The Indus and the Ganges: river basins under extreme pressure

Sharma, Bharat R.; Amarasinghe, Upali A.; Cai, Xueliang; Condappa, Devaraj de; Shah, Tushaar; Mukherji, Aditi; Bharati, Luna; Kamalamma, Ambili G.; Qureshi, Asad Sarwar; Pant, Dhruba; Xenarios, Stefanos; Singh, Rajendra Prasad; Smakhtin, Vladimir

doi:10.1080/02508060.2010.512996

Cited by 79 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Values calculated by means of GWSP (2008) data are referred to as (1). Data sources: precipitation (1) and Hijmans et al (2005), Immerzeel et al (2010), Karim and Veizer (2002), Mitchell and Jones (2005); total RWR (UNEP, 2009;Sharma et al, 2008); national RWR (IUCN, 2010;Sharma et al, 2008); total SW (Hoekstra and Mekonnen, 2011;Sharma et al, 2010); national SW (Briscoe and Qamar, 2007;Gupta and Deshpande, 2004;Kreutzmann, 2011;Qureshi, 2011;Sharma et al, 2008); national GW (Briscoe and Qamar, 2007;Indian M.W.R., 2011;Qureshi, 2011;Sharma et al, 2008); total water withdrawal/consumption irrigation (1) and Immerzeel et al (2010) and Mekonnen and Hoekstra (2010b); national water withdrawal/consumption irrigation (1) and Kreutzmann (2011) and Saleth and Amarasinghe (2009); total water withdrawal/consumption domestic and industrial (1) and Sharma et al (2010); national water withdrawal/consumption domestic and industrial (1); remaining river flow (1) and Briscoe and Qamar (2007), Karim and Veizer (2002) and Kreutzmann (2011); storage reservoirs based upon the dataset (Lehner et al, 2008) is used. Of the available surface water resources of 175 km 3 , about 75 %, is withdrawn.…”

Section: Water Balancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…hydrology and available water resources (Winiger et al, 2005;Archer, 2003;Immerzeel et al, 2010;Kaser et al, 2010), the impact of climate A. N. Laghari et al: The Indus basin in the framework of current and future water resources management change on glaciers and the hydrological regime (Akhtar et al, 2008;Immerzeel et al, 2010;Tahir et al, 2011), agricultural water demands and productivity Sharma, 2009, 2010), groundwater management (Kerr, 2009;Qureshi et al, 2009;Scott and Sharma, 2009;Shah et al, 2006), reservoir sedimentation (Khan and Tingsanchali, 2009), ecological flows and the Indus delta (Leichenko and Wescoat, 1993), water policy (Biswas, 1992;Miner et al, 2009;Shah et al, 2006Shah et al, , 2009Sharma et al, 2010) and water resources management (Archer et al, 2010;Qureshi et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Indus basin in the framework of current and future water resources management

Laghari

Vanham

Rauch

2012

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

193

112

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Abstract. The Indus basin is one of the regions in the world that is faced with major challenges for its water sector, due to population growth, rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, environmental degradation, unregulated utilization of the resources, inefficient water use and poverty, all aggravated by climate change. The Indus Basin is shared by 4 countriesPakistan, India, Afghanistan and China. With a current population of 237 million people which is projected to increase to 319 million in 2025 and 383 million in 2050, already today water resources are abstracted almost entirely (more than 95 % for irrigation). Climate change will result in increased water availability in the short term. However in the long term water availability will decrease. Some current aspects in the basin need to be re-evaluated. During the past decades water abstractions -and especially groundwater extractionshave augmented continuously to support a rice-wheat system where rice is grown during the kharif (wet, summer) season (as well as sugar cane, cotton, maize and other crops) and wheat during the rabi (dry, winter) season. However, the sustainability of this system in its current form is questionable. Additional water for domestic and industrial purposes is required for the future and should be made available by a reduction in irrigation requirements. This paper gives a comprehensive listing and description of available options for current and future sustainable water resources management (WRM) within the basin. Sustainable WRM practices include both water supply management and water demand management options. Water supply management options include: (1) reservoir management as the basin is characterised by a strong seasonal behaviour in water availability (monsoon and meltwater) and water demands; (2) water quality conservation and investment in wastewater infrastructure; (3) the use of alternative water resources like the recycling of wastewater and desalination; (4) land use planning and soil conservation as well as flood management, with a focus on the reduction of erosion and resulting sedimentation as well as the restoration of ecosystem services like wetlands and natural floodplains. Water demand management options include: (1) the management of conjunctive use of surface and groundwater; as well as (2) the rehabilitation and modernization of existing infrastructure. Other demand management options are: (3) the increase of water productivity for agriculture; (4) crop planning and diversification including the critical assessment of agricultural export, especially (basmati) rice; (5) economic instruments and (6) changing food demand patterns and limiting post-harvest losses.

