GROUND SOUTH ASIA WATER Regional Challenges and Opportunities for Building Drought and Climate Resilience FORUM for Farmers, Cities, and Villages EDITORS: Rafik Hirji, Sushmita Mandal and Ganesh Pangare Rights and Permissions This volume is a product of the staff of the International Water Association (IWA) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/ The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of the IWA, The World Bank or the governments they represent. The IWA/World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of IWA/The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Copyright Statement The material in this publication is copyrighted. 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South Asia Groundwater Forum: Regional Challenges and Opportunities for Building Drought and Climate Resilience for Farmers, Cities, and Villages, New Delhi, India: Academic Foundation, 116pp World Bank Team Leader: Dr. Rafik Hirji IWA Coordination: Ganesh Pangare and Sushmita Mandal IWA Project team: Ganesh Pangare, Sushmita Mandal, Bushra Nishat, Lalita Rammont, AJM Zobaidur Rahman, Sakib Mahmud Photo Credits: Ganesh Pangare and Sushmita Mandal Cover Design & layout: Rustam Vania and Nirmal Singh EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . i SOUTH ASIA GROUNDWATER FORUM Regional Challenges and Opportunities for Building Drought and Climate Resilience for Farmers, Cities, and Villages Chokhi Dhani Resort, Jaipur, Rajasthan, June 1–3, 2016 A South Asia Water Initiative ii CONTENTS Preface iv Acknowledgements v Abbreviations vi Executive Summary ix 1. Background 1 Day 1—Understanding the Value and Limits of a Vital Hidden Resource 4 2. Inaugural Session 7 • Welcome and Setting the Scene 7 • Welcoming Remarks 8 • Groundwater Megatrends in South Asia 9 3. Political Economy of Groundwater 11 • Groundwater Policy Implications for Building Drought and Climate Resilience in South Asia 11 • The Political Economy of the Groundwater-Energy-Food Nexus: Towards Drought and 13 Climate Resilience • Direct Delivery of Power Subsidy to Manage Groundwater-Energy-Food Nexus 14 • High-Level Panel Discussion: Groundwater Policy Implications for Drought and Climate Resilience 15 4. Regional Groundwater Management Perspectives 19 • Groundwater Resilience to Climate Change and Abstraction in the Indo-Gangetic Basin 19 • Groundwater Quality Challenges in South Asia and Options for Management 20 5. Panel—Country Groundwater Priorities 23 • Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka 23-29 Group Work I—Tackling Irrigation and Domestic Water Supply Challenges 31 Day 2—Foundations for Sustainable Groundwater Use and Management 34 6. Groundwater-Energy-Food Nexus: Policy Implications 37 • Food-Irrigation-Energy Nexus in the Context of Groundwater Use in India 37 • Managing Groundwater Use in Agriculture Sustainably: Lessons from OECD Countries 40 7. Lessons on Regulating Groundwater 43 • Groundwater Regulation and Implementation: An Overview 43 • Groundwater Management Legislation in the Indus Basin 44 • Model Bill for Regulation of Groundwater Development 46 • Lessons on Regulating Groundwater in India 47 CONTENTS . iii 8. Urban Groundwater Supply 49 • Groundwater Management Challenge in Urban Asia 49 • Sustainable Groundwater Supply: Issues and Options for the Border City of Lahore 50 • Water Resources Management of Delhi and Groundwater Supply Challenges 51 • Dhaka City Water Supply Issues and Challenges 52 9. Community-Based Groundwater 55 • Working with Communities to Tackle the Arsenic Problem in Groundwater in Bangladesh 55 • Learning from the Andhra Pradesh Farmer-Managed Groundwater Systems Initiative 56 • Farmer Participatory Groundwater Monitoring: A Blueprint for Pakistan 58 • Tackling the Chronic Kidney Disease in Sri Lanka 58 10. Cooperative Groundwater Management—International Experiences 61 • Lessons from Delaware: Implementation of the State Comprehensive Groundwater 61 Protection Program, Science Support, and Data Sharing • Towards Management of U.S.-Mexico aquifers 62 • Middle East Water Databanks and Groundwater Awareness for Israeli, Jordanian and 64 Palestinian Aquifers Group Work II—Good Practices in Groundwater Policy, Regulations and Institutions 67 Day 3—Building Drought and Climate Resilience for Farmers, Cities and Communities 70 11. Local and International Groundwater Management Experiences 73 • Managed Aquifer Recharge through Village-Level Intervention in Rajasthan and Gujarat (MARVI) 73 • Conjunctive Management of Murray–Darling Basin Surface Water and Groundwater 74 • Innovations to Address Groundwater Contamination 75 12. A Road Map for Building Drought and Climate Resilience 77 • Is South Asia Positioned to Respond to the Effects of Climate Change? 77 • A Road Map for Building Drought and Climate Resilience 79 Group Work III—Building Groundwater Adaptation Capacity 81 13. Closing Session 85 • Valedictory Address 85 • Summary of Key Messages 86 • Closing Remarks 88 Appendices 90 • Appendix A: Forum Program 90 • Appendix B: List of Participants 94 iv PREFACE South Asia—the world’s fastest growing region—is the largest abstractor of groundwater; it pumps nearly a third of the groundwater used globally and half of global groundwater for irrigation. Groundwater drove the Green Revolution, which lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty across the region; in addition to irrigation, it is critical to rural, urban, and industrial water supplies. However, intensive pumping and unregulated use have caused rapid declines in water tables, putting these benefits at risk. In addition, groundwater contamination (from arsenic, fluoride, salinity, sewage, industrial effluent, and agricultural chemicals) is undermining the value of the resource, increasing water treatment costs, and causing significant health impacts. While groundwater depletion can be quickly reversed, contamination, saltwater intrusion, and land subsidence are either too costly or impossible to reverse. In spite of these growing concerns, groundwater in South Asia remains essential for sustaining livelihoods and economic growth and for building climate resilience. If planned and managed with surface water, groundwater offers important cost- effective future options for building drought and climate resilience. Given both these important challenges and significant opportunities—all of which are shared across the region—the World Bank with the support of various partners convened a South Asia Groundwater Forum in India in 2016 to discuss groundwater policy and management, to share good practices and lessons from across and outside, and to strengthen technical and knowledge-sharing networks. The active participation in the forum of 126 current and former policy makers and groundwater managers from governments across the region, regional and international specialists, researchers, and academics is testimony to the criticality of groundwater management and governance in South Asia. The wealth of knowledge and experience shared, and the networks and connections established and strengthened, provide a sound basis for promoting and accelerating groundwater policy and institutional reforms and enhanced local, national, and regional action for sustainable groundwater management. These proceedings capture the knowledge and lessons shared and the dialogue that took place during the forum, with a view to providing a lasting record and facilitating wider dissemination. Ms. Jyoti Shukla Mr. Tom Williams Director, Water Global Practice Programmes Director, World Bank International Water Association v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The South Asia Groundwater Forum – Regional Challenges and Opportunities for Building Drought and Climate Resilience for Farmers, Cities and Villages – was held in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India from June 1–3, 2016. This Forum was convened by the World Bank in partnership with the Government of India and the International Water Association. Valuable technical support was provided by the International Water Management Institute. The Forum continued and broadened the dialogue started at the regional water-energy-food nexus workshop in Kathmandu, Nepal (February 2015), convened by the World Bank, the Nepal Fulbright Commission, the US Department of State, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development and the Nepal Water Conservation Foundation. The dialogue event was funded by the South Asia Water Initiative (SAWI) – a multi-donor trust fund managed by World Bank and generously supported by the governments of the United Kingdom, Australia and Norway. The World Bank SAWI team for the Forum was led by Dr. Rafik Hirji and included Ms. Priyanka Chaturvedi and Dr. William Young. Dr. Hirji and the IWA technical team provided the overall intellectual leadership for the forum. The World Bank and the International Water Association thanks the many individuals, institutions and partners who contributed to the success of the Forum, including Ms. Laila Kasuri for facilitating the participation of delegates from Pakistan. Critical support for the original concept came from Mr. Parameswaran Iyer (then World Bank Water Practice Manager for South Asia), Mr. Shashi Shekhar and Dr. Amita Prasad (then Secretary, and Joint Secretary, respectively, of the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, India). The International Water Association was contracted to lead the planning and delivery of the Forum. The IWA team, led by Mr. Ganesh Pangare with excellent support from Ms. Sushmita Mandal, Ms. Bushra Nishat and Dr. Ger Bergkamp, was instrumental in making the event a success, and Ms. Neena Rao in helping to compile the Forum proceedings. The support provided by Mr. Neelesh Kulkarni and Dr. Swati Parashar during the Forum is duly acknowledged. Special thanks go to Mr. Nachiket Pangare for the film: “Faces of Latur” made gratis, exclusively for the forum. The team acknowledges the support from Indian central and state departments (especially the Central Groundwater Board), officials at the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs who helped facilitate the participation of delegates from all the South Asian countries including Pakistan and Afghanistan; from numerous international partners and collaborators (AWP, CSIRO, DFAT, DFID, IGRAC, IWMI, OECD, USGS, USWP) as well as participants who assisted as speakers, session chairs, facilitators and conveners. The team also thanks the Water Global Practice leadership team for their encouragement, guidance and participation in the Forum, especially Jennifer Sara (Director), Jyoti Shukla (Director) and Meike van Ginneken (Practice Manager). Finally, the team is thankful to Mr. Alex Behr for copyediting; Mr. Rustam Vania for cover design and layout; and Ms. Nirmal Singh for desk topping, and formatting; and Academic Foundation for printing the proceedings. vi ABBREVIATIONS ACIWRM Advanced Centre for Integrated Water Resources Management, India AIT Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok AWP Australia Water Partnership BWDB Bangladesh Water Development Board CGWB Central Ground Water Board CKDu Chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology COP Conference of the Parties CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia DFAT Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia DFID Department for International Development, United Kingdom DJB Delhi Jal Board DRBC Delaware River Basin Commission DSCGPP Delaware State Comprehensive Groundwater Protection Program DTW Deep tube wells DWASA Dhaka Water and Sanitation Agency EPA Environmental Protection Agency ESTH Environment, Science, Technology and Health FAO Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations GDP Gross domestic product GEF Global Environment Facility GIS Geographic information system GoB Government of Bangladesh GoI Government of India GRAPHIC Groundwater Resources Assessment under the Pressures of Humanity and Climate Change (UNESCO) GWRDC Gujarat Water Resources Development Corporation IAH International Association of Hydrologists ICIMOD International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development IEC Information, education, and communication IGB Indo-Gangetic Basin IGRAC International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre INDCs Intended Nationally Determined Contributions IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IRDP Irrigation Restoration and Development Project, Afghanistan IT Information technology IWA International Water Association IWMI International Water Management Institute LEAD Leadership for Environment and Development LLP Low loft pumps MAR Managed aquifer recharge MARVI Managed Aquifer Recharge through Village-level Intervention MEW Ministry of Energy and Water, Government of Afghanistan ABBREVIATIONS . vii MJSY Mukhyamantri Jal Swavlamban Yojana MoEFCC Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, India MoWRRDGR Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, India NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration NGO Nongovernmental organization NWCF Nepal Water Conservation Foundation OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development PCSIAP Pothohar Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project SAARC South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation SAWI South Asian Water Initiative SCARP Salinity Control and Reclamation SDG Sustainable Development Goal SEWA Self Employed Women’s Association SPIP Solar-powered irrigation pumps STW Shallow tube wells TOD Time of day UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund USAID United States Agency for International Development USDS United States Department of State USGS United States Geological Survey USWP United States Water Partnership WARPO Water Resources Planning Organization, Bangladesh WASA Water and Sanitation Agency, Pakistan WEF Water and Environment Foundation, Pakistan WENEXA Water-Energy-Nexus, USAID WHO World Health Organization viii | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM ix EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The South Asia Groundwater Forum provided a platform for sharing of knowledge, experience, innovation and lessons on groundwater management, and offered a platform for discussing strategies for elevating, at the policy level, the vital role groundwater plays in the water sector across South Asia. Groundwater, a common pool resource, offers low-cost, drought-resistant and usually high-quality water to meet rural, urban, industrial, and irrigation demands. The region is highly dependent on development – is a major, long-term threat groundwater and this dependence is to economic growth, livelihoods, health expected to increase as economies and environmental sustainability. Under- grow, populations grow, surface supplies valuing groundwater in water policies, limited become less reliable and climate groundwater knowledge and weak governance changes. are amongst the key causes of unsustainable groundwater management. Addressing these Yet groundwater management in South Asia is a challenges is central to achieving drought and complex challenge. Its quasi open-access nature climate resilience. The forum described the current makes its management one of the most complex groundwater situation in South Asia, discussed and socially challenging sets of issues facing the policy and management options, considered region today. Its management spans numerous transboundary issues, and recommended policy sectors – agriculture, energy, environment, health, reforms and local, national and regional action for industry, land, rural, urban, and water - and many sustainable use and management of groundwater administrative and political jurisdictions – villages, to build drought and climate resilience in South towns, cities, districts, states or provinces, and Asia. A summary is provided below. nations. p p The South Asia If protected, used wisely and managed Groundwater Situation conjunctively with surface water, groundwater can play a vital role in and Droughts are frequent in South Asia; provide a highly cost effective option for they impact large areas and devastate adapting to climate change and building livelihoods. water sector resilience. Arid and semi-arid areas of Afghanistan, Pakistan, The alternative – unmanaged groundwater and north-west India are the most vulnerable, x | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM but other parts of the region (including Sri Lanka), are also Groundwater was key to the “green revolution” in vulnerable. Arid/semi-arid and variable climates require storage South Asia, lifting millions out of poverty through and judicious use of water. About 80% of rain in much of South improved water and food security and greater Asia falls from June to September, making seasonal storage farmer control. of water critical (in dams, reservoirs and tanks, as well as in aquifers, wetlands and lakes) to provide reliable supply buffer About 62% of the region’s 555 BCM of renewable groundwater for lean periods. The 2015-16 El Nino monsoon failure, coupled has been developed, making South Asia world’s largest with soaring temperatures, affected 330 million people in India abstractor of groundwater with over 30 million private irrigation alone, with devastating socioeconomic impacts. In Sri Lanka, wells and tube wells pumping about 347 BCM/year (~34% of water for drinking, irrigation, livestock and hydropower was global groundwater use). India, Pakistan and Bangladesh affected, with significant livelihood consequences. This drought combined, pump almost half of the world’s groundwater used reinforced the learning that drought is not always caused solely for irrigation, supporting the livelihoods of 60-80% of the by meteorological conditions, but can also partly be a results of population; and groundwater supports 60-80 % of regional failed water resources planning and management. domestic and industrial supply. While there are opportunities for further development in several parts of South Asia, p intensive, unplanned, unregulated and unmanaged pumping for irrigation, exacerbated by free or subsidized electricity, has Both alluvial and hard rock aquifers are common caused rapid water level decline in the densely populated areas in South Asia, and require different approaches of the Middle Indus and Upper Ganges. Rapidly declining water to management given the differences in aquifer levels are causing yield reduction, pump failure, unreliable rural resilience to change and ease of abstraction and and urban water supply, saltwater intrusion, land subsidence, recharge. and drying wetlands. They increase the cost of drilling and pumping deeper, and disproportionately impact the poor. The large storage volumes, slow response time, and protection from evaporation are important characteristics for drought p resilience, as aquifers provide a buffer against short and medium term climate variability. Integrating these characteristics in Groundwater contamination is a serious and water resources planning and management decision making widespread problem – in many cases being a bigger can help to harness substantial opportunities for developing problem than depletion. drought and climate resilient strategies. Natural and anthropogenic contaminants are impacting drinking p supplies in cities, major towns and villages, exacting a heavy cost on public health. Chronic Kidney Disease or unknown etiology The region’s immense natural storage is (CKDu) linked to groundwater is costing lives in Sri Lanka. underappreciated and underutilized Salinity is impacting irrigation supplies. Parts of Sri Lanka are facing CKDu linked to groundwater. Policy responses need to The transboundary Indo-Gangetic Basin (IGB) alluvial aquifer, support integrated top down and bottom up actions, supported underlying most of Pakistan, northern India, southern Nepal by properly designed groundwater monitoring programs, and Bangladesh, is one of the most productive and highly used improved knowledge, targeted research, diagnostic capabilities aquifers in the world. Hard rock aquifers are found in peninsular and health services. Many cities in the region (Lahore, Karachi, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The IGB aquifer has immense natural Lucknow, Delhi, Bangalore, Kabul, Dhaka and Kathmandu) are storage – 100 times the total constructed surface water storage- faced with both falling groundwater tables and contamination dams, reservoirs and tanks-in the region, and more than 20 from arsenic and fluoride, as well as from sewage, industrial times the combined annual flow of the Indus, Brahmaputra and effluent, and solid waste leachate. Urbanization with inadequate Ganges rivers. This vital IGB aquifer remains underappreciated; land use planning and control, reduces the areas, rates and it is largely unprotected, insufficiently monitored, inadequately quality of groundwater recharge. Nanotechnology filter offers managed and utilized sub-optimally. cost-effective solutions for arsenic removal. p p EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . xi South Asian water policies are surface water biased. Management of Transboundary Aquifers Despite the region’s heavy dependence on groundwater, South of South Asia Asian water policies are heavily biased toward surface water. In India, a disproportionate emphasis has been placed on surface There is a growing need for joint monitoring and study water management and investment compared to groundwater, of South Asia’s transboundary aquifers. A recent NASA even though groundwater supports 65% of irrigation supply study using the GRACE satellite found that the Indus and 85% of drinking water supply. The region’s groundwater basin aquifer is the world’s second most stressed aquifer, departments have limited mandates and limited technical confirming in-situ observations. While many in-country and administrative capacity to regulate, control, manage, and groundwater studies have been carried out by the protect groundwater. Financial investment in groundwater respective government agencies, there are no formal governance and management is not commensurate with the arrangements for jointly monitoring, studying or managing resource value. Groundwater governance has not been accorded the region’s transboundary aquifers. Joint monitoring of a priority. All South Asia countries could benefit from reforming shared aquifers can improve understanding of the resource water policies, improving groundwater knowledge, promoting and guide management decisions and joint studies can collective action, building groundwater management capacity, help develop regional solutions to regional problems. and funding and strengthening groundwater governance. Transboundary groundwater management case studies The high recharge potential of the Terai, Aravalli and other presented at the forum offer useful lessons for South forests, and the storage value of traditional structures (tankas Asia. The U.S.–Mexico border aquifers and the Middle and baolis), represent often overlooked opportunities. Strong East aquifer shared by Israel, Palestine, and Jordan are policies are required to drive change in farmer behavior. examples in which joint monitoring and studies provided the foundations for eventual joint management of transboundary aquifers. They demonstrate how scientific Policy and and organizational challenges of managing transboundary Management Options aquifers can be overcome and how collaboration and cooperation can be fostered. Building a sound knowledge base for linking science to water policy is essential for improving groundwater management. GRACE total water storage increases and Investment in in situ groundwater monitoring, a sound decreases from 2002 to 2015 knowledge base, and assessment capability are essential for building adaptive capacity. This is important for quantifying aquifer characteristics; aquifer discharge, recharge and storage; groundwater withdrawal and sustainable yields; understanding contaminant movement and establishing how land use impacts recharge. Groundwater models can aid in estimating safe yield, understanding aquifer response to different degrees of stress, and predicting the fate and transport of contaminants in aquifers. Development of a groundwater typology can help to define appropriate development and management strategies. Geographic information system (GIS) tools and remote sensing applications can be used to complement and validate in situ observations and analysis. Box: Management of Transboundary Aquifers of South Asia notes the need for monitoring and studying transboundary aquifers and lessons from international cases that could be useful for South Asia. Investment in groundwater monitoring networks and in building a sound knowledge base needs to be prioritized for building adaptive capacity. Source: NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory xii | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM adoption without regulation will likely accelerate groundwater depletion and result is a déjà vu situation for South Asia. p Sustained financial and political commitment is essential for sustained water policy and institutional reforms. Incremental responses will result in incremental impact, which cannot lead to building effective drought and climate resilience. Administering reforms is a long process of continual learning and adaptation and it needs sustained efforts and funding and political commitments. Greater policy coherence across water, energy, agriculture, p environment Groundwater governance in South Asia is challenged by dated laws or a lack of adequate Understanding the political economy of the legal frameworks or weak institutions. groundwater-energy-food nexus is central to developing solutions for sustainably managing For example, Easements Act (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh), groundwater. 1882, with limited responsibility assigned at the federal level, makes top-down and national water resource management Experience from OECD nations and South Asia shows that efforts difficult to implement. In additional, clear policy multiple instruments like economic, regulatory and collective frameworks for groundwater management are lacking. Better actions can be used to respond to long term aquifer depletion regulation for controlling and regulating use, protecting and and environmental externalities - pollution, saltwater intrusion, conserving groundwater is needed in most countries, based aquifer compactions. Solutions need to be farmer-centric; on clear definitions, identification of issues, clear roles, understanding famer behavior is key, especially with regards to responsibilities and accountabilities, and strong institutions electricity subsidies. for enforcement. Regulation helps control abstraction and use; control waste discharges; control land use; and support p community based groundwater management. Implementation and enforcement are key to the success of groundwater Greater policy coherence across water, energy, regulation but the record is weak. agriculture, environment, industry, health, and land sectors is required. p With growing water scarcity and vulnerability to climate Experience shows that successful implementation change, greater policy coherence across the water, energy, hinges on the engagement with target users in all agriculture and other sectors is required, aligning incentives phases of the regulatory cycle. for farmers, politicians, governments, power utilities and utility employees, and simultaneously promoting efficiency in energy The existence of a dedicated groundwater administration, and groundwater for implementing “win-win” solutions for structured and phased preparations by the groundwater sustainable groundwater use. Urban water supply needs to administration in advance of regulation roll out, and effective integrate surface water and groundwater, and be based on monitoring, and pursuit of unlawful behavior are important regulating and controlling groundwater use and municipal for successful implementation of groundwater regulation. In and industrial wastewater discharges, and protecting recharge several South Asia countries, federal-provincial groundwater areas. Rural groundwater supply needs to integrate community, management arrangements need to be properly defined and water, and health sectors. With a rapid growing interest in solar- funded. In addition, legal frameworks can facilitate and support powered groundwater pumps, caution is required as widespread the management of transboundary aquifers. