Environmental Flows for Indian Rivers: The Need and the Urgency
Posted on April 24, 2008 | Filed Under Announcements, Guest Posts, River Watch
Parineeta Dandekar would like to start a discussion and create a resource base around Environmental Flows on the India Water Portal
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India is facing a water crisis in nearly all the sectors. Fortunately or unfortunately, measures taken by the related authorities to combat the crisis often depends on the amount of ‘noise’ made by the relevant stakeholders. It is no wonder then, that the urban India, and especially the rich and the powerful in urban India, seldom have to face problems related to water scarcity, water quality or the sheer inequity in distribution. On the other hand, weaker the stakeholder, more severe are his ( rather ‘her’) problems. Marginal farmers, tail enders in a canal network, rural and urban poor, especially children and women, stand testimony to this situation.
We all agree to this, right?
Godavari delta, destruction of mangroves
But aren’t we forgetting the the weakest, and in some ways, the strongest, of all the stakeholders? How about the ecosystem of the river itself??
Are we ready to acknowledge the ecosystem as an equal stakeholder in the fight for water? Are we ready to rethink the current water allocation scenario and allocate water for the riverine ecosystem and for the subsystems that depend on the river? Are we ready to accept the fact that water going to the sea is not a waste.. it is how a river should be…
Current situation shows that we are evidently not ready for anything of this sort..
Let us look at some examples. In case of river Krishna, historically( before 1960s), the outfalls to the ocean averaged 57 BCM ( Billion cubic meters). In the year 2004, the outfall was nearly NIL ( about 0.4 BCM). This has affected the livelihoods of rice farmers and fishermen in the delta region. At the same time, it has severely affected the mangroves ( and of course, the related ecosystems) on the coastline. Krishna is now classified as a ‘closing’ river basin.
In case of Godavari, dams have severely regulated water and sediment flow to the sea. Godavari delta has lost 1836 hecatres of land during 1976–2001 due to erosion, resulting in displacement of coastal communities and mangrove destruction. Most farmers in the delta region are marginal farmers, with land holdings less than 5 hectares and erosion has greatly affected their livelihood.
The Ganga River Dolphin: endemic and endangered
One of the most disturbing situation is in the supposedly water surplus Ganga Basin. According to WWF’s Top Ten Rivers At Risk Report, (By the way, two of the threatened Top Ten Rivers flow through India, the Ganges and the Indus), over-extraction for agriculture in the Ganga Basin has caused the reduction in surface water resources. This has increased dependence on ground water, the loss of water-based livelihoods, and the destruction of habitat for 109 fish species, and other aquatic and amphibian fauna. Lowering water levels have indirectly led to deficiencies in soil organic content, and reduced agricultural productivity.
Wetlands are also being driven to the verge of near extinction in urban as well as rural India.
During the last ten years, India has lost about 38 per cent of its inland wetlands; in some districts, as much as 88 per cent of the wetlands have disappeared. Most of the wetlands and urban waterways are being used as landfills or dumping grounds for urban/ rural sewage. Ramsar wetlands also have to face similar fates.
Painted Storks at Keoladeo Sanctuary
Keoladeo National Park at Bharatpur is losing its tourists and is also about to lose its recognition as a World Heritage site because of the declining water availability and resultant declining water fowl populations. The most crucial and worrying aspect of this impasse is that political leaders have instigated the local farmers to stage demonstrations and protests against releasing waters to the Park. As a result, for the past two years, the Park has been literally starved of water and the number of migratory birds visiting the Park has fallen dangerously.This pitting of communities against ecosystems on which they depend on is criminal.
Policy Responses:
It is clear that rivers, wetlands, streams, riparian forests, water birds, fish, and all the related communities are suffering. It is also clear that current policy responses are not robust enough to heal. The National Water Policy (2002) and most of the State Water Policies have recommended the maintenance of minimum flows in rivers. The Tenth Five Year Plan has also recommended the assessment and maintenance minimum flows in river systems. But these are non binding recommendations. In face of current water conflicts, they don’t stand a chance of being implemented.
What’s happening around the world?
South Africa is a pioneer in developing the concept of ‘reserves’. Through South Africa’s new Water Law, Water allocations ( licences) are made only after reserving a specific quantity of water for basic human needs and the environment ( known as the ‘ecological’ reserve). This corresponds to the environmental water requirement of the particular basin and may differ from basin to basin. In water-starved Australia too, environmental flows are being calculated and restored in rivers like the Murray Darling.
In case of India, research reports have suggested that at least the peninsular rivers,‘may, in principle, be maintained in a reasonable state even with limited environmental flows allocations (10-20% of the MAR) depending on hydrological availability.
It is evident that the need to consider the health of our riverine ecosystems is urgent. So how are we going to trade off with nature? Where are the spaces , or rather, where is the water?
