From K. J. Joy, Suhas Paranjape and Shruti Vispute, Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India, Pune
Posted 12 November 2008
I work with the Society for Promoting Participative Ecosystem Management (SOPPECOM). We have been part of the Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India, which is a collaborative initiative of many institutions/organizations – both academic and civil society – and individuals. The Forum has documented conflicts and published these in the form of a book “Water Conflicts in India: A Million Revolts in the Making” (more details about the forum are available at http://conflicts.indiawaterportal.org).
One of the important emerging areas of conflict is around drinking water, impacting the lives of both rural and urban population. Though the National Water Policy, 2002 and the various state water policies accord first priority to drinking water amongst various water uses, we have a long way to go to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MGD) of providing safe and adequate drinking water.
Coupled with this, there are reports and anecdotal information about increasing conflicts around contending water uses including drinking water. Studies and reviews of watershed experiences show the increased availability of water due to watershed development is being used for irrigation, often at the expense of drinking water. On the other hand, sometimes water stored in reservoirs, primarily meant for agriculture is being diverted to cities to meet the increasing urban needs. There have been cases in which industries have been extracting groundwater at the expense of both drinking water and agriculture.
Water quality is another serious issue, especially with polluting industries. Dumping of untreated sewage into streams and water bodies and non-point sources of pollution like agro-chemicals (both fertilisers and pesticides) are also responsible for the declining water quality.
Privatisation of drinking water in the cities and the sector reform programme in rural drinking water supply are said to be the reasons behind hikes in water charges.
Thus, one can say that the conflicts around drinking water are multi-facetted and multi-layered and there is a need to understand them if we have to move towards their resolution.
Keeping the above background and context in mind, we would be grateful if members can share their experiences and insights around the issue of conflicts over drinking water. We invite members to provide experiences on:
- Actual cases of conflicts around drinking water giving details of the location of the conflict, the conflicting parties, issues at stake, present status, etc.
- The reasons for such conflicts and what could have been done to prevent them
- Cases of successful resolution of such conflicts so that they become a learning experience and also part of a wider strategy for resolution
Once the series if complete, we will be compiling them and sharing them with members to study conflict resolution in different contexts.
Please see attachment below for the responses.