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . xiii Promising community-based groundwater A shift from “top-down versus bottom-up” to management lessons need to be sustained and harmonizing “top-down and bottom up” is needed. scaled up. Top-down centralized approaches have limitations in managing When farmers and villagers are educated about the importance a common pool resource yet they are needed to serve vital of groundwater to their livelihoods and about ways to protect functions such as setting national water use priorities, promoting it; they become more enthusiastic about monitoring and links with food, energy and environment policies, establishing protecting groundwater once they realize that this will benefit laws, extraction control, supporting strategic planning for urban them in the long run. Communities and villages need to be water supply or facilitating management of aquifers shared actively involved and empowered in the process. Various by different districts, provinces/states or nations. But top- examples from Bangladesh, India and Pakistan were shared by down approaches are not sufficient nor practical for regulating participants. Policymakers need to combine traditional wisdom millions of individuals pumping across the region. Incentives of local communities with the latest in science and technology to inform collective action need to be an essential element of to come up with region-specific solutions. Building capacities of management. Experience in community based groundwater communities, empowering them to make decisions, and holding management is evolving, with some successes. But there are them accountable to their decisions are essential elements limitations in bottom-up approaches, including lack of clear for promoting sustainable community based groundwater policy, reliable data and information, capacity, accountable management. decision making and sustainability beyond project funding. The severity of South Asia’s groundwater crisis, the recurrence of m drought and changing climate leaves little choice to continue ad hoc experimentation between top down and bottom up Groundwater protection and conservation is very approaches. The urgency to act calls for adopting both top down cost effective. and bottom up approaches in a coherent but phased manner drawing from numerous emerging experiences. In the long run, Slow aquifer response time means that problems (e.g., pollution, harmonizing top down and bottom up approaches will be key saltwater intrusion) become apparent slowly; there is always a for sustainable groundwater management and governance. lag between when they occur and when they become evident. Some consequences of poor groundwater management (e.g., Sustainable Groundwater Management saltwater intrusion, land subsidence) are either irreversible or very costly to reverse, justifying proactive planning, protection Harmonizing Bottom-up and Top-down and management. Aquifer protection plans can be developed Strategic Planning Level to control abstraction. Pollution control and managed aquifer – national water use priorities recharge need to be carried out in conjunction with land-use – good + energy policy – legal framework planning and zoning. – entitlements p Demand/Supply Economic Interventions Instruments Managed aquifer recharge and conjunctive use and management of surface and groundwater offer Local Institutional Level promising adaptation opportunities, by promoting – role of local government – groundwater use rights efficient use of aquifer storage during wet periods – sustainable limits to off-set limited surface supplies during lean – stakeholder participation periods. – monitoring Recharge structures, like check dams, need to be located and Source: Hirji, R. 2016. Groundwater Policy Implications for Building designed using sound hydrogeological knowledge as does Drought and Climate Resilience in South Asia: Forum Objectives, the design of conjunctive management of surface water and Context and Structure, Presentation at the Opening Session of the groundwater to optimize use of water. South Asia Groundwater Forum, June 1, 2016 xiv | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM SOUTH ASIA GROUNDWATER FORUM Adaptive groundwater management requires implementing a variety of policy reform options. The forum discussions converged towards the following water policy reform actions to address the region’s groundwater management challenges in a more concerted manner with surface water through adopting integrated water resources management: Groundwater Adaption Framework Managing Recharge Managing Quality Managing Storage Managing Demand Managing Discharge Source: Hirji, R and G Nijsten, 2016. Is South Asia positioned to respond to the effects of climate change? Presentation at the Opening Session of the South Asia Groundwater Forum, June 3, 2016. xv RECOMMENDATIONS • Invest in groundwater knowledge and science to support evidence-based decision making • Elevate political/public awareness of the value of groundwater and opportunities it presents • Develop, strengthen, and implement groundwater policies and legislation • Prioritize training and capacity building for farmers, professionals and policy makers • Scale up community-based groundwater management and collection action initiatives • Build technical and administrative capacity, empower and fund groundwater institutions • Build and strengthen groundwater regulatory capacity • Invest in demand management, including improved irrigation water use efficiency • Promote planned MAR and conjunctive management of surface and groundwater • Develop groundwater management plans • Encourage cooperative monitoring, assessment, and management of transboundary aquifers Act now to take the necessary decisions to address what is • known • Organize and mobilize support for addressing complex and longer term actions and reforms In addition, the closing speakers noted the importance of continuing the open dialogue and knowledge sharing that characterized this important forum, recommended relooking at the existing water policies, legislation, institutions, and capacity building with a strong groundwater lens, and conducting in-depth research to operationally define how improved groundwater governance and management builds drought and climate resilience. SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM PHOTO CREDIT: NACHIKET PANGARE CHAPTER 1 1 BACKGROUND The Government of India (GoI), in partnership with the World Bank and the International Water Association (IWA) and with the support of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), hosted the three-day conference “South Asia Groundwater Forum: Regional Challenges and Opportunities for Building Drought and Climate Resilience for Farmers, Cities and Villages,” funded by the South Asia Water Initiative (SAWI), at Chokhi Dhani Resort in Jaipur, Rajasthan, from June 1–3, 2016. Forum Context are irreversible or costly to reverse. While Groundwater is a vast and vital resource that has groundwater helped spur the Green Revolution, provided abundant social and economic benefits the resulting benefits are now at risk from the in South Asia, but it remains highly undervalued. depletion or contamination of aquifers. Groundwater can provide low-cost, reliable, drought-resilient, decentralized, and usually high- Forum Objectives quality water supply to meet the rural, urban, The forum objectives were to (a) elevate industrial, irrigation, and livestock demands of the discourse, at the policy level, on the role over a billion people and sustain vital ecosystems. groundwater plays in the water sector across In arid and semi-arid regions, it is often the sole Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, source of water supply. Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, and (b) build a cooperative network of technical expertise to Over the past six decades, groundwater guide improved groundwater management. The development has accelerated rapidly but largely forum brought together 126 participants including in an unplanned, uncontrolled, and unmanaged 46 decision makers and 80 technical experts, manner. Prominent hydrogeologists call this the and community representatives from across and “silent revolution” since it has occurred largely outside South Asia and provided a platform to (a) unnoticed and in a policy vacuum. Unmanaged share knowledge and experiences in groundwater groundwater development is contributing to governance, and (b) discuss opportunities for rapidly declining water tables, contamination, local, national, and regional action to achieve land subsidence, saltwater intrusion, and sustainable groundwater use and build drought overall deteriorating resource base. Some of and climate resilience. these consequences impose a high cost on irrigation and drinking water supplies, and in Participants and Resource Persons some areas groundwater is no longer reliable to The 126 participants came from 18 countries provide drought resilience. Other consequences (including five out of the six largest groundwater 2 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM abstracting nations of the world) and eight cooperative approach to planning, management, institutions. They formed an eclectic group of and development of the aquifer systems. A recent senior bureaucrats, former ministers of water regional study of the Indo-Gangetic Basin (IGB) resources, policy makers, scientists, and experts aquifer (MacDonald et al. 20151), and international from all the seven countries of South Asia case studies offered useful lessons about the (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, challenges of managing transboundary aquifers Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) and China; and local, and approaches to foster collaborative and national, regional, and international experts on cooperative management of shared groundwater various disciplines related to the governance of systems. groundwater. See appendix A for the list of forum participants. The forum drew from existing and emerging experiences and knowledge generated from Forum Approach within and outside South Asia. These experiences Recognizing the complexity of managing ground- included policy issues related to the groundwater- water across South Asia, the forum adopted a energy-food nexus; the challenges of instituting multisectoral and multijurisdictional perspective and enforcing groundwater regulation; on groundwater focusing on the vital role it plays experiences on community-based groundwater in urban and rural economic development. The management, urban water supply management, conference drew from emerging knowledge, and irrigation development; and lessons experiences, and innovations generated from about building drought and climate resilience. within and outside South Asia. Groundwater quality management issues were presented and innovative use of nanotechnology The forum adopted a multisectoral perspective discussed. Lessons from the recently completed by focusing on knowledge, experience, and Global Environment Facility- (GEF)-funded global opportunities to inform policy reforms; practical project (Groundwater Governance: A Call for action; and groundwater programs for supporting Action) implemented jointly by the Food and rural, urban, and irrigation supply. Such a Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United perspective recognizes that aquifers are impacted Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural by rural and urban development and land use Organization (UNESCO), International Association changes, energy policies, and waste discharges of Hydrologists (IAH) and the World Bank, work from industries, municipalities, and agriculture. done by the International Groundwater Resources The forum explored the groundwater-energy-food Assessment Center (IGRAC), the International nexus, building on recent work and the regional Water Management Institute (IWMI), and water-energy-food nexus workshop convened the World Bank, and findings of a regional in Kathmandu, Nepal (February 2015) by the Department for International Development (DFID) Fulbright Commission with World Bank support. study and groundwater governance studies, as In addition, the conference drew experiences well as a collection of articles, studies, and reports from South Asia and Organisation of Economic from local, national, and regional research on Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations. groundwater management and governance were also shared. The forum recognized that aquifers span across and are shared by multiple administrative and Forum Format political boundaries from villages, cities, districts, The three-day forum was structured around states, and provinces to nation states. To optimize three broad themes and 14 sessions (an benefits of groundwater, the multijurisdictional inaugural session, nine sessions, three breakout nature of aquifer boundaries is vital to understand sessions, and a closing session). The first and integrate in its planning and management day’s theme, “Understanding the Value and decision making. Sustainable management Limits of a Vital Hidden Resource,” included of groundwater requires a collaborative and the inaugural session and sessions 1–4. The BACKGROUND . 3 second day’s theme, “Foundation for Sustainable and Villages,” included sessions 10–12 and the Groundwater Use and Management,” included closing session. Appendix A contains the sessions 5–9. The third day’s theme, “Building forum program. Appendix B contains the list of Drought and Climate Resilience for Farmers, Cities participants. DAY 1 THE INAUGURAL SESSION opened with high-level messages from the host on the devastating impacts of two years of drought, the urgency to find solutions to the Understanding the water crisis, and the need for a more balanced water policy that integrates the role of groundwater in the economy and in drought and climate resilience. Welcome remarks Value and Limits by the World Bank senior director stressed the criticality of groundwater management. of a Vital Hidden The opening address by the director general of the International Water Management Institute highlighted groundwater megatrends in South Asia. Session 1 framed the key Resource role of groundwater in drought resilience and climate-change adaptation and discussed the political economy of groundwater-energy-food nexus. Session 2 discussed the major regional aquifers and the main challenges—depletion and contamination—contributing to unsustainable groundwater use, and emerging concerns about climate resilience and groundwater contamination. Session 3 presented national groundwater priorities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Breakout groups discussed priority actions and distilled lessons for building a knowledge base, identifying institutional capacity and policy needs for tackling depletion and groundwater- quality issues in irrigation and domestic water supply. THE SECOND DAY centered on sharing knowledge and experiences from South Asia DAY 2 and around the world on the governance foundations for sustainable groundwater management. Its focus was on understanding how science is used to inform groundwater policy as well as regulatory and management decisions; scaling up community-based groundwater management; supporting urban supply management; and learning about Foundations for cooperative and collaborative groundwater management. It drew from diverse experiences Sustainable and case studies from across South Asian nations (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka), the OECD, the United States, the U.S–Mexico aquifers, the Middle East, and global reviews. Groundwater Urban groundwater supply cases were drawn from a regional study across Asia and case Use and Management studies from Lahore, Delhi, and Dhaka. Breakout groups deliberated on success factors of best practice groundwater policy, regulations, and institutions THE FINAL DAY started with lessons from local and international groundwater- DAY 3 management experiences on managed aquifer recharge, conjunctive use of surface and groundwater, and nanotechnology-based solutions for treating arsenic. This was followed Building Drought by discussion on the groundwater-adaptation framework and a road map for building drought and climate resilience. Breakout groups identified climate change adaptation and Climate Resilience opportunities and policy incentives for sustainable rural, urban, and irrigation groundwater supply. The last session included a valedictory address by the guest of honor, a summary for Farmers, Cities and of key forum messages, and closing remarks by representative of the GoI, the International Communities Water Association (IWA), and the World Bank. 1 MacDonald, A. M., H. C., Bonsor, K. M. Ahmed, W. G. Burgess, M. Basharat, R. C. Calow, A. Dixit, S. S. D. Foster, K. Gopal, D. J. Lapworth, and R. M. Lark. 2016. “Groundwater Quality and Depletion in the Indo-Gangetic Basin Mapped from in Situ Observations. Nature Geoscience 9: 762–66. DAY 1 Understanding the Value and Limits of a Vital Hidden Resource DAY 1 INAUGURAL SESSION Master of Ceremony: Mr. Ganesh Pangare – Regional Director, Asia-Pacific, International Water Association (IWA) Welcome and Setting the Scene Direct Delivery of Power Subsidy to Mr. Shashi Shekhar Manage Groundwater-Energy-Food Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Nexus River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Mr. Mohinder Gulati (MoWRRDGR), India former CEO, UN Sustainable Energy for All Welcoming Remarks High-Level Panel Discussion: Ms. Jennifer Sara, Senior Director Groundwater Policy Implications for Drought and Water Global Practice, World Bank Climate Resilience. Groundwater Megatrends in Moderator South Asia Mr. Ganesh Pangare, Mr. Jeremy Bird Regional Director, Asia-Pacific, IWA. Director General, International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Panelists (a) Mr. Shashi Shekhar Political Economy of Groundwater Secretary, MoWRRDGR, Government of India Chair: Mr. Shashi Shekhar (b) Mr. Nisar A. Memon, Secretary, MoWRRDGR, India former Federal Minister, Pakistan, and Chairman, Water and Environment Forum Groundwater Policy Implications (WEF) for Building Drought and Climate (c) Mr. Dipak Gyawali Resilience in South Asia Chair, Nepal Water Conservation Foundation Dr. Rafik Hirji (NWCF) Team Leader, World Bank (d) Dr. Bill Young Lead Water Resources Specialist, The Political Economy of the World Bank Groundwater-Energy-Food Nexus: Towards Drought and Climate Regional Groundwater Management Resilience Perspectives Dr. Tushaar Shah Chair: Mr. Jeremy Bird Senior Fellow, IWMI Director General, IWMI 5 Groundwater Resilience India to Climate Change and Mr. Dipankar Saha Abstraction in the Indo- Senior Member, Central Ground Water Gangetic Basin Board (CGWB) Prof. Alan MacDonald Principal Hydrogeologist, British Geological Nepal Survey Mr. Dhana Bahadur Tamang Secretary, Water and Energy Groundwater Quality Commission Secretariat, Government of Challenges in South Asia and Nepal Options for Management Prof. Kazi Matin Ahmed Pakistan Dhaka University Dr. Muhammad Riaz Director Panel: Program Monitoring and Country Groundwater Priorities Implementation Unit, Punjab Irrigation Department Co-chairs: Mr. Nisar A. Memon Sri Lanka former Federal Minister, Pakistan, Mr. Ranjith Seevali Wijesekera and Chairman, WEF General Manager, Water Resources Board, Government of Sri Lanka Ms. Mieke van Ginneken Manager, World Bank Group Work I Tackling Irrigation and Domestic Water Country Presentations Supply Challenges Afghanistan Facilitator Mr. Sayed Sharif Shobair Dr. John Dore Coordinator and Chief Engineer, Food Senior Water Resources Specialist, and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/ Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Irrigation Restoration and Development (DFAT) Project (IRDP), Afghanistan Bangladesh Dr. Anwar Zahid Deputy Director, Bangladesh Water Development Board Bhutan Mr. G. K. Chhopel Chief Environment Officer, Water Resources Coordination Division, National Environment Commission China Prof. Guangheng Ni Director, Institute of Hydrology and Water Resources, Tsinghua University 6 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM CHAPTER 2 7 INAUGURAL SESSION Master of Ceremony: Mr. Ganesh Pangare, Regional Director, Asia-Pacific, IWA Welcome and Setting the Scene Mr. Shashi Shekhar, Secretary, MoWRRDGR, India Secretary Shashi Shekhar extended a warm requirements: 30–35 days of rainfall must meet welcome, on behalf of his government, to all the needs of 365 days. With all the funds used, delegates and organizers to Jaipur, especially surface storage capacity is still very limited, and to those who had traveled from afar. He the opportunity for systematically recharging acknowledged that the forum was very timely rainwater into aquifer is limited. Cautioning since India was grappling with a severe drought against over exhaustion of groundwater, he said due to the failure of two years of the monsoons digging deeper is not a viable option in many that impacted the livelihoods of more than 300 areas, such as in hard rock areas, so funds are million people. He enunciated the importance wasted. Extensive rainwater harvesting needs to of groundwater for India: it provides 65 percent be a solution. The government had earmarked 2.3 of the nation’s irrigation water supply and 85 million ha for recharging groundwater. All areas percent of the drinking water supply. He noted with high recharge potential, such as the bountiful that poor water management was a widespread Terai, Aravalli, and other forests, must be used to problem in spite of such good examples as Hiware increase groundwater recharge. Water storage Bazar (Maharashtra) Gram Panchayat, in which needs to be increased. Capacities of traditional water was rationed to prioritize the needs of storage structures, such as tankas and baolis, and humans and agriculture. He called for solutions big reservoirs need to improve. that integrate traditional systems and wisdom with modern science and technology for water The impact of climate change is clearly visible; budgeting, prioritization, and harvesting, with three-quarters of the country has been affected local community participation. by drought over the last two years. Groundwater can provide resilience against climate change. And Secretary Shekhar highlighted the failure today, political will for realizing this opportunity of government’s water policy for putting a exists. In response to the ongoing drought over disproportionate emphasis on surface water as the last month alone, the prime minister held opposed to groundwater, leading to investment 11 meetings with chief ministers of 14 states to of vast sums of funds for surface water storage develop short- and long-term solutions to the with little attention to the management of water crisis. Secretary Shekar urged forum experts groundwater. On an average year, India receives from around the region and the world to bring 30–35 downpours over 90 days, and this water relevant knowledge and experiences to address has to sustain 90 percent of the country’s water the region’s groundwater crisis. 8 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM Welcoming Remarks Ms. Jennifer Sara, Senior Director, Water Global Practice, World Bank Ms. Sara’s remarks stated the importance of water development is reflected in the Water Global security for all and made a case for the criticality Practice lending of US$ 25 billion, including 172 of groundwater management. Water, central projects in its water portfolio (plus US$ 10 billion in to development, has not been managed as a water programs in other global practices). Twenty- renewable resource. She noted that the impact eight percent of this lending (US$ 6.9 billion, of water scarcity on gross domestic product (GDP) including 25 projects) was in the South Asia Region. was high, especially in the South and East Asia regions, but improved water management can Ms. Sara stated that sustainable development goal drive growth. She highlighted the need to (a) build (SDG) 6 relates to improving water management, resilience against water-related hazards such which requires better planning, improved as floods, droughts, and pollution; (b) increase efficiency, and acting against pollution as well access to safe, sufficient, and affordable water as implementing integrated water resources for meeting domestic drinking, sanitation, and management at all levels, including transboundary hygiene needs; (c) provide adequate water for cooperation. Policy and institutional reforms food and energy production, industry, transport, were important and needed to be followed by and tourism; and (d) preserve ecosystems to investments. deliver their services on which both nature and people rely. Over 4 billion people currently live in South Asia faced complex water management areas that face different degrees of water scarcity. issues, including being a global groundwater hotspot. Ms. Sara noted that 54 percent of India The World Bank’s commitment to water faced high water stress, and water levels in 54 Water is central to development, but has not been managed as a renewable resource for everyone ! PopulaƟons must be resilient to water-related hazards including PopulaƟons must have access to safe, sufficient and affordable water to meet basic needs for drinking, sanitaƟon and floods, droughts and polluƟon. hygiene, to safeguard health and well-being, and to fulfill basic human rights. Water-Related Drinking Water Hazards and and Human Climate Change Well Being Economic Ecosystems AcƟviƟes and Development Adequate water supplies must Ecosystems must be preserved to deliver be available for food and energy their services, on which both nature and producƟon, industry, transport people rely, including the provision of and tourism. freshwater. Source: Adapted from UN Water, 2013 INAUGURAL SESSION . 9 percent of India’s wells were declining. with the GoI to prepare a major groundwater project, and stated the importance of developing Groundwater management is a complex new models that can be adopted and replicated in multisectoral challenge, compounded by the various states. In this regard, the forum was timely common pool nature of the resource. The region in addressing a critical development challenge needs to develop solutions that can be applied at and was where international experiences would small and large scales. Solutions must address the be shared from all over South Asia and beyond. water, energy and food nexus. She ended her remarks by extending a warm welcome to all the participants to the South Asia Ms. Sara noted that the World Bank was working Groundwater Forum. Groundwater Megatrends in South Asia Mr. Jeremy Bird, Director General, IWMI Mr. Bird highlighted the importance of the public and policy community regarding these groundwater in South Asia not only for meeting issues is very important. For example, in the state the basic needs of livelihood but also for future of West Bengal, well endowed with groundwater, growth opportunities, and expressed his hope expansion of groundwater irrigation was possible that the forum would enable a rich exchange of as a result of communication on the state of experiences on groundwater monitoring and resources, leading to policy directives incentivizing productive usage. the use of groundwater for irrigation. However, without proper regulations in place it may not be Mr. Bird spoke about the challenges of deteriorating sustainable, hence the same needs to be adapted groundwater quality and its impact. If groundwater in policy making. is exhausted beyond a limit, it becomes unsustainable, thus rendering it a nonrenewable Mr. Bird hoped that a forum like this, with water source, and a lack of awareness about this representatives from various states and countries, problem was a big concern. Surface water is visible would be useful to raise awareness about the but groundwater is not. This characteristic makes it challenges of the field and create political will more difficult to assess the availability and quality for policy changes necessary for improving of groundwater compared to surface water. In groundwater governance and usage. Adaptive addition, there is a lack of common collective policy making for groundwater governance is responsibility to manage groundwater. A recent critical, but there is no one solution for all cases. report of the World Economic Forum (2016)2 For example, groundwater is a driving force mentions declining water as a threat to businesses behind irrigation, and farmers respond to policy as well as public supply and private farmers. signals. One of the first steps could be to promote use of small pumps for rainfed farmers to become Climate change has intensified problems more resilient. Mr. Bird concluded that the concerning water resources, and groundwater is challenge is to foster resilience, adaptation, and part of the solution. Change in policy leading to transformation. Climate change and sustainable behavioral change needs to be at the heart of the development goals agenda can be the opportunity discussion. For this purpose, communicating with to make this happen. 2 World Economic Forum. 2016. Global Risks Report 2016. Davos, Switzerland: World Economic Forum. http://reports. weforum.org/global-risks-2016/. 10 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM 11 CHAPTER 3 POLITICAL ECONOMY OF GROUNDWATER Chair: Shashi Shekhar, Secretary, MoWRRDGR, India Groundwater Policy Implications for Building Drought and Climate Resilience in South Asia Dr. Rafik Hirji, Team Leader, World Bank Dr. Hirji set the context for the forum— South Asia is the largest user of groundwater; how groundwater policy can promote the it accounts for nearly 50 percent of the total development of drought and climate resilience groundwater pumped for irrigation globally. Total in South Asia—and the forum objectives. groundwater abstracted in the Indo-Gangetic Groundwater plays a vital role in South Asia’s Basin (IGB) alone is about one-fourth of the global socioeconomic development. It has delivered groundwater abstraction. The region has 555 significant socioeconomic benefits, including billion cubic meters of renewable groundwater improved water security; expanded urban, rural, that can be used sustainably, and currently, around industrial, and irrigation water supplies; enhanced 62 percent (about 347 billion cubic meters) is food security; improved rural livelihoods; drought developed. India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are, resilience; greater farmer control; and high-quality respectively, the first, fourth, and sixth largest (sediment-free) water. In commercial agriculture, users of groundwater globally. India pumps more groundwater has supported the generation of than the United States and China, the second and more crops and jobs per drop than surface water third largest users, respectively, combined. for high-value crops. Over the past six decades, groundwater Groundwater also sustains valuable ecosystems, development has accelerated rapidly but including base flow in rivers, wetlands, and largely in an unplanned, uncontrolled, and terrestrial vegetation. In arid and semi-arid areas, unmanaged manner, especially in arid and semi- it is often the sole water supply for people and arid regions. Prominent hydrogeologists termed livestock. It is also a relatively secure source of this phenomena the “Silent Revolution” in the water supply for food production especially in editorial of the 2005 Journal of Water Resources times of drought. This makes groundwater a very Planning and Management and Hydrogeology important resource for developing drought and (Llamas and Martínez-Santos 20053); it has climate resilience. occurred largely unnoticed and in a policy vacuum. Rapid development of groundwater 12 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM has occurred because of many factors, including water storage. Surface water storage in all South increasing surface water scarcity from failing Asian dams, reservoirs, and tanks is less than public supply, and cheap or free power supply to 300 cubic kilometers. In contrast, the volume of subsidize pumping costs. Unlike surface systems, groundwater stored only in the upper 200 meters groundwater does not require community of the IGB alluvial aquifer is estimated to be 30,000 infrastructure. It is also relatively cheap to develop, cubic kilometers, or 100 times bigger than the and it is easy to bypass regulation. Resilience of existing surface storage. This groundwater storage aquifers to dry periods also makes groundwater is more than 20 times the combined annual flow attractive to develop. Improved technologies have of the Indus, Brahmaputra, and Ganges rivers. Low also led to cheaper submersible pumps and drilling surface water storage means limited capacity for technologies. Although there is a significant inter-seasonal or inter-annual storage. The large potential to develop parts of the regional alluvial groundwater storage capacity can potentially aquifer system in parts of South Asia, current provide an effective buffer to seasonal and inter- groundwater use is unsustainable in many parts annual variations in climate and surface water of South Asia. There is irrefutable evidence of flows, if these systems are managed well. And unsustainable groundwater conditions. In situ there lies South Asia’s dilemma and opportunity. monitoring data and satellite information indicate clear trends: declining groundwater levels, Groundwater management is a complex reduced storage, deteriorating groundwater challenge. It is not just a water resources problem, quality, increasing salinization in inland and but a multisectoral and multijurisdictional urban coastal aquifers, and emerging land subsidence and rural economic development challenge. It problems. These trends represent a serious social relates to many sectors, including agriculture, and economic cost on farmers, cities, and villages energy, environment, industry, health, lands, since water supply and irrigation well failures are water, and rural and urban development. Aquifer increasing, yields are declining, pumping costs are boundaries are never limited to a single village, increasing, and water quality is deteriorating. In city, district, state, province, or nation. They often some cases, environmental externalities (such as span multiple administrative jurisdictions. The salinization, land subsidence, and contamination) common pool nature of groundwater, multiple are either too costly to reverse or irreversible. externalities, and data inadequacy compound the Farmer suicide levels are on the rise, especially challenge. during droughts. According to major research done over the past Groundwater has a few unique characteristics few years by the Organisation for Economic Co- that differ from surface water. Understanding operation and Development (OECD 20155), the and integrating them in water policies and water United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural management planning and decision making is Organization Groundwater Resources Assessment key to harnessing the substantial opportunities under the Pressures of Humanity and Climate for developing drought- and climate-resilient Change (UNESCO GRAPHIC 20156), and the water resources system. Aquifers are large natural World Bank (Clifton et al. 20107), groundwater, if storage areas, have a relatively long detention well managed, can and should act as a powerful time, and have a slow response to variations in drought-resilient and climate adaptation option precipitation and recharge. Therefore, coupled for South Asia; in other words, it can be a natural with aquifers’ protection from evaporation, they insurance mechanism and not just a component provide a more effective buffer compared to of freshwater supplies. This overall goal of the surface water system against increased short- or South Asia Groundwater Forum was to start and long-term climate variability. facilitate a structured dialogue through sharing knowledge, experiences, ideas, and innovation According to MacDonald et al. (20164), the IGB that can help to harness the opportunities that aquifer has very large storage compared to surface groundwater potentially offers in building drought POLITICAL ECONOMY OF GROUNDWATER . 