India-EU Water Partnership Workshop on Water allocation, water economics and eflows in River Basin Management

New Delhi, 14 – 15 September 2016

Conclusions

The following conclusions were presented during the final session of the workshop; they are structured by the three sessions following the workshop programme

Session 1 – Water Allocation:

  1. A robust allocation regime, which allocates water where it is most needed in normal times and in times of scarcity, is an essential driver for sustainable development, at state and basin level. It mitigates water-related risks at least cost for the communities and the economy. It can drive private investments in water-saving technologies and practices;
  2. Some of the core requirements of a robust allocation regime are currently missing in the Ganga River Basin and in the National Ganga River Basin Management Plan as a coordinated action between States. It is critical to mitigatethese deficiencies to reap the benefit of the water resources available. States play a leading role in these policies and their reform. Interstate coordination on water allocation can contribute greatly to efficient management of the river across the basin;
  3. Policy decision for reform is a pre-condition for further work. Such decision shall build on a range of stakeholders, at national, state and local levels, including, governments, farmers and water user associations, corporates, financiers, and civil society organisations;
  4. Changes and adaptations in water allocation regimes requireoften consistent efforts and adjustments, which can lastover more than a decade to be fully effective. Water-related crises (droughts, scarcity, floods, social unrest) can help ignite policy changes. However, solution finding should start long before crises take place, when rooms of manoeuvre are available;
  5. Water user rights and entitlements need clear rules and mechanisms that also need control: e.g. clear regulations on who has a right to use water, what for, quantities to be abstracted, return flows and duration;
  6. As regards the potential to use water, theoretical figures and approachesneed to be updated into real data as a basis forrobust allocation regimes. This is particularly the case for irrigation potentials.For allocation of water on sustainable yield basis to agriculture, performance of irrigation systems need to be analysed differently. The existing definitions of irrigation potential created and utilised needs to be revisited as they are often based on certain assumptions regarding cropping pattern, irrigation depth etc. and hardly take into account the hydrological variability and existing changes in Indian agriculture;
  7. A stronger use of Water User Associations in India can enhance water allocation, and minimise data requirements. This would require training their capacitiesand improving effectiveness. Sharing lessons and replicability in states and across India should be assured, in particular among riparian states;

Session 2 – Water Economics

  1. Water allocation and water abstraction and pollution charges can effectively contribute to the economic, social and environmental agenda in the Ganga river basin and beyond;
  2. Given the existing subsidy policies in India, different water pricing policies may be followed for surface and groundwater irrigation. While volumetric pricing is a way forward for surface water, for groundwater energy shall to be priced at pro-rata basis;
  3. States in the Ganga River Basin vary as regards their experience with water allocation and abstraction, pollution charges and related regulations.States in the basin would gain from sharing experience on water allocation and water abstraction and pollution charges, to converge towards mutually compatible instruments. The conversation could be organised at sub-basin or bi-/multilateral levels as well, to reflect local priorities. National authorities could take part in the process;
  4. The discussion could be supported by i) a review of allocation regimes and abstraction and pollution charges across states in the basin; ii) an assessment of pilots currently on-going on economic instruments for water management (e.g. local water markets, water quality trading); iii) an inventory of actions taken to raise awareness about the value of water for different users;
  5. Social and technological innovations are needed to make change happen. Water allocation regimes and abstraction and pollution charges can be designed so as to stimulate the development and deployment of innovative practices and technologies;

Session 3 – Ecological Flows

  1. Environmental flows (eflows) indicate how much water discharge/residual water needs to stay in the rivers, lakes or aquifers to sustain the ecosystem services on which our societies depend, and to achieve environmental policy objectives;
  2. A stepwise approach to eflows is recommended, building on the experiences of other countries in the world, in particular Mexico. Eflows should be embedded in wider assessments, e.g. on water allocation, as the environment is one of the users to be factored in robust water allocation regimes;
  3. In addition, it is also, important to undertake a proper trade-off analysis of water diversions from the river basin to determine the requirements for e-flows;
  4. In this area, there are benefits in converging towards compatible methods to determine eflows at state and basin levels across the country. Setting up a formal working group, including the Government of India, state authorities and stakeholders could contribute to this endeavour. Such a process could build on WWF’s previous experiences for similar processes across the world;
  5. Building capacity on eflows is needed, with different focus in the states (e.g. hydropower, irrigation, groundwater; coastal ecosystems);