Event

The event titled “From Risk to Resilience: South Asia Regional Framework for Sustainable Water Management” was held on the 15 January 2015 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.  India Water Partnership (IWP) in collaboration with Global Water Partnership South Asia (GWP SAS), Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS) Limited, SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC) and Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN) organised the event bringing representatives and experts together from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka. The event was attended by around 250 participants, and the discussions were on the South Asia regional experience, knowledge and case studies on efficient use of water to create more resilient societies to climate change and natural disasters.

The Chief Guest was Sushri Uma Bharti, Honourable Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India. She emphasised in her inaugural speech that a wider consultative process among SAARC countries would pave the way for evolving a regional framework for action to deal with impacts of climate change on South Asia's water resources. Mr Anuj Kumar Bishnoi, I.A.S., Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India in his keynote address mentioned, stress on water resources in South Asian is due to high level of population and poverty, urbanization and rapid economic growth. He said basic sanitation and water quality are the key challenges in South Asia region which increase the pressure on water resources.

There were two Technical Sessions and a Valedictory Session. The first Technical session was on integration of Water Resources Management, Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation. Drought monitoring in India was presented and it was recommended that composite indices to be used instead of an individual index. It was emphasized that Rain Water Harvesting capacity should be increased in all South Asian countries.  It was stressed that the post disaster response and recovery depends on local knowledge and capacity of the local governments and the communities affected. Therefore, it is recommended that the knowledge and capacity building at the local level to be strengthened. The second session was on ‘Developing a Joint Framework for Learning and Action for Effective and Sustainable Water Resources Management from a DRR and CCA perspective in South Asia Region.’  The success story of ‘Community Based Flood Early Warning System’ (developed by ICIMOD and Aranyak India) in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (Brahmaputra River basin) was presented, and it is recommended that such systems are used in other river basins in South Asia and ensure that local communities have the capacity to operate the system.   It was concluded that there is no other way but to cooperate in a basin wide management level for Effective and Sustainable Water Resources Management.

Concept Note