Democratising thought and word
In 2008, the Crossing Boundaries project of SaciWATERs commissioned five regional inventories and four profiles of innovating education institutes with IWRM study programmes to revisit the situation in four countries: Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. This report analyses how the higher education part of South Asia’s water resources knowledge system has responded to the changing societal demands on water resources use, management and governance practices and approaches. The report seeks to answer the question- Is South Asia’s water resources higher education system responding to the new (IWRM) challenges that face the water sector and South Asian societies and communities, if so, how, and what can be done to strengthen and support that transformation?
The report – Situational Analysis of Women Water Professionals in South Asia is a result of a study undertaken by the Crossing Boundaries project to know the situation of women water professionals (WWPs)in select countries of South Asia. The book contains specialised case studies from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka on the three counts [1] to develop a broad typology of WWPs working in the region; [2] to assess the indicative trend of the numbers of WWP in these countries and [3] to understand the key constraints of WWPs across the diverse culture of South Asia and develop plan for advocacy.
This booklet is an outcome of the Crossing Boundaries (CB) project of SaciWATERs presently operational in four South Asian countries – Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. South Asian Water (SAWA) Fellowship is an important component of the CB project. The fellowship is granted to young students to take up Integrated Water Resources Development course facilitated through the CB project in four south Asian Countries. These fellowships are aimed at contributing to gender balance in water education and the water resources sector by primarily selecting female candidates. This booklet contains personal accounts of select recipients of SAWA fellowship. They tell us the stories of personal trajectory and changes that the students went through in their journey into the world of interdisciplinary water education.
Crossing Boundaries (CB) Project of SaciWATERs is a multi-activity project around the substantive theme of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and Gender in South Asia. The project is focused on capacity building through education, research, The project had a component which focused on developing ‗case studies‘ around the themes of IWRM for teaching the IWRM courses at the master‘s level. Tata Institute of Social Sciences worked on this project component with faculty members from the three partner engineering institutions, viz., Nepal Engineering College, Kathmandu, Nepal, Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, and Centre for Water Resources (CWR), Anna University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. This compendium of ten case narrations is output of the efforts under the component. These case studies can be used for teaching IWRM programme at the post graduate level.
Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) has become the international label for the ‘new approach’ to water resources management. This volume, and in fact the entire series, investigates how this global concept resonates with regional, national and local concerns in South Asia.
This is the first volume in a new series under the aegis of the South Asia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies (SaciWATERs) and explains the IWRM.
This volume begins by tracking the emergence of IWRM as a central notion in water debates. It then discusses the European experience with IWRM in the context of the European Water Framework Directive—the most comprehensive attempt so far at an IWRM-based water governance and management system. Thereafter, the book turns to South Asia. Among other things, the contributors argue that:
- in South Asia, IWRM is a concept in search of a constituency, and not a concept that has emerged from regional or local practice;
- understanding and implementing IWRM requires interdisciplinary analysis and frameworks;
- IWRM is a ‘boundary’ concept—plastic enough to adapt to local needs and the constraints of several parties employing it, yet robust enough to maintain a common identity across sites;
- there are issues and limits in transplanting the model of river basin organizations, a central thrust within the global IWRM discourse; and
- a focus on water alone may be misguided, and that IWRM should look intensely at land-water linkages.
Droughts have formed an inseparable part of South Asian history and culture, with tragic consequences for a region that houses the greatest number of the world’s poor. However, this volume challenges the popular conception of drought, which is presented as an absolute shortage-scarcity with respect to an implicit understanding of the sufficiency of water. It highlights the fact that while available water supplies may be a given quantum, droughts are differentially experienced, politically inspired and socially constituted. It emphasises that the relative water scarcity needs to be appreciated, and argues that water scarcity means different things for diverse constituencies of water users. Policy prescriptions based on definitional premises will be flawed, as a misrepresentation of drought as merely water scarcity serves a political agenda. The editors and contributors of this volume critically evaluate the concept of drought, the way it is defined, its origin/derivation, and the purposes/interests it serves.
This book is broadly divided into three major sections: the thematic section, country overviews, and case studies. Through these, it attempts to:
- Understand the concept of drought.
- Map diversity in drought situations across South Asia.
- Identify responses to drought.
- Outline viable options for more integrated approaches to drought policies and mitigation strategies.
- Initiate a process of dialogue on a more comprehensive public policy for drought management.
Comprehensive, thought-provoking, informative, and featuring new research data, this collection will provide policy makers and professionals with the opportunity to discuss and debate policies for sustainable livelihood support systems and drought management. It would also be an invaluable source of information for students and teachers working in the fields of Water and Natural Resource Management, Environmental Planning, Agricultural Economics, Rural Development, Public Policy and Public Administration.
An increasing recognition of the need to understand the complex systems in the health sector has raised the demand for an examination of water and health from a systemic perspective. Analyzing the various discourses on the subject, the volume revolves around this central question: What are the linkages between water and health in South Asia?
The interlacing of water and health exists wherever human health is adversely affected, directly or indirectly, by changes in the quality and quantity of water. These adverse effects are linked with poverty, environment and infrastructure in the overall socio-political and economic-developmental context.
The book looks at the linkage between water and health in an integrated manner, and is not based on the ‘absence of disease’ syndrome. The curative, preventive, and adaptive aspects of the public-health problem have also been delved into. Among other areas, the articles deal with water and health with reference to water supply, sanitation, water pollution, natural disasters, urbanization and industrialization.
Armed with the latest research and case studies from South Asia, the book calls for a comprehensive understanding and better integration of water and health issues in the region.
Interlacing Water and Human Health is the third volume in the Water in South Asia Series published by SAGE and South Asia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies (SaciWATERs).
This book provides an ecosystem perspective in addressing the water resource management issues in the South Asian region. It argues that aspects such as sources of water, its distribution and users; land–water interrelations; drivers of change such as laws, policies and institutions; management of issues and technologies related to water supply; institutional set-up; economic instruments such as pricing, taxes, subsidies; and economics of ecosystem services are crucial. Climate changes, melting of glaciers and polar ice caps, rising sea level and the increased frequency of extreme events, have to be factored into integrated management of water resources.
This book addresses some of these major issues related to aquatic ecosystems and focuses on three major aspects: (a) concepts related to ecosystems, ecosystem services and their linkages with water; (b) human impacts on ecosystems, particularly the aquatic ecosystems, and their assessment; and (c) the management, including policy, governance and economics.
Comprising new theories, research and case studies, the book will be useful those concerned with water resource management — professionals, students and researchers.
1. Engendering Integrated Water Management in South Asia: Policy, Practice and Institutions - Edited by Margreet Zwarteveen, Sara Ahmed and Suman Gautam, Zubaan, New Delhi
2. Water Resources Policies in South Asia: Analyzing Regional and Country Experiences Edited by Anjal Prakash, Sreoshi Singh, Chanda Gurung Goodrich & S. Janakarajan. Under Publication by Rutledge, New Delhi
3. Informing Water Policies: Case Studies from South Asia - Edited by Anjal Prakash, Chanda Gurung Goodrich and Sreoshi Singh, Under Publication by Rutledge, New Delhi
4. Water Governance in South Asia: Paradigm Shifts and Civil Society Responses- Edited by N.C Narayanan, S.Parasuraman & Rajindra Ariyabandu. Under Publication by Rutledge, New Delhi
5. Water in a globalizing world: state, markets and civil society in South Asia - Edited by Vishal Narain, Chanda Gurung Goodrich, Jayati Chourey & Anjal Prakash Under Publication by Rutledge, New Delhi