Abstract
South Asia’s climate vulnerabilities have direct and indirect implications for water security. While the effects of climate change on water access, safety, and affordability in the region are becoming increasingly adverse, the transboundary nature of both climate change and water security, especially on account of shared water resources, complicates responses. The shared river basins, such as the Indus, Ganges, Meghna, and Brahmaputra, have been marred by geopolitical tensions, which renders transboundary climate cooperation to deal with water-related problems difficult. Although the region has seen different forms of cooperation in the form of river water sharing treaties/arrangements as well as regional organizations’ role in advancing cooperation, these efforts rarely take cognizance of the effects of climate change on water security. In this context, the chapter provides an analysis of the challenges posed by climate change to water security and geopolitics of transboundary conflicts and cooperation in South Asia, as well as explores opportunities for cooperation among the countries of the region.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
More information about ICIMOD’s “River Basins and Cryosphere (RBC) Regional Programme” is available at: https://www.icimod.org/initiative/about-river-basins-and-cryosphere (retrieved on January 17, 2022).
References
Anwar R (2020, November 4) The impact of climate change on Pakistan’s food security. Centre for Strategic and Contemporary Research. https://cscr.pk/explore/themes/energy-environment/the-impact-of-climate-change-on-pakistans-food-security/
Aryal JP, Sapkota TB, Khurana R, Khatri-Chhetri A, Rahut DB, Jat ML (2019) Climate change and agriculture in South Asia: adaptation options in smallholder production systems. Environ Dev Sustain 22(6):5045–5075. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-019-00414-4
Bagale DR (2020) Nepal–India water cooperation: consequences of mutuality or hegemony? Water Policy 22(6):1098–1108. https://doi.org/10.2166/WP.2020.135
Bagale DR, Adhikari KD (2020) Mahakali treaty: delay in implementation and resulting impacts from Nepal’s perspective. Water Policy 22(4):658–669. https://doi.org/10.2166/WP.2020.141
Bhattacharya B (2019, March 29) Water expert Aditi Mukherji: India’s drying Himalayan springs is a severe crisis. Live Mint. https://lifestyle.livemint.com/news/talking-point/water-expert-aditi-mukherji-india-s-drying-himalayan-springs-is-a-severe-crisis-111641632484109.html
Bhattacharjee K (2020, August 22) What does Chinese interest in the Teesta mean for India? The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/the-hindu-explains-what-does-chinese-interest-in-the-teesta-mean-for-india/article32420205.ece
Das K, Bandyopadhyay RK (2015) Climate change adaptation in the framework of regional cooperation in South Asia. Law Review 9(1):40–54. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43859672
Dutta V (2021) Water conflicts and resistance: issues and challenges in South Asia. Routledge India
Gambhir M (2021, May 31) Teesta dispute and India-Bangladesh relations. Centre for Land Warfare Studies. https://www.claws.in/teesta-dispute-and-india-bangladesh-relations/
Gautam Y (2017) Seasonal migration and livelihood resilience in the face of climate change in Nepal. Mt Res Dev 37(4):436. https://doi.org/10.1659/mrd-journal-d-17-00035.1
Grigg NS (2016) Water security, disasters, and risk assessment. Integrated Water Resource Management, pp 375–393. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57615-6_20
Islam MS, Kieu E (2020) Tackling regional climate change impacts and food security issues: a critical analysis across ASEAN, PIF, and SAARC. Sustainability 12(3):883. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12030883
Jayaram D (2019, November 12) Climate-Fragility Risk Brief: South Asia. Adelphi. https://climate-security-expert-network.org/sites/climate-security-expert-network.com/files/documents/csen_climate_fragility_risk_brief_-_south_asia_0.pdf
Jayaram D (2020a) India–Pakistan river water sharing: prospects for environmental peacebuilding. In: Bandyopadhyay S, Magsi H, Sen S, Ponce Dentinho T (eds) Water Management in South Asia. Springer, Cham, pp 175–202. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35237-0_11
Jayaram D (2020b, April 1) How to strengthen climate services and climate diplomacy in South Asia. Climate Diplomacy. https://climate-diplomacy.org/magazine/cooperation/how-strengthen-climate-services-and-climate-diplomacy-south-asia
Karim T (2020) BIMSTEC and its future: connecting south and southeast Asia. National Security 3(1):12–17. https://www.vifindia.org/sites/default/files/national-security-vol-3-issue-1-essay-TKarim.pdf