13 and climate resilience in South Asia. The South groundwater management in South Asia Asia Groundwater Forum objectives were to: • Share knowledge and experiences in • Elevate, at the policy level, the vital role groundwater management and governance groundwater plays in the water sector across • Discuss opportunities for local, national, South Asia and regional action to achieve sustainable • Build a community of practice—a network groundwater use and build drought and of technical expertise—to guide improved climate resilience. The Political Economy of the Groundwater-Energy-Food Nexus: Towards Drought and Climate Resilience Prof. Tushaar Shah, Senior Fellow, IWMI Prof. Shah noted that at the end of the colonial the importance of agriculture for the rural poor. period, India inherited the world’s largest (surface) These factors have contributed to extreme canal irrigation infrastructure from the British pressure to intensify and diversify land use, and government, but by the 1960s it had emerged as have increased demand for year-round, in-farm the world’s largest groundwater irrigator. Rapid water control. In turn, different types of irrigation groundwater development in South Asia was systems have increased dependence and pressure currently consuming 1,280–1,350 billion units of on groundwater, leading to unsustainable The only practical electricity equivalent of energy use. exploitation of this resource. way to make solar pumps benign is Large-scale groundwater development has little Historically, groundwater has offered greater to connect them relationship with aquifer properties and potential. drought resilience due to its stabilization and to the grid, net- The main drivers of South Asia’s groundwater carry-over storage compared to surface water. meter them, and boom included rapid population growth and In future, it will be key to climate change offer irrigators a long-term buyback contract for surplus Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation require that post-monsoon solar energy. WL bounce back through demand and supply side management Feed-in tariffs offered to farmers in a solarized Ground level Ground level groundwater Depth to pre-monsoon and post-monsoon Post-monsoon economy can be Depth to pre-monsoon and post-monsoon the central tool Post-monsoon of groundwater governance water level water level Pre-monsoon Pre-monsoon Years Years 14 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM adaptation because of the opportunities that of operating diesel pumps. provided by effectively utilizing natural aquifer storage. Adaptation will require a post-monsoon Solar irrigation pumps offer numerous groundwater level bounce through supply and opportunities and threats. They are a better demand management. alternative to costly diesel and poor-quality electric power and could possibly transform South Prof. Shah discussed the energy-groundwater-food Asia’s groundwater economy. If it is promoted nexus: in states and provinces where there was no thoughtlessly as electricity subsidies were, it free electricity provided to the farmers, the cost of will accelerate groundwater depletion like never diesel acted like a speed breaker for groundwater before. Solar pumps will have a higher average exploitation. But in many states in India, electricity use factor, be a boom for resource poor water provides over 80 percent of the power used for buyers, intensify groundwater exploitation, and pumping groundwater. Electricity subsidies to the will make groundwater regulation impossible. farmers come in the form of waiving connection The only practical way to make solar pumps costs, no metering, and free or subsidized benign is to connect them to the grid, net-meter power; these have contributed to intensifying them, and offer irrigators a long-term buyback groundwater exploitation and pumping deeper. contract for surplus solar energy. Feed-in tariffs Data from a survey of well owners from India offered to farmers in a solarized groundwater and Bangladesh indicate that the annual hours of economy can be the central tool of groundwater operating electrical pumps was more than double governance. Direct Delivery of Power Subsidy to Manage Groundwater-Energy-Food Nexus Mr. Mohinder Gulati, former CEO, UN Sustainable Energy for All Mr. Gulati presented findings from a recent study Mr. Gulati discussed the intractable problem of the (Gulati and Pahuja 20158) which offers a practical energy-groundwater-agriculture nexus in India; approach recommended for India: direct delivery the mutation of the subsidy policy (from free of power subsidy to agriculture. The report power to unmetered power); the contribution of focuses on how to create and align incentives groundwater irrigation to the Green Revolution of stakeholders to adopt sustainable use of (now an Achilles heel of the power sector); the groundwater in agriculture. severe and widespread groundwater depletion problem in India; National Aeronautics and Space The agro-dependence of the majority of the rural Administration (NASA) data showing evidence population in South Asia, plus the electrification of very large groundwater withdrawals; the and subsidized energy for agriculture, have deteriorating financial performance of power contributed to overexploitation of groundwater. sector utilities; the key drivers of weak financial In India, groundwater meets 60 percent of health; and the persistent capacity and energy irrigation needs and 85 percent of drinking water sector deficits. In addition, he underscored a needs. This heavy dependence has led to serious conundrum of a services-dominated economy for over abstraction in states such as Rajasthan and an agriculture dependent population and described Punjab, and has made rural economies vulnerable reasons why solutions have eluded India for so long. to droughts, which will be further aggravated by He described the objectives of his study (Gulati and climate change. Sustainable groundwater use was Pahuja 2015) (based in Andhra, Karnataka, and the cheapest adaptation measure against drought. Punjab) and its four key elements: (a) segregated POLITICAL ECONOMY OF GROUNDWATER . 15 feeders, (b) minimum energy support, and (c) smart practical “win-win” solutions for sustainable use metering and subsidy delivery and performance- of groundwater. Keeping this in mind, he proposed based incentives for utility employees based on some specific policy interventions, such as information and communications technology Jyotigram yojana (an initiative of the Government (ICT), and (d) incentives for key stakeholders: of Gujarat launched in 2006) to ensure availability farmers, power utility staff, political executives, of 24-hour, three-phase quality power supply to governments, and power utilities. rural areas of the state and to supply power to farmers residing in scattered farm houses through Mr. Gulati stated that sustainable use of feeders having specially designed transformers. It groundwater is the cheapest adaptation measure recommends a shift in approach from “power for against climate change and for mitigation of irrigation” to “power and irrigation” with feeder impact of drought. Water scarcity and growing segregation, improved supply and rostering, and vulnerability due to climate change requires policy feeder metering for better load management. coherence across water, energy, agriculture, and These have been experimented with groundwater environment sectors. Dependence of 60 percent schemes and have proved to be successful to 80 percent of the population in South Asia in bringing about huge socioeconomic and on agriculture drives the political economy of political benefits. Experiences from Mexico; groundwater; thus, solutions have to be farmer- Columbia Water Center support in Gujrat; Water- centric. Alignment of incentives for farmers, Energy-Nexus- (WENEXA-) funded support in politicians, governments, power utilities, and Karnataka; and field studies in east Uttar Pradesh, utility employees, and simultaneous promotion of south Bihar, Gujrat, and Punjab also offer useful efficiency in energy and groundwater is critical for lessons. High-Level Panel Discussion: Groundwater Policy Implications for Drought and Climate Resilience Moderator Mr. Ganesh Pangare, Regional Director, Asia-Pacific, International Water Association (IWA), Mr. Pangare directed specific questions to and invited panelists to share their views on groundwater management in the region. Mr. Deepak Gyawali, Nepal’s former Water Resources Minister, was asked to explain the concept of groundwater-food-energy nexus. He responded that it can be viewed as an attempt to grapple with complexity. So far, water was treated in an extremely sectoral manner; from a nexus perspective this is a big problem. People do not like uncomfortable knowledge. For example, today when solar pumps are promoted as a good innovation from an energy demand and crisis perspective, it is necessary to take into account their side effects spilling over into other sectors such as groundwater. Thus, nexus thinking requires PHOTO CREDIT: NACHIKET PANGARE 16 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM behavioral innovations and market innovations pumped and wastewater discharged in these areas to manage water resources in an integrated in both countries. fashion. All agencies (including government agencies) involved in water management need Various groundwater studies have been conducted to be pluralistic and should provide space for in individual countries, but there is a great need anthropologists, sociologists, and so on, in the area for joint studies and research since the aquifers of water resource management. So far, Singapore and the impact of their use are interconnected. provides a good example in this part of the world. One example is the Indus Waters Treaty, which has been successful so far, but it does not address When asked about the expectations and take-home groundwater. Mr. Memon expressed the need for message from this forum, Dr. Bill Young, Lead Pakistan and India to conduct a joint groundwater Water Resources Specialist of the World Bank, study on the Indus Basin, and Pakistan and said that when we look at groundwater at the forum, Afghanistan to conduct a joint study on surface it is not only to discuss issues of groundwater per se and groundwater. but also to look at it as a nexus. Groundwater is only a part of the bigger system. There are many other Prof. Maheshwari from Sydney stated that top- nuanced aspects within the water sector. The first down approaches to groundwater management step is to discuss it from a policy perspective. Thus do not work. Instead village-level interventions can the conversation is very important. The forum was work, such as the MARVI project in Rajasthan. a continuation of the conversation that had begun the previous year at the regional water-energy-food When he asked a question on what needs to nexus workshop convened in Kathmandu, Nepal change from a policy perspective, Mr. Shashi (February 2015). While addressing issues such as Shekhar responded that groundwater plays a very these, having an ongoing conversation is important important role in South Asia’s economy. Policy in its own right. In the past, discussions have makers need to understand groundwater and its been largely supply-driven, focused primarily on dynamic nature to manage it. Stating the example abstraction. However, we need to look at “recharge” of free power to farmers, he also emphasized in a big way. There is traditional knowledge on the need for policy correction. Since 1998, he recharge but not much work on recharge from new has witnessed ministers and bureaucrats from technology and innovations perspectives. Thus, successive governments plead to charge farmers there is need for critical thinking and analysis with for electricity, but no decision has ever been taken regard to recharge of groundwater. against subsidies due to political pressures. When asked about studies on groundwater in In the future, with solar pump prices going the region, Mr. Nisar A. Memon, former Water down, subsidies will not be required, but that is Resources Minister, Pakistan, said that good not going to solve the problem of groundwater messages about groundwater have come up in overabstraction. Mr. Shekhar referred to the forum; however, we need to go back and ask inappropriate policies such as incentives to grow the question: who are we addressing through sugarcane in Maharashtra (a water scarce state) these discussions? We talk about stakeholders: leading to depletion of groundwater. This has only the biggest stakeholders are the people of the worsened the drought situation. He reiterated the region. It is necessary to discuss the security of the need to share knowledge on groundwater and people and the solutions that would help these its characteristics across all levels from the policy people. We need regional solutions. A groundwater maker to the citizen. He also highlighted that problem in Punjab (India) could be similar to that groundwater quality (e.g., problems with arsenic or of the problem in Punjab (Pakistan). These are fluoride) is as important as its quantity. transboundary problems. Groundwater pollution is an example. Groundwater quantity and quality Mr. Shekhar stated: “We are in a stress situation are severely affected by the amount of water that is now and have reached a point of real crisis. There POLITICAL ECONOMY OF GROUNDWATER . 17 are continuing disputes between states due to will take root in states and across villages to make water usage. Thus, this crisis has to lead to measures sustainable groundwater use a reality. (and actions). Addressing the issues in parts (or ad hoc basis) is not enough anymore. Perhaps Prof. Tushaar Shah was asked a question regarding generations of efforts (long-term solutions) are the use of subsidies as a tool for the sustainable required. Thus, it is important to understand this use of groundwater. He stated that this tool can problem systemically at all governance levels be used imaginatively by changing the type of and should be addressed at all the levels. This subsidy and by changing its pattern. For example, includes addressing water storage provisions, in the context of Pakistan, to regulate groundwater community participation and prioritizing water exhaustion subsidy or support could be given to use, economizing consumption, and changing farmers for water harvesting. cropping patterns and eating habits.” Mr. Gulati was asked why he had focused his Mr. Shekhar concluded by stating that it will not study on agriculture alone and not looked at help to use only top-down policy tools in a hugely impacts on groundwater due to industrial use populated country like India. A huge army will be and urbanization. He responded by saying that needed for its implementation. For implementation urbanization and industrial use are definitely of progressive policies, we need the support of impacting groundwater in current scenarios but the people on the ground, and capacity building their impacts are localized and not widespread is an important tool for that. We need to develop yet, unlike that of agriculture. There are microlevel institutions at the village level to build capacities. impacts that are being experienced, for example, People have to be told that stable reserves of in places such as Dhaka where extraction of groundwater are like a fixed deposit that has to groundwater for drinking water are significant. be carefully managed. Civil society has a big role to play in creating this understanding among Bharati Ben from Self Employed Women’s the people. The MoWRRDGR has departed from Association (SEWA), an Indian NGO, stated legislation dominated by supply side to demand that this organization has supported rainwater side management. The main thrust of the new law harvesting and conservation efforts in Kutch and is on the demand side, community participation, these lessons need to be replicated elsewhere in and community capacity development. Water is the country where problems of both water quantity a state subject, and he hopes that the model bill and quality are rising. 3 Llamas, M. R., and P. Martínez-Santos. 2005. “Intensive Groundwater Use: Silent Revolution and Potential Source of Social Conflicts.” Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management September/October: 337–41. 4 MacDonald, A. M., H. C., Bonsor, K. M. Ahmed, W. G. Burgess, M. Basharat, R. C. Calow, A. Dixit, S. S. D. Foster, K. Gopal, D. J. Lapworth, and R. M. Lark. 2016. “Groundwater Quality and Depletion in the Indo-Gangetic Basin Mapped from in Situ Observations. Nature Geoscience 9: 762–66. 5 OECD. 2015. Drying Wells, Rising Stakes: Towards Sustainable Agricultural Groundwater Use. OECD Studies on Water. Paris: OECD. 6 UNESCO GRAPHIC. 2015. Groundwater and Climate Change: Mitigating the Global Groundwater Crisis and Adapting to Climate Change, Position Paper and Call to Action. UNESCO: Paris. 7 Clifton, C., R. Evans, S. Hayes, R. Hirji, G. Puz, and C. Pizzaro. 2010. “Water and Climate Change: Impacts on Groundwater Resources and Adaptation Options.” Water Working Note 25, World Bank, Washington, DC. 8,9 Gulati, M., and S. Pahuja. 2015. Direct Delivery of Power Subsidy to Agriculture in India. Washington, DC: ESMAP. https://www.esmap.org/sites/esmap.org/files/DocumentLibrary/SE4All-%20Direct%20Delivery%20of%20Power%20 Subsidy%20to%20Agriculture%20in%20India_Optimized.pdf 18 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM PHOTO CREDIT: AMITANGSHU ACHARYA 19 CHAPTER 4 REGIONAL GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVES Chair: Mr. Jeremy Bird, Director General, IWMI Groundwater Resilience to Climate Change and Abstraction in the Indo-Gangetic Basin Prof. Alan MacDonald, Principal Hydrogeologist, British Geological Survey Prof. MacDonald presented findings of a recently reviews how deep groundwater (greater than published Indo-Gangetic Basin (IGB) groundwater 50 meters to 350 meters deep) responds to resilience study (MacDonald et al 2015). He pumping. The Punjab case study reviews what the quoted the 2014 IPCC report that “Climate dominant recharge mechanisms were and how change is projected to reduce renewable surface connected were the shallow and deep aquifers. water and groundwater resources significantly in The Himalayan foothills case reviews how much most dry subtropical regions” (IPCC 2014: 1310). groundwater was used in the Middle Hills and how Groundwater abstraction in South Asia is 340 km3, sensitive it was to climate change and land use or 34 percent of total current use globally. changes. The IGB aquifer, with its immense natural storage, offers an excellent buffer to change. In the Abstraction from the IGB is 25 percent of the IGB, groundwater quality degradation is arguably global groundwater abstraction. Groundwater a greater concern than depletion. storage is 30,000 km3, about 20 times the annual flows of the Ganges, Meghna, and Brahmaputra Groundwater is more vulnerable to abstraction rivers, and 100 times the storage in all dams in than climate change. Aquifer properties and South Asia. Yields are high: greater than 20 L/s. typologies are important for defining proper There are large variations in aquifer permeability, management strategies. Different geologies and storage, and anisotropy. Groundwater levels are characteristics of aquifers determine aquifer stable in 60 percent of the IGB aquifer and falling resilience to change and ease of abstraction and in 33 percent of the aquifer. Groundwater salinity, recharge. Recharge is from rainfall, canals, and arsenic, and fluoride impact up to 60 percent rivers. Canal systems and canal lining—although of the aquifer areas. Salinity is both natural and meant to increase efficiency of surface water manmade. Arsenic (natural) is associated with irrigation—limit groundwater recharge. Holocene deposits and organic soils. Detailed case studies were investigated under the British Strategically, groundwater resources that need Geological Survey study.11 The Bengal case study protection are (a) the Himalayan aquifers, 20 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM Groundwater typologies Source: Bonsor HC, MacDonald AM, Ahmed KM, Burgess WG, Basharat M, Calow RC; Dixit A, Foster SSD, Gopal K, Lapworth DJ, Moench M, Mukherjee A, Rao MS, Shamsudduha M, Smith L, Taylor RG, Tucker J, van Steenbergen F, Yadav S, Zahid A. 2017 Hydrogeological typologies of the Indo- Gangetic basin alluvial aquifer, South Asia. Hydrogeology Journal, 25, 1377-1406, doi: 10.1007/s10040-017- 1550-z since they protect the base flow of the Greater satellites. Sound governance needs three- Himalayas rivers, and (b) deep aquifers to dimensional knowledge of local aquifers. protect groundwater from arsenic pollution. Aquifer protection plans are needed to avoid Groundwater and surface water are clearly linked; over abstraction in the Indo-Gangetic plain. both sources should be protected and treated as Agrochemical use has to be reduced. Land use connected systems. Conjunctive management planning for watershed protection is important. of surface and groundwater is important for Groundwater quality needs to be monitored maximizing the storage and needs to incorporate continuously to see whether strategies are quality considerations. Targeted research—e.g., effective or need to be adjusted. In situ monitoring recharge processes, surface and groundwater of groundwater levels needs to continue with— interaction, vulnerable areas, and degradation— and not as a substitute to—monitoring through needs to be promoted. Groundwater Quality Challenges in South Asia and Options for Management Prof. Kazi Matin Ahmed, Dhaka University, Bangladesh Prof. Ahmed discussed the groundwater quality groundwater abstractions, supporting potable challenges across the region and experiences supply, public health, and food security. The region with management options in Bangladesh. The has many groundwater dependent megacities; region’s aquifers are part of the world’s largest some face serious overexploitation. Availability of fluvial systems and most productive aquifers. Over usable groundwater varies considerably across the 20 million wells pump nearly half of the global region. Continued supplies of safe water from many REGIONAL GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVES . 21 Megacity Dhaka: Conceptual Model of Pumping Induced Flow Shallow head Deephead As-contaminated shallow irrigaƟon and domesƟc pumping 0 100 Depth (m) 200 300 High capacity mechanized deep pumping in the city As-safe deep domesƟc pumping Source: Khan, 2016 & Khan et al, 2016 (in review) of the aquifers are constrained by the presence of little was known and understood. Despite heavy natural contaminants such as arsenic, fluoride, and dependence on groundwater, all nations lacked salinity, and anthropogenic contaminations from adequate groundwater governance and effective large populations, agricultural intensification, poor institutions. This was not due to the absence of sanitation, rapid urbanization, and industrialization. policies, guidelines, and laws for the development Over 100 million people live in areas of poor water and management of water resources or legislations quality. Climate change is likely to complicate the and guidelines for groundwater management, development of strategies for using groundwater but rather to weak enforcement of existing resources sustainably. policies, legislation, and guidelines. There were no institutions with the capacity to effectively manage Prof. Ahmed described management options for and protect groundwater in most countries. addressing arsenic and salinity from experiences in Bangladesh. Maps of arsenic, fluoride, and Systematic water quality monitoring systems need saline and brackish groundwater and a basin to be installed to avoid quality-related disasters model for predicting arsenic release mechanism such as arsenic. Water quality might be addressed in groundwater were discussed. Bangladesh has more effectively if communities were empowered developed maps of arsenic safe aquifers and a to manage their drinking water systems, including sediment color tool (with black indicating the with responsibilities for monitoring water quality highest risk and red the lowest risk) for guiding and implementing water safety plans. Cross- drillers. A conceptual model of pumping induced country learning can help to ensure sustainable flow for Dhaka was discussed. supplies of safe water and protect the aquifers. Integrated cross-border monitoring networks are Prof. Ahmed stressed the governance challenges needed for understanding the quality aspects of of managing this invisible resource about which so the transboundary aquifers. 10 IPCC. 2014. Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Geneva, Switzerland: IPCC. 11 MacDonald, A. M., H. C. Bonsor, R. Taylor, M. Shamsudduha, W. G. Burgess, K. M. Ahmed, A. Mukherjee, A. Zahid, D. Lapworth, K. Gopal, M. S. Rao, M. Moench, S. H. Bricker, S. K. Yadav, Y. Satyal, L. Smith, A. Dixit, R. Bell, F. van Steenbergen, M. Basharat, M. S. Gohar, J. Tucker, R. C. Calow, and L. Maurice. 2015. Groundwater Resources in the Indo‐ Gangetic Basin: Resilience to Climate Change and Abstraction. BGS Open Report, OR/15/047. Nottingham, U.K.: BGS. 22 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM 23 CHAPTER 5 PANEL—COUNTRY GROUNDWATER PRIORITIES Co-chairs: Mr. Nisar A. Memon, former Federal Minister, Pakistan, and Chairman, Water and Environment Foundation (WEF), and Ms. Mieke van Ginneken, Practice Manager for Water, World Bank Mr. Sayed Sharif Shobair, where data exist, data sharing among different Coordinator and Chief Engineer, Food and water users and sectors is inadequate. Overall, Agriculture Organization (FAO)/ Irrigation the level of knowledge on the development and Restoration and Development Project (IRDP), management of water resources is low. Afghanistan Protection of quality is also a key part of Afghanistan is semi-arid with highly variable groundwater management, especially in densely precipitation and five river basins. It has 57 populated areas where groundwater quality billion cubic meters of surface water and 18 is affected by different sources of pollution. In billion cubic meters of groundwater. For 90 larger cities, lack of sanitation facilities causes percent to 95 percent of Afghans, groundwater high levels of biological contamination in addition is the main source of potable water. Agriculture to growing overuse of groundwater. Limited and domestic supplies use 3 billion cubic meters infrastructure for utilizing and managing surface to 4 billion cubic meters and 0.5 billion cubic water is contributing to increased pressure on meters of groundwater, respectively, per annum. groundwater. This is resulting in uncontrolled Groundwater use for industry and mining is abstraction and possible overuse locally. limited, but is projected to increase. Protection zones for drinking water supplies and Afghanistan faces a wide range of groundwater abstraction limits need to be established. Local management challenges from unfavorable natural authorities need to be empowered so they can conditions to anthropogenic problems. Although monitor local abstraction and use of resources. Afghanistan’s water policy is based on sound Infrastructure to manage aquifer recharge needs to principles,12 policy implementation is weak. be built. In addition, the impact of climate change, Although there is a good potential to develop frequent droughts, and salinity in groundwater and use more groundwater, the sector faces needs to be addressed by building capacities bigger challenges. There is limited availability for developing and implementing systematic of hydrogeological data and information; and groundwater monitoring programs, enforcing monitoring stations were destroyed or abandoned existing regulations, and developing solutions during wars and periods of instability. Even using modern technology and infrastructure. 