Water disputes in South Asia

The News, April 18, 2005
Water disputes in South Asia
Imtiaz Alam

The writer is the Editor Current Affairs of The News.

If there is any single-most important issue that mars bilateral relations among the countries of South Asia, it is water. The issues of cross-border water distribution, utilisation, management and giant irrigation and hydroelectric 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 borders with other South Asian countries, India, as an upper and lower riparian territory, has come into conflict with all 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 upper riparian Nepal. This, however, doesn't mean that India is solely responsible for certain deadlocks, even though its share of responsibility may be larger than that of other countries which have their own physical limitations and political apprehensions.

As elsewhere in the world, and more particularly in this region, where the population explosion continues and environmental degradation worsens, water resources, like energy, are going to be far lower than the increasing demand, even if harnessed to the maximum. Given the depleting resources of water, issues of food security with water security as its most crucial part, are going to assume astronomical proportions. The issue 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 in a grand framework of riparian statutes respecting upstream and downstream rights.

What is, however, to be appreciated is that the countries of South Asia 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, under which Pakistan allocated three eastern rivers (Ravi, Sutlej and Beas) to India and India three western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab) to Pakistan.

The IWT has remarkably survived the ups and downs of Indo-Pak relations, and despite wars the parties have upheld the Treaty, although serious differences persist over various projects being undertaken by India over Jehlum (two dams) and Chenab (nine dams) rivers. Similarly, the Ganges Water-Sharing Treaty (GWST) was signed between India and Bangladesh in 1996 that resolved the dispute over Farrakha Barrage, although differences continue on Bangladesh's share of the water during lean periods. Nepal and India signed the Mahakali Treaty in 1996, but despite ratification by the Nepalese parliament, the Treaty has remained stalled.

Despite these treaties, serious differences over water sharing, water management and hydropower projects continue to spoil relations between India, on the one hand, and Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, on the other. Differences between India and Pakistan continue to create ill will between the two on around 11 large hydroelectric projects India plans to construct, including the Baglihar Project, over which Pakistan has sought the appointment of a neutral expert by the World Bank after the failure of talks.

More than the dispute over Jammu and Kashmir, the issue of the waters of Jhelum and Chenab has the potential to once again provoke people in Pakistan against India and push the two countries to war. Dr Mubashar Hassan has given a sound proposal to resolve the dispute over Baglihar. He has proposed to install telemeters on the Baglihar to monitor daily release of water in order to ensure due supply of water from the Baglihar Dam to Pakistan.

Bangladesh, which shares 54 rivers with India as a lower riparian, has serious differences with New Delhi that hinder agreement on eight rivers, besides the continuing complaints by Dhaka over sharing of the waters of the Ganges. The Indian plan, which is now under review, to build a big river-linking-project that includes diversion of water from Ganges and Brahmaputra, has become yet another source of antagonism between the two countries, which have not been able to sort out their differences over a whole range of issues that continue to fuel political tension which, in turn, does not allow the resolution of differences over water.

As an upper riparian, Nepal has a different relationship with India and faces many problems in constructing its dams due to opposition by the lower riparian and has serious doubts about the projects proposed by India. Nepal's mistrust, beside other factors, has been reinforced by what it perceives to be various unequal treaties -- starting from the construction of the Sharada Dam (1927), the 1950 Treaty and the Letters of Exchange of 1950 and 1965, the Koshi Agreement (1954), the Gandak Agreement (1959), the Tanakpur Agreement (1991) and the Mahakali Treaty (1996).

Since 400 million people live in the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna region, India needs Nepal to meet its energy needs and for management of water. Without removing Nepal's apprehensions and taking into account the seismic, environmental and interests of the concerned people, India will not be able to benefit from the water resources and potential sites for dams in Nepal.

Besides many issues of water sharing among the countries of the Subcontinent, there are huge water and energy-related issues that are critically affecting the food security, environment, agriculture and, above all, projection of future scarcity of water presents a doomsday scenario.

There are serious differences over water sharing within different states in India (the Ravi-Beas dispute between Punjab and Haryana and the Cauvery dispute among the sates of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and the territory of Pondicherry), and the provinces of Pakistan (the dispute over water sharing and construction of dams over the Indus between Punjab and Sindh and the NWFP).

Over-exploitation of groundwater in India and Pakistan is rapidly depleting aquifers, which is a cause of great concern. The contamination of water and the presence of arsenic in the groundwater has become a matter of major concern, especially in Bangladesh, and some parts of India and Pakistan.

Climatic changes that are being forecasted and low water discharges need to be addressed collectively. India should, as the South Asia Free Media Association's Delhi Declaration says, "make more efforts to discuss bilaterally with its neighbours problems relating to river waters. A new regional understanding of the riparian issues is essential to resolve Indo-Nepal, Indo-Bangladesh and Indo-Pakistan water issues."

A way out should be found on the Baglihar issue between India and Pakistan to keep the sanctity of the Indus Water Treaty. Regional Riparian statutes must be obligatory to resolve the bilateral water disputes. Regional Riparian rights statute model, respecting the Helsinki Convention proposes 8K upstream and downstream rights, should guide the countries of the Subcontinent to avoid conflict over water and reach a lasting understanding.

Lastly, the "middle path" adopted by Bhutan should guide the planners for sustainable development that is environment-friendly and is not carried by the supply-side approach of the big bomb lobbies. There is great resistance by indigenous people and environmentalist to big dams. There are alternative strategies that propose small dams, instead of big dams. The need is to conserve and tap resources in a sustainable manner. The water resources, instead of becoming a cause of conflict, should be harnessed by the provinces, states and countries while keeping the rights of upper and lower riparian in mind.

Email: imtiazalampak@yahoo.com