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Section: Water Balancementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Indus basin in the framework of current and future water resources management

Laghari

Vanham

Rauch

2012

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

193

112

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Across this vast and very densely populated region (Appendix A), water plays a key role for both food and energy security (Figure 4). Agriculture, particularly in the Ganges and the Indus, is very dependent on intensive irrigation [74,75]. Water for irrigating crops is largely pumped from groundwater, requiring a lot of energy, such that energy use is intensifying: there was a sixfold increase of electricity consumption per 1000 hectares of cultivated land from the year 1980/81 to 1999/2000 [76].…”

Section: South Asiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both the Indus and the Ganges are under extreme pressure. The Indus basin faces severe water scarcity during eight months of the year, while the Ganges River is experiencing decreasing flows during the dry season [75,78,79] (Appendix A). The downstream riparians are highly vulnerable to upstream water use, while having no control of upstream water flows [61,80].…”

Section: South Asiamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Water-Energy-Food Nexus and the Transboundary Context: Insights from Large Asian Rivers

Keskinen

Guillaume

Kattelus

et al. 2016

Water

123

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Abstract:The water-energy-food nexus is a topical subject for research and practice, reflecting the importance of these sectors for humankind and the complexity and magnitude of the challenges they are facing. While the nexus as a concept is not yet mature or fully tested in practice, it has already encouraged a range of approaches in a variety of contexts. This article provides a set of definitions recognizing three perspectives that see the nexus as an analytical tool, governance framework and as an emerging discourse. It discusses the implications that an international transboundary context brings to the nexus and vice versa. Based on a comparative analysis of three Asian regions-Central Asia, South Asia and the Mekong Region-and their related transboundary river basins, we propose that the transboundary context has three major implications: diversity of scales and perspectives, importance of state actors and importance of politics. Similarly, introducing the nexus as an approach in a transboundary context has a potential to provide new resources and approaches, alter existing actor dynamics and portray a richer picture of relationships. Overall, the significance of water-energy-food linkages and their direct impacts on water allocation mean that the nexus has the potential to complement existing approaches also in the transboundary river basins.

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“…In its meandering course over 2500 km from Gangothri Glacier to the Bay of Bengal, fertile land and abundant water resources support both livelihoods and food security of more than 600 million people, of whom the majority live in rural areas (Sharma et al, 2010). River water is an important source for fisheries and other riverine habitats (Payne and Temple 1996), and also for navigation extending a stretch of 1500 km.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reviving the Ganges Water Machine: potential

Amarasinghe

Muthuwatta

Surinaidu

et al. 2016

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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

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The Indus and the Ganges: river basins under extreme pressure

Cited by 79 publications

References 15 publications

The Indus basin in the framework of current and future water resources management

The Indus basin in the framework of current and future water resources management

The Water-Energy-Food Nexus and the Transboundary Context: Insights from Large Asian Rivers

Reviving the Ganges Water Machine: potential

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