24 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM Dr. Anwar Zahid, Deputy Director, nonmechanized and traditional irrigation devices. Bangladesh Water Development Board Bangladesh has 700 rivers and tributaries, In Bangladesh, agriculture is the major source of 98,000 hectares of inland water bodies and over livelihood, supporting about 75 percent of the 24,000 kilometers of streams. However, many population. The steady growth in agriculture has surface bodies of water have dried or have been made Bangladesh achieve near self-sufficiency encroached by human activities. In the dry season in cereal production. Self-sufficiency became when irrigation water demand is high, surface possible initially through surface irrigation in the supplies are inadequate to meet the crop water 1970s and 1980s, and groundwater irrigation requirements. During this period, river water level using deep tube wells (DTW) and shallow tube in many areas falls below the suction limit of low wells (STW) to supplement surface sources from lift pumps. During the monsoon this situation the 1980s to 2014. STWs have increased from reverses with abundant water and widespread 133,800 in 1985 to 1,182,525 in 2006 to about seasonal floods in large areas almost every year. 1,500,000 in 2014. Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to the impacts of The national water supply coverage is about 83 climate change. Global warming is expected to percent to 88 percent (UNICEF/WHO 201513). increase the snowmelt in the Himalayas, cause Providing safe water supply in hard-to-reach areas flash floods, rise sea levels, submerge coastal remains a big challenge. Drinking water supply is areas, and increase frequency of drought. In impacted by poor quality of groundwater in areas addition, the precipitation in monsoon is expected of high arsenic, fluoride, and salinity. The water to increase, with prolonged monsoons, yet market is dominated by a dynamic private sector precipitation is expected to decrease in the dry with over 1.7 million managers of mechanized season; both situations would worsen the water irrigation devices and 0.76 million owners of management situation. PANEL—COUNTRY GROUNDWATER PRIORITIES . 25 Mr. G. K. Chhopel, Chief Environment Bhutan has a mean annual per capita water Officer, Water Resources Coordination availability of 109,000m3, mostly surface water. Division, National Environment Commission, Groundwater is used as a last resort. The Water Bhutan Regulation of Bhutan 2014 stipulates that “groundwater abstraction may be considered Bhutan is a water surplus nation with a pristine permissible where there is no other alternative environment, 60 percent forest cover, which is surface water source.” Current use of groundwater mostly protected, and an important biodiversity is almost negligible. Groundwater management hotspot of the world. The high level of political challenges that may become important to address in commitment to environmental health is the future are (a) building databases for monitoring enshrined in its Constitution. Deep reverence for and managing groundwater, (b) delineating high the environment is also embedded in the religion arsenic level areas in the hot springs, and (c) and culture of Bhutan. monitoring groundwater development. Prof. Guangheng Ni, Director, Institute percent of the country’s total water resources. of Hydrology and Water Resources, Tsinghua Groundwater accounts for 18 percent of water University, China. supply. In northern China, groundwater is an important source of supply for many cities. At According to China Water Resources Bulletin the end of 2011, there were 97.49 million wells 2014,14 China has an annual average groundwater pumping around 108.4 billion cubic meters (the resources of 775 billion cubic meters, or 28 first national census for water). To Improve Groundwater Mamagememt Water Resources Water Resources Management Agency Management Agency Groundwater Abstractor Groundwater Abstractor Groundwater Abstractor Groundwater Abstractor Village pr WUA Village pr WUA Village pr WUA Groundwater Abstractor Groundwater Abstractor Groundwater Abstractor Groundwater Abstractor 26 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM At present, 65 percent of domestic, 50 percent groundwater development and protection of industrial, and 33 percent of irrigation water plans, groundwater function zoning, forbidden in northern China is supplied from groundwater. development zones, restricted development Over 400 of 655 cities depend on groundwater. zones, water resources justification for Extensive use of groundwater and continuous construction projects, water abstraction permits, pumping is decreasing groundwater levels. water resources fees, planned water use systems, In arid and semi-arid regions, groundwater well-drilling permits, water user associations, and is the major source of drinking water supply. so on. Also, Prof. Ni referred to the need to set Pollution from urbanization, industrial, and up groundwater monitoring network across the mining developments is an emerging threat country. Additional measures to be undertaken to groundwater quality. Over pumping is to improve groundwater management in also a growing problem. In Beijing it has led China include the development of an aquifer to groundwater levels declining to bedrock. management plan, development of an integrated Groundwater vulnerability is exacerbated groundwater management system, restructuring by climate change, which adds considerable of the existing groundwater management uncertainty for future water resources and systems, reforming the groundwater abstraction supply planning and management. permit system, exploring ways to develop the groundwater quality management system, and The existing management instruments are building capacity for better management. Mr. Dipankar Saha, Member, Central in Gujarat it is 67 percent. High temperatures Ground Water Board (CGWB), India contribute to higher evaporation losses and reduce surface water available for recharging In India, groundwater provides 85 percent of the groundwater. rural water supply, 50 percent of the urban water supply, and 60 percent of the net irrigation supply. In the central plateau region, comprising the In the last four decades groundwater contributed states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and to 84 percent of the total increase in net irrigated Chhattisgarh, a mainly hard rock region, and area. Different parts of India have different types groundwater potential is low and linked to of aquifer systems and face different types of monsoons. Groundwater provides short-term management challenges. About 70 percent of the storage with limited recharge potential. The country is underlain by hard rock aquifers; aquifer southern peninsular region (including Andhra storage and yields are low. In the Indo-Gangetic Pradesh, Telangana, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Basin (IGB) plains, which cover about 30 percent Tamil Nadu) is underlain predominantly with hard of the country, there are prolific aquifers with high rock aquifers with low groundwater potential. yields and large storage, and there is still scope Groundwater is used excessively for irrigation for further development in some areas. However, in this region, and there is low sustainability water levels are declining in many states, and of groundwater resources. In the eastern plain water extraction exceeds annual recharge rates. region comprising eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Arsenic contamination is a problem in shallow Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal, the level aquifers. of groundwater is shallow, thus sub-optimal development of groundwater is recommended In the western arid region, i.e., the states of here. The hilly region, including Jammu and Rajasthan and Gujarat, groundwater recharge Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakand, and the is low due to less rainfall and deep water levels. northeastern states, has a complex hydrological About 42 percent of the blocks in this region setup. Many areas are unexplored due to the are overexploited. The extent of withdrawal of difficult terrain. There is a limited occurrence groundwater in Rajasthan is 137 percent and of groundwater in this valley. Sustainability of PANEL—COUNTRY GROUNDWATER PRIORITIES . 27 springs and protection of recharge areas are water governance that have not been addressed some challenges in this region. Several factors adequately. It highlights the mismanagement of contribute to declining groundwater levels in water resources that has led to critical situations India, including the following: in many parts of the country. Groundwater, • Low recharge due to scanty rainfall in arid and though a community resource, is still perceived semi-arid regions as private property and exploited inequitably and • Increasing demand for groundwater for without any consideration for its sustainability, agricultural, industrial, and drinking purposes which has led to overexploitation in several • Extraction of large amount of groundwater areas. The policy emphasizes that water needs when other sources of water are fully to be managed as a “common-pool community committed resource” held by the state under public trust • Change in cropping pattern and growing of doctrine to achieve food security, support paddy and cash crops that consume large livelihood, and ensure equitable and sustainable quantities of water development of all. • Rapid pace of urbanization resulting in reduced natural recharge and concentrated Good governance through transparent and extraction informed decision making is crucial to meet • Flat-rate or free electricity for extracting the objectives of equity, social justice, and groundwater in certain states sustainability. Meaningful participation, trans- parency, and accountability need to guide decision To address these issues, the 2012 National making and regulation of water resources in the Water Policy15 emphasizes issues related to country. Mr. Dhana Bahadur Tamang, and anthropogenic contaminants (such as Secretary, Water and Energy Commission untreated sewage and solid and industrial wastes Secretariat, Nepal in urban centers such as Kathmandu). Frequent load shedding interrupts power supply and Nepal is a water surplus nation; it receives on impacts groundwater pumping. Political instability average 1,530 millimeters of rainfall per year. and resource gaps are challenges impacting Nepal has 6,000 river and rivulet systems. Its groundwater governance. They also hinder present demand is 27 billion cubic meters against enactment of appropriate laws and institution available supply of 230 billion cubic meters. Total building for groundwater development and groundwater resources available are about 10 management. Human capacity and technological billion cubic meters, annual recharge about 5.8 constraints hinder sustainable management of billion cubic meters, and present withdrawal about groundwater. 1.5 billion cubic meters per year. Water availability is a high variable spatially and temporally, influenced by topography, ecological zones, and seasons (monsoons). Eighty-two percent of river flow occurs from June to November, and it drops to as low as 12.5 percent in summer. Although the pressures on Nepal’s groundwater are not severe yet, signs of stress are emerging. For example, groundwater depletion is evident in the Kathmandu Valley and other urban centers. Groundwater quality is being impacted by natural contaminants (e.g., arsenic in the Churia foothills) 28 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM Mr. R.S. Wijesekera, General whole country needs to be established. Long- Manager, Water Resources Board, Sri Lanka term trends in changes in groundwater levels and quality need to be developed and analyzed for In Sri Lanka, the impacts of groundwater over priority and stressed aquifers. abstraction include salinization in coastal areas, depletion of groundwater levels, dried-up wells Training to address the capacity gaps for in surrounding areas, and water quality changes. sustainably developing and managing Groundwater contamination occurs from human groundwater needs to be provided. To address activities (e.g., sand mining, groundwater capacity gaps, hydrogeologists in the Water over pumping, industrial wastewater disposal, Resources Board should be trained in handling, dumping of garbage and intensive agriculture processing, and analyzing real-time data using using heavy fertilizer, and pesticide use causing software and in preparing hydrogeological maps nitrate pollution). and developing hydrogeological models. Regional data centers need to be properly equipped. In Sri Lanka, groundwater issues are not serious Long-term funding is required for groundwater yet and can still be mitigated if timely actions are monitoring programs that can generate reliable taken. To manage the development of groundwater and timely information accessible to decision successfully, a sound information base has makers, researchers, stakeholders, and the general to be established, and a proper groundwater public. Such evidence-based information can help management system needs to be developed and stakeholders understand the groundwater issues maintained. A monitoring network for measuring and trends and be used to inform groundwater- groundwater levels and quality covering the related decision making. Role of the Groundwater Management Management Information utilization Information needs Reporting Monitoring Strategy Data analysis Network design Data handling Groundwater measurements (qualitative and quantitative) PANEL—COUNTRY GROUNDWATER PRIORITIES . 29 Dr. Muhammad Riaz, Director, In spite of the previously stated strategies, Programme Monitoring and Implementation implementation of management actions and Unit, Punjab Irrigation Department, Pakistan regulations remain an impediment to sustainable development of groundwater in Pakistan. To Groundwater supports 40-50 percent of Pakistan’s address these limitations, groundwater monitoring irrigation requirements and a significant portion programs are being established and implemented. of domestic and industrial supply. Farmers have Punjab has been divided into various groundwater installed over a million private tube wells—in monitoring units. Geographic information system addition to domestic pumps. Groundwater use (GIS) and other tools are being used for data has resulted in increased cropping intensity from analysis and mapping. A groundwater policy 70 per cent to 150 per cent. framework has been drafted, and a groundwater management act is under preparation. Intensive and unregulated groundwater Groundwater maps and a geo database are pumping has contributed to falling water being developed. A groundwater management tables in several areas, including Lahore, cell has been established in the Punjab Irrigation increasing the cost of pumping. The quality Department. of groundwater is deteriorating. Saline water intrusion, soil salinization is impacting the Ownership of groundwater has yet to be sustainability of agriculture. Establishing an addressed, and a comprehensive groundwater enforceable groundwater entitlement program monitoring and mapping program has not is a complex undertaking. It requires stakeholder been instituted. Groundwater basins have to understanding and awareness about groundwater be identified and aquifer potential estimated. management issues as well as a holistic Effective institutions that promote sustainable groundwater management policy framework, groundwater management have to be set up none of which exist in Pakistan. Current at all levels, including provincial levels. Farmer groundwater management strategies in Pakistan organization and stakeholder training and can be summarized as follows: capacity building need to be undertaken, and • Groundwater monitoring arrangements management of groundwater coordinated with • Understanding the institutional setup farmer community at grassroots level. To address • Development of groundwater management groundwater depletion, the capacity to monitor policy groundwater need to be improved. There is need • Public awareness on groundwater to support and encourage rainwater harvesting, management and regulation recycling, and enhance underground storage • Identification of critical areas through artificial recharge and injection. Detailed • Development of legal framework mapping of aquifers at sub-basin level and • Phased implementation of the management identification of possible areas and sources for regime recharge need to be undertaken. • Gradual shift from management to groundwater regulation 12 They include the following: (a) water is a basic human need, (b) ecologically sustainable management of groundwater resources, (c) precautionary principle, (d) water conservation, (e) conjunctive management of groundwater and surface water, (f) polluter pays, (g) transparency and information sharing, (h) participation and the role of women, and (i) river-basin management. 13 UNICEF/WHO. 2015. Progress on Sanitation and Drinking Water: 2015 Update and MDG Assessment, Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation. New York: UNICEF. https://www.unicef.org/publications/ index_82419.html. 14 China, Government of, Ministry of Water Resources. 2015. China Water Resources Bulletin 2014. Beijing: China Waterpower Press. 15 GoI, Ministry of Water Resources. 2012. National Water Policy (2012). Delhi: GoI. http://wrmin.nic.in/ writereaddata/NationalWaterPolicy/NWP2012Eng6495132651.pdf. 30 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM PHOTO CREDIT: NABINA LAMICHHANE 31 GROUP WORK I TACKLING IRRIGATION AND DOMESTIC WATER SUPPLY CHALLENGES Facilitator: Dr. John Dore —Senior Water Resources Specialist, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) During the first breakout session, groups discussed priority actions and distilled lessons for building the knowledge base and identifying institutional capacity and policy needs for addressing groundwater depletion and quality issues in irrigation and domestic water supply. Lessons from “Group Work I”: Quantity and Quality—Irrigation and Rural Water Supply • Promote a regulatory framework to regulate water extraction and effectively enforce it • Change cropping pattern toward less water-consuming and more drought-resilient varieties • Develop policy for wastewater treatment and reuse, stipulating standards that need to be applied to allow reuse of water for a variety of purposes • Promote a multi-sectoral approach for groundwater protection, use, and management • Develop price regulation for better use of groundwater, e.g., energy, water, and fertilizer subsidies should be removed • Develop economic instruments for pricing use of water and pollution reduction by tax rebates • Encourage stakeholder participation in monitoring and regulation activities • Develop policy to enhance awareness of and education about water quality issues • Institutions closely related to agriculture, e.g., village panchayats and schools, should help spread awareness and monitor the irrigation water quality • Organic farming should be promoted • Set goals, identify parameters, and understand the sources of pollution for water quality monitoring • Build capacity for monitoring water quality • Monitor geogenic contaminants (e.g., arsenic, fluoride, salinity) and anthropogenic contaminants (e.g., nitrates, heavy metals, fertilizers, pesticides, and urban pollutants) that impact rural groundwater • Develop scientific advice and build capacity for improving crop water efficiency 32 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM Quantity and Quality—Urban Water Supply • Build strong intersectoral linkages with clear roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities of the relevant departments and agencies to ensure complementary and efficient actions and knowledge sharing • Encourage conjunctive use and management of surface water and groundwater • Combination of top-down or bottom-up approach needs to be applied to address context specific issues • Policies for the management of transboundary water need to be established • Quality of groundwater recharge needs to be monitored • Market-oriented solutions and policies for them need to be developed and applied • Develop country-specific information, education and communication (IEC) materials • Invest in infrastructure (e.g., pipelines) to address water supply needs • Promote use of digital technology for water quality monitoring • Institute better land use planning for protecting and managing groundwater • Monitor geogenic contaminants (e.g., arsenic, fluoride, salinity) and anthropogenic contaminants (e.g., nitrates, heavy metals, fertilizers, pesticides, and urban pollutants) that impact urban groundwater PHOTO CREDIT: NABINA LAMICHHANE GOOD WORK I . 33 DAY 2 Foundation for Sustainable Groundwater Use and Management DAY 1 GROUNDWATER-ENERGY-FOOD NEXUS: POLICY IMPLICATIONS Chair: Mr. Dipak Gyawali – Chair, Nepal Water Conservation Foundation (NWCF) Food-Irrigation-Energy Nexus in Lessons on Regulating Groundwater the Context of Groundwater Use in in India India Justice Madan B. Lokur Dr. Aditi Mukherji Supreme Court of India Theme Leader, Water and Air, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development Urban Groundwater Supply (ICIMOD) Chair: Mr. Md. Sarafat Hossain Director General, Water Resources Planning Managing Groundwater Use in Organization (WARPO), Government of Agriculture Sustainably: Lessons Bangladesh from OECD Countries Dr. Guillaume Gruere Groundwater Management Senior Policy Analyst, Organisation for Economic Challenges in Urban Asia Co-operation and Development (OECD) Dr. Sangam Shrestha Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Lessons on Regulating Groundwater Bangkok Chair: Mr. Ganesh Pangare Regional Director, Asia-Pacific, International Sustainable Groundwater Supply: Water Association (IWA) Issues and Options for the Border City of Lahore Groundwater Regulation and Mr. Ali Tauqeer Sheikh Implementation: An Overview CEO, LEAD, Pakistan, and Director, Asia, Mr. Stefano Burchi Climate and Development Knowledge Network Executive Chairman, International Association for Water Law Water Resources Management of Delhi and Groundwater Supply Model Bill for Regulation of Challenges Groundwater Development Prof. Shashank Shekhar Mr. Y. B. Kaushik Department of Geology, Regional Director, Central Ground Water Board University of Delhi (CGWB), India Dhaka City Water Supply Issues and Groundwater Management Challenges Legislation in the Indus Basin Dr. Anwar Zahid Ms. Hina Lotia Deputy Director, Bangladesh Water Development Director, Programs, Leadership for Environment Board and Development (LEAD) Pakistan 35 Community-Based Towards Management of U.S.– Groundwater Mexico Aquifers Chair: Mr. Ari Nathan Mr. Richard Kropp Director, Regional Environmental, Science Director, United States Geological Survey and Technology, and Health (ESTH), Office (USGS) for South Asia, U.S. Embassy, Kathmandu Middle East Water Databanks Working with Communities to and Groundwater Awareness Tackle the Arsenic Problem in for Israeli, Jordanian and Groundwater in Bangladesh Palestinian Aquifers Ms. Hasin Jahan Mr. Daniel J. Goode Country Director, Practical Action Research Hydrologist, USGS Learning from the Andhra Pradesh Farmer-Managed Group Work II Groundwater Systems Initiative Good Practices in Groundwater Policy, Mr. P. S. Rao Regulations and Institutions Director (Technical), Advanced Centre for Integrated Water Resources Management Facilitator (ACIWRM), India Dr. John Dore Senior Water Resources Specialist, Farmer Participatory Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Groundwater Monitoring: A (DFAT) Blueprint for Pakistan Dr. Arif Aziz Anwar Principal Researcher, International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Tackling the Chronic Kidney Disease in Sri Lanka Dr. Tushara Chaminda University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka Cooperative Groundwater Management—International Experiences Chair: Dr. Bill Young Lead Water Resources Specialist, World Bank Lessons from Delaware: Implementation of the State Comprehensive Groundwater Protection Program, Science Support, and Data Sharing Dr. David R. Wunsch State Geologist and Director, Delaware Geological Survey 36 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM 37 CHAPTER 6 GROUNDWATER-ENERGY- FOOD NEXUS: POLICY IMPLICATIONS Chair: Mr. Dipak Gyawali, Chair, Nepal Water Conservation Foundation (NWCF) Food-Irrigation-Energy Nexus in the Context of Groundwater Use in India Dr. Aditi Mukherjee, Theme Leader, Water and Air, ICIMOD India’s irrigation sector is heavily dependent on proportion of state fiscal deficits is very high in groundwater. Since the 1970s, area irrigated by some states. groundwater has increased as have the number of wells and tube wells. However, rising contribution Agriculture is often blamed for the poor state of groundwater in agriculture has led to depletion, of electricity utilities. Yet farmers receive poor scarcity, and overexploitation emerging as serious quality service. Demand for subsidy is increasing: problems. Currently, groundwater is overexploited net electricity subsidy in India, today, is close to in many states. Much of this groundwater is US$ 9 billion per year and is rising every year. pumped using electricity. Groundwater use Farmers get free or highly subsidized electricity exceeds sustainable recharge in most states in many states. When farmers pay for electricity, leading to groundwater overexploitation. they pay a flat rate. The only exception is the state Electricity is subsidized in most (though not all) of West Bengal where agricultural tube wells are states. This creates a nexus in which one sector metered and farmers pay a time of the day (TOD) (agriculture) is dependent on groundwater, and tariff. An energy divide exists: in eastern India, the electricity sector (subsidized for agriculture) is farmers depend predominantly on diesel pumps, contributing to unsustainable trends in all sectors. while the rest of India has electric pumps. The groundwater-energy-food nexus differs in the east Growth in electricity consumption in agriculture versus rest of India. has outpaced growth in other sectors. There has been a 12 times increase in overall electricity In West Bengal alluvial aquifers have high recharge demand in India from 1950 to 2010, but there has capacities and low groundwater use. Water tables been a 25 times increase in agricultural electricity recover after monsoons and average depth to demand. Electricity subsidy as a percentage and water table in 88 percent of the villages is less 38 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM The Irrigation Story of India… 4500 Since 1970s, 2000-2010: Growth in canal 4000 groundwater irrigated area has irrigated area: increased, as has number of 2.50% 3500 wells and tubewells…. Irrigated area in 1000 ha Groundwater 3000 2500 1970-2000: Growth in canal 2000 irrigated area: Canal 1950-1980: 3.85% 1500 Growth in canal irrigated area: 1000 1.98% Tanks 500 0 1950-51 1952-53 1954-55 1956-57 1958-59 1960-61 1962-63 1964-65 1966-67 1968-69 1970-71 1972-73 1974-75 1976-77 1978-79 1980-81 1982-83 1984-85 1986-87 1988-89 1990-91 1992-93 1994-95 1996-97 1998-99 2000-01 2002-03 2004-05 2006-07(p) 2008-09(p) Canal irrigated area Tank irrigated area Groundwater irrigated area The Food-Energy Irrigation Nexus AGRICULTURE • Re-aligning food procurement policies • Providing incenƟves to grow low water consuming crops • BeƩer field water management techniques Wa Ene ter on sta rgy wa caƟ ge/ and und rsifi Mis Agr gro dive dire Subsid Water- icul Ɵng Energy - op ture cte f cr Agriculture ple d eo Nexus De Lak ies GROUNDWATER ELECTRICITY • Demand management through • GW laws and regulaƟons Long hours of pumping pricing and KwH enƟtlements • Supply augmentaƟon through MAR • Supply management through raƟoning • Demand management through Wastage of water and energy • Increasing efficiency of pumps community parƟcipaƟon • InsƟtuƟonal reforms than 10 m. About 42 percent of groundwater is read meters were implemented. The impact of used and none of the blocks are overexploited. the metering was beneficial to pump owners from The food-energy-irrigation nexus in West Bengal lower electricity bills, fewer hours of selling water, is managed through TOD and high-tech metering. and higher bargaining power in regards to water By March 2010, 90 percent of tube wells were buyers. On the other hand, water buyers had metered, and high-tech metering with remotely to pay 30 percent to 50 percent more in water GROUNDWATER-ENERGY-FOOD NEXUS . 39 charges, buy fewer hours from pump owners, and The food-energy-irrigation nexus in Karnataka agree to adverse terms and conditions for buying is mismanaged mainly because of half-hearted water. Groundwater efficiency increased due to measures taken at feeder segregation. The power these consequences, and there was an increase load is mixed and there is no proper way to in adoption of plastic pipes for conveyance, better estimate average energy use. This has led to chaos maintenance of field channels, and construction below the feeder level, rampant theft, and illegal of underground pipelines. connections. It is well known that groundwater extraction While the broad issues are the same in West in Punjab has reached unsustainable levels. To Bengal, Punjab, and Karnataka, these states have mend the situation, the state government has managed the water-energy-food nexus differently, taken steps such as feeder segregation and energy ranging from a high-tech and textbook solution in audits, which include metering at feeder level and West Bengal, to second-best solution in Punjab, to improved method of calculating aggregate power utter anarchy in Karnataka. This clearly indicates consumption. These measures have helped reduce that success significantly depends on the political transmission and distribution losses marginally. will and overall governance at state levels since However, farmer’s subsidy burden keeps rising both water and electricity are state subjects in as government keeps on issuing more electricity India. connections: currently, 1.2 million pump sets are used by 1.1 million farmers. 