Abstract Title: Rethinking Water Management in the Himalayan Rivers Through the Dams vs. Environmental Flow Debate in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Basin
Author(s):
Prof. Jayanta BANDYOPADHYAY - Centre for Development and Environment Policy, IIM Calcutta
Abstract:
In spite of its large annual run-off, the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) basin has been known for conflicts over lean season flow between riparian countries of Bangladesh and India. The intense and large Monsoon precipitation, on the other hand, has also made the basin prone to annual summer floods. Considering that the basin is the home of about 700 million people, a good part of whom are poor, both the growing scarcity of water and the annual inundations cause human sufferings, as well as loss of life and property. Plans for huge investments to build a series of large dams in the Himalaya are officially projected as the panacea for addressing floods and water scarcities in South Asia. The series of dams are expected to moderate the Monsoon floods, generate hydro-power and also augment the lean season flow. Thus, a situation of natural disaster is proposed to be converted to rapid economic development.
The eco-hydrological complexities of the Himalaya have been described as the reason that such engineering dreams are unrealistic and risky investments. Another crucial aspect is that the enormous ecosystem services performed by the Himalayan waters, that have been ignored in the engineering dreams. From this viewpoint, the governmental plans for dams are seen as wasteful of the limited financial resources of South Asia. Restoration of environmental flows in the river is demanded instead. The conflicting visions of the GBM basin is analysed in the paper in the background of the emerging paradigm shift in water management.
