{"id":20007275,"date":"2013-12-13T15:01:46","date_gmt":"2013-12-13T09:31:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thethirdpole.net\/?p=7275"},"modified":"2021-04-29T13:55:18","modified_gmt":"2021-04-29T08:25:18","slug":"political-mistrust-holds-up-water-and-energy-cooperation-in-south-asia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/political-mistrust-holds-up-water-and-energy-cooperation-in-south-asia\/","title":{"rendered":"Political mistrust holds up water and energy cooperation in South Asia"},"content":{"rendered":"

On water and energy South Asia is the least integrated part of the world, but cooperation is key for future climate adaptation\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"
Wind energy could drive cooperation between India and Pakistan, say experts at a sustainable development conference in Islamabad (Image by danishwindindustryassociation)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

South Asian collaboration over energy and water remains hostage to political trust deficit among countries.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the\u00a0Sustainable Development Conference<\/a>\u00a0held in Islamabad this week, water and energy experts from South Asian countries observed that the region\u00a0is the least integrated bloc in the world on crucial energy and water issues. They pointed out that the region remains embroiled in inter-state and intra-state political conflicts. Lack of trust between governments has put a dampener on any political and economic collaboration efforts. It has also barred countries from understanding each other\u2019s concerns with regard to shared water resources and from working jointly to address them.<\/p>\n

The conference, organised by the\u00a0Sustainable Development Policy Institute<\/a>\u00a0(SDPI) aimed to provide a space to discuss these challenges.<\/p>\n

South Asian countries are linked by transboundary rivers, many of which are bound by treaties. India and Pakistan share the Indus, India and Bangladesh share the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers, Nepal and India share Kosi, Mahakali and several others. Pakistan and Afghanistan share nine important rivers, including the Kabul River.<\/p>\n

But existing water treaties do not encourage cooperative management of shared resources, bemoaned Gopikesh Acharya, research associate at the\u00a0Nepal Centre for Contemporary Research<\/a>, during a panel discussion. \u201cThere is urgent need to liberate common water resources from political grudges and restore and boost mutual trust between and among water sharing partners. This will help address water security problems that have become a growing threat to regional peace and security,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Nine of the ten major rivers in South Asia emerge from Tibet. But China is reluctant to enter into bilateral or regional agreements with downstream countries. \u201cWe have to factor China in when we talk about boosting transboundary collaboration in water sharing,\u201d Acharya stressed.<\/p>\n

Regional approach key to climate adaptation<\/b><\/p>\n

Regional cooperation is essential if countries are to adapt to the growing effects of climate change in the Hindu Kush Himalayas, said Prakash C. Tiwari, professor of geography at\u00a0Kumaun University<\/a>\u00a0in Nainital, Uttarakhand. All countries in the region are plagued with similar water and energy problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Hindu Kush Himalayan region constitutes the headwaters of some of the largest transboundary rivers of the planet and has the tallest water tower of the world that is source of livelihood for over 1.6 billion people,\u201d Tiwari pointed out. \u201cYet it is confronted with reduced water flows and availability that has hurt hydropower generation. The natural and anthropogenic vulnerabilities the region is confronted with and which have intensified further \u2013 because of galloping population, soaring urbanization, poor or inadequate climate-resilient infrastructure development and degrading natural resource base due to unsustainable exploitation of natural resources \u2013 call for a regional approach by South Asian countries to address them and work together to build climate resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heavily populated South Asia is fast becoming a water-stressed region, which could lead to conflict over water. \u201cThe region is likely to face 50% water deficit by 2030,\u201d Tiwari predicted. He said water resource demand in India is expected to double and exceed 1.4 trillion cubic metres by 2050 while Pakistan faces the greatest water crunch with only around 1,000 cubic metres available per head per year. A fall below the mark would make it a water scarce country, according to UN standards.<\/p>\n

Nepal and Bhutan are comparatively better off, but they need improved management to avoid water shortages in the future. Bangladesh is already subject to all kinds of downstream hydrological impacts that have\u00a0intensified because of climate change<\/a>, he elaborated.<\/p>\n

Climate change provides the best opportunity to foster regional cooperation to cope with common water woes and boost water productivity. Tiwari felt institutions like the\u00a0South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development<\/a>\u00a0should play more pro-active roles to facilitate regional collaboration in water and energy. South Asia needs to\u00a0create strong institutional arrangements, supported by clear regulations and agreements to bring the region out of the energy and water crisis, he said.<\/p>\n

Cooperative wind power<\/b><\/p>\n

Renewable energy was identified as one area for potential cooperation. Pakistan can benefit from India\u2019s experience in the wind energy sector, argued Aisha Azhar, renewable energy expert and assistant professor at the\u00a0Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute Of Engineering Sciences And Technology<\/a>\u00a0in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.<\/p>\n

With India\u2019s technical assistance, Pakistan can use its 340,000 megawatts of potential wind power to tackle the country\u2019s growing energy crisis. \u201cBut this can materialise only if political will in both countries comes into play for the sake of improving socio-economic lives of their people,\u201d Azhar cautioned.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On water and energy South Asia is the least integrated part of the world, but cooperation is key for future climate adaptation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20000214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[757,50039903],"tags":[50040720,585,50040325,50040707],"hashtags":[],"country":[20000116,20000110,20000111,20000113,20000112],"class_list":["post-20007275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-energy","category-water","tag-geopolitics","tag-renewables","tag-river-basins","tag-the-third-pole","country-bangladesh","country-china","country-india","country-nepal","country-pakistan"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPolitical mistrust holds up water and energy cooperation in South Asia | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On water and energy South Asia is the least integrated part of the world, but 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