Freshwater, climate change and adaptation in the Ganges River Basin

Hosterman, Heather; McCornick, Peter G.; Kistin, Elizabeth; Sharma, Bharat R.; Bharati, Luna

doi:10.2166/wp.2011.065

Cited by 20 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 17 publications

(22 reference statements)

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“…The latter approach was taken in the MDB and was resisted. Often these approaches seek improvements through more resourcing, more scientific data and information and more planning (Hosterman et al 2012). More resources and data may be required, but the overall approach reinforces linear, technically dominated solutions (Kundzewicz et al 2007), with attendant risk of community rejection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementing environmental flows in integrated water resources management and the ecosystem approach

Overton

Smith

Dalton

et al. 2014

Hydrological Sciences Journal

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In many of the world's river basins, the water resources are over-allocated and/or highly modified, access to good quality water is limited or competitive and aquatic ecosystems are degraded. The decline in aquatic ecosystems can impact on human well-being by reducing the ecosystem services provided by healthy rivers, wetlands and floodplains. Basin water resources management requires the determination of water allocation among competing stakeholders including the environment, social needs and economic development. Traditionally, this determination occurred on a volumetric basis to meet basin productivity goals. However, it is difficult to address environmental goals in such a framework, because environmental condition is rarely considered in productivity goals, and short-term variations in river flow may be the most important driver of aquatic ecosystem health. Manipulation of flows to achieve desired outcomes for public supply, food and energy has been implemented for many years. More recently, manipulating flows to achieve ecological outcomes has been proposed. However, the complexity of determining the required flow regimes and the interdependencies between stakeholder outcomes has restricted the implementation of environmental flows as a core component of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). We demonstrate through case studies of the Rhône and Thames river basins in Europe, the Colorado River basin in North America and the Murray-Darling basin in Australia the limitations of traditional environmental flow strategies in integrated water resources management. An alternative ecosystem approach can provide a framework for implementation of environmental flows in basin water resources management, as demonstrated by management of the Pangani River basin in Africa. An ecosystem approach in IWRM leads to management for agreed triple-bottom-line outcomes, rather than productivity or ecological outcomes alone. We recommend that environmental flow management should take on the principles of an ecosystem approach and form an integral part of IWRM.Key words IWRM; ecosystem approach; environmental flows; implementation Approche écosystémique et mise en oeuvre de débits environnementaux dans la gestion intégrée des ressources en eau Résumé Dans de nombreux bassins du monde les ressources en eau sont surexploitées et / ou profondément modifiées, l'accès à une eau de bonne qualité est limité ou concurrentiel, et les écosystèmes aquatiques sont dégradés. Le déclin des écosystèmes aquatiques peut avoir un impact sur le bien-être humain en réduisant les services fournis par des rivières, des zones humides et des plaines d'inondation saines . La gestion des ressources en eau d'un bassin nécessite de répartir l'eau entre des acteurs concurrents, dont notamment l'environnement, des besoins sociaux et le développement économique. Traditionnellement, cette répartition a été pratiquée sur une base volumétrique pour atteindre des objectifs de productivité sur le bassin. Il est cependant difficile de répondre à des o...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementing environmental flows in integrated water resources management and the ecosystem approach

Overton

Smith

Dalton

et al. 2014

Hydrological Sciences Journal

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“…Ignoring these factors could have major future implications for population expansion, economic growth, and change in lifestyles (Amarasinghe et al, 2007). In addition, all of these factors will be further exacerbated with climate change (Hosterman et al, 2012). The two factors that need to be considered additionally in WA are discussed in brief in the next section.…”

Section: Potential For Increased Water Use Efficiency and Groundwatermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hosterman et al (2012) and Immerzeel et al (2010) projected a decrease in annual rainfall, while Sharmila et al (2015) and Krishna Kumar et al (2011) show an increase in monsoon rainfall and longer monsoon seasons. The latter also projected an increase in dry spells during the monsoon, implying that the intensity of precipitation in the rainfall events will increase.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Reviving the Ganges Water Machine: potential

Amarasinghe

Muthuwatta

Surinaidu

et al. 2016

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. The Ganges River basin faces severe water challenges related to a mismatch between supply and demand. Although the basin has abundant surface water and groundwater resources, the seasonal monsoon causes a mismatch between supply and demand as well as flooding. Water availability and flood potential is high during the 3-4 months (June-September) of the monsoon season. Yet, the highest demands occur during the 8-9 months (October-May) of the non-monsoon period. Addressing this mismatch, which is likely to increase with increasing demand, requires substantial additional storage for both flood reduction and improvements in water supply. Due to hydrogeological, environmental, and social constraints, expansion of surface storage in the Ganges River basin is problematic. A range of interventions that focus more on the use of subsurface storage (SSS), and on the acceleration of surface-subsurface water exchange, has long been known as the Ganges Water Machine (GWM). The approach of the GWM for providing such SSS is through additional pumping and depleting of the groundwater resources prior to the onset of the monsoon season and recharging the SSS through monsoon surface runoff. An important condition for creating such SSS is the degree of unmet water demand. The paper shows that the potential unmet water demand ranging from 59 to 124 Bm 3 year −1 exists under two different irrigation water use scenarios: (i) to increase irrigation in the Rabi (November-March) and hot weather (AprilMay) seasons in India, and the Aman (July-November) and Boro (December-May) seasons in Bangladesh, to the entire irrigable area, and (ii) to provide irrigation to Rabi and the hot weather season in India and the Aman and Boro seasons in Bangladesh to the entire cropped area. However, the potential for realizing the unmet irrigation demand is high only in 7 sub-basins in the northern and eastern parts, is moderate to low in 11 sub-basins in the middle, and has little or no potential in 4 sub-basins in the western part of the Ganges basin. Overall, a revived GWM plan has the potential to meet 45-84 Bm 3 year −1 of unmet water demand.

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“…This is apparent in cities like Varanasi where pollution levels are often found to be higher during these months. While beyond the scope of this paper, other scholars (for example, [29]) have examined the looming impact of climate change on water quantity and quality of the Ganges basin. This imminent threat will compound the serious problems with which urban populations and institutions in the Ganges basin are already struggling.…”

Section: A Sacred River Desecratedmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Ganges and the GAP: An Assessment of Efforts to Clean a Sacred River

Das

Tamminga

2012

Sustainability

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For centuries, the Ganges River in India has been the locus of sacred rites for the Hindus. The religious significance of the Ganges is physically manifested in ghats (stepped landings) that form the land-water interface. Besides serving as a site for religious bathing and cremation, the ghats are also tied to people's livelihoods and are an inseparable part of their daily lives. Today, the increasingly urbanized Ganges basin sustains more than 40 percent of India's population. At the same time, industrialization and the pressures of a growing population along its banks have contributed to alarming levels of pollution in the river.

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Freshwater, climate change and adaptation in the Ganges River Basin

Cited by 20 publications

References 17 publications

Implementing environmental flows in integrated water resources management and the ecosystem approach

Implementing environmental flows in integrated water resources management and the ecosystem approach

Reviving the Ganges Water Machine: potential

The Ganges and the GAP: An Assessment of Efforts to Clean a Sacred River

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