Groundwater resources in India: an arena for diverse competition

There is evidence of a looming groundwater crisis in India. Unlike in the case of surface water, competition around groundwater generally does not result in open conflicts. Measurability and visibility of surface water accord a clearer public perception of water quantities, which leads to conflicts....

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Bibliographic Details
Published inLocal environment Vol. 19; no. 9; pp. 990 - 1011
Main Authors Kulkarni, Himanshu, Shankar, P.S. Vijay
Format Journal Article Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 21.10.2014
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
access
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Aquifers
Arenas
Biological and medical sciences
Boundaries
Competition
Conflicts
Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife
Environment and politics
Environment and sustainable development
Environmental justice
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
Groundwater
India
Perception
storativity
Surface water
transmissivity
Water resources
Water rights
Asia
South Asia
India
Competition
access
Environmental policy
storativity
Sustainable development
Water resources
Ground water
Aquifers
transmissivity
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Summary:There is evidence of a looming groundwater crisis in India. Unlike in the case of surface water, competition around groundwater generally does not result in open conflicts. Measurability and visibility of surface water accord a clearer public perception of water quantities, which leads to conflicts. Groundwater in an aquifer is sourced in a dispersed manner, and boundaries, quantities and interdependencies are less visible or measurable. Hence, groundwater resources go through intense and intricate competition between users and uses before open conflicts begin. Competition occurs with reference to sources rather than around the resource. The interdependency of sources is a function of changing patterns of usage as intricacies of aquifer characteristics come into play. Governance institutions and regulatory frameworks of groundwater need to be sensitive to the various forms in which groundwater competition manifests in different hydrogeological settings, and the consequences of this in terms of access and rights, in relation to issues of equity and justice.
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ISSN:1354-9839
1469-6711
DOI:10.1080/13549839.2014.964192