40 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM Managing Groundwater Use in Agriculture Sustainably: Lessons from OECD Countries Dr. Guillaume Gruère, Senior Policy Analyst, Natural Resources Policy Division, OECD Directorate The OECD comprises 34 member countries with OECD countries because of its characteristics: five key partner countries: Brazil, China, India, efficient, complementary to surface water, and Indonesia, and South Africa. One of its important available on demand. Most important, it can be a functions is to provide data, economic, and policy powerful adaptation tool against climate change analysis to foster national and international policy due to being relatively insulated from it. However, discussion on a wide range of policy issues (in all managing groundwater is challenging. The most areas except culture and defense). common challenges of unregulated groundwater development are long-term depletion of aquifers Dr. Gruère shared lessons from a recent and negative environmental externalities, OECD study (2015) on sustainable agricultural including stream depletion, ingress of saline and groundwater use16 that would be useful for South polluted water, aquifer compaction, and land Asia. Groundwater, because of its abundance, is subsidence. a valuable asset for irrigators in South Asian and GROUNDWATER-ENERGY-FOOD NEXUS . 41 Groundwater Policy Reform: Lessons that may useful for South Asia • Invest in better information systems • Favour demand-side responses first General Conditions • Strengthen regulatory capacity for enforcement • Remove electricity subsidies, use social support if needed For regions with • Apply the tripod approach intensive Clarify groundwater entitlements, provide general incentives to act on groundwater use consumption, allow user groups to play a role in managemen Regions with high • Improve the efficiency of irrigation stress • Consider multiple approaches to groundwater storage Multiple instruments, such as economic, and remove perverse incentives. In regions with regulatory, and collective actions, can be used intensive groundwater use, the above-mentioned to respond to these challenges. To combat these tripod approach—with economic, regulatory, and challenges, it is necessary to take immediate collective action instruments—is recommended. measures and gradually move toward sustainable For regions with high stress, agronomic tools and systems. It is crucial to build a robust information supply-side instruments are recommended. The system, favor demand-side instruments, use following groundwater reform lessons from OECD groundwater conjunctively, enforce existing countries may be useful for South Asia. regulations first, favor use of direct approaches, 16 OECD. 2015. Drying Wells, Rising Stakes: Towards Sustainable Agricultural Groundwater Use. Paris: OECD. 42 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM PHOTO CREDIT: NACHIKET PANGARE 43 CHAPTER 7 LESSONS ON REGULATING GROUNDWATER Chair: Mr. Ganesh Pangare, Regional Director, Asia-Pacific, IWA Groundwater Regulation and Implementation: An Overview Mr. Stefano Burchi, Executive Chairman, International Association for Water Law An implementable domestic groundwater (c) effective monitoring of groundwater users’ regulatory framework is critical for developing behavior. a structured response to drought and climate change. Enforcing such a regulatory framework Implementation and enforcement of regulation effectively needs a strong backing of the law. requires surveying in advance the implications and This need has steadily driven groundwater in requirements of groundwater regulations in terms the public domain, trust, and superior state of manpower requirements, internal procedures control powers and has resulted in statute needed, hardware and software requirements, law and judicial pronouncements. As a result, budget requirements, etc. It is essential to chart groundwater has increasingly come under the out a clear pathway to address, including a scope of regulations for well drilling, extraction, timeline and costs that will be incurred. With and use. This is generally accomplished by means groundwater quality or groundwater pollution, of administrative permits and licenses, which are point source pollution is in general prohibited time-bound and subject to terms and conditions throughout because of the risk of irreversible based on aquifer “safe yield” determinations and harm, and nonpoint source pollution can be extraction charges (“user pays” principle). regulated through land use planning and zoning. Implementation, administration, and enforcement The limited experience available regarding law are ultimately critical for the credibility and enforcement action by the government and by the success of groundwater regulation. As of today, judiciary suggests that the chances of successful the record is patchy and anecdotal. However, enforcement of groundwater regulation increase the keys to the eventual success of groundwater with the involvement of groundwater users in regulation are (a) education of, and uptake by, the the monitoring and policing of their behavior, target groundwater users; (b) preparedness of the especially when they understand that it is in their government groundwater administration to take self-interest. Police corps, in the public prosecutor action to protect and manage groundwater; and offices and among the judiciary, should possess 44 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM specific environmental skills. There should be to a separate set of rules based on principles such coordinated action among the police corps and as equitable and reasonable use by states, not to the public prosecutor offices. Innovative use of law cause significant harm to other states, data and enforcement mechanisms should be encouraged. information exchange among states, and prior Aquifers that cross the boundary lines (across notification by states of planned measures. nations, states, and provinces) should be subject Groundwater Management Legislation in the Indus Basin Ms. Hina Lotia, Director, Programs, Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) Pakistan Groundwater has emerged as a savior for projected canal. If groundwater is notified for water and food security in Pakistan against the any such use, the act considers such water to be backdrop of insufficient surface storage and included in the definition of canal.” The Easements declining capacity of existing reservoirs. Today, Act of 1882 provides a right over immovable however, depleting and over drafting aquifers property. It is part of the English Common Law with increased pumping costs and environmental that has remained the same to date. An easement concerns, deteriorating groundwater quality and is defined as “a right which the owner or occupier increasing soil salinization are confronting the of certain land possesses. It does not operate or sustainability of groundwater use. exist over water that flows naturally.” It is not adapted to different climatic conditions or water The Constitution of Pakistan respects the use. legislative competence of the states and provinces in regard to water, making it a subject The Soil Reclamation Act of 1952 provides for the of provincial legislative competence. Water is not reclamation and improvement of areas impacted mentioned in the Federal Legislative List, although by salinity and waterlogging and for maximizing in practice there are mechanisms that allow the agricultural production. The Punjab Land and federal government control over groundwater. Water Development Board was established under Water, however, is mentioned in the Pakistani the same act. The Water and Power Development Constitution, in its provisions regarding the Authority Act of 1958 calls for the preparation of Council of Common Interests. comprehensive plans for development and use of water and power resources. The Punjab Irrigation Several acts passed before and after independence and Drainage Authority Act of 1997 established provide the legislative basis for groundwater the Punjab Irrigation and Drainage Authority governance. The Irrigation and Drainage Act and gave it limited control over groundwater of 1873 gives the provincial governments and resources “to affect schemes” prepared under the irrigation departments two forms of control act for public purposes. It does not provide overall over groundwater. One is through notification of groundwater control. any groundwater to be used for a proposed or existing canal or drainage work. Two is general Provincial laws provide the respective irrigation control to manage groundwater properly and to departments limited control of groundwater to draw up management schemes for its use. The control the subsoil water for existing or proposed Sindh Irrigation Act of 1879 allows the provincial canal. The Punjab provincial government has the government to notify, inter alia, that the subsoil responsibility to manage sub-soil water to prevent water should be applied or used by the provincial pollution and overexploitation. government for the purpose of any existing or LESSONS ON REGULATING GROUNDWATER . 45 Devolution of administrative control to local and operational capacities that need to be built governments shapes the manner in which to develop sound groundwater management groundwater law is understood and implemented. in Pakistan. Both demand- and supply-side In Punjab, the local governments have wide options need to be addressed. On the supply- powers to maintain natural sources of water as side groundwater zoning, levying of groundwater well as control over infrastructure for drinking tax, appropriate cropping patterns, irrigation water purposes. In Sindh, the control of scheduling, and enactment of laws for use and groundwater sources for drinking purposes as abuse are recommended. well as for preservation and reclamation of soil is vested in the local governments. Other major challenges are the identification, spatial mapping, and characterization of Many points of convergence and divergence on transboundary aquifers and identification and rights, control, and management of groundwater sharing of data. Understanding hydraulics of flow exist. The Constitution respects state and province changes and contaminant transport, monitoring legislation and envisages a larger role of local of hydrological parameters and policy, and bodies in decision making. However, in practice practice gap analysis need to be jointly explored these local bodies lack the financial, technical, by the Indus basin nations. 46 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM Model Bill for Regulation of Groundwater Development Mr. Y. B. Kaushik, Regional Director, Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), India To protect and safeguard groundwater against provides for an institutional framework to ensure overexploitation, the Government of India (GoI) appropriate management of groundwater from has framed a model groundwater (control and the local to state levels. regulation) bill for adoption by the states in 1970. It was revised in 1972, 1996, 2005, and 2011. It In this model bill, nondiscrimination, equity, provides a framework to regulate indiscriminate subsidiarity, and decentralization are mandatory extraction of groundwater. The 2011 Model Bill principles. It includes provisions for the for the Conservation, Protection and Regulation protection, precaution, and prior assessment of Groundwater was prepared by the Planning of aquifers to be protected from impacts that Commission. It was based on the principle put affect the equity of access and sustainability of forward by the Supreme Court that water, and the resource (e.g., depletion and deterioration in groundwater specifically, is held in public trust, quality) and planning of management measures and is also recognized as a fundamental right by to conserve, replenish, and recharge groundwater. the Supreme Court. The institutional framework The model bill also mandates integrated approach proposed for it is based on the principle for management of water resources: protection, of subsidiarity and framed around existing conservation, and regulation of groundwater; administrative units of villages and panchayats. It and groundwater integrated with surface water LESSONS ON REGULATING GROUNDWATER . 47 resources on a watershed, land, and forest basis. To improve and enforce groundwater regulation, state groundwater departments and CGWB need The bill was reviewed and sent back for revisions to be strengthened by ensuring that manpower to include river basin approach, elaborate and infrastructure are available. A database on provisions for rainwater harvesting, measures to groundwater availability, number of abstraction take into account the “polluter pays” principle, structures, quantity of groundwater withdrawal, conservation of water through agricultural water level changes, and water quality changes practices and land use, and technological needs to be in place. Registration of groundwater developments including space technology and structures through a centralized website that gives information technology (IT). The revised bill is access to all stakeholders needs to be instituted. posted on the website of CGWB. Lessons on Regulating Groundwater in India Justice Madan B. Lokur, Supreme Court of India Water and groundwater are under the jurisdiction identified the following issues with respect to of the state; however, water and groundwater groundwater management. First, he stated the (aquifer) by their very nature don’t confine need for clear definitions. For example, varying themselves to these administrative units. There are definitions of drought adapted by different states times when a state can come out with legislation make passing of any legislation regarding the that does not necessarily align with those of the issue very difficult. Second, to pass any legislation neighboring states. At such times there are ways in regarding groundwater there needs to be clarity which states can move the issue to Parliament for and understanding about the issues addressed by legislation, for example, the Wildlife (Protection) the passage of the law. Third, once a law has been Act of 1970. Justice Lokur also gave the example of passed, there needs to be proper implementation the Indian Easements Act of 1882, which created and enforcement. For example, if a penalty or issues regarding local landowners and usage of fine is being imposed for violation of some rule groundwater. He suggested that an amendment is with respect to groundwater exploitation, there needed to shift the ownership of groundwater to needs to be specific, detailed guidelines, such as the state or public trust. the amount of penalty. Finally, an institutional mechanism is necessary for active implementation From a legislative perspective, Justice Lokur and monitoring of the law and regulations. 48 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM PHOTO CREDIT: NACHIKET PANGARE 49 CHAPTER 8 URBAN GROUNDWATER SUPPLY Chair: Mr. Md. Sarafat Hossain, Director General, Water Resources Planning Organization (WARPO), Government of Bangladesh Groundwater Management Challenges in Urban Asia Dr. Sangam Shrestha, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok Urban areas are home to some 54 percent of data and patchy monitoring, an unconducive the world’s population, and urban population is environment, and weak interagency coordination. expected to increase to 66 percent, or another 2.5 Climate change will impose additional stress on billion, by 2050. Around 90 percent of that will be groundwater. There is a lack of clear policies on concentrated in Asia and Africa (UN 201517). The groundwater management and weak enforcement world is undergoing a great urban upsurge. Urban of groundwater laws to address groundwater and rural populations of the world became equal management challenges. In some cities, such in 2007, and urban population has been rising as Chittagong, Bangladesh, abstraction is less ever since. than recharge, and thus it is not overexploited. However, in cities such as Lahore, Pakistan, it is Globally, groundwater is the source of one-third overexploited and abstraction is greater than of all freshwater withdrawals. Approximately 36 recharge, leading to a declining water table. percent, 42 percent, and 27 percent of the water is used for domestic, agricultural, and industrial There is a need for a framework for evaluating purposes, respectively. Groundwater dependency groundwater resources in urban environments. is more evident in Asia, especially throughout Certain case studies and local examples from a South Asia and China. Approximately one-third broad geographical range of urban environments of Asia’s population (some 1 billion to 1.2 billion within Asia illustrate the challenges. Fourteen people) is reliant on groundwater. The industrial case studies reviewed by the speaker show that sector is a major user of groundwater in urban all cities are heavily dependent on groundwater. areas. It is necessary to improve the understanding of the groundwater systems and build more With increasing rate of urbanization in Asian knowledge. Bangkok is a good example of using cities, groundwater extraction will continue to the right instruments to manage groundwater. An be driven by economic development. Challenges enabling environment should be created through for managing groundwater include unreliable appropriate policies and financial instruments. 50 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM Sustainable Groundwater Supply: Issues and Options for the Border City of Lahore Mr. Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, Director, Asia Climate and Development Knowledge Network, Pakistan Groundwater is key for Lahore’s municipal, accompanied with increased pumping to meet industrial, and commercial supply. The mandate of the needs of a rapidly growing population and the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) includes urban immigration. Declining groundwater levels water supply, sewage, and drainage collection and and an expanding cone of depression in the city’s disposal services. WASA pumps about 1.45 million center indicate aquifer overdraft. New WASA wells cubic meters of groundwater per day to meet the are 600–700 meters deep to maintain reliable demand, exceeding the recharge rate. supply. Historically, groundwater abstraction from the Municipal and industrial waste in Lahore is Lahore aquifer was sustained by recharge from collected through drains and canals that discharge the Ravi River, the key source of aquifer recharge. into the Ravi River. Shallow groundwater (less than Its river flows started reducing after independence 100 feet) is known to be polluted. High arsenic in 1947 as more water was diverted through levels are found in shallow groundwater. WASA Madhopur headworks. By 2000, the Thein pumps from deeper wells. Rapid urbanization not Dam nearly stopped the river flow. Since then only reduces recharge quantity due to impervious the river remains mostly dry except during the surfaces but also contributes to deterioration of monsoon season. Recharge reduction has been groundwater quality. Groundwater in Lahore Depth to water table Depth to water (DWT) for the year of table for the year of pre-monsoon 2005 pre-monsoon 2015 Legend Monitoring points Main canals Branch canals Distributory canals Roads DWT pre-monsoon 2005-2020 DWT in meters <5 Depth to water 5 - 10 Depth to water table for the year of table for the year of 10 - 20 pre-monsoon 2008 pre-monsoon 2020 20 - 30 30 - 40 40 - 70 70 - 100 100 - 130 >130 Source: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.662.8048&rep=rep1&type=pdf URBAN GROUNDWATER SUPPLY . 51 WASA faces several groundwater issues. Pumping delineation of well-head protection areas (based costs are increasing as tube wells are dug deeper on capture zones) to manage and protect the vital and demand exceeds supply, and treatment costs sources of water supply. are increasing as groundwater becomes more polluted. Intermittent pumping due to power The mean annual rainfall in Lahore is 575 shortages causes stress reversals in the supply millimeters, of which 400 millimeters falls network, and results in a host of maintenance and during the monsoon alone. Lahore urban area service delivery issues. is approximately 1,800 square kilometers. Two hundred millimeters of recharge captured and To address these challenges and safeguard public managed during monsoon through structural health, there is an urgent need for a policy for and interventions in this area can add 360 million legislation on aquifer protection and management. cubic meters annually to the aquifer. Total WASA The city must develop a plan for comprehensive abstraction of groundwater from the aquifer is mapping of contaminated sites, estimating risk 470 million cubic meters annually. The existing posed to public health (from aquifer pollution) at canal network within the urban area may also be each site, and developing investment needs and exploited for managed recharge to make up for priorities for managing these sites. All point, linear, the shortfall. Aquifer recharge potential of the and diffused sources of aquifer pollution need to Ravi remains the biggest natural source of aquifer be identified, defined, and mapped. The city needs recharge. Managing environmental flows in the to develop geographic information systems (GIS) Ravi, and controlling its pollution, can further maps of the capture zones of all high-capacity augment aquifer recharge and can potentially public and private tube wells being used for public pave the way for sustainable groundwater water supply (through analytical and numerical pumping in Lahore. modeling). The city also needs to devise plans for Water Resources Management of Delhi and Groundwater Supply Challenges Prof. Shashank Shekhar, Department of Geology, University of Delhi Delhi is a water scarce city. It has nine districts and Delhi has five types of water supply areas. The one river. The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has projected first type is high-density, multistoried areas that water demand for 2017 as 1,140 MGD, due to require large volumes of water supply that the rapid population growth. Delhi’s present supply aquifer’s aerial extent often cannot sustainably is only 833 MGD and faces a deficit of 307 MGD. meet. Either piped river water or groundwater Eighty-five percent of its supply comes from supply from nearby areas could be options with surface sources (Yamuna and Ganga rivers) and small supply deficits met through local tube wells. 15 percent from groundwater. Over 50 percent The second type, low-rise, widely spread urban of river water in Delhi comes from rivers that do sprawls, also requires a high volume of water. The not flow through the city, and tube wells have urban sprawls’ current aquifer extent is fairly good. doubled. All wastewater is discharged into the If judiciously managed, aquifers can substantially Yamuna. Under existing agreements, there is meet the demand. Individual and DJB tube wells limited scope to increase surface supply. Under also supply water here. The third type is urban this scenario, can groundwater resources help villages in rural belts. It requires a relatively small augment the gap? Can ponds, lakes, and other volume of water supply. Localities are scattered water bodies of water help? and are mostly supplied by groundwater and, if 52 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM A Glimpse of the Water Supply of Delhi River Groundwater 1% Other sources 85% contribuƟon 14% contribuƟon convenient, through treated river water. This type and control, and distribution of dual water supply of area has many individual tube wells. The fourth and assured and timely supply. In addition, utilities type is recently regularized unauthorized colonies, could supply groundwater stressed areas with requiring an even smaller volume of water water from surface sources or other groundwater supply. Scattered localities are mostly supplied by rich areas. Other options include augmenting groundwater from individual tube wells. The fifth River Yamuna flow by ensuring environmental type is unauthorized colonies, requiring relatively flow, conserving and restoring natural water small volume of water supply. Scattered localities bodies, conserving natural and artificial wetlands lack institutional supply; individual tube wells and water bodies, and harvesting floodwater and provide water supply. rainwater for use and for recharging groundwater aquifers. Alternate sources of supply include Various options were recommended for addressing exploration and development of brackish aquifers, Delhi’s water deficit and meeting its growing desalination of saline groundwater, and reusing demand. Demand management options could treated domestic and industrial wastewater. include water use efficiency enhancing measures, Challenges for implementing a groundwater- water efficient gadgets, water pricing, and based water supply management strategy were differential block tariffs. Supply-side management discussed. options include leakage and pilferage detention Dhaka City Water Supply: Issues and Challenges Dr. Anwar Zahid, Deputy Director, Bangladesh Water Development Board Dhaka’s water supply, planned over 100 years ago, The city is vertically enlarging (with many high- started to systematically develop groundwater in rise buildings), and inhabitant concentration and 1949. Today, with over 10 million people, Dhaka density is increasing. Improper construction of uses over 2.5 million cubic meters of water to wells is contributing to premature well failure. meet its municipal demand. Unchecked surface Contractor capacity to construct efficient deep water pollution has prompted heavy dependence wells is very limited. Groundwater monitoring, on groundwater and led to the rapid expansion of particularly for private and other agencies, is tube wells. Currently, pumping levels are exceeding inadequate. The increase of water demand in the the very limited recharge. Extended urbanization dry season results in adjustment of pump settings. is decreasing recharge areas. Overpumping for Well spacing is not optimized because of local more than three decades has caused rapid decline demand, resulting in reduction of yield. The lower of the water table. the groundwater level, the higher is the electricity consumption and cost of production. URBAN GROUNDWATER SUPPLY . 53 Recommendations The following recommendations are made to address Dhaka’s water supply challenges: • Shifting supply from groundwater to surface water; • Augmentation of city water supply through construction of a well field outside Dhaka and supply the city by pipeline network or transport pumped groundwater to the city by trucks as emergency supply; • Extending groundwater monitoring, particularly for private and other agencies’ wells; • Introduction of rated drawdown concept for pumping of production well; • Enforcement of government orders regarding rainwater harvesting from rooftop and artificial recharge to the city aquifer; • Installation of area-wise surface-water-treatment plants, reuse of treated storm and sewage water—mainly for washing, gardening, and toilet flushing—artificial recharge by injecting treated river water and rainwater, and digging of recharge basins, which could improve the groundwater table condition; • Storing treated surface and storm water in infiltration or retention ponds or basins or pumping into the ground through recharge wells; • Imposing laws and regulations regarding installation of a sand pile or a recharge well to be included during construction of a new residential building; • Assessment of groundwater recharge; • Promoting demand management to improve water use efficiency; and • Proper implementation of existing laws and regulations to manage groundwater. 17 UN, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. 