Governance

DFID India manages UK’s development programme worth £280 million per year, delivered in partnership with government, international organisations, private sector and civil society. Programmes with governments of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, and the central government work on health, nutrition, education, governance, rural livelihoods, and urban sectors.

DFID India is also developing a programme that aims to enhance collaboration with India on key global and policy issues such as climate change, trade and food security and on poverty reduction in low income countries.

This report by the Strategic Foresight Group is a follow-up to its earlier report The Himalayan Challenge: Water Security in Emerging Asia, 2010 . The growing water stress, plans for dams on shared rivers, and uncertainties about the precise impact of climate change have brought water to the forefront of the political agenda of countries in the Himalayan River Basins.

The report recommends policy options for national governments as well as strategies which can be implemented by local authorities and community groups in a politically viable manner. Some of the ideas may on the surface appear to be addressing micro-level issues. However, such micro-level issues do have an important bearing on security at the macro-level in a large continent such as Asia. This is the experience of many other regions as well, as illustrated in several of the chapters in this report.

The objective of this report is to explore how river basins in the Himalayan region, and particularly shared water resources, can foster cooperation and security between Bangladesh, China, India and Nepal. The conventional view is that depleting water resources, growing problem of pollution, uncertain risks posed by climate change together may lead to competition for resources, migration, social instability, internal conflicts and diplomatic tensions between countries. This view is realistic and was discussed in detail in a previous report of Strategic Foresight Group. It has contributed to spreading the awareness of security risks associated with water crisis in the Himalayan region.

Ford Foundation is on the frontlines of social change around the world, working with visionary leaders and organizations to change social structures and institutions—so that everyone has the opportunity to achieve their full potential and have a voice in decisions that affect them.

JustFilms will deepen the Ford Foundation’s support for hallmark documentary films. Building on 75 years of support for the visual arts, JustFilms will follow three distinct avenues for finding and supporting film projects that explore important social justice issues around the world.

Some policy measures implied by various options have also been indicated. The main sectors examined in the report are power, transport, industry, buildings and forestry.

Increased concentrations of Green House Gases (GHGs) and the overall warming of the atmosphere has resulted in changing rainfall patterns, disruption in hydrological cycles, melting of ice caps and glaciers, rise in sea levels, and increase in frequency and intensity of extreme events such as heavy precipitation and cyclonic activities.

These have in turn had serious impact on sustainability of water resources, agriculture, forests and ecosystems, affecting the well being of billions of people on earth. Widespread melting of glaciers and snow cover will reduce melt water from major mountain ranges (e.g. Hindu Kush, Himalaya, Andes) where more than one billion people currently live.

It is intended primarily for programme implementers to help them understand the critical need for Community Sanitary Complexes and inform them of the guiding principles to be adopted while planning for these.

India remains one of the countries wherein concerted efforts are still required to eliminate the practice of open defecation. The lack of priority given to safe confinement and disposal of human excreta poses significant health risks manifest in the sanitation challenge facing the nation today. 

The provision of sanitation facilities through public toilet complexes is the most suitable option for those who cannot afford individual toilets for monetary reasons or due to lack of space, and opt for open defecation. Such complexes are a useful and valuable option at public places, markets, taxi stands, etc., where a large congregation of people takes place. The Community Sanitary Complex (CSC) fosters the cognitive development of healthy sanitation practices in the community.

Author: S. Vishwanath
Video courtesy: Zenrainman

When a city adds nearly 3 million people in a span of a decade ensuring water supply to its citizens seems a huge challenge. One critical thing to realize is that the mind-set of ‘providing’ water has to change and become one of ensuring that citizens can access water of requisite quality.

In Kokkarapati village (TN), dilapidated public toilets cause difficulty, disease and humiliation.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) recognises the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all human beings. There are certain basic needs that are essential for a dignified life. Water and sanitation are two of these essential human needs and a clean environment is also increasingly recognised as a fundamental human right.