A distinctive feature of the book under review is that it focusses on the diplomatic and geopolitical dimensions of water, rather than its physical, economic, or other aspects. Also it looks at it from the perspective of Asian continent as a whole, instead of in the national, regional or basin context. A product of intensive research by one of the internationally known scholars in the geopolitical dimensions of water, the book traces the emerging water tensions against the backdrop of the booming economies of China and India. To begin with, Chellaney looks at why Asia remains the hub of global water conflicts and crisis. Home to three-fifths of global population, Asia has one of the lowest per capita water availability; the relevant figure for fresh water is less than half of the global average. It is this water scarcity coupled with the trans-boundary nature of most rivers that makes Asia a theatre for potential water wars or diplomatic arm-twisting in the years to come.
The chapter dealing with the geopolitics of Asian countries throws light on country-specific security aspects of water, the focus being on the emerging water and environmental crises in India and China, the two dominant players in the continent. Regional demand-supply imbalances have forced China to go for south-to-north water transfer, in spite of the serious environmental and regional consequences. According to the author, forced labour and prisoners were used in the construction of dams within China and even outside.
The Tibetan Plateau, the world's most unique water repository that plays a critical role in the hydrological cycles and weather regimes of Asia, is discussed in the next chapter. The ecology of the region has been seriously disturbed by such factors as growing population, increasing deforestation, expansion of intensive agriculture, and disappearance of grass lands. The hydrological impact of deforestation and water contamination by ore tailings have severely affected the region's ability to provide quality water to the rest of Asia. Every major river in Tibetan Plateau, including the Mekong, the Salween, and the Brahmaputra, has been dammed, thanks to China's control of the region.
Implications
The geopolitical and environmental implications of the Chinese plan to divert waters of the Brahmaputra by putting up a huge dam close to its border with India are examined in the fourth chapter. Already, there are as many as 13 dams across the Brahmaputra and its tributaries. Security concerns, water shortages in the north, and the growing dominance of engineers in the top political echelons of China are identified as the major factors that prompted China to harness the waters not only of the Brahmaputra but of the Mekong and the Salween as well. Significantly, most of the proposed dams are in Tibet, the region that enjoys immense upper riparian advantages in respect of rivers originating there; China is set to exploit them. The fifth chapter presents a number of case studies — including those from Central Asia and South Asia — to show how water conflicts are developing along ethnic and religious fault lines. China too is not free from intra-country water conflicts, although not much is known about them outside. In South Korea, the ‘Four-River Project' has caused an inter-regional chasm.
Disputes between countries are dealt with in the sixth chapter. Water conflicts between China and its neighbours, India and its neighbours, Israel and its neighbours, and among the countries of Central Asia are covered. These conflicts invariably have also a link with territorial disputes. The case studies of inter-country water disputes underscore the need for developing institutional mechanism at the basin level for working out a mutually beneficial arrangement on water sharing, use, and management. There is also a discussion on India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh water treaties.
The concluding chapter, apart from summing up the major challenges the Asian countries are facing on the water front, explain how they could be overcome through institutional water-sharing arrangements and legal frameworks that strike a balance between the rules and responsibilities over the shared water-resources.
Enriched by two annexures — one listing fresh water agreements and the other providing the web-links to some of the key Asian water treaties — and supportive maps, this is truly a treatise on the geopolitical, diplomatic, and security aspects of water resources in Asia from an international perspective. It can well serve as a source material for research and as a supplementary reading material for courses in history, political science, international relations, and environmental economics. Policymakers who have anything to do with varied aspects of inter-national water-sharing issues will have a lot to benefit from it.
WATER—- Asia's New Battleground: Brahma Chellaney; HarperCollins Publishers, A-53, Sector 57, Noida-201301. Rs. 699.
