‘Ganga basin temperatures to rise by 1-2°C by 2050’

On the state of Himalayan glaciers Interviewee:  Eddy Moors

‘Scrap 24 dams, save Ganga’

A REPORT commissioned by the Union environment and forests ministry warns the Centre against going ahead with 24 hydropower projects planned on the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi river systems in Uttarakhand. The projects would destroy 22 per cent of the state’s forestland and affect the unique Himalayan ecology along one-third of lengths of the two main tributaries of the Ganga, states the report prepared by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun.

The fish barrier

THE Mekong River, which flows through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, is already heavily dammed owing to its steep topography. Plans are to construct 11 more on the river and 41 on its tributaries in the next four years. Another 10-37 dams are planned on the tributaries between 2015 and 2030.

In deep water

Conflict over Krishna Third floor of Trikoot Bhawan in Delhi’s Bhikaji Cama Place, which houses the second Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal, will turn into a war zone by February-end. A battery of lawyers, technical staff and irrigation department officials from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh will fight hard to win the maximum allocation of the Krishna river water for their respective states.

Science and Technology - Briefs

BIOLOGY Strength in numbers

Passive neighbour

India and Bangladesh breathed a sigh of relief last month after China denied it had plans to divert waters of Brahmaputra River to its arid region. At a press conference in Beijing on October 12, the Chinese Vice-Minister of Water Resources Jiao Yong said such a project on Yarlung Zangbo River, as it is known in Tibet where its headwaters is, would affect relations with downstream countries. This statement came with an admission that the project is neither technically feasible nor environmentally sound. But Beijing has not given up on its plans for the Brahmaputra.

Prayers for a little

How much water should flow in Indian rivers? Hydrologists have been discussing minimum river flows for over four decades now. The churning has resulted in the concept of environmental flow, or e-flow. This implies strategically releasing water downstream of dams and reservoirs to protect the services a river provides.

Public good, private concerns

As water gets scarce, the lendings in the sector by international financial institutions like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are being looked into more critically. Most critics believe that with small investments, the banks have been able to dictate water policies in developing countries. These institutions have successfully infused the idea of privatising water resources in the name of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).

A pause on hydropower

The decision of the Union environment ministry to allow parts of the Ganga’s tributaries to flow freely in Uttarakhand, indicates there is finally some recognition of the environmental impacts of hydel projects, long hyped as clean energy producers.

Rivers at risk

THE world’s rivers are threatened due to mismanagement and pollution. This imperils eight of every 10 people as well as 10,000-20,000 species that call them home. This is the finding of the first global initiative that assessed water security for people and river biodiversity. Eleven scientists identified 23 stressors, such as pollution, intensive agriculture, catchment disturbance and dam building, and integrated them to prepare maps showing their impact on the health of rivers and associated habitat.