Event Details

Final dissemination workshop on Developing a Glacio-Hydrological Model and IWRM Plan for Bhagirathi Basin

A multi-stakeholder workshop on ‘’Developing a Glacio-Hydrological Model and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Plan for Bhagirathi Basin, Uttarakhand’’ was organized on 25 April, 2024in Dehradun. Over fifty professionals from various state government departments, educational establishments and other institutions participated in this workshop.

Impacts of climate change including accelerated rate of glacial melt, growingwater demand induced by economic developmentlinked to the variability and uncertainty of water availability are some of the key challenges being faced by stakeholders and policymakers for water resources management in Uttarakhand. IWRM plays a majorrole in ensuring sustainable long term planning for the uses and allocationof the State’s freshwater resources, while addressing these challenges.

A consortium of national and international experts from FutureWater, Utrecht University, University of Geneva and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), developed a glacio-hydrological and a water allocation model with focus on the Bhagirathi River Basinto support IWRM plan designing. This initiative has been undertaken under the “Strengthening Climate Change Adaptation in Himalayas (SCA-Himalayas)” project of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), focusing on enhancing climate change adaptation and resilience in the Indian Himalayan Region. The project wascarried out in collaboration with the Directorate of Environment Conservation and Climate Change, Government of Uttarakhand and the initiative adopted a participatory approach with extensive stakeholder consultation.

This workshop was held with the aim to present the final outputs under the initiative and discuss the ways towards effective implementation of the IWRM plan in the Bhagirathi basin. During the inaugural session, Dr S. K. Sarkar, former Secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India and Distinguished Fellow, TERI stressed on the importance of implementing the IWRM plan for the Bhagirathi Basin forsolving water related issuesincluding access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene.

In his address,Mr. Pierre-Yves Pitteloud, Senior Regional Advisor on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Rapid Response (RR) in South Asia, SDC mentioned about the importanceofnatural resources management as a guarantee for sustainable development in his callfor innovative actionsacknowledging the importance for IWRM planningto prevent waterscarcityin the future.

Dr.PiyooshRautela, Executive Director, Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) highlighted the critical role of proper water resources management to prevent disasters in the Himalayan States.

The participants of the workshop unanimously agreed that the support of the Government and all other relevant stakeholders is the key to the successful implementation of the IWRM plan.