2015. “World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision, Key Findings and Advance Tables.” Working Paper No. ESA/P/WP.241, UN, New York. 54 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM 55 CHAPTER 9 COMMUNITY-BASED GROUNDWATER Chair: Mr. Ari Nathan, Director, Regional Environment, Science, Technology and Health (ESTH), Office for South Asia U.S, Embassy, Kathmandu Working with Communities to Tackle the Arsenic Problem in Groundwater in Bangladesh Ms. Hasin Jahan, Country Director, Practical Action About 20 million people are exposed to the for arsenicosis patients. Arsenicosis patients have risk of arsenic in drinking water in Bangladesh. reduced capacity to work and earn an income, Several policy documents, chiefly the National and tend to be marginalized. Project interventions Policy for Arsenic Mitigation (NPAM 2004) and included: (a) Sono filters at 194 households the Implementation Plan for Arsenic Mitigation (arsenic removal option); (b) rainwater harvesting (IPAM 2004), guide the country’s approach to systems at 32 households, and (c) ring wells at tackling arsenic. Currently, as of 2016, the Local four households. Government Division (LGD) of the Ministry of Local Government Rural Development and Important lessons from four years of project Cooperatives (MoLGRD&C), Government of implementation were discussed. Mobilizing Bangladesh (GoB) is in the process of revising the people and making them aware of the problem Implementation Plan for Arsenic Mitigation for of arsenic took time, as no one acknowledged Water Supply (IPAM WS 2004). A baseline survey the problem. Sono filter performance was found undertaken by Village Education Resource Centre, to be satisfactory in terms of arsenic removal. Dhaka, in 200518 found arsenic contamination in 78 Twenty-five percent of the households did not percent and 63 percent of the shallow tube wells like the taste of filtered water. Users (households) (STWs), respectively, in the villages of Dhalipara could not understand the usefulness of the filters, and Doazipara in the Sitakunda subdistrict of and doubted whether it rendered water arsenic- Chittagong. free or not. So the frequency or necessity of changing filter media could not be understood or Poor household patients were found to suffer from maintained properly. About half of the Sono filters multiple diseases (e.g., kidney, lung, and heart out of 194 filters required minor repairs. In case diseases; diabetes; ulcers). Provision of safe water of major repairs, there was no skilled mechanic is not enough: proper treatment is also essential to repair and ultimately a number of filters 56 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM were abandoned. Changing Sono filters became longer, hence remain exposed to arsenic longer. difficult since there was no direct connection to Bangladesh’s national cost-sharing policy suggests the product supplier. During the project it was 20 percent cost sharing by the poor to make the observed that, in general, an approach driven by a technology affordable. nongovernmental organization (NGO) was helpful in the beginning, but projects should not fully One of the lessons in this project was that to depend on NGOs. Participation of communities promote alternative technologies and incentives in surveys and testing helps get communities to tackle the arsenic problem, it is important to involved in the project and thus tackle the create an enabling environment for businesses problems in a timely manner. and a mechanism to ensure quality services, service-level and post-installation services. Water Deep wells are not the only means of getting quality testing facilities and a national surveillance safe water. Removal technology like shallow- mechanism need to explored for establishing well filters could be also used. Regardless of the such facilities. Also, the provision of safe water technology or method, maintenance was crucial to the communities is not enough, efficient for preserving the quality of safe water. Most safe health services are required. Most important, an water consumers in Bangladesh belong to high- integrated approach is needed for working with and middle-income families. Poor people often the communities in the arsenic-affected areas cannot afford the technology and have to wait linking health and safe water provisions. Learning from the Andhra Pradesh Farmer-Managed Groundwater Systems Initiative Dr. P. S. Rao, Director (Technical), Advanced Centre for Integrated Water Resources Management (ACIWRM), India The successful farmer-managed groundwater of how groundwater could be “managed.” The systems initiative in Andhra Pradesh, Andhra key strategies used in the project include (a) Pradesh Farmer Managed Groundwater Systems promoting participatory hydrological monitoring; (APFMGS), offers useful lessons on participatory (b) demystifying science for the benefit of groundwater management. Farmers face farmers; (c) supporting farmer water schools (an challenges pertaining to (a) increasing groundwater example of community capacity building); (d) pollution caused by fluoride, arsenic, agricultural developing crop water budgeting and promoting pesticides, industrial wastes (heavy metals), farm-level decision making; (e) reducing the water nitrates, or fecal contamination; (b) depleting demand for crops; (f) building linkages between groundwater levels; (c) the effects of futile farmer-scientist and farmer-government; (g) investments in failed bore wells; and (d) increasing building gender-balanced and community-based debt traps leading to migration and suicides. At institutions around groundwater management. the state level (in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh), During the APFMGS initiative, hydrological the challenges to managing groundwater are due monitoring networks were established and to (a) farmers’ lack of information and data; (b) hydrological information was shared openly increased stress on existing groundwater reserves between farmers. Farmers were trained in due to increased investments by individual groundwater management tasks. Farmers farmers in dry regions;(c) lack of capacities and monitored hydrological data, conducted crop outreach by the state’s groundwater department water budgets, and identified 47 over exploited to depletion problems; and (d) lack of recognition aquifer zones. The project promoted extensive COMMUNITY-BASED GROUNDWATER . 57 Institutional Framework Groundwater Monitoring / Management Committee Concept GRAMA SABHA Progressive farmer GP members Opinion leader Rythu mitra Landless leader SHG leader BUA leader Groundwater Monitoring GMC Committee at Habitation GMC (50% women) 1W+1M 1W M +1 +1 M 1W HUN HU level GMC network (HUN) 50% women HUN 1W+1M 1W+1M 1W+1M NGO level GMC network NGO level GMC network NGO level GMC network (50% women) 3W+3M District / Basin level GMC 1W+ 1M Network at Gundlakamma 1W+1M (DLN) (50% women) 3W+3M State / Nodal level Network (Steering Committee (50% women) debates on groundwater levels, quantities, and hydrological monitoring and farmer water schools crop-water relationship in various meetings were volunteers. Since it was first started, the and forums. Farmers changed pump placement training has been extended to larger groups of based on hydrological data, cutting the costs on farmers with the help of NGOs. A better gender electricity bill and motor repairs. As part of the balance in the project activities was achieved, process of regulating water use, farmer groups and the experience has been shared with several also applied sanctions on excess water users other states and organizations. and declared borehole drilling holidays to allow aquifers to recover. This APFAMGS initiative is important because it (a) puts scientific knowledge in the user’s hand; As a result of APFMGS and during the duration of (b) makes best use of traditional knowledge; the project, crop diversity increased from seven to (c) supports microlevel analysis of hydrological 16 crops. Paddy cultivation was reduced in around system; (d) supports farmers to collect, collate, 6,000 hectares. More sustainable crops were and interpret data; (e) empowers farmers to adopted, and groundwater draft was reduced take decisions for demand-side management in 36 overexploited aquifer zones through (a) and artificial groundwater recharge; (f) supports switching to low water-consuming crops, (b) users to come together as a functional group; and practicing water-efficient irrigation practices, (c) (g) promotes functional linkages with relevant use of water-saving devices, and (d) introducing agencies. organic farming. The trainees for participatory 58 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM Farmer Participatory Groundwater Monitoring: A Blueprint for Pakistan Dr. Arif Anwar, Principal Researcher, International Water Management Institute (IWMI) This presentation centered around a key question: farmer institutions. The tragedy of Pakistan is that is systematic monitoring of groundwater groundwater is a very precious resource, yet at important in Pakistan? For fresh groundwater the same time a resource that can be exploited areas, both in the Indus Basin and the mountain at very low cost (Van Steenbergen and Olliemans provinces, effective regulation is required. 200220). Achieving this in the field is a tall order. The data available on groundwater are patchy and often Successful community based groundwater dated or irretrievable. Systematic monitoring is monitoring program requires collection of limited to the Salinity Control and Reclamation representative samples in relevant locations in a (SCARP) areas, where it is done by the Federal timely manner. It hinges on the involvement of key Water and Power Development Authority. Outside stakeholders—farmers and farmer organizations— SCARP areas very little monitoring is undertaken. in the monitoring process. The scientific kits are There is an urgent need to improve monitoring of complex and expensive to install, so installation groundwater levels and groundwater quality (van was not left to the farmers but was supported Steenbergen and Olliemans 200219). by the government. Data are collected monthly by farmer organizations, a cheaper method than Groundwater instrumentation used in Pakistan government collecting data. Government buys the (including data loggers) are useful and robust, data from these farmer organizations. Permanent and capable of collecting high resolution data on sensors give data on water temperature, water- groundwater level and quality. They are expensive level elevation and depth, and water quality, to purchase but easy to maintain. Technology by which can be turned into digital photographs itself, however, is not sufficient for solving the presenting data in an informative format. The use groundwater governance issue. Any solution of these scientific kits in hard rock areas will be must involve key stakeholders: farmers and more challenging. Tackling the Chronic Kidney Disease in Sri Lanka Dr. Tushara Chaminda, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka Over 75 percent of Sri Lanka’s rural population (a) fluoride and aluminum complexes in drinking depends on groundwater for domestic supply. water; (b) excessive hardness in drinking water; Chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (c) consumption of polluted drinking water by (CKDu) appeared in Sri Lanka in the early cadmium and arsenic; (d) uranium in drinking 1990s, and the incidences gradually reached groundwater; (e) algal toxins in drinking water and high numbers in 2002. Close to 2,000 people rice; (f) cadmium and arsenic in rice derived from have died and over 35,000 patients have been agrochemicals; (g) consumption of freshwater registered at renal clinics of several government fish contaminated by cadmium; (h) deposition of hospitals in the dry zone of the island. Etiology pollutants by northeast monsoons; (i) less water of CKDu is suggested to be a combination of consumption and more alcohol consumption; (j) environmental factors. Hypotheses for CKDu are DNA-related issues; and (k) malnutrition during COMMUNITY-BASED GROUNDWATER . 59 childhood. Additional evidence suggests that precipitation processes, activated alumina filters, CKDu may be linked to groundwater use in Sri and reverse osmosis are typically used to remove Lanka’s dry zone. Current research is focused fluoride from water in the high-income countries, on investigating spatial distribution of fluoride, although there is no universally accepted arsenic, harness, and heavy metals to explore if or routinely used defluoridation technique. there is a relationship between the prevalence Therefore, it is important to find a simple and of health problems (particularly CKDu) and the economical solution to remove excess amount contamination of groundwater. of fluoride and heavy metals as well as hardness from well water. High fluoride areas overlap with CKDu-affected areas. Areas with very hard water overlap Around 80 percent of the population in the area is with areas with high fluoride concentration. affected by kidney disease, and there are multiple CKDu-affected areas overlap with high fluoride- reasons suspected as the cause. Hence, it is and hardness-contaminated area. A proper necessary to promote a national forum to collect mechanism for groundwater quality monitoring all the findings and promote a multidisciplinary is needed since most of the dry zone area finds approach to research that includes clinical no limited potential in using perennial surface records, systematic water quality monitoring, water sources. The other option is that water from and other relevant factors. In addition, improving moderately contaminated wells can be blended awareness and knowledge sharing is important. with harvested rainwater to dilute high fluoride It is necessary to improve diagnostics and data concentration. collection, and more accredited laboratories are required. Systematic monitoring leading to the When the residents are not able to access preparation of groundwater quality maps would wells nearby with good quality water, excess help to improve and deepen the understanding amounts of fluoride, heavy metals, and harness of the links between CKDu and groundwater should be removed. Synthetic ion exchange and quality. 18 Village Education Resource Centre. 2007. Arsenic Mitigation Pilot Project: Bacteriological field Test Report: Dhalipara and Doazipara of Muradpur Union in Sitakunda, April 2005–March 2006. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Village Education Resource Centre. 19,20 van Steenbergen, F., and W. Oliemans. 2002. “Groundwater Resource Management in Pakistan.” In ILRI Workshop Report: Groundwater Management: Sharing Responsibility For An Open Access Resource, 93–110. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: ILRI. http://content.alterra.wur.nl/Internet/webdocs/ilri-publicaties/special_reports/Srep9/ Srep9-h6.pdf. 60 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM CHAPTER 10 61 COOPERATIVE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT— INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCES Chair: Dr. Bill Young, Lead Water Resources Specialist, World Bank Lessons from Delaware: Implementation of the State Comprehensive Groundwater Protection Program, Science Support, and Data Sharing Dr. David Wunsch, State Geologist and Director, Delaware Geological Survey Delaware, the second-smallest state in the United for all water withdrawals greater than 50,000 States, has an area of 2,491 square miles (6,452 gallons (190 cubic meters) in any 24-hour period. square kilometers); it has many commonalities Failure to apply for a withdrawal permit before regarding groundwater management challenges withdrawing 50,000 gallons per day may lead to with many South Asian nations. Agriculture forfeiture of the right to withdraw water, as well is the largest user of groundwater in both as other penalties. Water allocation permits are Delaware and many South Asian nations, and all issued for 30 years, and reviewed every five years, have water quality issues related to agriculture, with the option for renewal. Those who request industrialization, and population. Concentrated withdrawals from areas of Delaware within the use of groundwater has resulted in significant Delaware River Basin that average more than declines in water levels in some aquifers. All have 100,000 gallons (380 cubic meters) per day over low-lying coastal areas that may be prone to salt any 30-day period must have approval from the water contamination or intrusion due to rising sea Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC). level. Delaware State Comprehensive Groundwater In the United States, the state has the power Protection Program (DSCGPP) has primacy for to adopt, enforce, and establish administrative the following programs: (a) drinking water, procedures, rules, and regulations to control, (b underground storage tanks, (c) Superfund conserve, and manage the waters in the public’s (hazardous waste cleanup), (d) septic tanks and interest as well as the power to amend or repeal on-site sewage disposal, and (d) sediment and permits. Water allocation permits are required storm water. 62 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM The state (DSCGPP) is linked to the national (e.g., the Delaware Geological Survey, the United program (Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] States Geological Survey [USGS], and academic in fundamental ways. Funding comes from the EPA, institutions such as the University of Delaware). and states must report progress. There is internal State groundwater protection programs vary from sharing of records and information between state to state. But recently the United States has state programs or sections (e.g., joint monitoring focused efforts to collect, integrate, and share requirements). The water supply section can data in common formats. State grant programs require, for instance, that a groundwater on water use encourage cooperation and monitoring well be installed between a tank site collaboration between state agency and the USGS managed by an underground storage tank section to improve and build better water use databases. and down a gradient water supply well. Some There are now tiered criteria for major categories programs have financial incentives (e.g., funds for of guidelines to achieve the ultimate goal for cleanup of Superfund sites; funds to control storm site-specific, watershed- and aquifer-based data, water through long-term, low-interest loans; including consumptive use of water. funds for supporting new water supplies or water treatment or for purchase of land easements or Groundwater management in Kent and Sussex wellhead protection to protect a drinking water counties in Delaware highlights the following source for contamination). Public outreach and lessons. Groundwater policy is based on sound participation is a key part of the program. State scientific knowledge. Policy implementation is law and rules have established a committee that entirely based on regulation of groundwater has a diverse membership (e.g., water supply abstraction through permits, including ones for coordinating council members include academics, domestic uses. Groundwater management is state and local officials, water purveyors, linked with river basin (surface water–groundwater agricultural interests, and the general public). interaction is fully taken into consideration). It lays a big emphasis on public outreach and How does science inform policy? Special projects participation. Transparency in decision making is and research conducted for regulatory agencies the key to all the issues. Towards Management of U.S.–Mexico Aquifers Mr. Richard Kropp, Director, USGS The main aim of U.S.–Mexico Transboundary and effective to build trust between interested Aquifer Assessment Act, 2007, is to conduct parties first at the scientific level. Joint scientific binational scientific research to systematically studies through the use of academic and research assess priority transboundary aquifers (i.e., Hueco institutions were found effective in the case Bolson and Mesilla Basin for New Mexico and of U.S.–Mexico aquifers. Key steps were taken Texas and Conejos-Medanos aquifer in Chihuahua; in building a common database with seamless and Santa Cruz and San Pedro aquifers in Arizona) access by all parties, and agreements were made and to address the water information needs of for adopting a standard methodology for data border communities. It fosters collaboration collection. Important initial accomplishments between agencies in both countries to provide achieved included a memorandum of new information and a scientific foundation to understanding signed by all parties for sharing state and local officials facing water resource of information and transfer of funds to bring challenges along the U.S.–Mexico border. transparency into the system; establishment of an initial hydrogeological framework; development In the case of transboundary aquifers, it is easy of a binational wells database with geologic log COOPERATIVE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT . 63 information; and initial modeling of geophysical data to determine structure and distribution of Binational partnerships hydrogeologic units. require To manage U.S.–Mexico aquifers, continuous analyses of population growth and groundwater • mapping between asymmetric demand trends are necessary. Groundwater institutions, monitoring network needs to be expanded. It is • appreciation of cultural differences, necessary to maintain and add stream gauges on • trust and respect, both sides of the border. Precipitation monitoring • listening (i.e., seeking to understand network needs to be expanded. It is necessary to before seeking to be understood), process, analyze, and publish water quality data, • time to understand goals and geophysical data, and ephemeral channel stream approaches, flow data. Groundwater-level and stream-flow data • define joint programs, actions, and should be analyzed. Development of a calibrated studies, and binational groundwater and surface-water flow • agree on review processes and joint model for basins in Mexico and the United States outputs. is needed. Contaminant transport modeling can be performed with new groundwater and surface- water flow models. (e.g., central versus distributed databases); (d) soil mapping; (e) common (elevation) datum; Recognizing, understanding, and addressing the (f) data sharing (e.g., institutional obstacles); potential organizational and scientific challenges and (g) publications’ institutional reviews and in transboundary water management is essential approvals. for successful collaboration. There will be institutional asymmetry (agencies do not have the The importance of building relationships cannot same authorities or functions) and organizational be overstated. Building trust is key; there is a parity (the scientific capabilities of agencies need to build relationships at the scientist level will differ). In addition, organizational priorities separate from government to government. may differ due to conflicting interests (e.g., U.S. Binational partnerships require (a) mapping legislation may not be binding in Mexico). between asymmetric institutions, (b) appreciation of cultural differences, (c) trust and respect, Scientific challenges include harmonizing (d) listening (i.e., seeking to understand before approaches and process to deal with (a) different seeking to be understood), (d) time to understand definitions of technical terms; (b) data collection goals and approaches, (e) define joint programs, (e.g., different protocols for collection, quality actions, and studies, and (f) agree on review assurance, quality control); (c) data storage processes and joint outputs. 64 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM Middle East Water Databanks and Groundwater Awareness for Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian Aquifers Mr. Daniel J. Goode, Research Hydrologist, USGS Challenges to water resource sustainability of information needs to be shared. Relations Israeli, Jordanian, and Palestinian aquifers are along borders can cause challenges to sharing primarily caused by population growth, the need data, cooperating on hydrogeologic studies, to improve standards of living, and the widespread and coordinating water resource management use of well water for agricultural irrigation in the actions. Against this backdrop, Israeli, Jordanian, context of a semi-arid to arid climate. Water levels and Palestinian delegates met with international in wells have declined substantially in several areas partners in 1992 in Moscow to start programs of due to large withdrawals. Climate change is likely multilateral regional cooperation on five subjects, to further reduce aquifer recharge and increase one of which was water resources. The Water groundwater demand. Groundwater quality has Resources Working Group of the Middle East been degraded due to water level declines, which Peace Process subsequently (in 1994) endorsed have caused salt water intrusion in coastal aquifers several projects, including the Water Data Banks and upconing of deep aquifer brines. Agricultural project and the Public Awareness and Water irrigation has likewise increased groundwater Conservation project. salinity and caused pollution from fertilizers and pesticides. Other groundwater pollution sources The Water Data Banks project consisted of a series include inadequately treated domestic and of specific actions by Israelis, Jordanians, and industrial wastewater. Palestinians (the parties) to foster the adoption of common, standardized data collection and In order for decision makers to sustainably manage storage techniques, improved data quality, and these shared aquifers, groundwater hydrologic improved communication. Results of joint efforts l Regional maps focus on hydrologic boundaries, not political boundaries l Shared interest among regional parties in groundwater can spur sustainable management Lower Yarmouk River Watershed–Area at l Improved gage is 5.950 km2 management of Major watersheds groundwater can be catalysis for Maqaren gaging station cooperation joint COOPERATIVE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT . 65 The Public Awareness and Water Conservation project supported groundwater awareness efforts, the outcomes of which included through the Water Data Banks project ranged work together to overcome the many obstacles to publication of a from design, fabrication, and delivery of three sustainable management of Israeli, Jordanian, and student resource mobile water quality laboratories to development Palestinian aquifers. book on water— of regional guidebooks for water quality sampling published in Arabic, and analysis methods. Regional meetings of the There are important lessons to learn from this English, and parties included formal exchange of hydrologic work. The rate of expansion in groundwater use Hebrew—which data. The parties jointly developed custom for agriculture is unlikely to be sustainable within was used in middle software systems for digitizing analog water decades. Continued economic development schools in the charts and building a database and statistical and is dependent on improved groundwater region. The book graphical analysis of the data. management. There is shared interest among provided general regional parties in groundwater and in its information about The Public Awareness and Water Conservation sustainable joint management. Rather than groundwater project supported groundwater awareness efforts, be a cause of conflict, the need for improved and a description the outcomes of which included publication of a management of groundwater can be catalysis for of regional student resource book on water—published in cooperation. Public awareness of groundwater groundwater Arabic, English, and Hebrew—which was used in issues, especially threats in common with regional resources in a middle schools in the region. The book provided parties, can be improved by developing open, shared geographic general information about groundwater and a technically sound hydrology. and sociological description of regional groundwater resources in context. a shared geographic and sociological context. This case study has importance relevance for South Asia. Both the Middle East and South Asia Since 1994, these multilateral water projects face increasing demand for scarce water resources improved regional capabilities to manage a in a changing semi-arid climate. Groundwater shared and scarce resource, improve public and is an important water resource for economic youth awareness about groundwater, and provide development (especially agriculture) in both opportunities for peaceful cooperation among regions, in which aquifers are shared by regional technical government officials from the parties. parties across political boundaries. Sustainable The participants and their respective governments management requires systemwide information demonstrated water resources cooperation under and coordination. Public trust is needed to difficult circumstances. The parties, with the implement change, and capacity building for support of international partners, continue to government science agencies is essential. 66 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM 67 GROUP WORK II GOOD PRACTICES IN GROUNDWATER POLICY, REGULATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS Facilitator: Dr. John Dore —Senior Water Resources Specialist, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) During this session, six groups focused on diverse topics to discuss success factors of good practices in groundwater policy, regulations and institutions. Key lessons are summarized below. The Solar Tsunami: Creative Responses towards Sustainable Groundwater • There is need for different policies for water scarce and water abundant areas. • Economic instruments such as subsidies and feed-in tariff remain best to incentivize farmers to conserve groundwater in water scarce areas and intensify groundwater use in abundant areas. • Countries should take advantage of carbon credit and meet their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) by investing in solar powered irrigation pumps (SPIPs). Silicon Aquifer: Technology Responses towards Sustainable Groundwater • Methods for on-site and remote monitoring of quantity of water were discussed. • Miniaturization of tools (examples include incorporation of elementary and data loggers). • Use of drones with similar principles may give more spatially resolved data. • Data availability and sharing in the public domain should become an important regional objective. Grass-Roots Voices: Enabling and Tapping Community Power towards Sustainable Groundwater • Recognize and encourage national, state, and basin initiatives with representation and information flow upward and information sharing and resource allocations downward in accordance with national principles (e.g., equity, community participation) to empower communities and strengthen their participation. 68 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM • Make local communities a part of assessment and decision-making process. • Communities have excellent traditional knowledge and customs to tackle their problems and build on strengths. • Educate and build capacity of communities with modern groundwater science and technology. • Promote village groundwater cooperatives. • Water quality sampling at a local level should be supported by analytical capability by the government at the local level. • Community councils can also promote conjunctive use of groundwater and surface water. The Necessary Evil: Legal Responses towards Sustainable Groundwater Management • A legal framework that regulates groundwater is important and necessary. • It needs to be anticipatory. • This domestic management of groundwater needs to be both qualitative and quantitative, with access and equity stressed and top-down as well as bottom-up considerations addressed. • It should be area-specific. • Along with creation and passage of laws, implementation and monitoring are equally important. • Regional legal framework documentation is needed to guide groundwater management. • Emerging technologies (based on information technology [IT]) can complement creation and implementation of laws and real-time monitoring. • Identify or develop mechanisms to learn lessons from states’ and countries’ regulations. GROUP WORK II . 