[This is the revised and enlarged version of presentation made by the author at Sustainable Development of Water resource in Meghalaya Theme-Integrated Water Resource Management organize by Government of Meghalaya held in Shillong, Meghalaya, on 5th June 2013.]
Water is predicted to be the primary medium through which early climate change impacts will be felt by people, ecosystems and economies. Building climate resilience into development across water dependent sectors – irrigation, water supply and sanitation, up land agriculture with water conservation, energy, environment, and others – is key to achieving long-term sustainability but will demand strong cross-sectoral integration and coordination.
Water, Energy and Food use are intimately linked in myriad ways. The way people use water takes energy; the way modern society produces energy consumes water. Water and energy have much in common. Each is an essential input for productive, comfortable and healthy human society. Both are also derived from natural resources, and their use by humans creates a series of impacts on the sustainability of ecosystems. The close nexus between water and energy is based on two main factors: (a) Water use requires energy; (b) Energy production requires water.
Keeping in view the finite water resources, which are already under stress, demand for water in India has already exceeded the available supply capability thereby giving rise to water crisis. Given the fact that India’s climate is not particularly dry, nor is it lacking in rivers and groundwater, the water crisis in India is predominantly a manmade problem. Exceedingly poor management, unclear laws, malpractices, and industrial and human waste have caused this water supply crunch and rendered what water is available practically useless due to excessive pollution. There is a need for balancing competing demands between urban and rural, rich and poor, the economy and the environment.
India has been the fourth or fifth largest energy consumer in the world. Despite a slowing global economy, India’s energy demand continues to rise. While India’s domestic energy resource base is substantial, the country relies on imports for a considerable amount of its energy use. Hydrocarbons account for the majority of India’s energy use. Together, coal and oil represent about two-thirds of total energy use.
Combustible renewable and waste constitute about one fourth of Indian energy use. This share includes traditional biomass sources such as firewood and dung, which are used by more than 800 million Indian households for cooking. Other renewable such as wind, geothermal, solar, and hydroelectricity represent a 2 percent share of the Indian fuel mix. Nuclear holds a one percent share. India is the world’s fifth largest net importer of oil and bulk of India’s foreign exchange is spent on oil imports.
Thus India faces deficit in both water and energy sectors. This paper explores the feasibility of water-energy nexus approach as a potent instrument of attaining sustainable development. After locating the dominant understandings of water-energy nexus, this paper suggests that both water and energy are essential for sustainable development. The energy agenda is confronting renewed trends of price volatility and resource scarcity. Water sector is facing problems of fast depletion of traditional sources of ground water, contamination of surface water resources and melting of mountain glaciers.
The principal components in any water or energy and food sector reform strategy are: Conservation, Regeneration, Capacity-Building and Governance of the resources. These elements are not mutually exclusive but complement one other. Conversely, in a segregated approach, resource sustainability, which is surely the most critical aspect of the reform process, is often defeated. The integrated model is even more appropriate in the Indian context as water and energy scarcity issues are becoming increasingly complex with the alarming growth in population.
Together with establishing a role for the state energy regulatory agencies to also regulate ground water use, it is implicit that we promote voluntary public policies at the user level to salvage policy restraints at the Government level. These can be established through effective governance structures created in shape of community institutions addressing both energy and water issues. This intervention would be particularly relevant to the rural users. The institutional structure is expected to be the strongest amongst them considering the high degree of social cohesion observed in them.
Given the large user population it is almost impossible to reach out to them. It is worthwhile that the users represent themselves through user energy / water institutions. These energy/water institutions should be adequately empowered through extensive Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities. They should be gradually groomed to plan and manage various targeted activities. Finally the learning will transform them into independent management units capable to own up the entire reform process which would eventually ensure sustainability in the use of energy, water and food.
Sustainable Development
- Sustainable development is a new paradigm for economic growth, social equality and environmental sustainability.
- Water is a key component of sustainable development and all ecosystems are inextricably linked with water.
- There is a close nexus between water, energy and food, which seeks to find solutions based on convergence between various sectors or disciplines and is being widely regarded along with resilience to attain sustainable development.
- The nexus approach can serve as a bridge that could engulf the gap between the social, economic and environmental pillars of sustainable development.
Water Use Requires Energy
- The amount of energy that goes to water use varies considerably from region to region. In the United States, about 4 percent of power generation is used for water supply and treatment.
- In California, USA, cleaning, heating and moving water around accounts for 19 percent of the state’s electricity consumption.
- In other parts of the world, the fraction of electricity produced that is utilized for some form of water delivery/extraction/purification is even higher.
Energy Production Requires Water
- Water use for thermoelectric power generation is primarily used for cooling the steam that is used to the turn turbines to make electricity. Such cooling is predominantly carried out using two ways:
- To use evaporative cooling, where much of the water used for cooling is added as vapor to the atmosphere, thus creating a significant loss to the water body from which the water was acquired.
- To let the water return from the cooling system as liquid, but at a somewhat elevated temperature. Here the amounts of water used are very large compared to evaporative cooling, but most of it is returned to the water body from which it was taken.
- While very little water is lost to the atmosphere, higher temperature discharge can lead to ecological damage.
- Together the water used for cooling in power plants—accounts for a stunning half of all water withdrawals in the United States, with nearly 2.5 percent never returned to the water body.
- Most electricity comes from these steam driven turbines, whether one is using coal, natural gas, oil or nuclear fuel to heat the water.
- The other major source of electrical energy that is threatened by water shortages is hydroelectric. Some 20 percent of the world’s electricity comes from large-scale hydroelectric dams—dams that require steady, large flows of water.
