13 Dec
2006 - With water conflicts affecting developing
countries, a new book titled “Water Conflicts
in India: A Million Revolts in the Making” looks
at socioeconomic and environmental impacts in
India whose economy is said to be growing at 8-9%
annually. The book looks at the growing competition
between agriculture, industrial and urban uses
and warns that further conflicts could undermine
India’s economic growth.
Mega-infrastructure projects such as Polavaram
dam, which will cost $3.2 billion and displace
200,000 people, and the $125 billion scheme to
interlink 37 of India’s rivers will create more
conflicts. The book urges better legal and institutional
frameworks to resolve conflicts and finding sustainable
ways of saving water, reducing pollution, and
managing demand among India’s 1.1 billion people.
Key Issues
Valuing environmental and economic sustainability
“While the UN Millennium Development Goals aim
to halve by 2015 those without access to drinking
water and sanitation services, water conflicts
in India and elsewhere threaten to make such goals
more unattainable than ever. Mega-projects destroy
the livelihoods of poor people, degrading the
ecosystems they depend on, and leaving communities
fighting for basic services,” said Mr Jamie Pittock,
Director of WWF’s Global Freshwater Programme.
“Development plans in such emerging economies
must start by valuing conservation of nature,
and specifically the wetlands and rivers, that
provide water and food,” he said.
Sustainable solutions
“Water conflicts are costing
lives every day and could undermine the economic
ambitions of the country. Government investments
in big water infrastructure projects are actually
contributing to the conflicts created by displacement
of whole communities, submergence of productive
lands, and water-logging,” said Dr Biksham Gujja,
Policy Adviser of WWF’s Global Freshwater Programme.
“In the agriculture sector, there are solutions
being practised such as restoring traditional
village water tank systems and growing more rice
with less water. ‘Big’ is not necessarily better
and infrastructure alone is not the cure.”
Media Events/Activities
Taylor & Francis Books India Private Limited
will host the release of “Water Conflicts in India:
A Million Revolts in the Making” on December 13,
2006, at Conference Hall 3, India International
Centre Annexe, Max Muller Marg, New Delhi 110
003, 6:00-8:00 p.m. The launch will include a
panel discussion and refreshments. Contact: Rimina
Mohapatra +91 11 2370 6110; rimina.mohapatra@tandfindia.com
Materials for the Media
“Water Conflicts in India: A Million Revolts in
the Making” is published by Routledge India. In
India, tel:
Lisa Hadeed, Global Freshwater Programme
Brian Thomson, Press officer
