Ganga River Basin Environment Management Plan

1. Saturday, November 5, 2011 BRiP – 2011, IIT Kanpur Ganga River Basin Environment Management Plan Policy Framework by SWaRA WWF-India NEERI CFRI JNU … … … PU BESU IT BHU DU ISI Kolkata

2. Premise • River Ganga is lively, holy and unique amongst all river of India, if not of the world. • River Ganga is viewed as worlds natural heritage for following reasons. • Exhibits an important interchange of human values • Bears a unique/exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living • Outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture • Directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas or with beliefs • Contains superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance • Represents significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of ecosystems • Contains the most important and significant natural habitats for in-site conservation of biological diversity • River Ganga must flow uninterruptedly from her source to destination, and sustain all natural and indigenous living forms and systems.

3. The Overarching Objective The GRB EMP is the restoration of wholesomeness of rivers in the basin while ensuring appropriate management of water, sediments and energy (both demand and supply) to accommodate the pressures of increased population, urbanization, industrialization and agriculture. • Un-polluted Flow ( ) Restoring wholesomeness of rivers means ensuring the sanctity of the fundamental aspects of the river system as imbibed in the “Panch Sutras”: • Continuous flow ( ) • Longitudinal, lateral and vertical connectivity • Adequate space for various river functions • Ecological entity

4. Four Broad Based Objectives • Environmental Flows to be maintained in all minor and major tributaries and main stem of the river Ganga. • All anthropogenic activities must ensure maintenance of river bed and river water quality to suit ecological and socio-cultural functions. • Utilize excess water (available runoff from rainfall and snowmelt over and above environmental flows) judiciously, equitably and effectively for sustainable development. • All human activities/interventions, whether existing, being implemented, and/or proposed in the Ganga Basin to be planned and modified appropriately in a transparent manner i.e. undertake any activity/intervention only after achieving broad consensus from conception through implementation and operation amongst all stakeholders.

5. Principles and Criteria • Principles – Broad guidelines and framework of values driving GRB EMP • Criteria – norms to assess the processes and outcomes of the GRB EMP exercise • Some overlap between these two; difficult to separate

6. Principles and Criteria • Process of making GRB EMP is as important as the GRB EMP • Apply modern science and new technologies but with traditional wisdom (GyanDhara + Jana Gyan) • Precautionary Principles must apply wherever knowledge gaps and uncertainties exist • Participation, not mere consultation, is a key element of the process • Multi-disciplinary inputs needed, but need to be cautious about only “Experts” and “Some Influential Stakeholders” driving the process • Process should ideally start from smaller watersheds and build up in a nested manner to the higher sub-basin level, and then to the basin level • Flexibility to cater to future needs, changing contexts • Clearly articulate choices and the trade-off involved – Environmental Flows, Irrigation, Hydro power, Domestic, Commercial and Industrial needs or in other words Environmental, Social, Cultural, Economic, and Financial criteria must be given appropriate weightages

7. Principles and Criteria • Need for institutional structure appropriate to this kind of process • Need to treat parts/portions of basin with heavy interventions (highly altered/modified) differently from basins with low intervention intensity (near pristine) • Ensuring highest efficiencies at every stage including transport and end use of water • Avoiding and eliminating pollution through all direct and visible anthropogenic activities (zero tolerance or zero discharge concept); How much is taken out is not the only concern, how much and in what condition is returned is also important

8. Principles and Criteria • Consider surface and ground water together • Existing uses to be protected but care taken that existing inequities are not perpetuated • Creating broad public acceptance of the plan (state assemblies and parliament debate and approve) • Principle of Prior Informed Consent to be applied, especially for larger interventions, and where tribal and other vulnerable communities are involved • Creation of structures to monitor and regulate the implementation (nested governance; central and state government to serve as mentor and local communities assigned roles, responsibilities and rights on water considering compromises/needs of downstream/upstream communities

9. Model of a River Basin

10. Subtle Quality of Ganga Water: Accept until proven otherwise rather than not accepting until established scientifically The qualities of the Ganga water are: Coolness, sweetness, transparency, high tonic property, wholesomeness, potability, ability to remove evils, ability to resuscitate from swoon caused by dehydration, digestive property and ability to retain wisdom

11. Thank You !