- But as the world climate and water cycles are disrupted, energy from large hydroelectric plants is threatened. The risk to electricity from diminishing water is a global problem. In the summer of 2010, drought in the Philippines caused the National Grid Corp there to cut electricity provision in half in some areas as reservoir levels fell to unprecedented lows.
- Hydrofracking technology, which is frequently used in US Canada and elsewhere to exploit vast, previously untapped reserves of natural gas, unless well managed and regulated, can present a serious risk to local water quality, as the millions of gallons of water, sand and toxic chemicals it takes to frack a well seep to the surface, potentially poisoning the ground and surface water of surrounding communities
Water-Energy-Food Nexus in India
- Water, energy and food are central to economies, livelihoods and lives
- Nearly 20% of the farmers are dependent on electric water pumps for irrigation, which demands electricity.
- Highly subsidized power supply policies for agriculture and non-commercial operating practices of utilities have major implications for the overall condition of the power sector and associated water resources issues.
- Agriculture accounts for about 27% of the total electricity consumption in India.
- The unreliability of electricity provision to farmers directly leads to one of the most important vicious cycles in the agricultural sector, especially for the roughly 50% of irrigation water consumption across the country extracted from groundwater sources.
Impact of Climate Change
- The on-going process of climate change is casting its adverse impact on water-energy-food nexus which is intimately inter-connected in following ways:
- Sporadic events of drought, flood etc.
- Depletion of water resources and deteriorating quality of water
- Unexpected variation in precipitation, humidity, temperature, atmospheric carbon dioxide content, the frequency of extreme events and rising sea level – all affect agricultural production and productivity.
- Yield of most of the crops may reduce
- Disease pressure may be high
Governance Approach
- The root of the water-energy-food nexus lies in the inability of the power utility to provide reliable power to farmers to meet their water demand leading to a host of inefficient coping strategies by users/consumers in both electricity and water use.
- Governance structures that prevent the degradation of electricity and water resources through the adoption of mutually sustainable practices directed at both resources needs to be adopted. Herein lies the need to expand the scope of state electricity regulatory agencies to include oversight and regulation of ground water as part of its responsibilities and vice-versa for state water regulatory agencies.
Re-Engineering of Governance
- Together with establishing a role for the state electricity regulatory agencies to also regulate ground water use, it is implicit that encouragement is being provided to promote voluntary public policies at the user level to salvage policy restraints at the Government level.
- These can be established through effective governance structures created in shape of community institutions addressing both energy and water issues. This intervention would be particularly relevant to the rural users. The institutional structure is expected to be the strongest amongst them considering the high degree of social cohesion observed in them.
Challenges to Governance Approach
Principal challenges that should be kept in mind in developing governance structures include:
- Water is primarily considered as a social good in India, creating significant barriers to cost recovery and full service provision.
- There is little or no political will to deal with water and energy management as a goal of sustainable development.
- In comparison with the energy sector, reform in water resources management is lagging. The fact that the two sectors are ‘out of phase’ in their paths to reform present obstacles for their coordinated management.
Water Governance Need Convergence
- National and State water/energy policies have not moved beyond rhetoric. Although there are several good policies and legal frameworks in place for water/energy resources and waste management, these have not been successfully implemented to date.
- Institutional and policy barriers to effective water and energy resource management are significant, especially in support of cross-sectoral integration and coordination.
- Management and operational capabilities among the providers of energy and water services are inadequate, especially at the local level.
- An enabling environment for technological innovation and advancement does not exist at the national, state or municipal level.
Capacity Building
Given the large user population it is almost impossible to reach out to them. It is worthwhile that the users represent themselves through user energy/water/food institutions. These energy/water/food institutions should be adequately empowered through capacity building and extensive Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities. They should be gradually groomed to plan and manage various targeted activities. Finally the learning will transform them into independent management units capable to own up the entire reform process which would eventually ensure sustainability in the use of energy, water and food resources. Capacity building of the people can be facilitated through:
Capacity Building: Sensitize, Incentivize and Galvanize
- By sensitizing and incentivizing the people on Water-Energy-Food related issues
- By identifying interconnections between sectors and actors
- By promoting learning, networking and knowledge sharing across sectors and regions
- By narrowing the gap between the availability of solutions and skills and means to use them (e.g. technology),
Nexus Approach in Meghalaya: From Periphery to Mainstream
- Meghalaya’s new state water policy contains ample provisions to strengthen water-energy-food nexus approach, especially under the IBDLP.
- While emphasizing on the establishment of Small Water Reservoirs (SWRs) in Meghalaya, equal stress is needed on the installation of Small Power Grids (SPGs) at strategic places to meet local demands of energy for domestic use and for irrigation purposes.
- Increased importance needs to be attached on capacity building of the people through outreach programmes with the active involvement of the civil society.
Way Forward
- Nexus approach should become an integral part of water/energy/food policies as a sine qua non for attaining sustainable development.
- Effective mechanism is needed to support decision-makers in a more timely and coordinated manner, with due role for civil society.
- Civil Society-Government cooperation essential for capacity building of the people.
- Need for Integrated Approach to Water Management for Sustainable Development
- Discharge to Power: The Energy Predictive Module-
- Power Forecast model for hydropower production, Reliable forecasts for reliable power production
- New Technology for Effective Topographical & Geological Mapping:
- More detailed than the best existing maps
- High precision data provides highly accurate base for hydrological modeling to support Hydel and other infra projects.
- Initiate water credit to incentivize those who are pro-active in water use efficiency
- Meghalaya can set a precedent
By Dr. Arvind Kumar, President, India Water Foundation
