Free Flow

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ransboundary

ater

anagement

while helping to maintain a steady supply of water for downstream

users who are often across borders, especially in the HKH region.

In conclusion, the HKH region holds vast reservoirs of water and

the origins of 10 major river systems. Climate change, directly through

impacts on temperature and precipitation regimes and indirectly

through changes in the cryosphere, is likely to have a serious impact on

the region’s water supply and pose a significant threat to environmental

sustainability and economic development. Regional water cooperation

offers an important mechanism to support natural resource manage-

ment. The ideal of a transboundary river basin organization may not be

envisaged in the immediate future because of the geopolitical realities

and the inherent complexity of coordinating the activities of the various

actors involved in shared water systems. However, important steps can

still be made based on recent global and regional processes and conven-

tions. Development of the regional knowledge base on climate change

impact, green hydropower development, flood risk reduction, early

warning and sharing of information and knowledge provide promising

entry points for fostering water cooperation in the region. Knowledge

hubs such as ICIMOD offer avenues for bringing together commercial,

academic, government and civil society organizations to generate tech-

nically superior schemes, help secure financial resources and facilitate

broader water cooperation.

ICIMOD: fostering regional cooperation on water

The HKH Hydrological Cycle Observation System (HKH-HYCOS)

initiative aims to strengthen hydrometeorological monitoring

capacity and is establishing a regional flood information system

based on state-of-the-art communication and information

dissemination technology to save lives and property in the

region. By early 2013 the project had upgraded 24 real-

time observation networks in four countries (Bangladesh,

Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan) and established an efficient

data transmission and acquisition system to enable accurate

forecasting and effective early warning in the region.

The Koshi Basin Programme, an example of ICIMOD’s

transboundary river basin approach, promotes cooperation

among China, India and Nepal to maximize benefits such as

irrigation and hydropower while minimizing adverse events such

as floods and landslides. The programme fosters interaction

and reconciliation of the interests of the various actors at the

basin scale. Its approach to river basin management integrates

scientific, economic, social and ecological knowledge to support

policy and decision-making to promote the sustainable use of

transboundary water resources and develop ‘win-win’ solutions

that can be supported by all three countries. Particular focus is

given to issues of gender and inequality and their linkages to

drivers of change and river basin management, as well as to the

potential of employing incentive-based mechanisms to improve

water use efficiency and productivity.

Susceptibility of 10 river basins of the HKH region to water scarcity and potential adaptation strategies

Potential causes for future scarcity

DG = dependence on glacier melt

GD = groundwater depletion

RP = reservoir potential

FP = future precipitation

ED = projected economic development in terms

of GDP and population growth

Yangtze (YA)

Indus (IN)

Yellow (YE)

Syr Darya (SD)

Ganges (GA)

Amu Darya (AD)

Mekong (ME)

Brahmaputra (BR)

Irrawaddy (IR)

Salween (SA)

Population (million)

< 14

15 - 23

24 - 25

26 - 41

42 - 51

52 - 70

71 - 162

163 - 203

204 - 432

433 - 601

500 1,000 1,500

250

Kilometres

Radar charts show qualitative ranking between low susceptibility and/or large coping capacity (1) and high susceptibility and/or small coping capacity (5).