United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR 2015) titled “Water for a Sustainable World.”
The 2015 edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR 2015), titled “Water for a Sustainable World”, was launched at the official celebration of the World Water Day, on 20 March 2015 in New Delhi, India.
Dr. Shrestha has contributed the chapter on 'Towards sustainable groundwater management in Asian cities.'
Releasing the report, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova remarked: ”The report’s observations are timely, because the international community has to draw up a new development programme, to take over from the Millennium Development Goals.”
Dr. Shrestha’s work focusses on nine cities in Asia and directs the reader towards major problems linked to overextraction of groundwater. These problems include land subsidence, lowering of the water table, contamination of groundwater and saline water intrusion into the aquifers. He adds that “land subsidence resulting from groundwater exploitation has been observed in Bangkok, Bandung, Ho Chi Minh City and Tokyo.”
Citing the example of Lahore, Pakistan, Dr. Shrestha points out that the groundwater level was at five metres below the surface until 2003, but by 2011 it had plummeted to 45 metres at some places. Similarly all aquifers have been affected by salinity in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; while in Bangkok, the increased concentration of chloride and total dissolved solids in groundwater is a serious concern.
“Measures to limit withdrawal, such as licensing systems and charging schemes have been implemented,” Dr. Shrestha says, adding that the success of these initiatives should be looked at through a local rather than a regional lens because of varying levels of surface water and groundwater availability as well as different policy and agency coordination issues in specific contexts. “Changing the business-as-usual emphasis on water development over water management will be important for Asian cities in the future, as it will be for other regions around the world,” he says.
UNESCO’s official press release is available at this link: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/water/wwap/
The Report can be downloaded at this link: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002321/232179E.pdf