Concerns over climate change, global warming and reduced availability of water are concerns that impact agrarian economies more than others, and it is high time new strategies for resilience in handling such concerns were developed, Chairman of the Central Water Commission Ashwin B. Pandya said on Thursday.
Water being key to food and energy, its inequitable and skewed distribution in a country like India called for adaptability and innovation. Apart from climate change, per capita water availability and low per capita storage were situations that needed to be seriously considered. A shift in policy at the Centre and States was therefore the need of the hour, he explained.
Mr. Pandya was addressing a 2-day workshop on Climate Change & Water: Improving Water Use Efficiency at the Water & Land Management Training & Research Institute (WALAMTARI), organised in association with the International Water Management Institute and M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, in collaboration with BIOFORSK of Norway.
Mr. Pandya said the country eventually needed to realise that rapid changes cannot be wished away. In such a situation, the way out was to look at a resilient strategy that would take into consideration the high intensity rainfall, quick run-off and reduced averages and have more storage levels.
Secretary-General of the International Commission on Irrigation & Drainage C. Avinash Tyagi said the only way out for the country was to adapt to climate change. Defining water-use efficiency, understanding the impact of climate change, setting realistic targets and developing tools to improve efficiency would make the situation more bearable, he said.
Earlier, WALAMTARI Director K. Yella Reddy welcomed the gathering, while its Director-General L. Narayan Reddy presided. They briefly outlined the workshop’s objectives, saying that it presented a platform for experts to share experiences and knowledge while coming out with suggestions for Central and State policies.
