Launch: Connecting the Drops: An Indus Basin Roadmap
March 21, 2013
Decision makers in India and Pakistan will have to overcome a host of overlapping socio-economic, environmental, and political pressures as they endeavor to fulfill their countries' future water needs and peacefully manage the Indus River Basin that both countries share. Increasingly subject to soaring demand, unsustainable consumption patterns, and mounting environmental stresses, almost all of the basin's renewable water resources are already allocated for various uses - with little to no spare capacity. Scientific and policy collaboration across national and disciplinary boundaries will be essential to providing decision makers with better understanding of the multiple risks weighing on the Indus Basin and the consequent water resource challenges and choices facing the riparian nations.
The Stimson Center, in coordination with the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (Pakistan) and the Observer Research Foundation (India), was pleased to announce the release of a new report, Connecting the Drops: An Indus Basin Roadmap for Cross-Border Water Research, Data Sharing, and Policy Coordination. The report results from a State Department-sponsored Track II diplomatic initiative that brought together leading Indian and Pakistani scientists, diplomats, water policy analysts and practitioners to analyze emerging stresses on the countries' shared water resources and identify best practices for cooperative knowledge building and sustainable water management in the Indus Basin.
The launch event featured:
David Michel
Director, Environmental Security Program, Stimson
Winston Yu
Senior Water Resources Specialist for South Asia, World Bank
Satu Limaye
Director, East-West Center