69 Joint Management: Ideas for Improving Transboundary Management (within or between Countries) • It is essential to determine the right level of management response to ensure that the relevant institutions have an interest to be engaged in the process, which needs to happen across multiple levels. • It is important that entities (e.g., states, countries) identify their own issues before engaging with others. • Coordinated management would be a credible initial goal, and the next step could be a decision about the requirement of joint management. • Building an evidence base of data and ownership by relevant parties is important. • Along with capacity building, correcting underinvestment in relevant agencies and addressing any power imbalances within a country or across countries is necessary. • Existing management and governance frameworks should be considered, e.g., whether groundwater management should be integrated with surface water management. • Other questions include the role of governmental versus nongovernmental actors: How to incentivize coordinated or joint management? How to effectively define the benefits of joint management? Regional Symphony: Next Steps for Building a South Asian Network for Sustainable Groundwater • Galvanize cooperation among state agencies, forum of groundwater agencies and institutions chartered by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). • Bring groundwater into existing bilateral agendas and exchange programs among regulating agencies. • Bring together university departments and think tanks already working on this topic on a common research agenda, e.g., learning lessons of successes and dangers from around the world. • Promote new interdisciplinary water management by encouraging students doing thesis on diverse aspects of the problem from hard sciences (atmospheric physics, etc.) to binding emotions (arts, literature, and cinema). • Galvanize ethics community (socioenvironmental activists) for social mobilization incentives such as presenting regional annual prizes for the most successful or the best “out-of-box” thinking. • Encourage innovations: technical (market), managerial (state agencies) and behavioral (social, religious groups). • Bring real economic interests to the fore for ethical resolution of problems, for example, transboundary aquifer pilots across borders that are serious but less alarming geopolitically. • Concentrate more on water management: from common South Asian meteorology to waste management and recycling. DAY 3 Building Drought and Climate Resilience for Farmers, Cities and Communities DAY 1 LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCES Chair: Dr. Ger Bergkamp – Executive Director, International Water Association (IWA) Managed Aquifer Recharge through A Road Map for Building Drought Village-Level Intervention in and Climate Resilience Rajasthan and Gujarat (MARVI) Dr. Amita Prasad Prof. Basant Maheshwari Additional Secretary, MoEFCC, Government of University of Western Sydney, and Dr. Peter India Dillon, Honorary Fellow, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Group Work III Australia Building Groundwater Adaptation Capacity Closing Session Conjunctive Management of Murray–Darling Basin Surface Water Valedictory Address and Groundwater Prof. Sanwar Lal Jat Mr. David Harris Hon’ble Minister of State, Water Resources, former Executive Director, New South Wales River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Water Commission, Australia Summary of Key Messages Dr. Christina Leb (World Bank) Innovations to Address Groundwater Contamination Closing Remarks Prof. T. Pradeep Dr. Amita Prasad (MoEFCC), Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai Dr. Ger Bergkamp (IWA), Dr. Bill Young (World Bank) and Mr. Ganesh Pangare (IWA) Is South Asia Positioned to Respond to the Effects of Climate Change? Dr. Rafik Hirji Team Leader, World Bank, and Mr. Geert-Jan Nijsten Senior Researcher, International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC) BUILDING DROUGHT AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE FOR FARMERS, CITIES AND COMMUNITIES . 71 PHOTO CREDIT: BASANT MAHESWARI 72 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM PHOTO CREDIT: BASANT MAHESWARI CHAPTER 11 73 LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCES Chair: Dr. Ger Bergkamp, Executive Director, IWA Managed Aquifer Recharge through Village-Level Intervention in Rajasthan and Gujarat (MARVI) Prof. Basant Maheshwari, University of Western Sydney, and Dr. Peter Dillon, Honorary Fellow, CSIRO, Australia MARVI was a participatory project for data collection Thus, groundwater dynamics were taught at on groundwater and its impact on agriculture village level, using simple and cost-effective and the lives of the villagers. In this initiative methodology, along with the importance of information was shared to build understanding managed aquifer recharge (MAR) to village among villagers. To create understanding and take livelihoods and MAR maintenance requirements. the project forward, the facilitators of the MARVI The facilitators also engaged with policy makers project engaged with policy makers, government for their input into the project and also for agencies, and other stakeholders. practical applications of project outputs. Under this project the “Bhujal Jankaar” approach As a result, the MARVI project helped the people for groundwater monitoring with farmer involved in it understand the management engagement was developed and evaluated. This of groundwater and surface water as well as approach was based on the following stages: (a) recharge, discharge, and other dynamics related get to know the people where intervention is to drought and climate resilience in the urban being made and create understanding among and rural spaces. The other key achievements of them; (b) then, based on this understanding, the project were (a) developing an understanding design and implement adaptive actions and of groundwater management as influenced by strengthen institutions; (c) this will lead to change people’s attitudes, constraints, and needs; (b) in perceptions and practice at the individual level spreading groundwater literacy in the communities and cooperation at the village level; (d) this in and schools; (c) influencing farmer practices turn will lead to improved livelihoods, increased through crop demonstrations; and (d) engaging incomes based on sustainable use of groundwater, with policy makers for practical application and and a pathway for cooperation at the basin level. adoption of project outputs. 74 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM Conjunctive Management of Murray–Darling Basin Surface Water and Groundwater Mr. David Harris, former Executive Director, New South Wales Water Commission, Australia About 1 million square kilometers in area, the interaction, extraction limits as a percentage of Murray–Darling Basin extends across four states long-term average recharge is set and based on (Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and the ratio of total surface water to groundwater, South Australia) and the capital territory of and extraction is regulated. In areas of high river- Australia. Water is shared between the states aquifer interaction, groundwater extraction is under an agreement. Around 40 percent of linked to surface water availability and setbacks Australia’s agricultural production and 75 percent from rivers are set. of irrigated agriculture is supported by the water extracted from the Murray–Darling Basin. New South Wales is about 56 percent of the Murray– Darling Basin. Agriculture uses 65,200 square High-level policies with respect to water kilometers out of which 940 square kilometers distribution and basin management are made are irrigated. Irrigation uses 75 percent of the cooperatively at the apex level through the Council total water use: 83 percent is from surface water of Australian Governments of the territories and 17 percent, groundwater. New South Wales and states. This council aids the local authorities groundwater management includes the following: by providing guidelines for (a) water planning perpetual groundwater licenses are listed on the This council aids and implementation, (b) water allocation, (c) government register; some basic landholder rights the local authorities water quality and salinity management, (d) are established, and water entitlement is separated by providing trade rules, (e) maintenance of registers of from land. Use entitlement is allowed for irrigation guidelines for water entitlements, and (f) compliance. It is the with conditions of use. There is full cost recovery water planning and responsibility of the states to implement the of supply and management. Other systems that implementation; policy within their respective jurisdictions. Surface are put in place include (a) allowing permanent water allocation; water is shared between the states under the and annual trade of groundwater entitlements water quality Murray–Darling Basin Agreement, however, there within aquifers, (b) restricting groundwater and salinity is no similar multilateral agreement for sharing entitlement trade in areas with groundwater management; groundwater. Where aquifers are shared across depletion or recharge zones, and (c) development trade rules; jurisdictions, these may be managed through of 10-year statutory plans to guide management maintenance of bilateral agreements. actions. registers of water entitlements; and Groundwater resources in the basin have been split Lessons learned are as follows: compliance into 23 groundwater resource plan areas, which • Stakeholder engagement in policy development are further divided into 66 sustainable diversion and implementation is essential: (a) the resource units. Groundwater entitlements in the greater their understanding of the issue the basin are based on volumetric entitlements, and more they can be part of the solution; and (b) aquifer management is planned to maintain water governments do not have a monopoly on ideas. balance by taking into account storage capacity, • Water reforms must address social, economic, recharge, river-aquifer interaction, and water and sustainability components; infrastructure quality and salinity. The authorities work with and technical solutions don’t work in isolation the states to monitor groundwater resources to but are an important part of the reform look at the changes in the water level or pressure package. on the aquifer. Where there is low river-aquifer • Water reform is a process, with no defined end LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCES . 75 point, but which involves constant adaptation. other countries. Doing nothing is not an option. • Demand management is a fundamental component of water management. Relevance to other countries: • Reforms have included investment in • Most South Asian countries are undertaking infrastructure and water use efficiency, significant water management reforms. institutional reform, and policy development • Water reform is hard, however, doing nothing and implementation. is not a viable option and there is no simple solution. Finally, it is important to bear in mind that it is not enough to just start the reforms. Administering Water reforms in Australia are suited to that reforms is a long process of continual adaptation environment: and it needs sustained efforts. Finally, it is • Some elements of the reform are applicable to important to bear in mind that it is not enough to just Innovations to Address Groundwater Contamination start the reforms. Administering Prof. T. Pradeep, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai reforms is a long process of continual adaptation and it Nanotechnology offers innovative and affordable land areas. The performance data from pilot needs sustained opportunities as a revolutionary technology for experiments conducted using the new generation efforts dealing with groundwater contamination. Prof. of adsorbents from Murshidabad and Nadia Pradeep argues that advanced science using were published in several journals, including the nanomaterial-based technologies can be an monthly newsletter Nature Nanotechnology effective part of the solution to groundwater (July 2014) and the Scientific American (May issues, especially those related to monitoring and 2013), which reported on the technology that filtering. Nanotechnology utilizes new nanoscale promised safe quality drinking water at affordable phenomenon to filter contaminants from water. prices. Arsenic monitor and arsenic filter can be Nanotechnology filtration is cheaper compared integrated into in-line filtration and monitoring to the older generation of filters. Hence it could unit to improve management of arsenic. become a preferred option once the technology is better known, understood, and accessible. It is necessary to identify the pollutants that enter the system through food particles. Synthetic Nanotechnologies can help deal with iron and nanomaterials can be dangerous and should be arsenic removal in water. New generation of avoided. Naturally available nanomaterials whose adsorbents using iron oxyhydroxide are changing chemistry is well known are relatively safe to use. the dynamics at the ground level with promising Nanotechnology offers solutions to address water results (input arsenic concentrations: 168 parts contamination, but it is important that one uses per billion, and output arsenic concentration: 2 natural nanomaterials and not the synthetic ones. parts per billion). The new generation technologies Aquananotechnology: Global Prospects (Reisner occupy very small land areas compared to older and Pradeep 201421) provides important insights arsenic removal technologies using activated about the technology and its usefulness for water alumina as adsorbents that require larger filtration. 21 Reisner, D. E., and T. Pradeep, eds. 2014. Aquananotechnology: Global Prospects. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. 76 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM 77 CHAPTER 12 A ROAD MAP FOR BUILDING DROUGHT AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE Chair: Dr. Amita Prasad, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India Is South Asia Positioned to Respond to the Effects of Climate Change? Dr. Rafik Hirji, Team Leader, World Bank, and Mr. Geert-Jan Nijsten, Senior Researcher, International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC) Recent studies by the Organisation for Economic storms is likely to be high, especially given South Co-operation and Development (OECD), United Asia’s very large coastline. Finally, the region’s Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural adaptive capacity—physical, administrative, and Organization Groundwater Resources Assessment institutional—is low. Over the recent decades, under the Pressures of Humanity and Climate as surface supplies have become less reliable, Change (UNESCO GRAPHIC), and World Bank22 all dependence on groundwater has increased conclude that groundwater, if well managed, can substantially in South Asia. Under climate change, act as an effective climate adaptation option: it surface runoff will likely be impacted and make is a natural insurance mechanism and not just a surface supplies less reliable. This will likely put component of freshwater supplies. In operational extra pressure on groundwater. On the demand terms, is the region positioned to respond to the side, warmer temperatures will affect crop effects of climate change? water use. Thus, under warmer conditions, crop evapotranspiration would be higher. Population South Asia’s groundwater is highly vulnerable growth will increase demand for water, food, and to climate change. This high vulnerability is a energy. Rising sea levels will impact the coastal function of four factors: (a) utilization is moderate; groundwater quality. In such a scenario, managed (b) impact of climate change on recharge is likely groundwater will be central to adaptation to to be negligible; (c) impact of sea level rising and impact of climate change. 78 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM Recharge and discharge of groundwater is affected increased recharge leads to irrigation expansion. by changes in climate (precipitation), land use Irrigation may also increase salinization. Reduced change, and human intervention (e.g., pumping). recharge can affect base flow and dry up springs Recharge and discharge rates are also impacted by and wetland ecosystems. Thus, if groundwater is different types of aquifers, for example, shallow, to become central to the adaptation mechanism fast, connected aquifers versus deep, slow for climate change impact, it is important to aquifers. Groundwater quality also affects the create a framework to build adaptation capacity supply of water for human consumption directly based on (a) social capital (e.g., education, or indirectly. training, and governance); (b) information (e.g., understand climate, quantify groundwater, and Thus, climate change has implications for monitor); (c) research and development (e.g., groundwater-dependent systems as well. Rural climate-impact assessments and adaptation populations often depend on groundwater as methods); (d) governance (e.g., policy, regulations a safe alternative to surface water. However, and institutions, conjunctive use, planning, and management of surface and groundwater, and demand management); and (e) groundwater entitlements and markets. Central to a groundwater-adaptation framework must be management of the following aspects: recharge, storage, discharge, quality and demand. For this purpose, it is important to understand how the system works. Assessment of the complete groundwater system, including impacts of climate change and impacts of human behavior, needs to be done. Also adequate data need to be collected (e.g., classical hydrogeological data, including long-term monitoring data of groundwater levels, groundwater quality, and groundwater use [abstraction]). Analyses need to be done through modeling and conducting detailed studies to better understand crucial processes and responses and to make projections under different scenarios. In addition, there is a need to move from assessment to management solutions. To find realistic climate change is likely to have an impact on solutions there is a need for further socioeconomic groundwater, human health, livelihoods, and food and political analyses and environmental studies. security. Even in urban areas climate change is Sociocultural and political analyses need to be done likely to impact the use of water in the form of, to develop understanding to gauge acceptance of for instance, unreliable reticulated water supplies, solutions. Finally, it is important to keep in mind economic losses, adverse effects on human that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution in the health, and social disruption. In addition, irrigation Indian setting. Successful solutions depend on a is increasingly reliant on groundwater. Reduced combination of factors. recharge diminishes irrigation use, whereas A ROAD MAP FOR BUILDING DROUGHT AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE . 79 A Road Map for Building Drought and Climate Resilience Dr. Amita Prasad, Additional Secretary, MoEFCC, Government of India According to The Guardian (Vidal 200923), climate Institutional and policy framework supports change is expected to have the most severe coordinated action, preparation of the District impact on water supplies. The current water cycle Agriculture Contingency Plan (DACP) that was and the drivers of climate change (greenhouse launched in 201025, mitigation of adverse impact gas emissions and land cover change), lead to through efficient water management practices, vulnerability of water resources. and promotion of knowledge sharing and capacity building. The key recommendations Climate change will lead to deviation from include (a) supporting better water management, normal conditions (climate and hydrology). (b) promoting climate-resilient agriculture, (c) Climate change and drought are linked. Increased imparting skills and education, (d) strengthening evapotranspiration and reduced precipitation systems and effectiveness in data collection, increase frequency and intensity of droughts. (e) focus on agro-forestry, and (f) watershed Droughts in turn can lead to desertification, land management. degradation, and deforestation. Srivastava and Rai 201224 estimate that sugarcane yields will fall The proposed national level actions include (a) dramatically. Business Standard (2015) reported strengthening of the observational network for that rice yield will drop in Odisha. The major drought monitoring, (b) capacity enhancement climate change-related challenges include (a) that for medium- and long-range drought forecasting, 16 per cent of India’s geographic area is drought- (c) developing mechanisms for context-specific prone and (b) implementation of the National and need-based forecasting, (d) improvement Action Plan on Climate Change 2008 (NAPCC in information and communication technologies 2008), which outlines existing and future policies (ICTs), (e) dissemination in local languages for and programs addressing climate mitigation and better understanding of the people. The proposed adaptation. The plan identifies eight core “national regional level actions include (a) enhancement of missions,” namely National Water Mission, Green real-time monitoring capabilities through training India Mission, National Solar Mission, National and joint monitoring programs, (b) improvement Mission on Sustainable Habitat, National Mission in methodologies and analytical tools for drought on Enhanced Energy Efficiency, National Mission analysis and vulnerability assessment, (c) capacity for Sustaining Himalayan Ecosystem, National building through joint training programs in Mission for Sustainable Agriculture, and a improved resilience toward drought, and (d) National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for effective and collaborative implementation of Climate Change. drought relief programs. 22 Studies mentioned: (a) Clifton, C., R. Evans, S. Hayes, R. Hirji, G. Puz, and C. Pizzaro. 2010. “Water and Climate Change: Impacts on Groundwater Resources and Adaptation Options.” Water Working Note 25, World Bank, Washington, DC; (b) UNESCO GRAPHIC. 2015. Groundwater and Climate Change: Mitigating the Global Groundwater Crisis and Adapting to Climate Change, Position Paper and Call to Action. UNESCO: Paris; (c) OECD. 2015. Drying Wells, Rising Stakes: Towards Sustainable Agricultural Groundwater Use. OECD Studies on Water. Paris: OECD. 23 Vidal, John. 2009. “Global Warming Causes 300,000 Deaths a Year, Says Kofi Annan Thinktank.” Guardian (blog), May 29 (accessed May 31, 2017), https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/may/29/1. 24 Srivastava, A. K., and M. K. Rai. 2012. “Sugarcane Production: Impact of Climate Change and Its Mitigation. Biodiversitas 13 (4): 214–27. 25 DACP are technical documents aimed to be ready reckoners for line departments and farming communities on prevailing farming systems and technological interventions to manage various weather aberrations such as droughts, floods, etc. The contingency plans are useful for drought preparedness. 80 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM 81 GROUP WORK III GOOD BUILDING GROUNDWATER ADAPTATION CAPACITY Chair: Dr. Amita Prasad —Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India The third breakout session focused on identifying climate change adaptation policies and actions for sustainable use of groundwater drawing from 10 diverse cases of urban, rural, and agriculture water supply contexts. The cases were from various parts of South Asia facing a variety of groundwater management challenges (e.g., depletion, depletion and pollution, depletion and saltwater intrusion, salinity control, arsenic control, irrigation and fluoride, salinity control in irrigated areas). The group discussion was centered around six areas: building adaptive (administrative, technical, and management) capacity, managing groundwater recharge, protecting groundwater quality, managing groundwater storage, managing demand for groundwater, and managing groundwater discharge. 82 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM Forum Recommendations Adaptive groundwater management requires implementing a variety of policy reform options. The forum participants from discussions from 10 groups converged towards the following water policy reform actions to address the region’s groundwater management challenges in a more concerted manner with surface water through adopting integrated water resources management: • Invest in groundwater knowledge and science to support evidence-based decision making • Elevate political/public awareness of the value of groundwater and opportunities it presents • Develop, strengthen, and implement groundwater policies and legislation • Prioritize training and capacity building for farmers, professionals and policy makers • Scale up community-based groundwater management and collection action initiatives • Build technical and administrative capacity, empower and fund groundwater institutions • Build and strengthen groundwater regulatory capacity • Invest in demand management, including improved irrigation water use efficiency • Promote planned MAR and conjunctive management of surface and groundwater • Develop groundwater management plans • Encourage cooperative monitoring, assessment, and management of transboundary aquifers • Act now to take the necessary decisions to address what is known • Organize and mobilize support for addressing complex and longer term actions and reforms Chair Dr. Prasad, in her concluding remarks on “Group Work III,” was pleased to note that the groups were able to identify, acknowledge, and accept the problems across the region unanimously. Groups adopted practical ways of looking at these problems. Along with many other solutions, the need for collecting adequate and reliable data collection and its easy accessibility was stressed. However, Dr. Prasad suggested going beyond data accessibility. She suggested the need to adapt cutting-edge approaches and techniques for data analytics (e.g., modeling, simulation). She recommended the continuation of the dialogue on groundwater and drought and climate resilience and noted the need to relook at water polies, legislation, institutions, and capacity building with a strong groundwater lens. And she recommended more detailed research to better understand the role of groundwater for drought and climate resilience through improved groundwater governance and management. GROUP WORK III . 83 84 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM 85 CHAPTER 13 CLOSING SESSION Moderator: Mr. Ganesh Pangare, Regional Director, Asia-Pacific, IWA Valedictory Address Prof. Sanwar Lal Jat, Hon’ble Minister of State, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India In his valedictory address, the Hon’ble Minister Prof. Jat emphasized the need to integrate ancient of State thanked the participants to have spent wisdom with modern science and technology. such a considerable time deliberating on various “My ministry is a great repository of scientific aspects of groundwater management. In light of information and knowledge on groundwater,” the water scarcity being faced across several parts noted Prof. Jat. However, the government alone of India, he noted the timeliness of the forum to cannot tackle the crisis; he called for engaging lead to reflecting and addressing the challenges at in participatory, multisectoral approaches to hand. He also extended a welcome and thanked managing groundwater. The efforts of the all participants from neighboring nations— government, such as legislation and programs, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, have to be complemented with inputs from and Nepal, and Sri Lanka—along with experts from all support of people and partners such as the ones over the world. at the forum. Groundwater is directly linked to livelihoods; therefore, it impacts whether the Prof. Jat called for action and reminded the socioeconomic condition will improve for millions audience that the traditional knowledge and of people across South Asia. wisdom of the people of India may have some answers to managing water sustainably. He Thus, the deliberation at this forum will be very stated, “One important aspect of traditional important for the ministry to take forward the wisdom on water management was that water work on managing groundwater sustainably. He bodies recharged the groundwater, which was said that the momentum and wisdom generated used in the summer months. One of the reasons at the forum will result in a mass movement for for groundwater depletion is that we have groundwater management and sustainable use forgotten the basic principles of conservation and across the region. rejuvenation of our water resources.” 86 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM Summary of Key Messages Dr. Christina Leb, World Bank The objectives of the forum were to (a) elevate, at may be helpful in its outreach to the poor at a large the policy level, the vital role groundwater plays scale. However, the “solar tsunami” represents a in the water sector across South Asia; (b) build a bundle of threats, potentially creating a similar community of practice—a network of technical challenge as subsidized electricity. There is an expertise—to guide improved groundwater increasing risk of overpumping, unless monitored management in South Asia; (c) share knowledge and managed properly, as noted by Prof. Tushaar and experiences in groundwater management Shah. Prof. Shah added, “Democratization of and governance; and (d) discuss opportunities energy grid independence creates a formidable for local, national, and regional action to challenge for groundwater management” and achieve sustainable groundwater use and build needs to be handled with caution. drought and climate resilience. The three days of discussions were structured around three themes Recommendations from the urban groundwater to understand: (a) the value and limits of this use session are for urgent actions in major cities “Democratization vital yet hidden resource; (b) the foundations for to deal with the deteriorating groundwater of energy grid sustainable groundwater management and use; situation. Rapid urbanization has increased the independence (c) how to build drought and climate resilience for demand for water. There is a correlation between creates a farmers, cities, and communities. population growth and groundwater dependency. formidable How hydrologic variability and climate change are challenge for Groundwater plays a vital role in the economies likely to intensify the groundwater management groundwater of South Asia. Around one-fourth of the global problems further was also discussed. management” abstraction is in the Indo-Gangetic plain. In South and needs to be Asia, the “silent revolution” of groundwater Regional differences were discussed during the handled with development has lifted millions out of poverty, session on country perspectives. There are regional caution making farmers, previously dependent on differences within countries, for instance, in east rainfed agriculture, resilient to hydrologic India (good recharge but arsenic contamination), variability. Groundwater has provided food and in west India (arid, recharge challenges, and income security. It has been the driving force for overexploitation) and in southeast India (coastal agricultural “revolution” with change of irrigation aquifers and saline intrusions). The differences in from Type I (surface water, kinetic energy, and geological characteristics determine the aquifer public investments) to Type II (groundwater, resilience to change and ease of abstraction and private development, and mechanical energy and recharge. electricity). The challenge of recharge is a complex issue. Thus, the groundwater-energy-food nexus Recharge structures such as check dams need needs to be looked as an important driver of the to be sited and designed on the basis of sound economies in South Asia. Because of the invisible hydrogeological conditions; they have their own nature of groundwater and because it is relatively complexity, including, for instance, downstream cheap to develop and requires little infrastructure impacts. The possibility of conjunctive use of investments, across the region, government surface water and groundwater was discussed policies have encouraged its reckless mining with and recommended. subsidized power. Now, changing farmer behavior is seen to be politically difficult. It is not adequate to focus on groundwater quantity alone, groundwater quality is equally important. Use of modern technology such as solar pumps Geogenic and anthropogenic pollution is both CLOSING SESSION . 