India Water Foundation Annual Report 2013-14

Thematic emphasis on international water cooperation by the 2013 World Water Day and stress on water security in its various dimensions as emphasized in Asian Water Development Outlook 2013, a report released by Asia Development Bank in April 2013, prominently served as precursor to nourish the notions and ideas nurtured by India Water Foundation. Broadly speaking, IWF has been emphasizing on these and other related aspects of cooperation in water, energy and environment sectors and the ADB publication proved instrumental in further reinforcing our conviction in the appropriateness of these ideas.

Cooperation in water sector at international and national levels calls for inter-sectoral convergence and water security and its related dimensions entails adoption of nexus approach which has been amply emphasized by IWF in previous years and it continued emphasis on these during 2013 as well. National Water Policy 2012 (NWP 2012) provided further impetus to IWF activities undertaken by it in 2013. While focusing on the pros and cons of NWP 2012, as reflected in some of IWF media publications, it concentrated more on emphasizing on water as a „social good‟ and not as „economic good‟ as was reported to be the import of new water policy. Treating water as an economic good or a social good gave rise to two rival notions: Ecological Economic and Political Ecology. However, India Water Foundation coined the term „Social Ecology‟ of water, with emphasis on water to be treated not as an economic commodity but a social good.

While supporting the regulatory measures as suggested in the water policy to check under-pricing of electricity to conserve water and energy, IWF emphasized on making Right to Safe Drinking Water as a Fundamental Right. In order to engulf the chasm between policy-making and policy-implementation in water sector, IWF has been offering its cooperation to the Ministry of Water Resources at the Central and State levels. Nursing the conviction that no policy can be efficiently and effectively implemented sans capacity building of the people who always remain at the receiving end and having no say in policy-making process, IWF has been emphasizing on involvement of CSOs in facilitating capacity-building of the people.

However, IWF counseling and offer of cooperation in water sector remained unutilized during the period under review, as it had happened in the preceding years. We at India Water Foundation are not disheartened for lack of official and corporate sector support to our yeoman mission knowing well that our yearning is not profit-making but a missionary zeal being pursued in the national interest to make India a water-surplus country.

I feel immense pleasure in presenting this brief Annual Report that reveals about our humble contribution in water sector.

Dr Arvind Kumar

President, India water Foundation

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Taxonomy

• Industry Association
• Association