International Conflict over Water Resources in Himalayan Asia

281 Pages·2013·3.08 MB·English

by  Robert G. Wirsing, Daniel C. Stoll, Christopher Jasparro (auth.)

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CriticalStudiesoftheAsiaPacificSeries
SeriesEditor:MarkBeeson,WinthropProfessorofPoliticalScienceandInternational
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Critical Studies of the Asia Pacific showcases new research and scholarship on what
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EURASIANREGIONALISM
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FIXINGFRACTUREDNATIONS
TheChallengeofEthnicSeparatismintheAsia-Pacific
RobertG.Wirsing,DanielC.StollandChristopherJasparro
INTERNATIONALCONFLICTOVERWATERRESOURCESINHIMALAYANASIA
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International Conflict
over Water Resources
in Himalayan Asia
Robert G. Wirsing
Professor,SchoolofForeignServiceinQatar,GeorgetownUniversity,StateofQatar
Daniel C. Stoll
AssociateDeanforAcademicAffairs,SchoolofForeignServiceinQatar,Georgetown
University,StateofQatar
Christopher Jasparro
AssociateProfessor,USNavalWarCollege,RhodeIsland,USA
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©RobertG.Wirsing,DanielC.Stoll,andChristopherJasparro2013
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13
Contents
ListofIllustrations viii
PrefaceandAcknowledgments x
AbouttheAuthors xii
Part I FundamentalsofRiverRivalryinHimalayanAsia
1 WaterInsecurityinHimalayanAsia 3
Thecrisisoverfreshwaterresources 3
HimalayanAsia:Geographicscopeofthestudy 5
Theargument 8
HimalayanAsia’sfreshwatercrisis:Overview 13
Organizationofthebook 17
2 ChallengeofClimateChangeinHimalayanAsia 19
Whatdoesachangingclimateportendforregionalwater
geopolitics? 19
AssessingclimatechangeandfreshwaterinAsia 19
Glaciers:ImpactonAsianfreshwatersuppliesofdeglaciationin
theHimalayan–TibetanPlateauregion 22
Glacialrecessionandeffectsonwateravailability 27
Glaciallakeoutburstfloods 28
Glaciersandclimatechange 29
Floodsanddrought:Toomuchwaterortoolittle? 30
Sea-levelriseandsinkingdeltas 33
Whatdoesitallmean? 37
Part II SourcesofTransboundaryRiverDisputes
3 DammingtheRivers–I:TheIrrigationImperative 45
Negotiatingwatershares:Theproblemoffoodsecurity 45
India,Pakistan,andtheIndusbasin:Dividingthespoilsofwar 46
IndusWatersTreaty:Partition’sriverlegacy 47
Indusbasin:Food(in)securityandtheirrigationimperative 54
India,Bangladesh,andtheGBMbasin:Leveraginginequality 63
AbarrageontheGanges:FeudovertheFarakka 64
DammingtheTeesta:Acollisionofambitions 75
Thebilateralapproachtowatersharing 79
v
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vi Contents
4 DammingtheRivers–II:TheEnergyImperative 83
Thequestforhydroelectricpower 83
HydropowerandIndia’senergysecurity 85
India,Pakistan,andthehydropowerresourcesofKashmir 88
Kashmir:TheIndusrunsthroughit 88
DammingtheChenab–TheBaglihardispute 92
DammingtheJhelum–TheKishengangadispute 95
Hydropowerpolitics:LastritesfortheIndusWatersTreaty? 98
China,India,andthehydropowerresourcesofthe
Brahmaputrabasin 100
China,SoutheastAsia,andthehydropowerresourcesofthe
greaterMekongbasin 104
Makingwayforthehydrohegemon 108
5 DammingtheRivers–III:TheDiversion
Imperative 113
Megaschemesforrelievingwaterscarcity:Onthewaytomega
rivalry? 113
China,India,andtheBrahmaputrabasin:Diversiononthe
drawingboard 114
TappingtheTibetanfreshwatertower:Aconvergenceof
divergence? 118
BangladeshandthevanishingBrahmaputra:Inthemiddleof
megaschemes? 125
Part III AlternativestoWaterConflict
6 CooperativeRiverBasinManagement 133
Theregionalmultistatesolution:IsAsiareadyforintegrated
rivergovernance? 133
UNconventiononthelawofnon-navigationalusesof
internationalwatercourses 134
MiddleEastriversystems 138
Euphrates–Tigrisriverbasin 138
Nileriverbasin 146
Jordanriverbasin 162
Summary 170
7 WaterTechnologyInnovation 173
Isthereatechnology“fasttrack”towatersecurity? 173
Desalinationofseawater:Fromsalttoshiningsea 173
Irrigation:Water-savingtechnologiesinagriculture 183
Additionaltechnologicalfoodforthought 189
Wastewaterrecycling:Cangreywaterhelp“green”Himalayan
Asia? 189
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Contents vii
Rainwaterharvesting 193
Backtothefuture:Rediscoveringancientwatertechnologies 195
Part IV TheFutureofHimalayanAsia’sRivers
8 Conclusion:SwimmingagainsttheTide 203
Waterwarsorpacificwatersahead? 203
Perilsonthepathtowatercooperation 204
Toolsforchange 206
Theriseofresourcenationalism 208
Therevengeofgeography:Theenduringcurseofgeopolitics 210
Theurgencyofregionalcooperation 212
Notes 214
Index 260
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Illustrations
Tables
1.1 MajorRiversoftheGreaterHimalayas–TibetanPlateau
Region 7
1.2 PopulationandWaterResources:TotalRenewablePerCapita
(Actual)(m3/inhab/yr) 15
3.1 TopTenIrrigatedCountriesintheWorld(2003–2009) 54
3.2 FoodInsecurePopulationinPakistan,2009 56
3.3 TopCountriesintheWorldinTotalRenewableFreshwater
Resources(km3/year) 67
4.1 India’sPowerSector–TotalInstalledCapacity(ason31July
2010) 86
4.2 China’sPowerSector–TotalEnergyConsumptionbyType,
2008 101
4.3 WaterResourceDistributionintheMekongRiverBasin 105
4.4 WaterAvailabilityintheLowerMekongRiverBasin,2004 106
6.1 WaterUseinAgricultureinJordanBasinCountries 164
7.1 World’sTopTenUsersofSprinklerandMicroIrrigation
(inDescendingOrderofTotalSprinklerandMicroIrrigated
Area) 187
Figure
1.1 WaterStressandScarcityDefinitions 16
Maps
1.1 MajorRiversofHimalayanAsia 6
2.1 GlacialLakeGrowthinBhutan 26
3.1 IndusRiverBasin 48
3.2 GBMBasin 64
3.3 GangesRiverandtheFarakkaBarrage 65
3.4 TransboundaryRiversofBangladesh 68
3.5 India’sTeestaBarrageProject 78
4.1 Baglihar,Kishenganga,andNeelumJhelumHydroelectric
Projects 93
5.1 China’sSouth–NorthWaterDiversionProject(SNWDP) 116
viii
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ListofIllustrations ix
5.2 India’sRiverLinkingProject(RLP) 117
5.3 ProposedGrand(orMajor)WesternCanalonBrahmaputra 124
6.1 Euphrates–TigrisRiverBasin 138
6.2 NileRiverBasin 147
6.3 JordanRiverBasin 163
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