The 2015 edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report
(WWDR 2015), titled “Water for a Sustainable World”, was launched at
the official celebration of the World Water Day, on 20 March 2015 in
New Delhi, India.
Dr. Shrestha has contributed the chapter on ‘Towards sustainable
groundwater management in Asian cities.’
Releasing the report, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova remarked:
”The report’s observations are timely, because the international
community has to draw up a new development programme, to take over from
the Millennium Development Goals.”
Dr. Shrestha’s work focusses on nine cities in Asia and directs the
reader towards major problems linked to overextraction of groundwater.
These problems include land subsidence, lowering of the water table,
contamination of groundwater and saline water intrusion into the
aquifers. He adds that “land subsidence resulting from groundwater
exploitation has been observed in Bangkok, Bandung, Ho Chi Minh City
and Tokyo.”
Citing the example of Lahore, Pakistan, Dr. Shrestha points out that
the groundwater level was at five metres below the surface until 2003,
but by 2011 it had plummeted to 45 metres at some places. Similarly all
aquifers have been affected by salinity in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam;
while in Bangkok, the increased concentration of chloride and total
dissolved solids in groundwater is a serious concern.
“Measures to limit withdrawal, such as licensing systems and charging
schemes have been implemented,” Dr. Shrestha says, adding that the
success of these initiatives should be looked at through a local rather
than a regional lens because of varying levels of surface water and
groundwater availability as well as different policy and agency
coordination issues in specific contexts. “Changing the
business-as-usual emphasis on water development over water management
will be important for Asian cities in the future, as it will be for
other regions around the world,” he says.
UNESCO’s official press release is available at this link:
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/water/wwap/
The Report can be downlaoded at this link: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002321/232179E.pdf
