Transboundary Water, #OneSouthAsia, South Asia, Climate Change, Water Resource Management

Events

Flowing Waters: Harnessing Transboundary Rivers in South Asia

November 9, 2023

Online

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THIS EVENT DOES NOT REQUIRE REGISTRATION. IT IS OPEN TO PUBLIC. RETURN TO THIS PAGE ON NOVEMBER 9th, 8AM ET.

About the Event: Our 17^th OneSouthAsia Conversation will bring together stakeholders from the region to discuss what will it take to build a stronger regional transboundary water collaboration��what are the benefits, opportunities, and challenges to it? The discussion will also focus on how collaborative water resource management can contribute to poverty reduction and sustainable development for the most vulnerable communities in the face of climate change challenges.

Background: In South Asia, the major Himalayan River systems��Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra basins and the Sundarbans��span over 7 countries and are and livelihoods of over a billion people. However, population growth, urbanization, unsustainable agricultural practices, and over-extraction and depletion of groundwater are stressing the quality and availability of water. While the region is home to 1/4^th of the global population, it only accounts 's annual renewable water resources. It is estimated that by 2050 between 1.5 to 1.7 billion people in the region will be exposed to water scarcity.

With these projections and challenges, regional cooperation and collaborative transboundary water management is critical. South Asia has While there are no regional institutions or comprehensive mechanisms for transboundary water cooperation, a few bilateral agreements have been put in place. For instance, between Bangladesh and India��who share 54 transboundary rivers�� was established in 1972, and one long-term agreement on river management�� the,

Other examples include the between India and Pakistan, the 1996 Treaty between India and Nepal, and several hydropower generation agreements between India and Bhutan.

Ajaya Dixit
Senior Advisor, Institute for Social and Environmental Transition
is currently the Senior Advisor, Institute for Social and Environmental Transition in Nepal. Previously he has held positions at Institute of Engineering, Kathmandu and Nepal Water for Health among others. Dixit has published extensively in prestigious journals and his research interest include climate change vulnerabilities and ecosystem-based adaptation, water economics, irrigation, disaster risk management ,and adaptation.
Ashwin Pandya
Secretary General, International Commission, Irrigation and Drainage
is the Secretary General at International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage and previously served as the chairman of the Central Water Commission. Mr Pandya has years of comprehensive experience in all aspects of water resources engineering, policy and planning, and water resource management.
Malik Fida Khan
Executive Director, CEGIS, Bangladesh
has over 30 years of extensive experiences spanning across the diversified fields of Water Resources Planning and Management, Climate Change, Information Technology, and development projects in Bangladesh. He has skills for development of integrated planning and implementation through multi organizational involvement and participation of stakeholder for optimum utilization of resources. Besides, serving as the Executive Director of Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS), he also supervises the activities of Climate Change and Disaster Management Division.
Runa Khan
Founder and Executive Director, Friendship
is the founder and executive director of , an international Social Purpose Organization. Friendship works in the areas of sustainable development, climate change and empowering vulnerable communities. Among other efforts, it supports communities mainly in the shifting northern river islands, known as chars, of the Brahmaputra and Jamuna rivers and in the coastal areas of the Bay of Bengal. Friendship's first project was a floating hospital- which converted river barges into medical ship that brought health care access to the most vulnerable river communities.
OPENING REMARKS
Saroj Kumar Jha
Global Director, Water Global Practice, World Bank
Saroj Kumar Jha is the Global Director for the World Bank Group��s Water Global Practice (GP). In his current assignment, Mr. Jha leads the Global Practice senior management team, which drives the policy direction of the Practice, oversees a portfolio of $27 billion in water-related investments, analytical work, multi-donor trust funds and global partnerships. Under Mr. Jha��s leadership, Water Practice is accelerating global and county level water action agenda for green, resilient, and inclusive growth, creating good jobs, and to tackle the water-climate-conflict nexus in shared river basins around the world.
MODERATOR
Cecile Fruman
Director, Regional Integration, South Asia, World Bank
Cecile Fruman is the Director, Regional Integration and Engagement in the South Asia Region (SAR). She is responsible for fostering greater connectivity and collaborative activities amongst SAR countries.

Cecile has dedicated her career to international development across multiple geographies. She has deep experience in trade and competitiveness, strategy development, portfolio management, and partnerships. A French national, she holds an MBA from ESCP Europe, one of France��s top business schools, and furthered her studies at the University of Osaka in Japan.