The recent conclusion of the world’s largest sustainable development summit ~ COP 29 ~ in Baku (November 2024) marked a watershed moment in global water management. The COP 29 Declaration of Water for Climate Action recognizes that water is at the heart of climate change with the majority of climate impacts experienced in the country through floods, droughts, glacial mass loss, landslides, water contamination, sea level rise, water scarcity and changing water availability as well as other substantial changes in the water cycle at global and regional scales. COP 29 also noted with alarm that 2.2 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water and about half of the world population is currently subject to severe water scarcity. These challenges require composite efforts, dialogues and actions, at various levels.
Back home in India, in a significant move, the government has proposed a comprehensive draft model Bill (2024) to establish a State Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Authority, similar to the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC), being a regulator in the electricity sector. This initiative represents a crucial step toward streamlining water management by consolidating various existing frameworks. In the draft Bill, the provisions relate to institutional frameworks for state water resource management, water resource management plans, matters relating to groundwater protection zones, floods plane zones and river conservation plans, water tariff, enforcement of a grievance redressal mechanism, power of IWRM Authority and Government’s power to issue directions to the Authority. This consolidation will address one of the long-standing challenges in India’s water sectors, the multiplicity of regulatory authorities. At the apex of the institutional structure, a State Water Resource Management Council would provide overall guidance on water management, while a State IWRM Authority would oversee technical, planning, and regulatory aspects.
The framework water councils extend down to District, Block Municipal, and Village level, each with specific responsibilities for planning and management within their jurisdictions. The Authority is given the power to set water tariffs for the states elucidating its principles for tariff fixation etc. This approach aligns with recommendations from recent research, notably the discussion paper on “Climate Resilience in Water Resource Management in India” (TERI-MGC, 2024). The paper emphasizes that IWRM requires coordinated efforts acr – oss sectors, regions, and governance levels to build resilience against climatic shocks. However, the success of the government’s current initiative hinges on addressing several critical challenges. Effective water resource management requires robust data on both supply and demand sides, particularly considering various climate change scenarios, which is currently absent. The data management system must function as a two-way process: collecting current water demand and availability data at local levels while simultaneously incorporating forecasted basin and sub-basin data under different climate scenarios. This necessitates a comprehensive training and capacity building programme for data collection and utilization at district, municipal, and village levels.
This comprehensive data approach can enable the development of targeted solutions on multiple fronts. It could facilitate the creation of effective regional water plans that reflect both current realities and future projections. It could also support the development of water demand management strategies, including detailed water accounting and budgeting based on accurate demand and availability assessments. Armed with this information, IWRM authorities can then develop and implement viable pricing mechanisms tailored to different hydrological units. This data-driven approach would enable the design of targeted awareness campaigns for different sectors and stakeholders, ensuring that conservation efforts are aligned with the specific needs and challenges of each hydrological unit. Second, the complexity of water management extends beyond administrative boundaries.
River basins often span multiple states, requiring inter-state coordination. While State Water Councils are essential, regular meetings of the National Water Council become crucial for coordinating basin-wide planning and management. Third, global initiatives like the Baku Dialogue call for strengthening scientific evidence on climate change’s impact on water resources, India’s move towards integrated water management becomes even more relevant. The Baku Dialogue also calls for the integration of water-related mitigation and adaptation measures in national climate policies, including Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). This integration provides clear targets and direction for water management efforts. In this context, TERI (2024) recommends granting legal sanctity to the Bureau of Water Use Efficiency.
The National Water Mission’s goal of improving water use efficiency by 20 per cent could be incorporated into India’s NDC, providing a measurable target for water conservation efforts. Furthermore, the enactment of a National Climate Change Act would provide crucial legal backing for both adaptation and mitigation measures, ensuring their effective implementation and monitoring. To meet NDC goals, use of advanced technological interventions like Artificial Intelligence (AI), geospatial mapping, and decision-support systems can transform water management for India. These IoT enabled tools can help in optimizing water use, monitor groundwater levels, predict flood risks and many more critical things enabling better planning and response. Fourth, since water resources are be – coming more and more susceptible to extreme weather events, watershed management is essential for adapting to climate change.
A key element of climate adaptation methods includes effective watershed management that guarantees the long-term availability of clean water, promoting biodiversity, and increasing community resilience to climate-related difficulties. Additionally, adoption of nature-based solutions (NbS) offers sustainable alternatives to traditional infrastructure and helps in mitigating urban flooding which is a common phenomenon with erratic rainfall and concretization. India can replicate such models, adapting them to local contexts. Fifth, in economic terms, India needs to encourage investment in climate resilient infrastructure and adoption of blue-green infrastructure. It will not only enhance climate resilience but will also ensure economic development of the nation. There have been many instances where community participation has played a critical role in climate resilient water management. Thus on the social front, engaging with the community, users and managers is equally important to reap benefits of IWRM in the water sector. Besides this, effective water demand management is a must. Finally, enhancing innovative water related climate policy actions, strengthening the generation of scientific evidence on causes and impact of climate change on water resources and promoting dialogue and partnerships among countries should be adopted. These are critical for India to achieve not only its targets for SDG 6 relating to water and sanitation but many other targets of various SDGs by 2030.
The writers are, respectively, the Managing Director of Mu Gamma Consultants, Gurgaon, and a Distinguished Fellow, TERI, New Delhi who served as Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Govt. of India