SMDS III Water The discussions of 26 September

Topics for discussion ● Ecosystems ● Water supply and infrastructure ● Hydropower ● Climate change ● Disasters ● Policy, governance

Ecosystems ● Inadequate knowledge about dying springs ● Loss of forests and grasslands affects water availability and storage ● Water conservation,including rainwater harvesting necessary ● Environmental flows in Himalayan rivers not taken into account

Water supply and infrastructure ● Inadequate water availability : quality and quantity ● Ensuring sustainable access to water for urban areas ● Ensuring sustainable supply for agriculture ● Degradation of source

Hydropower ● Decision making processes : non-transparent and non-inclusive ● Focus on demand management ● What interests push hydropower despite risks? ● Cumulative impact assessment a must ● Neutral and technically sound EIA agency ● Promote small hydro under community ownership

Climate change ● Receding glaciers ● Erratic rainfall leading to changes in agricultural patterns ● Mountain population more vulnerable ● Increasing water disputes ● Increasing hydro-meteorological disasters

Disasters ● Disasters are increasingly anthropogenic ● Lack of compensation of land lost to disasters ● Lack of early warning systems, including community owned ones ● Vulnerable and risk prone areas are not identified

Policy and governance ● State experiences with policy ● Policy process : not based on science and peoples' feedback ● Governance: Water ownership, institutions ● Policies need to take advantage of state- relevant acts and suggest reforms where necessary ● Lack of capacity development for policy awareness and implementation. ● Lack of data availability and access