AND THE INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE

INVITE YOU

TO A CONFERENCE ON

RIVER WATERS:

PERSPECTIVES AND CHALLENGES FOR ASIA

FROM

18-20 NOVEMBER, 2011

at

Seminar Halls 1, 2 & 3 Gate Number One, New Wing INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE Max Muller Marg, New Delhi-110003

Contact: 9818499292, 9871040881

RIVER WATERS:

PERSPECTIVES AND CHALLENGES FOR ASIA

Water is a shared resource and belongs to humanity as a whole. Its availability and usage should not be constrained by political boundaries. Water scarcity is steadily increasing all over the world. To avoid conflicts it is imperative to initiate processes of putting in place modalities and mechanisms for trans- boundary governance of water resources. This conference is being organised to offer a common platform for countries in the region, upper riparians, middle riparians and lower riparians, to draw up a sustained plan of action to withstand the potentially disastrous effects of the impending water crisis on the basis of equitable utilisation of river waters originating from the Third Pole. Scientists and researchers from concerned countries have agreed to address all relevant issues that may adversely impact the lives of billions of people dependant on waters flowing from the Third Pole. The programme, over three days of discussions, has been structured to present national perspectives, legal and political dimensions and a holistic worldview. River waters: Persp ectives and Challenges for Asia

18th November, Friday 09:00 – 10:00 hrs Registration & Refreshments 10:00 -11:00 hrs Inaugural Session Chair –J.S. Verma, Patron FNVA, Former Chief Justice of India

 Welcome Remarks by the Chair  Isabel Hilton – Editor, China Dialogue  Dr. L.M.S. Palni, Director, G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment & Development  Inaugural Address -Dr. Ashok Chauhan, Founder Amity Universities and Chairman AKC Group

11:00 - 13:30 hrs Session I- Significance of The Third Pole Chair - Ambassador Ranjit Gupta

 Climate Change and Security at the Third Pole Dr. Katherine Morton, Senior Fellow, Department of International Relations, School of International, Political and Strategic Studies College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University  Grassland Degradation and Summer Monsoon Gabriel Lafitte, Independent Researcher, Asian Anthropology and History  Atmosphere and Water Quality over the Tibetan Plateau Prof. Dr. Schichang Kang, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences

 Signifiance of the Tibetan Plateau Tenzin Norbu, Environment Expert Dharamsala. 13:30-14:30 hrs LUNCH

14 :30-16 :00 Knowledge Gaps for a Comprehensive Water Science and Policy for Monsoon-fed Himalayan Rivers Prof. Jayanta Bandyopadhyay, Professor and Head Centre for Development and Environment Policy Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta

 Water and Security Claude Arpi, Claude Arpi, Writer and author on India, China, Tibet and Indo- French Relations

15:15-16:00 Discussion

16:00-18:00 hrs Session II Water Perspectives – India Chair – Ramaswamy Iyer, Former Secretary, Water Resource Ministry, Government of India

 New Technologies to Solve the Present Water Resources Problems – Sutluj Case Prof. A.K. Gosain, Professor & Head, Department of Civil Engineering Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi  Cusec Deadlock: The Indus and Hydro-politics in a Fault Zone Dr. Rohan D’Souza, Assistant Professor Centre for Studies in Science Policy School of Social Sciences Jawaharlal Nehru University  Geo-environmental Context of the Brahmaputra River Basin and its Implications for Water Resources Planning Dr. Dulal C. Goswami, Professor (Retd.), Guwahati University, Assam

 Wrong Climate for Big Dams Samir Mehta, South Asia Programme Director, International Rivers

17:30 -18:00hrs Discussion

END OF DAY ONE

19th November, Saturday Session II Water Perspectives – India - continued 09:00-10.30 Chair – Ramaswamy Iyer

 Dams and Environmental Governance in Northeast India Neeraj Vagholikar, Kalpavriksh – Environment Action Group  Climate Change Impact on the Indo- Tibetan Brahmaputra Basin - Trends, Precursors and Response Needs Prof. Chandan Mahanta, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati  Community Based Management of Water Resources in the Himalayan Watersheds Sejuti Basu, Pragya

10:00 -10:30 Discussion

10:30-11 hrs Break

11:00-13:30 hrs Session III –Water Perspectives - China Chair - Dr. Dipak Gyawali, Former Minister for Water Resources Nepal, Pragya (Academician), Nepal Academy of Science and Technology