–By Parineeta Dandekar, parineeta.dandekar@gmail.com
The author welcomes comments and discussion on the above
To download this article as a doc file click here:Eflows Article
References for the article can be accessed here: Eflows-References
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8 Responses to “Environmental Flows for Indian Rivers: The Need and the Urgency”
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I feel the extreem need to remove subsidies for water and privatise the water sector.
It will certainly help in reducing the wastage of water.
I wrote something bout it Water Crisis in India, Is subsidizing water a sustainable solution?
I feel, there are several more reasons that add to decline in the environmental flows of the Indian rivers.
One major example that I can say is of the flow of Narmada river which has undergone severe change due to cascading dams on the entire stretch between Bargi and Sardar Sarovar, not to mention other smaller ones before that.
Iam happy that a discussion thread on Environmental Flows is now open.
We need several initiatives from civil society to stem the fascination and resolve of our planners, administrators ,engineers and even ex-presidents, (advocating River linking) enamoured with using the last drop of water for the seeming welfare of humanity!
we need to question the wisdom of building dams and reservoirs for the ostensible purpose of Irrigation in areas that cannot sustain the land use abuse.
secondly, we need to have a serious introspection on irrigated agriculture which take up a lions share of river and ground water.
We also need good environmental economics models to present various scenarios of business as usual( scenarios of more Dams,reservoirs,more areas under irrigation, water diversions to increased urban demands, industires, and sanitation) as opposed to Sustainable models of agriculture, urbanization ,climate change and environmental needs.
The task is huge and Iam afraid much time is not there on our side!!
At present,the River water disputes are under scrutiny by the Tribunals appointed for rivers like Krishna for redistribution of the annual flows.It is true that during failure of monsoon rains,the water that flows from Krishna into the sea is almost zero.Hence we must exert pressure on the river basin states that environmental interests should be safeguarded by reserving about 10 percent of the annual flow for Environmental flows to be available particularly during summer when the water evaporates on a large scale while poor farmers and villagers along the banks of the river and its tributaries do not get any water to drink.In fact,the farmers associations in karnataka region of Gulberga and Bijapur living on the banks of Bhima did not get drinking water in summer and they filed public interest litigation and got orders from the Supreme Court for release of a limited flow from Ujaini reservoir under the control of Maharashtra state.With the construction of several anicuts and barrages and installation of pumping stations over krisha river and its tributaries by upper states,water wars will be a regular feature in the coming years and hence we have to take appropriate measures even from now onwards to foresee these preventable water wars between the river states like Maharashtra,Karnataka,Andhra pradesh,Tamilnadu and Kerala which are demanding more water allocation by the Tribunals.Let us debate on these issues.
prof.T.Shivaji Rao
Dear Prof.Rao, Thanks for the response. yes,as you said, Tribunals need to address the issue of environmental flows. Interestingly, the Cauvery Award which has a history of being very veryu volatile has also amde provisions for environmental flows, which is a welcome step. similar can be done in the case of Krishna. However,it is doubtful whether allocating rough amounts like 10% of MAR or something like this, will help. Environmental flows vary from river to river and along with the amount, the ‘timing’ of flows is also crucial.
Excellent information on environmental flows for indian basins can be obtained from:
http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/IWMI_Research_Reports/PDF/PUB107/RR107.pdf
thanks,
Parineeta
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Read From the Indian Express about the revival of the Mithi river in Maharashtra:
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/For-the-first-time-flamingoes-at-Mithi/328118/
After years, the Mithi is showing signs of revival. And the indicator, says experts, is the presence of a flock of flamingoes here for the first time — in an area where the river meets the Mahim creek.
“The removal of silt from the creek has made it deeper and allows salt water to enter. This has resulted in algae growth. Now with the birds coming in, their droppings will boost the growth,” said Avinash Kubal, deputy director, Maharashtra Nature Park Society (MNPS).
Eleven flamingoes have made the vicinity of MNPS along the Mithi their home for the past three days. Kubal says a plan for the protection of the birds will be soon forwarded to the MMRDA.
“At first we were not sure of the flamingoes staying here for long and thought it was one of their outings. However, three days later, they have completely settled in,” he said.
Kubal said flamingoes have been spotted in the area for the first time. That too during the monsoon.
Usually, the Sewree mudflats and some parts of Thane see flamingoes visiting during the winter as the birds escape the severe cold of Siberia and migrate to the relatively warmer shores of India.
Experts say the flock of 11 flamingoes at the Mithi, mostly young, may not be strong enough to fly back and the chances of them staying on till winter are therefore strong. Also, it appears, they have found food — the algae, which has started growing in the river due to less pollution and desilting. Although the nature park is wary of opening the place immediately to tourists, they plan to construct a viewing deck.
SHWETA DESAI,MAHENDRA PARIKH