short-term structural measures that are being adopted now, an integrated basin management approach, based on the principles of soil and water conservation as well as sustainable development, needs to be adopted sooner than later.
It is high time for us to go beyond the confines of techno-centric management to broader notions of resource utilisation and disaster management involving wisdom as well as participation of local people at smaller scales. Proper assessment and reduction of vulnerability, empowering local populations and strengthening existing institutions are essential for achieving the goals of sustainable development through water resources management. For the Brahmaputra and the Barak rivers with their diverse backgrounds of natural and human heritage, such a plan will contribute immensely towards ensuring food, health and ecological security.
As a long-term strategy of water resources management, a judicious mix of structural and non-structural measures with a greater emphasis on the latter should form the core of a watershed based regional plan. The water resources of the northeast region must be planned zonally to ensure optimal resource utilisation, hazard management and welfare maximization.
Objective of the Conference
Against this backdrop, a two-day International Conference is proposed to be organised at Guwahati, a major capital city of the Northeast Region, to discuss some of the issues and challenges that have motivated the central and state governments and donors to become involved with water projects. Although there is general recognition of the needs of "communities" for reliable water systems, it is argued that the different attitudes, perspectives, and needs of rural communities with respect to water access and use have been given little focused attention by environmental planners and water-resource managers in the region. More specifically, the conference will focus on the global context, especially in the context of Indian sub-continent, as to what are the lessons learnt from various experiences and research studies on water accessibility and integration of the economic roles of user communities into water-resource planning.
The specific objectives of the International Conference will be to discuss and deliberate under four major themes:
1. The intellectual justification for donors' giving attention to the provision of domestic water to rural communities.
2. Socio-political issues related to conflicting needs and competition for water resources at the community level.
3. The regional experiences in water-resource planning re-focusing on social issues, including water use, health, individual costs, and communities.
4. Mainstreaming ‘gender’ highlighting the role of women in water-resource management.
5. Sustainability in water resources management whereby communities are able to prioritise their own needs and wishes and meet these incrementally.
6. Paradigm shift in water resources management from adhoc, piece meal, short-term structural measures to an integrated management approach, based on the principles of soil and water conservation as well as sustainable development.
7. Utilisation of the water resource potential of the Brahmaputra and Barak river system.
8. Opportunities and facilities for education and training in water resources management in the region and a possible ‘south-south cooperation’ in this arena.
9. Water education at a non-formal or semi-formal level for the rural communities and awareness programmes from NGOs of the region.
10. Promotion of water resources management as a basic educational component at all levels from schools to universities and encouraging research in the area.
Relevance of the Conference:
The conference themes are in tandem with the principles of the National Water Policy (2002) which envisaged integrating water resources development and management for optimal and sustainable utilisation but excluding inter-state water disputes. The policy was a landmark document that integrated quantity and quality aspects as well as environmental considerations for water through adequate institutional arrangements including setting up of appropriate ''river basin organisations''.
This conference, therefore, is very relevant to the Ministry of Water Resources, Govt of India’s participatory approach to Water Resources Management. In fact the conference will enhance and strengthen the Ministry’s efforts to should incorporate a participatory approach; by involving not only the various governmental agencies but also the users and other stakeholders, in an effective and decisive manner, in various aspects of planning, design, development and management of the water resources schemes.
Rationale of the Conference
Although the NER is not a highly industrialized region, problem of contamination of surface water originating from industrial sources such as paper mills, oil-refineries, oil fields, coal mines, other smaller factories etc. exist at local scales. But of late contamination of ground water sources with fluoride and arsenic and consequent health hazards have emerged as one of the most critical problems especially in the southern part of Nagaon and Karbi-Anglong districts of Assam. Children and young people have been affected more with body deformations and skin diseases. Till now no effective measures have been taken to provide health security and safe drinking water to the people of these areas nor have any programs been launched for effective remediation of these problems. The civil society also has a major role to play in terms of empowering these distressed people to live a life of dignity. Keeping in mind that these are the areas that get relatively low rainfall and are dry, an integrated strategy for supplying safe drinking water and sufficient water for agriculture and other purposes can only address the problems holistically.
Same was the case with the myriads of wetlands in the region, especially in Assam that were considered barren water bodies as good as wastelands having no utility for man. The extraordinary value of the biodiversity and the ecological and economic services of the wetlands have been recognized only recently. Similarly, the copious rainfall that the region receives in the pre-monsoon and monsoon months and the annual flooding have very often created the impression that the region is surplus in rainfall and water always
and everywhere which is a reason why conservation of rain water and water in other natural or artificial water bodies have been thought to be unnecessary in the region. This perception is far from the truth. The variability of rainfall in the region is considerably high in space and time making some parts of the region water deficient and affecting peoples’ lives in general and agriculture in particular. Storage, preservation and sustainable utilization of rain, surface and ground waters are a must in these water-scarce regions.
In view of the vital importance of water for human and animal life, for maintaining ecological balance and for economic and developmental activities of all kinds, and considering its increasing scarcity, the planning and management of this resource and its optimal, economical and equitable use has become a matter of the utmost urgency. A concern of the community needs to be taken into account for water resources development and management. The success of the National Water Policy will depend entirely on evolving and maintaining a national consensus and commitment to its underlying principles and objectives. To achieve the desired objectives, this conference has a strong justification to gather necessary input from our experience on implementing the National Water Policy 2002 and the lessons we learnt from others across the borders.
Contacts:
Dr. Shikhar Sarma
Chairman, Technical Committee,
WATERCON - 2011
Dept of Computer Science,
Gauhati University,
Guwahati, Assam-781014, India
Tel:+91-361-2571138, 2655355
Mob: +91-9954712669
Tel/Fax: 0361-2229509
Mob: 09859914100
Email: warterpfi@gmail.com
Submission of Abstracts:
Interested participants are requested to send a in a 300 words abstract on any of the above themes. The abstract will be reviewed by a technical committee. On acceptance of the Abstract, the author will be required to send in a paper not exceeding 3000 words. The paper could be accepted for inclusion in the post-conference publication / volume on Community based water management.
The Abstract and accepted papers should be sent electronically to waterpfi@gmail.com. A hard copy may also be sent by post, but is not necessary.
Deadlines:
Submission of Abstracts: 15 November, 2010
Submission of Full papers: 15 Dec December 2010
