An Effort to Promote Water Quality Data Sharing in South Asia
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SANDIA REPORT SAND2000-0809 \ Unlimited Release Printed April 2000 South Asia Water Resources Workshop: An Effort to Promote Water Quality Data Sharing in South Asia Gaurav Rajen, Kent L. Biringer, and J. David Betsill Prepared by Sandia National Laboratories Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 and Livermore, California 94550 Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC04-94AL85000. Approved for public release; further dissemination unlimited. @ISandia National laboratories Issued by Sandia National Laboratories, operated for the United States Department of Energy by Sandia Corporation. NOTICE: This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. 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Box 5800 Albuquerque, NM 87185-1373 Abstract To promote cooperation in South Asia on environmental research, an international working group comprised of participants from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the United States convened at the Soaltee Hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal, September 12 to 14, 1999. The workshop was sponsored in part by the Cooperative Monitoring Center (CMC) at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, through funding provided by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nonproliferation and National Security. The CMC promotes collaborations among scientists and researchers in regions throughout the world as a means of achieving common regional security objectives. In the long term, the workshop organizers and participants are interested in the significance of regional information sharing as a means to build confidence and reduce conflict. The intermediate interests of the group focus on activities that might eventually foster regional management of some aspects of water resources utilization. The immediate purpose of the workshop was to begin the implementation phase of a project to collect and share water quality information at a number of river and coastal estuary locations throughout the region. The workshop participants achieved four objectives: 1) gaining a better understanding of the partner organizations involved; 2) garnering the support of existing regional organizations promoting environmental cooperation in South Asia; 3) identifying sites within the region at which data is to be collected; and, 4) instituting a data and information collection and sharing process. 3 Acknowledgments The workshop organizers gratefully acknowledge support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nonproliferation and National Security. We also thank Deborah Seligsohn and Bobby Chettri of the American Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal for support in arranging the workshop. Special thanks go to Patricia Dickens for her help with logistical arrangements. 4 Contents Acronyms ........................................................................................................................................ 7 1. Introduction and Background...................................................................................................... 9 2. Workshop Objectives and Process ............................................................................................ 12 2.1 Workshop Structure......................................................................................................... 13 2.2 Workshop Process ........................................................................................................... 14 3. Workshop Results ..................................................................................................................... 17 3.1 Understanding the Organizations Involved and Regional Support.................................. 17 3.2 Identification of Sites....................................................................................................... 17 3.2.1 Bangladesh ......................................................................................................... 17 3.2.2 India.................................................................................................................... 17 3.2.3 Nepal .................................................................................................................. 20 3.2.4 Pakistan .............................................................................................................. 21 3.2.5 Sri Lanka ............................................................................................................ 22 3.3 Data and Information Collection and Sharing ................................................................. 23 3.4 Web Site........................................................................................................................... 24 4. Discussion and Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 28 References ..................................................................................................................................... 30 Appendix A: List of Participants in Figure 1 ................................................................................ 31 Appendix B: Agenda..................................................................................................................... 33 Appendix C: Project Partners........................................................................................................ 35 Appendix D: Sample Field Data Form (Filled out by the SARS)................................................. 41 Figures Figure 1. Workshop Participants..................................................................................................... 9 Figure 2. Relevant Areas............................................................................................................... 11 Figure 3. Ambassador Ralph Frank Addresses Workshop Participants....................................... 14 Figure 4. Workshop Participants Observing an Instrument Demonstration................................. 15 Figure 5. Collecting Data at the Bagmati River ........................................................................... 16 Figure 6. A View Near the Palta Station on the Hoogli River ..................................................... 19 Figure 7. SARS Sampling Team Conducting Fieldwork at the Palta Station.............................. 19 Figure 8. A View from the Chembur-Thana Bridge on Thane Creek (Looking Northeast) ........ 20 Figure 9. Urban Runoff Draining into the Bagmati River in Kathmandu.................................... 21 Figure 10. Water Quality Sampling at Rawal Lake...................................................................... 22 Figure 11. A View of the Kelani River Upstream from the Coast near Colombo ....................... 23 5 Figure 12. Web Site Home Page ..................................................................................................25 Figure 13. Graphical Display with Active Points that Can Be Clicked to Access More Information ............................................................................................................................ 26 Figure 14. CMC Project Site Regional Map with Buttons Representing Regional Data Collection Points.................................................................................................................... 26 Figure 15. Detailed Map of the CMC Project Sampling Area with Buttons that Can Be Clicked Again to Access Local Sampling Station Data......................................................... 27 Figure 16. Photographs and Links to Graphs of Temporal and Spatial Variation of Data .......... 27 Figure 17. Graphical (and Numeric) Descriptions of Data Collected .......................................... 28 Tables Table 1. List of Active