Bharati / Sharma / Smakhtin The Ganges River Basin

Status and Challenges in Water, Environment and Livelihoods
Erscheinungsjahr 2016
ISBN: 978-1-317-47948-2
Verlag: CRC Press
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 362 Seiten

Reihe: Earthscan Series on Major River Basins of the World

The Ganges is one of the most complex yet fascinating river systems in the world. The basin is characterized by a high degree of heterogeneity from climatic, hydrological, geomorphological, cultural, environmental and socio-economic perspectives. More than 500 million people are directly or indirectly dependent upon the Ganges River Basin, which spans China, Nepal, India and Bangladesh. While there are many books covering one aspect of the Ganges, ranging from hydrology to cultural significance, this book is unique in presenting a comprehensive inter-disciplinary overview of the key issues and challenges facing the region.

Contributors from the three main riparian nations assess the status and trends of water resources, including the Himalayas, groundwater, pollution, floods, drought and climate change. They describe livelihood systems in the basin, and the social, economic, geopolitical and institutional constraints, including transboundary disputes, to achieving productive, sustainable and equitable water access. Management of the main water use sectors and their inter-linkages are reviewed, as well as the sustainability and trade-offs in conservation of natural systems and resource development such as for hydropower or agriculture.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Bharati, Luna

Sharma, Bharat R.

Smakhtin, Vladimir

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften Biowissenschaften, Biologie: Sachbuch, Naturführer
• Geowissenschaften Geologie Limnologie (Süßwasser)
• Geowissenschaften Geographie | Raumplanung Geographie: Sachbuch, Reise

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Foreword

Ravi Chopra

Part 1: Resources and Uses

1. Introduction

Luna Bharati, Bharat Sharma and Vladimir Smakhtin

2. Surface Water Resources

Sharad Kumar Jain, Marc A. Jeuland, Luna Bharati and Zahirul Haque Khan

3. Groundwater Resources

Dipankar Saha, Anwar Zahid, Surendra Raj Shreshtha and Paul Pavelic

4. Climate Change and the Ganges Basin

Marc A. Jeuland

5. Managing Variability: Floods and Droughts

Giriraj Amarnath, A.K.M. Saiful Islam and M. S. Shrestha

6. Agriculture and Water Use: Implications for Sustainable Intensification

Bharat Sharma, Alok K. Sikka, Ram Pratap Sah and Xueliang Cai

7. Hydropower: The Status and Challenges

Dwarika N. Dhungel, Santa Bahadur Pun, Sonali Mittra and M. Monirul Qader Mirza

8. Water-Food-Energy Nexus: Challenges and Opportunities

Christopher A. Scott, Arica Crootof, Bhuwan Thapa and Rashmi Kiran Shreshtha

9. Ganges Water Machine: One Solution to Basin Water Problems?

Upali A. Amarasinghe and Lal Mutuwatte

Part 2: Environment

10. Environmental Flows: Keeping the Basin Rivers Alive

Vladimir Smakhtin and Luna Bharati

11. Ecosystem Services and Conservation Assessment of Freshwater Biodiversity

Asghar Nawab, Ravindra Kumar Sinha, Paul M. Thompson and Subodh Sharma

12. Arsenic in the Eastern Ganges Basin: Extent and Impact on Food Chain and Human Health

Rajmohan Natarajan, Dipankar Chakraborti and Sanmugam Prathapar

13. Ganges Water Quality: Dirty Past, Promising Future

Javier Mateo-Sagasta and Vinod Tare

Part 3: Governance and Livelihoods

14. Institutions and Policies Governing Water Resources Management

M. Dinesh Kumar, Dwarika N. Dhungel, M. Monirul Qader Mirza and Diana Suhardiman

15. Poverty, Inequalities and Vulnerability of the Rural Poor

Upali A. Amarasinghe, Fraser Sugden and Floriane Clement

16. Gender, Agricultural Investment and Productivity in an Era of Out-migration

Fraser Sugden, Panchali Saikia, Niki Maskey-Amatya and Paras Pokhrel

17. Can there be Progress on Transboundary Water Cooperation in the Ganges?

Mark Giordano, Dipak Gyawali, Ainun Nishat and Uttam Kumar Sinha

18. Basin Water Challenges: An Agenda for Accelerated Reform

Tushaar Shah, Prachanda Pradhan and Golam Rasul

Über Autor(innen)

Luna Bharati is a Senior Researcher and the Head of the Nepal Program at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

Bharat R. Sharma is Scientist Emeritus (Water Resources) at IWMI, based in New Delhi, India.

Vladimir Smakhtin is Head of the Water Availability, Risk and Resilience Research Department at IWMI, Colombo, Sri Lanka.