87 a quality and quantity challenge. Overpumping based on “safe yield” determination and capacity induces transport of contaminants such as arsenic. building and stakeholder participation need to be Water quality risks from on-site sanitation and prioritized. leakage can be significant. The health impact due to contamination affects economic opportunities. A combination of policy interventions and balance of subsidies, incentives, and regulation adapted A key message from the forum is the need to shift to local conditions can make positive changes from groundwater development to groundwater for sustainable management. Management management. Unfortunately, reforms start only approaches need to be based on an understanding with crises. Today the region has reached a state of aquifer hydrogeology and should be of crisis that in the future could lead to risk of customized to the local socioeconomic and conflicts between farmers, cities, villages, districts, institutional and governance context. Principles states, provinces, and nations. It is critical to learn of national framework and water acts need to Smart fines, to live within the available means. be operationalized through secondary legislation subsidies, and price and institutions (put in place before legislation incentives should Governance is challenged by lack of policy and is enacted). It is necessary to build capacity of be used to control legal frameworks or outdated the laws (with the communities before management and monitoring groundwater use, exception of Bhutan). For example, the Easements responsibilities are transferred to communities. and licenses based Act (India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh), 1882, leads Thus, it is vital to involve communities in designing on “safe yield” to limited responsibility at the federal level and monitoring programs and in enacting regulations determination and makes top-down and national approaches to to ensure implementation. It is necessary to capacity building water resource management difficult, especially provide practical knowledge in an accessible form and stakeholder with interconnected systems. Thus, there is a need to communities. participation need for better regulation in almost all the countries. to be prioritized Better regulation requires clear definitions, Case studies from Gujarat and Rajasthan on identification of issues, and adequate and strong community recharge show the importance of the institutions for enforcement. process of integrating stakeholders (Maheswari et al. 201426). International case studies from Aquifer protection plans are required to avoid the United States experience show that the overabstraction. Pollution control and managed process is the same, whether at local, national, recharge should be carried out with land use regional or cross-border levels. Participatory planning and zoning. Communities should collection of good quality data is necessary to be trained to use technology for monitoring acquire knowledge of aquifer characteristics. purposes. For example, color-coded systems Building shared data is vital and efforts need developed for drillers to show the arsenic content to be put into it in future. Few solutions are of sediment to indicate the security and safety purely technical in nature; most solutions need a of groundwater should be implemented. Smart sound understanding of the socioeconomic and fines, subsidies, and price incentives should be regulatory environments. used to control groundwater use, and licenses 26 Maheshwari, B., M. Varua, J. Ward, R. Packham, P. Chinnasamy, Y. Dashora, S. Dave, P. Soni, P. Dillon, R. Purohit, and T. Shah. 2014. “The Role of Transdisciplinary Approach and Community Participation in Village Scale Groundwater Management: Insights from Gujarat and Rajasthan, India. Water 6 (11): 3386–08. 88 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM Closing Remarks Dr. Amita Prasad, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) Dr. Amita Prasad expressed her appreciation to groundwater, which began through the workshop, the efforts made by the forum organizers, and will continue and be followed by actions. She observed that the forum had brought together suggested that a forum for South Asia should be a diverse group of professionals from across created in which exchange of ideas can take place. the region, from China to all the South Asian At the end she requested the World Bank and IWA countries, and had succeeded in giving voice to organize follow-up workshops for technical to all major issues pertaining to groundwater partnership and knowledge exchange in the near across the region. She hoped that the dialogue on future. Dr. Ger Bergkamp, Executive Director, IWA Dr. Ger Bergkamp said that IWA has been working Dr. Bergkamp noted that “All over the world there on bringing people together from all over the is a need to improve accessibility to clean water, world to build cooperation to solve issues to replenish water resources, and to prevent, pertaining to water. This forum was yet another stop and reverse depletion of water quantity example of the creative experiences that IWA is and quality. For this, we need to discuss not only bringing to the world, and thus he was thankful policies and regulations but also specific activities; and happy to have been instrumental in organizing we need to think not only of the long run but this conference. He expressed the need to also about things of immediate consequence: continue this conversation further. He added that what we can do immediately with communities “when you bring top professionals together and at the grassroots level?” Dr. Bergkamp expressed begin a dialogue, the churning starts, giving rise his appreciation of the fact that the forum had to ideas for positive outcomes: to build a water succeeded in bringing together representatives wise world, to reduce inefficiency and waste, and from various government departments and states to recycle”. from all across the region. Dr. Bill Young, Lead Water Resources Specialist, World Bank Dr. Bill Young, in conveying his vote of thanks, challenges like the looming threat of the impact of stated that the World Bank has been convening climate change. Thus it is important to take these dialogues and events to promote water conversations forward at the national level and cooperation in South Asia for the last 10 years. then at the local level. He expressed his hope that However, in the past the events were narrower the conversation started at the conference will in scope. Increasingly, the World Bank has been inspire a generation of dialogue at the national broadening the scope, moving to basin level. level, and the World Bank will be happy to support Today, conversations around water are becoming such efforts. more and more important due to additional CLOSING SESSION . 89 Mr. Ganesh Pangare, Regional Director, Asia-Pacific, IWA Mr. Ganesh Pangare, at the end of the forum, launch a global website through which everyone made the following announcements that (a) can remain connected for a better future. He the proceedings of the conference will be sent concluded the conference with the final vote of to all the participants; (b) an email list of all the thanks. participants will be circulated; (c) IWA would PHOTO CREDIT: NACHIKET PANGARE 90 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM APPENDIX A PROGRAM SOUTH ASIA GROUNDWATER FORUM Regional Challenges and Opportunities for Building Drought and Climate Resilience for Farmers, Cities, and Villages Jaipur, Rajasthan • June 1–3, 2016 Day 1—Understanding the Value and Limits of a Vital Hidden Resource Time (in hours) Program 0830–0915 REGISTRATION at the Mandani 0920–1000 Inaugural Address: Master of Ceremony: Mr. Ganesh Pangare, Regional Director, Asia-Pacific, IWA Lighting of the lamp Welcome and Setting the Scene: Mr. Shashi Shekhar, Secretary, MoWRRDGR, India Welcoming Remarks: Ms. Jennifer Sara, Senior Director for the Water Global Practice, World Bank Groundwater Megatrends in South Asia: Mr. Jeremy Bird, Director General, IWMI 1000–1150 SESSION 1: Political Economy of Groundwater Chair: Mr. Shashi Shekhar, Secretary, MoWRRDGR, India 1005–1025 Groundwater Policy Implications for Building Drought and Climate Resilience in South Asia Dr. Rafik Fatehali Hirji, Team Leader, World Bank 1025–1045 The Political Economy of the Groundwater-Energy-Food Nexus: Towards Drought and Climate resilience Prof. Tushaar Shah, Senior Fellow, IWMI 1045–1105 Direct Delivery of Power Subsidy to Manage Groundwater-Energy-Food Nexus Mr. Mohinder Gulati, former CEO, UN Sustainable Energy for All  1105–1135 High-Level Panel Discussion: Groundwater Policy Implications for Drought and Climate Resilience Moderator: Mr. Ganesh Pangare, Regional Director, Asia-Pacific, IWA Panelists: - Mr. Shashi Shekhar, Secretary, MoWRRDGR, Government of India - Mr. Nisar A. Memon, former Federal Minister, Pakistan/Chairman, WEF - Mr. Dipak Gyawali, Chair, NWCF, Nepal - Dr. Bill Young, Lead Water Resources Specialist, World Bank 1135–1150 Q&A 1150–1205 TEA/COFFEE BREAK 1205–1305 SESSION 2: Regional Groundwater Management Perspectives Chair: Mr. Jeremy Bird, Director General, IWMI 1205–1225 Groundwater Resilience to Climate Change and Abstraction in the Indo-Gangetic Basin Prof. Alan MacDonald, Principal Hydrogeologist, British Geological Survey 1225–1245 Groundwater Quality Challenges in South Asia and Options for Management Prof. Kazi Matin Ahmed, Dhaka University 1245–1305 Q&A 1305–1415 LUNCH at the Aarogosa APPENDIX . 91 1415–1530 SESSION 3: Panel—Country Groundwater Priorities Co-chairs: Mr. Nisar A. Memon, former Federal Minister, Pakistan/Chairman, WEF, and Ms. Mieke van Ginneken, Manager, World Bank 1415–1505 Country Presentations: • Mr. Sayed Sharif Shobair, Coordinator and Chief Engineer, FAO/IRDP, Afghanistan • Dr. Anwar Zahid, Deputy Director, Bangladesh Water Development Board, Bangladesh • Mr. G.K. Chhopel, Chief Environment Officer, Water Resources Coordination Division, National Environment Commission, Bhutan • Prof. Guangheng Ni, Director, Institute of Hydrology and Water Resources, Tsinghua University, China • Mr. Dipankar Saha, Member, CGWB, India • Mr. Dhana Bahadur Tamang, Secretary, Water and Energy Commission Secretariat, Nepal • Mr. Muhammad Riaz, Director, Program Monitoring and Implementation Unit, Punjab Irrigation Department, Pakistan • Mr. Ranjith Seevali Wijesekera, Chairman, Water Resources Board, Government of Sri Lanka 1505–1530 Q&A 1530–1550 TEA/COFFEE BREAK 1550–1800 SESSION 4: Group Work I—Tackling Irrigation and Domestic Water Supply Challenges Facilitator: Dr. John Dore, Senior Water Resources Specialist, DFAT 1550–1700 Six groups 1700–1800 Group Presentations 1900–2100 RECEPTION at pool lawns Day 2—Foundations for Sustainable Groundwater Use and Management Time Program 0900–1000 SESSION 5: Groundwater-Energy-Food Nexus: Policy Implications Chair: Mr. Dipak Gyawali, Chair, NWCF 0905–0925 Food-Irrigation- Energy Nexus in the context of Groundwater Use in India Dr. Aditi Mukherji, Theme Leader, Water and Air, ICIMOD 0925–0945 Managing Groundwater Use in Agriculture Sustainably: Lessons from OECD Nations Dr. Guillaume Gruere, Senior Policy Analyst, OECD 0945–1000 Q&A 1000–1110 SESSION 6: Lessons on Regulating Groundwater Chair: Justice Madan B. Lokur, Supreme Court of India 1005–1025 Groundwater Regulation and Implementation: An Overview Mr. Stefano Burchi, Executive Chairman, International Association for Water Law 1025–1040 Model Bill for Regulation of Groundwater Development Mr. Y. B. Kaushik, Regional Director, CGWB, India 1040–1055 Groundwater Management Legislation in the Indus Basin Ms. Hina Lotia, Director, Programs, LEAD Pakistan 1055–1110 Q&A 1110–1130 TEA/COFFEE BREAK 92 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM 1130–1300 SESSION 7a: Urban Groundwater Supply SESSION 7b: Community-Based Groundwater Chair: Mr. Sarafat Hossain, Director General, Chair: Mr. Ari Nathan, Director, Regional ESTH, Office for WARPO, Government of Bangladesh South Asia US Embassy, Kathmandu 1135–1150 Groundwater Management Challenge in Working with Communities to Tackle the Arsenic Problem Urban Asia in Groundwater in Bangladesh Dr. Sangam Shrestha, AIT, Bangkok Ms. Hasin Jahan, Country Director, Practical Action 1150–1205 Sustainable Groundwater Supply: Issues and Learning from the Andhra Pradesh Farmer-Managed Options for Border City of Lahore Groundwater Systems Initiative Mr. Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, Director, Asia Mr. P. S. Rao, Director (Technical), ACIWRM, India Climate and Development Knowledge Network, Pakistan 1205–1220 Water Resources Management of Delhi and Farmer Participatory Groundwater Monitoring: Groundwater Supply Challenges A Blueprint for Pakistan Prof. Shashank Shekhar, Department of Dr. Arif Anwar, Principal Researcher, IWMI Geology, University of Delhi 1220–1235 Dhaka City Water Supply: Issues and Tackling the Chronic Kidney Disease in Sri Lanka Challenges Dr. Tushara Chaminda, University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka Dr. Anwar Zahid, Deputy Director, BWDB 1235–1300 Q&A Q&A 1300–1400 LUNCH at the Aarogosa 1445–1545 SESSION 8: Cooperative Groundwater Management—International Experiences Chair: Dr. Bill Young, World Bank 1445–1505 Lessons from Delaware: Implementation of the State Comprehensive Groundwater Protection Program, Science support and Data sharing Dr. David Wunsch, State Geologist and Director, Delaware Geological Survey 1505–1525 Towards Management of U.S.–Mexico Aquifers Mr. Richard Kropp, Director, USGS 1525–1545 Middle East Water Databanks and Groundwater Awareness for Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian Aquifers Mr. Daniel J. Goode, Research Hydrologist, USGS 1545–1600 TEA/COFFEE BREAK 1600–1730 SESSION 9: Group Work II Facilitator: Dr. John Dore, Senior Water Resources Specialist, DFAT Six Groups 1930–2230 DINNER at the Village Day 3—Building Drought and Climate Resilience for Farmers, Cities and Communities Time Program 0900–1030 SESSION 10: Local and International Groundwater Management Experiences Chair: Dr. Ger Bergkamp, Executive Director, IWA 0905–0925 Managed Aquifer Recharge through Village-level Interventions in Rajasthan and Gujrat (MARVI) Prof. Basant Maheshwari, University of Western Sydney, and Dr. Peter Dillon, Honorary Fellow, CSIRO, Australia 0925–0945 Conjunctive Management of Murray–Darling Basin Surface Water and Groundwater Mr. David Harris, former Executive Director, New South Wales Water Commission, Australia 0945–1005 Innovations to Address Groundwater Contamination Prof. T. Pradeep, IIT Madras, Chennai 1005–1030 Q&A 1030–1050 TEA/COFFEE BREAK APPENDIX . 93 1050–1300 SESSION 11: Group Work III—A Road Map for Building Drought and Climate Resilience Chair: Dr. Amita Prasad, Additional Secretary, MoEFCC, Government of India 1055–1110 Is South Asia Positioned to Respond to the Effects of Climate Change Dr. Rafik Fatehali Hirji, Team Leader, World Bank, and Geert-Jan Nijsten, Senior Researcher, IGRAC 1110–1230 A Road Map for Building Drought and Climate Resilience Dr. Amita Prasad, Additional Secretary, MoEFCC, Government of India 1230–1300 Presentation of Group Work II and Group Work III discussions 1300–1400 LUNCH at the Aarogosa 1400–1500 SESSION 12: Closing Session Facilitator: Mr. Ganesh Pangare, Regional Director, Asia-Pacific, IWA 1405–1415 Valedictory Address Prof. Sanwar Lal Jat, Hon’ble Minister of State, MOWRRDGR, Government of India Summary of Key Messages Dr. Christina Leb, World Bank 1415–1500 Closing Remarks Dr. Amita Prasad, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change • Dr. Ger Bergkamp (IWA) • Dr. Bill Young (World Bank) • Mr. Ganesh Pangage (IWA) 1500–1530 TEA/COFFEE 94 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM APPENDIX B Participants Serial NAME ORGANISATION POSITION/JOB TITLE COUNTRY GENDER EMAIL/ No. 1 Angar Banai General Directorate Physical Afghanistan Male angar.banai89@gmail.com of Budget, Ministry Infrastructure & of Finance, Govt of Natural Resources Afghanistan Sector Manager 2 Ghulam Qader Rural Water Supply Director General Afghanistan Male ghulam.qader@mrrd.gov.af at Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), Govt of Afghanistan 3 Mir Ahmad World Bank Water Resources Afghanistan Male mahmad3@worldbank.org Ahmad Specialist 4 Naeem Tookhi Department of Head Afghanistan Male tookhi_afg@yahoo.com Hydrogeology at MEW, Govt of Afghanistan 5 Sayed Sharif Ministry of Energy and Advisor, MEW, Afghanistan Male Sayed.Sharif@eirp-afg.org Shobair Water (MEW), Govt of Project Coordinator Afghanistan & Chief Engineer FAO-EIRP 6 Amit Parashar CSIRO Principal Research Australia Male Amit.Parashar@csiro.au Consultant 7 Basant Western Sydney Professor – Water, Australia Male B.Maheshwari@westernsydney. Maheshwari university Environment & edu.au Sustainability 8 David Harris   Independent Australia Male mdharriss@bigpond.com 9 Peter Dillon CSIRO Honorary Fellow Australia Male pdillon500@gmail.com 10 Rai Kookana CSIRO Chief Research Australia Male Rai.Kookana@csiro.au Scientist 11 Mohinder Gulati UN Sustainable Energy Former CEO Austria Male mgulatiwb@gmail.com for All  12 Anwar Zahid Bangladesh Water Deputy Director Bangladesh Male anwarzahidb@gmail.com Development Board (groundwater hydrology) 13 AJM Zobaidur IWA Communications Bangladesh Male Zobaidur.Rahman@iwahq.org Rahman Officer 14 Bushra Nishat IWA Programme Manager Bangladesh Female bushra.nishat@iwahq.org 15 Hasin Jahan Practical Action Country Director Bangladesh Female Hasin.Jahan@practicalaction. org.bd 16 Kazi Matin U Department of Geology, Professor Bangladesh Male kmahmed@du.ac.bd Ahmed Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences,University of Dhaka APPENDIX . 95 17 Md Abdur Bangladesh Agricultural Chief Scientific Bangladesh Male razzaquebari@gmail.com Razzaque Akanda Research Institute (BARI) Officer and Head, Irrigation and Water Management Division 18 Md Sarafat Water Resources Director General Bangladesh Male sarafathossain1958@gmail.com Hossain Khan Planning Organisation 19 Md Waji Ullah Centre for Environment Executive Director Bangladesh Male wullah@cegisbd.com and Geographical Information Services 20 Shamim Ara Ministry of Water Joint Secretary Bangladesh Female khatoon123@hotmail.com Khatoon Resources (MoWR) 21 G. Karma National Environment Chief Environment Bhutan Male gkchhopel@gmail.com Chhopel Commission Officer 22 Guangheng Ni Institute of Hydrology Director China Male ghni@tsinghua.edu.cn & Water Resources Research, Tsinghua University, Beijing 23 Zhao Chengyi Aksu Station; Xinjiang Head China Male zcy@ms.xjb.ac.cn Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) 24 Guillaume OECD Senior Policy Analyst France Male Guillaume.GRUERE@oecd.org Gruere 25 Ajitabh Sharma Govt of Rajasthan Secretary, Water India Male NA Resources Department 26 Amita Prasad MoEFCC, GoI Additional Secretary India Female asap.moefcc@gov.in 27 Anju Gaur World Bank Senior Water India Female agaur@worldbank.org Resources Specialist 28 Anoop Nagar CGWB Regional Director, India Male rdwcr-cgwb@nic.in West Central region 29 Avanish Kant MoWRRDGR Senior Hydrologist, India Male srhg-mowr@nic.in NHP 0 B. K. Maheswari Govt of Rajasthan SHG, GWD, jaipur India Male shggwdjaipur@gmail.com 31 Bharti Bhavsar SEWA Senior Campaigner India Female van_pani@sewa.org - Water & Natural Resource 32 Brajesh Sikka MoEFCC, GoI Senior Advisor, India Male b_sikka@yahoo.com MoEFCC 33 Chandrakant P Govt. of Maharashtra Senior Geologist India Male rndgsda@gmail.com Bhoyar 34 D Subba Rao CGWB Regional Director, India Male rdcr-cgwb@nic.in Central Region 35 Dalvir Singh Rana Govt. of Punjab Hydrologist, Karnal India Male dalvirsrana@gmail.com 36 Dipankar Saha CGWB Senior India Male dipankarsaha-cgwb@nic.in Member(survey assessment & monitoring) 37 H B Shelat Govt. of Gujarat Geologist India Male shelathb@gmail.com 38 Halla Qaddumi World Bank Senior Water India Female hqaddumi@worldbank.org Resources Specialist 96 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM 39 Hema Yadav National Institute of Director India Female y_hema@yahoo.com agricultural Marketing, Govt. of India 40 I. I. Shah Govt of Maharashtra Joint Director, GSDA, India Male research.gsda@gmail.com Gov of Maharashtra 41 Indira Public Health Engineering Adviser India Male indiracal@hotmail.com Chakravarty Department, Govt of West Bengal 42 J. C. Mohanty Govt of Rajasthan Principal Secretary, India Male NA PHED & GWD 43 K B Rabadia Govt of Gujarat MD GWRDC India Male kbrabadia@gmail.com 44 K S Takshi Punjab Water Resource Chief Engineer, India Male cewrirr@gmail.com Department Water Resources 45 M.S. Lamba Govt of Punjab Hydrologist, Ambala India Male lambams1@gmail.com 46 Madan B Lokur Supreme Court of India Hon’ble Justice India Male madanlokur@nic.in 47 Manish Kumar World Bank Senior Institutional India Male mkumar@worldbank.org Development Specialist 48 Meesha Tandon ICLEI South Asia Senior Manager, India Female meesha.tandon@iclei.org Secretariat Sustainability Management 49 Mieke van World Bank practice Manager India Female   Ginneken Water, South Asia 50 Mili Varughese World Bank   India Female mvarughese@worldbank.org 51 Neelesh Kulkarni Primove Consultants Director India Male kulkarni.neelesh@gmail.com 52 Neena Rao   Freelance consultant India Female rao_neena@hotmail.com 53 Pankaj Mahala Govt of Punjab WDS, Panchkula India Male pankajmahala78@gmail.com    54 P K Parchure CGWB Regional Director, India Male rdwr-cgwb@nic.in Western Region 55 P S Rao Advanced Center Director (Technical) India Male drpsrao88@gmail.com for Integrated Water Resources Manaagement (ACIWRM), Government of Karnataka 56 Pratul Saxena MoWRRDGR Senior Hydrologist India Male pratul.saxena@nic.in 57 Prem Behl EIG, India CEO India Male premb@eigroup.in 58 R. K. jain Govt of Rajasthan Senior Geophysicist, India Male NA GWD, Jaipur 59 R. K. Mishra Govt of Rajasthan Senior Engineer, India Male ramakantmishra2011@yahoo.com Ground Water Department, Jaipur 60 Rajagopal Singh World Bank Water Resources India Male csingh5@worldbank.org Chabungbam Specialist 61 Raviprakash M. Govt of Karnataka Principal Coordinator, India Male ravi.mdd8@gmail.com Subbusastry Engineers Capacity Building, ACIWRM 62 Ryan Thew DFAT First Secretary - India Male Ryan.Thew@dfat.gov.au Development 63 Sanwar Lal Jat WRRDGR, GoI Minister of State India Male mos-mowr@nic.in, sanwarlaljat@gmail.com APPENDIX . 97 64 Satya Priya World Bank Senior Water India Male spriya@worldbankorg Resources Specialist 65 Saumya World Bank   India Female ssrivastava@worldbank.org Srivastava 66 Shashank Delhi University Assistant Professor, India Male shashankshekhar01@gmail.com Shekhar Dept of Geology 67 Shashi Shekhar MoWRRDGR, GoI Secretary India Male secy-mowr@nic.in 68 Shilp Verma IWMI Consulting India Male shilpv@gmail.com Researcher 69 Shriram Vedire Govt of Rajasthan Head, Water India Male ramvedire@gmail.com Conservation Mission 70 Simrat Labana USAID Project Management India Female slabana@usaid.gov Specialist (Agriculture) 71 SK Jain CGWB Regional Director, India Male rdnwr-cgwb@nic.in North Western region 72 Subir Kumar Govt of Rajasthan Secretary, PHED & India Male subirkumargupta681@gmail.com GWD 73 Surajbhan Singh Govt of Rajasthan Chief Engineer, GWD, India Male NA Jaipur 74 Sushmita Mandal IWA Programme Manager India Female sushmita.mandal@iwahq.org 75 Swati Parashar Senior Lecturer Monash University India Female swati.parashar@monash.edu 76 T Pradeep IIT Chennai Professor India Male pradeep@iitm.ac.in 77 Tushaar Shah IWMI Senior Fellow India Male T.Shah@cgiar.org 78 Vijay K. Govt. of Maharashtra Deputy Director India Male rndgsda@gmail.com Pakhmode (R&D) 79 Vinay Bhardawaj Govt of Rajasthan Sr. Hydrologist, GWD, India Male NA Jaipur 80 Y B Kaushik CGWB Regional Director, India Male rdnr-cgwb@nic.in Northern Region 81 Yogendra Sharma CGWB   India Male ranjanayogendra@gmail.com 82 Stefano Burchi International Association Chairman Italy Male stefano.burchi@gmail.com of Water Law 83 Paul Pavelic IWMI Principle Researcher- Laos Male p.pavelic@cgiar.org Hydrogeology 84 Aditi Mukherji ICIMOD Theme Leader, Water Nepal Female amukherji@icimod.org and Air 85 Dhana Bahadur Water and Energy Secretary Nepal Male tamdhana@yahoo.com Tamang Commission Secretariate, GoN 86 Dipak Gyawali Nepal Academy of Pragya (Acamedician) Nepal Male dipakgyawali.dg@gmail.com; Science and Technology dipakgyawali@ntc.net.np ; gyawalidipak@yahoo.com 87 Madhav Belbase   Independent Nepal Male belbasem@gmail.com 88 Nathan Ari USDS Regional Nepal Male NathanA@state.gov Environment, Science, Technology and Health (ESTH) Officer 89 Sangam Shrestha Asian Insitute of Associate Professor Nepal Male sangam@ait.asia Technology 98 | SOUTH ASIA GROUND WATER FORUM 90 Geert-Jan IGRAC- International Senior Researcher Netherlands Male geert-jan.nijsten@un-igrac.org NIJSTEN Groundwater Centre 91 Ger Bergkamp IWA Executive Director Netherlands Male ger.bergkamp@iwahq.org 92 Ali Tauqeer LEAD Pakistan CEO Pakistan Male Atsheikh@lead.org.pk Sheikh 93 Arif Aziz Anwar IWMI Principal Researcher Pakistan Male a.anwar@cgiar.org 94 Ghulam Zakir Irrigation Research Director Pakistan Male zakirjg@gmail.com Hassan Institute, Punjab, Department of Irrigation, Lahore 95 Hammad Naqi WWF Pakistan Director General Pakistan Male hnaqi@wwf.org.pk Khan 96 Hina Lotia LEAD Pakistan Director, Pakistan Female hlotia@lead.org.pk Programmes 97 Laila Kasuri World Bank Consultant Pakistan Female lkasuri@worldbank.org 98 Muhammad   Deputy Project Pakistan Male nawazbhutta04@gmail.com Nawaz Manager, PCSIAP Bhutta 99 Muhammad Riaz Program Monitoring and Director, Monitoring Pakistan Male riazpmiu07@yahoo.com Implementation Unit (PMIU), Punjab Irrigation Department 100 Nisar A. Memon Water Environment Chairman Pakistan Male wefpak@gmail.com Forum 101 Shahid Ahmad   Water Expert Pakistan Male dr_shahidahmad2001@yahoo. com 102 Karen Villholth IWMI Principal Researcher South Africa Female k.villholth@cgiar.org within Groundwater Management 103 Gajahin Gamage Dept. of Civil & Senior Lecturer Sri Lanka Male tusharac@cee.ruh.ac.lk Tushara Environmental Chaminda Engineering, University of Ruhuna,Galle 104 H Manthritilake IWMI Head, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Male h.manthri@cgiar.org Development Initiative 105 HMJ Herath Ministry of City Planning Director (Planning) Sri Lanka Male hmjh6411@gmail.com & Water Supply, Government of Sri Lanka 106 Jeremy Bird IWMI Director General Sri Lanka Male j.bird@cgiar.org 107 Ranjith Seewalee Water Resources Board General Manager Sri Lanka Male wijesekeraranjith@yahoo.com Wijesekera (WRB), Government of Sri Lanka 108 Ganesh Pangare IWA Regional Director Thailand Male ganesh.pangare@iwahq.org 109 John Dore DFAT Senior Specialist – Thailand Male john.dore@dfat.gov.au Water Resources 110 Lalita Rammont IWA Programme Manager Thailand Female Lalita.Rammont@IWAHQ.ORG 111 Vishnu P. Pandey AIT, Thailand Research Fellow and Thailand Male vishnu.pandey@gmail.com Affiliated Faculty 112 Alan Macdonald BGS Principal Hydro- UK Male amm@bgs.ac.uk Geologist 113 Abed Khalil World Bank Senior Water USA Male akhalil@worldbank.org Resources Specialist APPENDIX . 99 114 Bill Young World Bank Lead Water USA Male wyoung@worldbank.org Resources Management Specialist 115 Christina Leb World Bank Senior Water USA Female cleb@worldbank.org Resources Specialist 116 Daniel J. Goode USGS Research Hydrologist USA Male djgoode@usgs.gov 117 David Robert USGS Director and USA Male dwunsch@udel.edu Wunsch State Geologist of Delaware Geological Survey (DGS) 118 Ellen Connorton USDS Senior Science USA Female ConnortonE@state.gov Adviser 119 Jennifer Sara World Bank Director, Global USA Female jsara@worldbank.org Water Practice 120 Jyoti Shukla World Bank Senior Manager, USA Female jshukla@worldbank.org Water Global Practice, World Bank Washington DC 121 Laura Inha World Bank Jr. Professional USA Female linha@worldbank.org Officer, Water and Sanitation Program 122 Nagaraja Rao World Bank Lead Environmental USA Male harsh@worldbank.org Harshadeep Specialist, Global Lead (Watersheds) 123 Priyanka World Bank Consultant USA Female pchaturvedi@worldbank.org Chaturvedi 124 Rafik Fatehali World Bank Senior Water USA Male rhirji@worldbank.org Hirji Resources Specialist 125 Richard H.Kropp USGS Director, USGS New USA Male rkropp@usgs.gov Jersey Science Centre 126 Trui Paula World Bank Consultant   Female truiuyttendaele@gmail.com Uyttendaele SOUTH ASIA GROUNDWATER FORUM South Asia—the world’s fastest growing region—is the largest abstractor of groundwater; it pumps nearly a third of the groundwater used globally and half of global groundwater for irrigation. Groundwater drove the Green Revolution, which lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty across the region; in addition to irrigation, it is critical to rural, urban, and industrial water supplies. However, intensive pumping and unregulated use have caused rapid declines in water tables, putting these benefits at risk. In addition, groundwater contamination (from arsenic, fluoride, salinity, sewage, industrial effluent, and agricultural chemicals) is undermining the value of the resource, increasing water treatment costs, and causing significant health impacts. While groundwater depletion can be quickly reversed, contamination, saltwater intrusion, and land subsidence are either too costly or impossible to reverse. The South Asia Groundwater Forum organized in June 2016 together 126 participants including 46 decision makers and 80 technical experts and community representatives from across 18 countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The forum drew from existing and emerging experiences and knowledge generated from within and outside South Asia. These experiences included policy issues related to the groundwater-energy-food nexus; the challenges of instituting and enforcing groundwater regulation; experiences on community-based groundwater management, urban water supply management, and irrigation development; and lessons about building drought and climate resilience. Contact Details: Sushmita Mandal Rafik Hirji International Water Association World Bank Email: Sushmita.mandal@iwahq.org Email: rhirji@worldbank.org