Transboundary Water Management in South Asia

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00:01 The major Himalayan river systems in South Asia,

00:04 the Indus,

00:05 Ganges,

00:06 and Brahmaputra basins,

00:08 and the Sundarbans landscape,

00:11 they span 7 countries,

00:13 provide critical ecosystem services,

00:16 and

00:17 are essential to the lives and livelihoods

00:19 of over a billion people.

00:22 Their transboundary nature,

00:24 along with growing water demands and climate change,

00:27 have created several challenges for water resources

00:30 management and resilience in the region.

00:33 For over a decade now,

00:34 the South Asia Water Initiative or SAW has contributed

00:38 to increasing regional cooperation in the management of these river systems

00:43 by building trust and confidence,

00:45 generating and sharing knowledge,

00:47 strengthening capacity,

00:49 and

00:50 informing larger investments.

00:54 SAI facilitated informal and neutral dialogues that

00:57 progressed from technical to policy level.

01:00 These dialogues have built trust among riparian countries,

01:04 increased momentum for collaborative water resource management,

01:07 and led to collective calls for action.

01:10 Sawi generated new knowledge products,

01:13 analytical tools,

01:14 and supported regional platforms and networks

01:17 to convene government and non-government stakeholders.

01:20 These have filled critical knowledge gaps

01:23 and informed policy debates and actions.

01:26 For example,

01:27 Sawi's flood forecasting work in the Ganges Basin

01:30 was used by the government of Bihar in India

01:33 to implement early warning systems.

01:36 Savi's technical work informed national hydropower

01:40 and dam safety guidelines

01:42 in Bhutan.

01:44 Sawi trained water professionals

01:46 and built capacity of water management organizations

01:50 in areas like flood and drought management,

01:54 integrated river basin planning,

01:56 and effective water diplomacy with riparian neighbors.

02:00 Sawi's work has informed $8 billion US dollars of World Bank investments

02:06 and operations across the region.

02:08 Contributing to greater impact,

02:11 increased sustainability and productivity of water resources,

02:15 and climate change resilience.

02:18 South Asia

02:19 remains the most vulnerable to climate change

02:22 and its transboundary impacts like floods,

02:25 droughts,

02:27 and cyclones.

02:29 Savi supported governments to reduce disaster risks and build

02:32 climate resilience with improved data management and sharing.

02:37 Sawi's work also addressed multi-dimensional aspects of water.

02:41 It helped national governments improve sustainability

02:45 of their large hydropower projects.

02:48 It strengthened knowledge and learning on groundwater management

02:52 and focused on water as a connector through inland water transport.

02:57 Savi supported work on strengthening water quality

03:00 and on managing plastic pollution.

03:02 It helped utilize nature-based solutions

03:05 to absorb climate change shocks

03:08 and promoted innovative solutions like floating solar panels.

03:12 It raised awareness of the importance of gender

03:15 and social inclusion in water resource management,

03:19 and built strong networks of development,

03:21 government

03:22 and country partners.

03:24 Overall,

03:25 Savi's holistic approach spotlighted water's

03:28 integral role in climate resilience,

03:30 in food and energy security,

03:33 and as an integrator and connector in the region.

03:36 Sai has sowed seeds for increased regional cooperation on water resources,

03:42 for now

03:43 and for the future generations in South Asia.

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The major Himalayan river systems in South Asia, the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra basins, and the Sundarbans landscape, they span 7 countries, provide critical ecosystem services, and are essential to the lives and livelihoods of over a billion people. Their transboundary nature, along with growing water demands and climate change, have created several challenges for water resources management and resilience in the region. For over a decade now, the South Asia Water Initiative or SAW has contributed to increasing regional cooperation in the management of these river systems by building trust and confidence, generating and sharing knowledge, strengthening capacity, and informing larger investments. SAI facilitated informal and neutral dialogues that progressed from technical to policy level. These dialogues have built trust among riparian countries, increased momentum for collaborative water resource management, and led to collective calls for action. Sawi generated new knowledge products, analytical tools, and supported regional platforms and networks to convene government and non-government stakeholders. These have filled critical knowledge gaps and informed policy debates and actions. For example, Sawi's flood forecasting work in the Ganges Basin was used by the government of Bihar in India to implement early warning systems. Savi's technical work informed national hydropower and dam safety guidelines in Bhutan. Sawi trained water professionals and built capacity of water management organizations in areas like flood and drought management, integrated river basin planning, and effective water diplomacy with riparian neighbors. Sawi's work has informed $8 billion US dollars of World Bank investments and operations across the region. Contributing to greater impact, increased sustainability and productivity of water resources, and climate change resilience. South Asia remains the most vulnerable to climate change and its transboundary impacts like floods, droughts, and cyclones. Savi supported governments to reduce disaster risks and build climate resilience with improved data management and sharing. Sawi's work also addressed multi-dimensional aspects of water. It helped national governments improve sustainability of their large hydropower projects. It strengthened knowledge and learning on groundwater management and focused on water as a connector through inland water transport. Savi supported work on strengthening water quality and on managing plastic pollution. It helped utilize nature-based solutions to absorb climate change shocks and promoted innovative solutions like floating solar panels. It raised awareness of the importance of gender and social inclusion in water resource management, and built strong networks of development, government and country partners. Overall, Savi's holistic approach spotlighted water's integral role in climate resilience, in food and energy security, and as an integrator and connector in the region. Sai has sowed seeds for increased regional cooperation on water resources, for now and for the future generations in South Asia.

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