Assessing the feasibility of integrating ecosystem-based with engineered water resource governance and management for water security in semi-arid landscapes: A case study in the Banas catchment, Rajasthan, India

Abstract

Much of the developing world and areas of the developed world suffer water vulnerability. Engineering solutions enable technically efficient extraction and diversion of water towards areas of demand but, without rebalancing resource regeneration, can generate multiple adverse ecological and human consequences. The Banas River, Rajasthan (India), has been extensively developed for water diversion, particularly from the Bisalpur Dam from which water is appropriated by powerful urban constituencies dispossessing local people. Coincidentally, abandonment of traditional management, including groundwater recharge practices, is leading to increasingly receding and contaminated groundwater. This creates linked vulnerabilities for rural communities, irrigation schemes, urban users, dependent ecosystems and the multiple ecosystem services that they provide, compounded by climate change and population growth. This paper addresses vulnerabilities created by fragmented policy measures between rural development, urban and irrigation water supply and downstream consequences for people and wildlife. Perpetuating narrowly technocentric approaches to resource exploitation is likely only to compound emerging problems. Alternatively, restoration or innovation of groundwater recharge practices, particularly in the upper catchment, can represent a proven, ecosystem-based approach to resource regeneration with linked beneficial socio-ecological benefits. Hybridising an ecosystem-based approach with engineered methods can simultaneously increase the security of rural livelihoods, piped urban and irrigation supplies, and the vitality of river ecosystems and their services to beneficiaries. A renewed policy focus on local-scale water recharge practices balancing water extraction technologies is consistent with emerging Rajasthani policies, particularly Jal Swavlamban Abhiyan ('water self-reliance mission'). Policy reform emphasising recharge can contribute to water security and yield socio-economic outcomes through a systemic understanding of how the water system functions, and by connecting goals and budgets across multiple, currently fragmented policy areas. The underpinning principles of this necessary paradigm shift are proven and have wider geographic relevance, though context-specific research is required to underpin robust policy and practical implementation.

Impact of river channelization and riverfront development on fluvial habitat: evidence from Gomti River, a tributary of Ganges, India

“…The dominance of channel engineering and associated loss of river ecosystems and river processes has been widely discussed in the literature (Downs and Gregory 2014;Palmer et al 2014;Hood and Larson 2015;Peipoch et al 2015;Everard et al 2018;Wohl 2018). The river engineers involved in water resources development projects often cite the need of providing increasing water demands to growing population, whereas river ecologists argue about the needs of the riverine ecosystem in wake of unsustainable water abstractions (Downs and Gregory 2014).…”

How is water security conceptualized and practiced for rural livelihoods in the global South? A systematic scoping review

“…The structure, function, and capacity of water governanceincluding sectoral management arrangements, and ineffective transboundary and cross-scalar planning within linked social-ecological systemswas associated with water insecurity. These included the inability to manage across boundaries and competing uses (e.g., Rasul, 2014;Bekchanov & Lamers, 2016;Sithirith et al, 2016;Everard et al, 2017), gaps in key planning frameworks, strategies, and mechanisms that may alleviate risks (e.g., Cremers et al, 2005;Bichai et al, 2016;Sen & Kansal, 2019), and inadequate economic and organizational resource support (e.g., decision-support, financial resources, extension) (e.g., Braune & Xu, 2009;Foster et al, 2012;Williams, 2015;Nazari et al, 2018). Inadequate water • Inability to acquire water, limited participation of underrepresented groups in decision-making, marginalization of water rights, and management systems 21 8.5…”

Examining the Process of Decomposition and Carbon Cycling in 'Fadama' Coastal Wetlands: A Case Study of Heaping Wetlands Ecosystem

“…The numerous ecosystem services offered by wetlands notwithstanding, these important ecosystems are increasingly coming under stress due to natural and anthropogenic factors. These anthropogenic disturbances if sustained could compromise the carbon sequestration potentials of the Country's wetlands turning them from carbon pools into net sources of GHGs (Alongi, 2011;Everard et al, 2018).…”