 Water Warriors Hydropower Politics in China Dr. Andrew Mertha, (via Skype) Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Dept. of Government, Cornell University  Water Resources Distribution Patterns in the Himalayan Regions Prof. Dr. Shao-Feng Jia, Deputy Director of Water Resources Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences Chair, Water and Land Resources Department, Research Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research  Yarlung-Tsangpo/Brahmaputra: From Resource-Capture to Cooperation Jesper Svensson, Masters Student, Gothenburg University, Gothenburg  China’s River Protection vs Hydro Interests Yu Xiaogang, Director, Green Watershed  Sino-Indian Relations: Fragile but Sustainable Zhao Gangchen, Director, South Asia Centre, Shanghai Institute of International Studies 12:45-13:30 hrs Discussion

13:30-14:30 hrs LUNCH

14:30-16:15 hrs Session IV: Technical Presentations Chair – Dr. Jia Shaofeng

 Gangotri Glacier – an Overview V.K.Raina, Ex. Deputy Director General Geological Survey of India  Water Quality of the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) Prof. Dr. Mika Sillanpää, Professor, Head of the Laboratory at Lappeenranta University of Technology Finland  International Rivers of Western Himalayas – Hydrological Prospects and Areas of Concern Dr. R.D. Singh, Director, National Institute of Hydrology  Climate Change Scenario in North-western Himalayas and its Influence on Hydrological Regime of River Basins Dr. Mahendra Bhutiyani, Scientist, Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) 15:45 -16:15 hrs Discussion

16:15-18:00 hrs SESSION V: Perspectives from Asia Chair – Dr. Katherine Morton, Senior Fellow, Department of International Relations, School of International, Political and Strategic Studies College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University

Bangladesh  State of Water Pollution and Bio assessment to Evaluate the Ecological Status of Rivers in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan Region M. Fazlul Bari, Ph.D., Professor, Dept of Water Resources Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering & Tech (BUET) Central Asia  Conflicts over Water in Central Asia, Complexity of Managing an International River Eelke Kraak, PhD candidate School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford 17:30-18:00 hrs Discussion

18:00 hrs END OF DAY TWO

20th November, Sunday 09:30-12:30 hrs SESSION V: Perspectives from Asia continued Chair – Dr. Katherine Morton

MEKONG REGION  Mekong Region and the Major Challenges of the River that Feeds Millions Premrudree Daoroung, Co-Director, TERRA  Contested Waterscapes: Regional Cooperation in the Mekong Region Kate Lazarus, M-POWER Challenge Program on Water and Food Myanmar  Save Burma’s Rivers Ah Nan, Burma Rivers Network

 Environmental Performance Assessment on Water Resource NEW TITLE: Why Myanmar Should Stop the Construction of Dam over Irrawaddy River Win Myo Thu, MD and Founder, ECODEV, Yangon Nepal  Clumsy River Handling Dr. Dipak Gywali, Former Minister for Water Resources Nepal, Pragya (Academician), Academy of Science and Technology  Trans-boundary Water Processes: Interfacing Micro and the Marco Dr. Ajaya Dixit, Institution for Social and Environmental Transition-Nepal

Pakistan  Climate Change & Sustainable Management of Indus Basin: Pakistan Perspective Dr. Shaheen Akhtar, Senior Research Fellow Institute of Regional Studies Islamabad 12:30 -13:00 hrs Discussion

13:00-14:00 hrs LUNCH

14:00- 16:30 hrs SESSION VI: The Way Forward Chair– Ambassador Satish Chandra

 Common Natural Heritage for Common Advantage Hari Jaisingh, Author and Journalist

 The Role and Relevance of the 1997 UN Watercourses Convention Dr Alistair Rieu-Clarke, is a Senior Lecturer in International Law and heads the International Water Law Research Cluster at the Dundee IHP-HELP Centre.

 Building Water Security Isabel Hilton, Editor, China dialogue

 India-China Water Dialogue Prof. Nimmi Kurien, Professor, Centre for Policy Research  River Basin Management: Building Knowledge for Change Sanjay Gupta, Senior Communications Specialist, South Asia Water Initiative, (SAWI), the World Bank

 Waters of Hope: Health Innovations And Interventions on the Brahmaputra In Assam Sanjoy Hazarika, Centre for North- East Studies and Policy Research

16:30 -17:00 hrs Break

17:00 -18:00 hrs Concluding Session Chair- Soli J. Sorabjee, Patron FNVA, Former Attorney General for India

 Release of Conference Statement  Summing up  Concluding remarks by the Chair  Vote of thanks: Core Trustees of FNVA, Mr. O.P. Tandon and Rebon Catharina Banerjee

END OF CONFERENCE

Members of the Core Group: Patrons and Trustees of the Foundation for Non-violent Alternatives (FNVA), Ambassadors: Ranjit Gupta, Rajiv Sikri, T.C.A. Rangachari Subject experts: Ramaswamy Iyer, Ashok Jaitly and Claude Arpi