Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
its obligation to share data on all the projects undertaken on western rivers.
Nonetheless, Pakistan denies that India shares such data. Both countries
engage in endless debates about the equity of water allocation, both inside
the commission meetings and in public forums. While India tries to use
permissive provisions, Pakistan applies restrictive ones. This upper and
lower riparian saga is going on and on.
Six rivers that belong to the Indus System originate in the Hindu Kush-
Himalaya-Tibetan region and are fed by snow and glacier melt waters,
which account for about 44.8% of the total river fl ow (Table 13.1). The
proportion of glacial melt in the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab is predicted to
increase, as glaciers in Karakorum-Himalaya and Tibetan plateau recede.
Broadly, the major controls on the climate are latitude, altitude, and position
relative to the Indian monsoon and the westerly.
Traditionally, trans-boundary water confl icts center on infrastructure
built by upper riparian country/countries to alter hydrological fl ows,
affecting the quantity and timing of fl ows, especially during low fl ow
periods. Currently, India and Pakistan are gridlocked over the interpretation
of various provisions under the IWT. Pakistan is currently objecting to
India's energy project on the Kishenganga, a lower tributary of the Jhelum
in Indian Kashmir, and declared this issue to be a 'dispute' to be taken
to the court of arbitration. Nevertheless, Pakistan has not recognized the
emerging realities of climate change's role in rapidly shrinking glaciers in the
Tibetan Plateau, Indian Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan region. Tipping mass
of all glaciers and variability in precipitation are driving huge fl ows in the
Indus tributaries. Therefore, effectively addressing water issues linked to
emerging concerns relating to climate change through confi dence-building
measures (Track II) in South Asia will address the root causes of the present
tensions. The climate change platform provides an opportunity to India and
Pakistan to measure, monitor and model glacier systems across the Line of
Control (LOC) and ensure trans-boundary water security.
Science-policy gap
Water as an instrument and tool of bargain and trade-off will assume
predominance because the political stakes are high in South Asia. Water
issues between India and China and India and Pakistan have the potential
to become catalysts of confl icts. The opportunity in the least integrated
region of the world is to build 'Knowledge Action Networks' to Foster
Cross Border Cooperation on Trans Boundary Rivers. It is imperative for
stakeholders like policy makers, scientists, and members of civil society in
South Asia to better understand, assess and cooperate on the links between
global and regional climate change processes impacting water resources,
ecosystem stability, and as a fall-out of the growing ecological footprint of
Search WWH ::
Custom Search