All the world is made up of 3,600 water treaties

TNN | Sep 12, 2011, 05.00AM IST

Mamata Banerjee was in news when she pulled out of the Prime Minister's delegation to Dhaka. The West Bengal chief minister opposed the proposed Teesta water sharing treaty under which India would guarantee 33,000 cusecs of the river's water to Bangladesh. Bengal was supposed to give up 25,000 cusecs and the additional 8,000 cusecs were to come from Sikkim. She was however not convinced by this formula as there is no water sharing agreement between West Bengal and Sikkim and a lower riparian state can always be exploited by the one which is higher in the river system. There is also a feeling in some quarters that the 1996 Ganga Water Treaty between India and Bangladesh guaranteed water to Bangladesh at West Bengal's expense. In the absence of any inter-state water sharing treaty, the state could not prevent Uttar Pradesh and Bihar from overdrawing water, while Bangladesh was getting its assured share.

Why is water sharing such a big issue?

Water is a major commercial resource finding use in not just in fishing and agriculture, but also in manufacturing and recreation and its shortage can cripple any economy. People who don't have easy access to water have to spend a substantial time in fetching water for daily use. This time could be used in other economic activities if water was easily available. It should be obvious, therefore, why water sharing treaties evoke such strong emotions. Between 1964 and 1967, Israel and its Arab neighbours were involved in series of armed conflicts over the sharing of the waters of the Jordan river. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization identifies over 3,600 international treaties related to sharing of water. Dating back to AD 805, these treaties deal with navigational issues, flood management, hydropower projects, fishing rights and water sharing arrangements.

Can a country revoke a water sharing agreement during war?

Even during war, water sharing treaties are respected by their signatories. For instance, India and Pakistan are parties to the Indus Water Treaty brokered by the World Bank. Under the treaty, the waters of the eastern rivers of the Indus system - the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi are allocated to India, while it is under obligation to let the waters of the western rivers - Indus, Jhelum and Chenab - flow to Pakistan. It can, however, use a limited amount of water of the western rivers for domestic and agricultural purposes. It can also construct hydro-electric plants if they don't store more water than the limit specified in the treaty. Even after 50 years, the treaty is so far respected by both countries. India has never revoked the treaty even during the times of war between the two countries.

With which other countries does India have such treaties?

India has signed several treaties and Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with Nepal. Most of them are aimed at developing multipurpose projects. Both countries are trying to exploit the Mahakali, Burhi Gandaki and other rivers for power generation and irrigation purposes. Apart from this, a flood forecasting and warning system on rivers common to India and Nepal, which has 42 meteorological sites in the hilly country, is operational since 1989. India has also signed MoUs with China and the Chinese side is providing hydrological information about the Brahmaputra and Sutlej, which are used in flood forecasts.