Highlight the important treaties existing between India and its neighbouring countries for fair and equitable usage of the transboundary rivers. What are the major issues in cross border flood management?
Highlight the important treaties existing between India and its neighbouring countries for fair and equitable usage of the transboundary rivers. What are the major issues in cross border flood management?
Important Water Treaties:
- Indus Water Treaty, 1960 (India and Pakistan)
- Mahakali treaty, 1996 & Kosi agreement, 1954 (India and Nepal)
- Ganges Water Treaty, 1996 (India and Bangladesh)
- Agreement on sharing Hydrological data (India and China)
Major issues in cross border flood management:
- Asymmetric control between upper and lower riparian states: For instance China is using its leverage over water flows as a stick to win concessions from downstream South-east Asian states on other issues, including its Belt and Road Initiative.
- Limited Sharing of Hydrological Data: For instance, China stopped sharing hydrological data on the Brahmaputra with India during the 73-day Doklam standoff in 2017.
- Absence of a binding international or regional agreement: Absence of such a treaty indirectly forces states to seek bilateral arrangement which has limited effectiveness and is rarely enforceable at international level.
- Problem of Water Nationalism: At times, the problem of cross-border cooperation assumes a political character, especially in the case of Pakistan and China.
- Issues with the prevalent treaties:
i) They are not futuristic in nature E.g., the Kosi treaty did not make enough provisions for the maintenance of embankments and the rivers changing their course.
ii) Poor implementation of the treaties: For instance, the Mahakali Treaty is in force, but there have been ups and downs in its implementation.
iii) Absence of multilateral treaties: All major treaties are bilateral in nature despite the riparian ecosystems being connected. For example, the India-Bangladesh cooperation is contingent upon usage by Nepal as an upper riparian state in the river ecosystem.
Conclusion:
The regional organisations such as SAARC, BIMSTEC, SCO could play a vital role in ensuring water justice among the south asian countries.
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