Krishnan A (2021, March 8) China gives the green light for the first downstream dams on the Brahmaputra. The Hindu. https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/china-gives-green-light-for-first-downstream-dams-on-brahmaputra/article34014912.ece
Lacombe G, Chinnasamy P, Nicol A (2019) Climate risks and solutions: adaptation frameworks for water resources planning, development and management in south Asia: review of climate change science, knowledge and impacts on water resources in south Asia. International Water Management Institute. https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/sawi-paper-2.pdf
Lutz AF, Immerzeel WW, Kraaijenbrink PDA, Shrestha AB, Bierkens MFP (2016) Climate change impacts on the upper Indus hydrology: sources, shifts and extremes. PLoS One 11(11):e0165630. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0165630
Macchi M, Kollmair M., Sharma E, Dekens J (2009) Strategic framework on climate change adaptation. International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development. http://www.icimod.org/resources/575
Mills L, Janeiro J, Martins F (2021) Effects of sea level rise on salinity and tidal flooding patterns in the Guadiana Estuary. J Water Clim Change 12(7):2933–2947. https://doi.org/10.2166/wcc.2021.202
Mishra BK, Kumar P, Saraswat C, Chakraborty S, Gautam A (2021) Water security in a changing environment: concept, challenges and solutions. Water 13:490. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13040490
Pillai AV (2021, November 18) Reviving South Asian cooperation, climate first. The Third Pole. https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/regional-cooperation/climate-south-asian-cooperation-saarc/
Qamar MU, Azmat M, Claps P (2019) Pitfalls in transboundary Indus Water Treaty: a perspective to prevent unattended threats to the global security. Npj Clean Water 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-019-0046-x
Rahman KS, Islam Z, Navera UK, Ludwig F (2019) A critical review of the Ganges water sharing arrangement. Water Policy 21(2):259–276. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2019.164
Roy S (2010, December 1). Climate change and water sharing in South Asia: conflict or cooperation? The Asia Foundation. https://asiafoundation.org/2010/12/01/climate-change-and-water-sharing-in-south-asia-conflict-or-cooperation/
Roy A (2017, October 18) BIMSTEC and climate change: setting a common agenda. Observer Research Foundation. https://www.orfonline.org/research/bimstec-climate-change-setting-common-agenda/
Saeed F, Fuentes-Hutfilter U (2021, January 27) Renewed hope for tackling climate change – could it boost south asia cooperation? Climate Analytics. https://climateanalytics.org/blog/2021/renewed-hope-for-tackling-climate-change-could-it-boost-south-asia-cooperation/
Schoeters K (2002) Regional cooperation in South-Asia on climate change: issues and concerns. Dev Altern 12(10) https://www.devalt.org/newsletter/oct02/of_4.htm
Sen B, Dhimal M, Latheef AT, Ghosh U (2017) Climate change: health effects and response in South Asia. BMJ:j5117. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j5117
Shree R (2020) Mapping the water disputes in India: nature, issues and emerging trends. In: Ranjan A (ed) Water issues in himalayan South Asia, pp 103–123. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9614-5_5
Tripathi NK (2011) Scarcity dilemma as security dilemma: geopolitics of water governance in South Asia. Econ Polit Wkly 46(7):67–72. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27918149
Yashwant S (2020, June 26) Assam farmers allege that Bhutan is blocking the flow of the Kalanadi River to its paddy fields. Scroll. https://scroll.in/article/965781/did-bhutan-really-obstruct-flow-of-water-to-assam-or-was-it-just-a-misunderstanding
Acknowledgements
The first author would like to thank Aishwarya R. J., Postgraduate Student in the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Karnataka, India, for providing support in copy-editing this chapter.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jayaram, D., Sethi, G. (2022). Geopolitics of Climate Change and Water Security in South Asia: Conflict and Cooperation. In: Khare, N. (eds) Science, Policies and Conflicts of Climate Change. Springer Climate. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16254-1_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16254-1_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-16253-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-16254-1
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)