Droughts and Floods

The introduction begins witha brief overview of wetlands: their nature and services offered. These wetlands are ecosystems with water that is static or flowing and characerized by emergent , floating and submerged aquatic vegetation. Some of the services provided by wetlands are fish and fiber, water supply, water purification, flood regulation, recreational opportunities and tourism. It then details the importance of wetlands for water purification.Toxins enter the wetlands through farms, factories and runoff. These toxins are broken down or otherwise buried using a variety of bacteria. 

Location map of Keoladeo National Park

Source: Culture Unplugged

The problem

(as posed by Sunjoy Joshi, Director and Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, Delhi)

Nor is the introduction of the private sector and the reduction in the role of the government going to help. Rather, the time has come to introduce changes at the basic or the fundamental level in the way in which the water sector functions.

There is an urgent need to bring about reforms in governance by moving towards decentralisation and democratisation, leading to  involvement of people from all the sections of the society, who know and understand that they are responsible for the system and its functioning, as well as by introducing principles of equity and social justice. The papers demonstrate the successful implementation of this approach by describing the experience of Tamil Nadu at democratising water management through introduction of reforms at the level of governance, through involvement of the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD).

It broadly covers five core parameters, viz., biodiversity, atmosphere, land/soil, water and human settlements suggested by the Framework for Development of Environment Statistics (FDES) published by United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) in 1984.

These ecosystems provide a bunch of direct and indirect services to humankind. This special article in Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) by Saudamini Das examines whether the mangrove forests in Kendrapada district of Orissa played any protective role during the severe cyclone that hit the state in October 1999. 

This article by Kishore C Samal in the Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) discusses how in the natural disater prone state of Orissa the authorities have not been able to draw up an effective disaster management plan and politicians continue to play politics with relief works. It argues that for dealing with these disasters and the relief and rehabilitation work that follows what is needed is the participation of the local community and functionaries of panchayati raj institutions, and coordination with national and international bodies.

It is evident that the domestic resistance to the project was variously compromised by nationalist rhetoric, imperatives of state development and absence of transnational support. The Hirakud dam project has failed on all of its objectives – flood management, hydropower production, irrigation and navigation. Its socio-economic impact has been devastating.

Guest Post: Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India

The Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India has been closely following the Mullaperiyar issue for the last several years. The polarisation of views around the Mullaperiyar has hardened over the years. The Tamil Nadu government insists that the Mullaperiyar dam is safe and that the water level must be maintained at the maximum level as per the agreement. The Kerala government insists that a new dam, downstream of the present dam, must be built because the present dam is unsafe. The recent tremors with their epicentres near the dam and the already diminishing trust and rising fears and apprehensions on both sides have created a grave situation needing immediate intervention and your initiative in getting the two parties together is a welcome move.

In this paper, Jayanta Bandopadhyay explains the need for an interdiscipliinary framework for water resource management. He states that this framework needs to include ecological, social, economic and institutional perspectives. These perspectives are essential to facilitate cooperation over the management of transboundary rivers.