The day two of the India Water Week 2022 which is currently ongoing at the India Expo Centre in Greater Noida, U.P. witness several activities related to the sustainable development of the Water sector in particular and other related sectors such as Rural, Agricultural and Environmental sectors in general. Main emphasis, during one of the key sessions during the day, was to identify and find solutions to bottlenecks impeding greater progress on SDG6 acceleration. This was discussed threadbare during the session ‘Acceleration of SDG 6 Achievements through Multi-Stakeholders Partnerships’. A Panel discussion was also held on role of water in achieving sustainable development goals. Special session was held by RWPF on Jal Jeevan Mission and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. As a special gesture, ICID and INCID organised a Special Event on water security.

 

During this session, Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Shri. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, said that India achieved the target for ODF by 2019, 11 years ahead of the time set by UN for 2030. Shri Shekhawat also stated that 2000 Water Quality labs will be created by Central Government in a short span of time, and for taking water quality testing to the grassroots, 11 lakh handheld WQ devices are being provided along with training for the rural mass. The Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Kailash Chaudhary, delivered the special notes citing examples on aeroponics, hydroponics and  “khet ka pani khet mein” principles.

Other dignitaries like Shri Atul Bagai,  Head UNEP, Dr RS Ratna, Dy Head UNESCAP, and Shri Loic Fauchon, President, WWC also expressed their view on multi stake holder approach for making water as global priority. Policy decisions taken in one sector (e.g. Agriculture, Energy, Health and Environment) often do not consider the impacts on water availability and water quality in other sectors. The urgent need to accelerate effective partnership across all stakeholders to deliver on the SDG6 which in turn would contribute to a range of other SDGs including climate action has been stressed. Detailed discussions on the key success factors and key challenges for building successful multi stakeholder partnerships to achieve SDG 6, role of data and monitoring frameworks for water governance with whole of government approach, multi-disciplinary approach to ensure SDG6 acceleration were held.

Panel discussion was held on role of water in achieving sustainable development goals, in which Sri Sriram Vedire, Chairman Task force for ILR & Advisor, Ministry of Jal Shakti stated that entire ecosystem, biodiversity, flora & fauna conclusively the environment are greatly influenced and governed by “Water and Sanitation“. How the forest supports for healthy water was deliberated by Ms Pooja Sharma. Mr Rajiv Batis talked on Role of Water in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals. Besides, Ms Gayatri Sharma, a water warrior narrated her success story from Jal Shiksha to Jal Suraksha. 

The Green strategic partnership between India & Denmark, emerging opportunities in use of digital technology as Smart Water, sectoral co-operation in sustainable water management, water research development & innovation platform, etc., were deliberated by experts from Denmark during one of the key sessions.  Shri Pankaj Kumar, Secretary, DoWR, RD&GR, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Govt of India and H.E. Freddy Svane, Ambassador of Denmark to India were present during the session to provide their key insights.

The issues on strategies for demand and supply side management with reservoir operation, modelling approaches for lower Gandak, Classification of Evapotranspiration using WA+ Tool, water- energy- food nexus harmonization: for a climate and income smart   sustainable agriculture, economic growth and poverty alleviation through water security along with global evidence and implications for India were highlighted. Apart from this, sustainable agriculture and water management for economic development, challenges for sustainability of ground water resources, impact of climate change and adaptation strategies, quality challenges in water sector, dovetailing the macro and micro intervention for water management, etc., were discussed and the various outcome based on the experiences of stakeholders were also deliberated. Lot of stakeholders have taken part in the sessions and recommendations are suggested for the policy makers. Seminar on water quality challenges in water sector was also organized.

A quality assessment of global satellite-based precipitation data sets of GPM, climate indices using CMIP6 climate data over Rajasthan State, climate resilient development of WRM, effect of climate change on crop production & its mitigation, dependency between climate variables & aridity index, impact of climate change on water bodies were also discussed during the session on impact of climate change and adaptation strategies.

Union Jal Shakti Minister Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat addressing a session on Day 2

Union Jal Shakti Minister along with Secretary, DDWS during a session

 

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