Many in the water sector in Sri Lanka believe that reforestation is going to increase the water availability in a river basin and as such it is better to convert barren lands to forests. The recent video conference held at the Distance Learning Centre Ltd, on Water Economics and Governance revealed that this belief needs to be revisited, according to a statement issued by Nishantha Kamaladasa, CEO, Distance Learning Centre Ltd. He said the conference brought experts from Australian National University to the virtual class room at the Distance Learning Centre. They were Professor Quentin Grafton, Director of the Center for Water Economics, Environment and Policy, Dr. Daniel Connell, Researcher and author of the book on Water Politics in the Murray-Darling Basin and Dr. Jamie Pittock, Director of International Programs for UNESCO chair in Water Economics and Transboundary Governance.
In the subsequent local discussion after the video conferences there was agreement that Sri Lanka needs to undertake further research to support the water resource managers to take better and informed decisions. "The climate is changing and there is a necessity to mitigate global warming and every step need to be taken towards it. On the other hand some of the measures we adopt to reduce global warming, such as increasing tree cover, may reduce the water availability in a particular locality. Therefore we need to look at the environment as a whole than trying to manage its parts separately. As our development initiatives create a chain of reactions, there was also agreement that the whole chain has to be studied to decide the feasibility of a particular initiative," Mr Kamaladasa added.
This was a result of the exposure by Dr. Pittock, who noted that in Australia, subsequent to the adoption of rain water harvesting in a particular region there had been an increase in energy use. The research, he said, has revealed that a main supply would have consumed very much less energy than the individual households using inefficient pumps to distribute rain water. When the hydro power is used to generate the same energy, it amounts to waste of water in the name of preserving water which is also absurd.
The statement said the current Sri Lankan water resource development agenda is controlled by the riparian (interface between land and any other water body) rights. Any new developer has to first ensure that traditional users get the traditional supply of water before embarking on a new development initiative. Provided such is done, any developer is free to develop any river basin. "Hence earlier you enter into a basin and start developing it (without affecting the traditional users) you get an advantage, a right to claim for whatever you have started using. Even when the economics or any other factor suggests reallocation, it is not normally possible and when it is done it is only through negotiations with political hierarchy having the final say," Mr Kamaladasa said. Hence the private sector has to piggyback on politicians to enter into the picture if they seek reallocation. It eventually creates a "black market".
One of the key points discussed was how this situation could be changed so that market forces can reallocate water from inefficient sectors to more efficient sectors. It was also agreed that water needs to be considered as a right of all humans and that it cannot be left alone to the market forces to control. It was specially emphasized that the marginal groups like indigenous communities, including women's concerns should be addressed in any governing mechanism that allows reallocation to take place, the statement added. As culture plays a crucial role in forming appropriate institutions, it was agreed that though global knowledge would be useful, local solutions need to be derived using global knowledge than copying the same.
To facilitate all this there is a need to establish a platform where the stakeholders can share their concerns, knowledge, future plans, etc with others. This forum should be strengthened with global knowledge, through research inputs and other knowledge sharing mechanisms, with a larger number of countries sharing their experiences, Mr Kamaladasa said. It was also presumed that out of the debates, an appropriate governing structure could also emerge and appropriate judicial mechanisms could also be formed. There was also a strong view that a Water Resources Act, which is a pressing need, to address all these could also be formulated through such an initiative, the statement said.
As droughts approach slowly, there is time to react but the same flexibility is not available for responding to floods. As such dam safety should be a critical area of focus of future water resources managers than water management, with climate change creating unpredictable extreme weather conditions. The necessity of collecting data, invest on research and making such data and research outcomes available to all players were stressed. It was also agreed that in such an exercise not only quantitative but also the qualitative picture of the water resources has to be depicted and dealt with. |
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