Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
used for irrigation is contaminating soils (and rice) and is accentuating the human
health risks (Brammer and Ravenscroft 2009).
The emphasis on biofuel is another confounding factor because of the energy and
water trade-offs (Mushtaq et al. 2009). Therefore, biofuel policies must focus on
short-duration, multipurpose, and proven drought-tolerant crops (Rajagopal 2008)
that can be useful to restore degraded lands and create another income stream for
the rural poor.
8.6 POLITICS OF WATER
The great rivers of South Asia (e.g., Ganges and Brahmaputra) have contributed,
through flood and drought syndrome, to the miseries and impoverishments of the
lives of hundreds of millions. Through political consensus and goodwill among
the nations involved, however, perils can be transformed into prosperity (Crow and
Singh 2000). There is no justification for why the population of resource-rich river
systems must be perpetually subject to poverty through recurring cycles of flood
and drought. Thus, politicians must work together to harness the riches of the great
rivers, conserve soil and water, and transform a desperate and destitute situation into
food security and economic growth. It is important to understand the role of poli-
tics in sustainable management of water. Some policy issues may be addressed by
(i) learning from and using political science to implement water reforms, (ii) identify-
ing the most critical issues, and (iii) developing an action plan (World Water Council
2004). The goal is to enhance water security.
Water security involves the sustainable use and protection of water systems, the
protection against water-related hazards (floods and droughts), the sustainable devel-
opment of water resources, and the safeguarding of (access to) water functions and
services for humans and the environment (Schultz and Uhlenbrook 2007). In accor-
dance with the definition of food security, water security also exists when all people
at all times have access to sufficient, safe, and clean water to maintain a healthy and
active life.
Addressing the water scarcity, the cause of water conflict over the shared water
resources can improve relations among neighborly states. The international water
conflicts and cooperation is also influenced by domestic water events and vice versa
(Giordano et al. 2002). India has two major international watersheds: (i) the GBM
and (ii) the Indus. The GBM involves an area of 1.7 × 10
6
km
2
and covers 30% of
India's land area, involving 15 states and one union territory. The water resources
are shared with Bangladesh (which lies almost entirely within the GBM watershed),
Nepal, China, Bhutan, and Myanmar. The watershed as a whole covers 1% of the
earth's total land surface but is home to 10% of the world's population and contains the
largest concentration of the world's poor on Earth (Ahmad et al. 2001; Rangachari and
Verghese 2001; Shah 2001). Most farmers are small landholders and resource poor.
The Indus River also originates in the Tibetan Plateau but traverses through drier
climatic regions of northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. India occupies one-
third of the total area of the watershed (~1.1 × 10
6
km
2
), and Pakistan the remaining
two-third (Giordano et al. 2002). The Indus Valley was also the home to one of the
world's ancient civilizations of Harappa-Mohenjo-Daro (see Section 8.2).
