The future of over one billion people and globally significant ecosystems hinges on collaborative efforts to address the challenges posed by climate change and water management in three critical river basins: the Indus, the Ganga, and the Brahmaputra. Recent studies conducted by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the Australian Water Partnership (AWP) underline the urgent need for cooperation among stakeholders across the eight nations that share these vital water resources.
Published in March 2024, these studies highlight the indispensable role played by the Indus, Ganga, and Brahmaputra rivers in providing food and water security to vulnerable communities while supporting industrial and economic activities in the region. However, climate change exacerbates existing pressures on water resources, leading to increased risks of floods, land erosion, and salinity. To mitigate these risks and address the humanitarian, ecological, and economic challenges, researchers emphasize the necessity for collaboration among scientists, civil society, communities, and officials across the basin countries.
IRBM takes a “basin-wide” approach to river planning – underpinned by increasing the availability and sharing of high-quality and reliable data around water availability, needs, biodiversity, pollution, and other indicators of ecological health, and disaster and other risks and by the opening up discussions on water to wider stakeholder groups, especially local and Indigenous knowledge holders, and vulnerable communities especially women, disabled people and lower caste groups.
The IRBM framework encourages riparian countries to focus on shared challenges and opportunities, paving the way for future collaboration.
“A water-secure future for all is still within reach, but we need to think beyond borders, and think of win-win approaches to water management. The humanitarian, economic and environmental cost of our failing to embrace these new approaches now hugely outweighs the risks: and this is one arena in which science can galvanise action,” says Arun Shrestha, Strategic Group Lead, Climate and Environmental Risks, ICIMOD.
The key aspects of the three reports include: (a) A detailed analysis of the Indus River Basin, its socio-economic trends, environmental characteristics, and climate change impacts, and (b) An examination of the state of basin governance, including relevant treaties, policies, and agreements.
Report I on the Yarlung-Tsangpo-Siang-Brahmaputra-Jamuna River Basin
It provides a comprehensive overview of the Brahmaputra River Basin, highlighting its significance as a crucial water resource for over 114 million people. It identifies challenges and opportunities for enhanced basin-scale management, emphasizing the potential for expanding bilateral cooperation, multilateral trade and investment fora, and mutual gains in areas of common interest.
The report offers high-level recommendations based on the available literature and global good practices for strengthening basin-wide cooperation, while emphasizing the importance of engaging all relevant stakeholders to ensure effective and inclusive basin-wide cooperation.
The report also focuses on gender and social inclusion (GESI) and engagement with all relevant stakeholders, including people with disabilities, indigenous people, and other marginalized populations in knowledge generation, dialogues, planning, and cooperation at the local and basin scales.
Report II on the Ganges River Basin
It provides a comprehensive overview of the Ganges River Basin, emphasising its significance as a crucial water source for over 600 million people. The report highlights the challenges posed by climate change, the state of basin governance, and the need for a multilateral or regional framework for enhanced basin-scale management.
It offers high-level recommendations for promoting multilateral cooperation, improving data collection and sharing, and catalysing cooperation through common goals. The report also addresses the environmental characteristics, climate change impacts, and the state of basin governance, including relevant treaties, policies, and agreements.
The report also focuses on gender and social inclusion (GESI) and engagement with all relevant stakeholders, including people with disabilities, indigenous people, and other marginalised populations in knowledge generation, dialogues, planning, and cooperation at the local and basin scales.
Report III on the Indus River Basin
The report provides a comprehensive overview of the Indus River Basin, emphasising its significance as a crucial water source for over 268 million people. The report highlights the challenges posed by climate change, stressing the expected increase in water demand and the need for a multilateral or regional framework for enhanced basin-scale management.
The report offers high-level recommendations for climate resilience, food and water security, regional water governance, and the adoption of common approaches and tools. Furthermore, it underscores the need for a people-centered approach, and the documentation of existing knowledge and success stories of marginalised groups.
The report also focuses on gender and social inclusion (GESI) and engagement with all relevant stakeholders, including people with disabilities, indigenous people, and other marginalized populations in knowledge generation, dialogues, planning, and cooperation at the local and basin scales.
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)
( indiawaterportal.org)
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