CONTEXT
The 4th India-EU Water Forum aims to present the progress and results of the India-EU Water Partnership (IEWP) in order to foster further cooperation between governments, research institutions and businesses. The Forum will bring together experts, practitioners, decision-makers and businesses to reflect and exchange on key water management challenges as well as approaches and technologies to address them.
The Forum will include three sessions:
- A high-level plenary session
- A technical session on River Basin Management presenting the IEWP activities in all priority areas
- A business session exploring opportunities for EU businesses in the Indian water sector
SESSION 1: INDIA-EU WATER FORUM PLENARY SESSION
A high-level plenary session will be held together with TERI as part of the Water Sustainable Development Summit. The session serves the introduction to the current water management challenges in India and how these are jointly approached within the India-EU Water Partnership (IEWP). The session showcases how the IEWP is engaging European experience to build capacities of Indian institutions (primarily Ministry of Water Resources) towards integrated River Basin Management. In this context, the IEWP tackles a set of topics as part of priority areas including River Basin Management, assessment of environmental flows, the development of a water quality dashboard for targeted decision making, groundwater management, irrigation efficiency and reuse of treated wastewater. In addition, research and the introduction of innovative technologies are addressed.
SESSION 2: PLANNING AND MANAGING WATER RESOURCES IN RIVER BASINS
Integrated River Basin Management (RBM) is widely accepted as good practice and forms a structured framework for sustainable development. Following the River Basin Management Cycle, efficient actions for water resources management are defined for implementation. In addition to all components of the RBM Cycle, River Basin Management is based on functioning governance and coordination mechanisms, which enable authorities and stakeholders to take well-informed decisions.
The European Union is a global leader when it comes to the management of river basins and the implementation of River Basin Management Plans. In the past two decades, RBM Plans have been approved and implemented for 198 river basin districts. This has resulted in significant lessons learned regarding good practice and failure. Within the IEWP, India and the EU exchange experience and jointly pilot RBM approaches through the IEWP Priority Areas, which cover the whole spectrum of the River Basin Management Cycle.
In the above context, Session 2 fosters integrated thinking and management and, hence, follows the
logic of the RBM Cycle reflecting on its different aspects and linking to the implementation examples
of the IEWP Priority Areas. A spectrum of topics of ongoing joint work are addressed including
governance and coordination, River Basin Management in the Tapi and other river basins,
identification of Key Water Management Issues and river basin characterisation, visions and related
management objectives, the analysis of pressures and impacts as well as monitoring and water quality
assessment. In addition, the development and the implementation of a programme of measures to
mitigate impacts is central to the RBM components.
SESSION 3 - BUSINESS SESSION: ESTABLISHING EUROPE INDIA BUSINESS COLLABORATIONS IN THE WATER SECTOR
A high-level plenary session will be held together with TERI as part of the Water Sustainable Development Summit. The session serves the introduction to the current water management challenges in India and how these are jointly approached within the India-EU Water Partnership (IEWP). The session showcases how the IEWP is engaging European experience to build capacities of Indian institutions (primarily Ministry of Water Resources) towards integrated River Basin Management. In this context, the IEWP tackles a set of topics as part of priority areas including River Basin Management, assessment of environmental flows, the development of a water quality dashboard for targeted decision making, groundwater management, irrigation efficiency and reuse of treated wastewater. In addition, research and the introduction of innovative technologies are addressed.
The session will showcase successful EU-India business cooperation models and illustrate areas of
opportunities for EU and Indian businesses to collaborate. Further, the IEWP’s Action Plan for 2019
foresees the development of a series of tools which will be presented. Ample time for questions and
discussions will be provided.
