The Need for Green and Atmospheric Water Governance: A Case Study of Son River Basin, Bihar, India
Shipra SINGH, Delhi School of Economics , India
The potential for political conflicts within and between countries over water are intensified by the increasing scarcity of freshwater resources. It seems clear that if human needs are to be met, while at the same time conserving biodiversity and maintaining vital ecosystem services, a new approach is required that makes the best use of the limited water that is available. Rapidly increasing population, agricultural practices, industrialisation, and unsustainable consumption have resulted in deterioration of water quantity and quality, thus affecting the health of the river. This paper addresses the question: What are the arguments for governing green and atmospheric water when only blue water governance is somewhat focussed on? There is an incorrect assumption that water law and policy refer to all sources of water. We address this misconception in this paper. Hydrological modelling and secondary sources have been used to achieve this objective. Son river flows through the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand in India. Son basin is one of the largest basins of Ganga with a length of 784 km, and a catchment area of 67,842 sq.km. Governance measures such as restrictions on groundwater pumping and adjustments to sectoral water pricing have been suggested as response strategies to curtail recent increases in groundwater pumping and enhance sustainable water use. Neglecting the need for explicit governance of green and atmospheric water could create new forms of “water grabbing” that would impact water availability beyond the basin scale.
Mots clés : Water Governance|Blue Water|SDGs|Sustainability|River Basin
A105131SS