The India-European Union Water Partnership (IEWP) was formally endorsed by the EU and India to facilitate cooperation on water issues. The key activities of the IEWP include technical exchanges between water managers to discuss the EU's Water Framework Directive and India's river basin management plans, workshops on topics like governance and water allocation, identifying business opportunities, and maintaining a website and communications materials to promote activities. The IEWP has helped build capacity for water management in India and identified priorities like sustainable development and water use in agriculture and irrigation going forward.

1. India-European Union Water Partnership

2. • Europe and India share a rich heritage of association. Amongst
the first countries to establish diplomatic relations in early 1960s
• Similar water challenges but vary in nature and magnitude: EU
and India both face water quantity (water scarcity, droughts and
floods) and quality (industrial, urban and agricultural pollution)
issues
• India is looking for solutions for sustainable management of its
river basins to provide water security for its growing domestic,
agricultural and industrial sectors
Background
• EU has important experience in river basin
planning and management under the Water
Framework Directive, involving inter-State and
cross-border aspects

3. • Water demand does not match
(geographically, timely) with availability of
water resources
• High spatial and temporal climate
variability leading to frequent occurrence
of floods and droughts
• Pollution (urban, industrial, agriculture)
• Loss of habitats and species (e.g. dolphin)
due to increased water pollution and
reduced ecological flows
• Lack of proper planning for managing
water at the basin scale
• Enforcement (pollution, water allocation,
water pricing)
• Conflict resolution (international, inter-
State, sectors)
Key water management challenges in India (1)
Source: CPCB, 2013 and CSE, 2014
Sewage flow in
Ganga Basin

4. • Godavari River Basin
• Bilateral agreements over water use exists
between riparian States
• Lower riparian regions complaining about
reduced stream-flows during lean season
• Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal,
constituted in 1969, yet to give its final
verdict.
• Water conflict may escalate due to
number of planned water transfer
schemes
• Krishna River Basin
• As most of the available water is
committed, basin experiences water
scarcity during low rainfall years
• Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT)
was set up in April 1969
• Tribunal has given final award, still there is
high conflict related to water sharing
• It has been further escalated with
Telangana (a new State) asking for fresh
water resource assessments
Key water management challenges in India (2)

5. The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) is being implemented
since the year 2000.
Key aims of the WFD are:
• Achievement of good status for all surface waters and
groundwaters by 2027 at the latest
• Requirement of no deterioration of water status
WFD Tools include:
• Catchment area approach – IWRM
• River Basin Management Plans in 6 year cycles
• Identified Significant Water Management Issues
• Programme of Measures to achive objectives
• Stakeholder involvement – public consultation and
participation
The European experience (1)

6. • Similar water challenges (quality, quantity, floods, droughts)
• Similar administrative set-up
• EU common framework approach, with flexibility for tailor-made
implementation by Member States
• Joint effort (Common Implementation Strategy) with Member
States and stakeholders to facilitate implementation by
developing guidance and sharing experience
• Data collection and sharing, interpretation and policy-messaging
The European experience (2 – Relevance to India)

7. Key implementation elements
1. Technical exchange
2. Forum
3. Workshops
4. Business opportunities
5. Networking
6. Communications

8. Technical exchange India-EU
• Continuous technical exchange between EU and representatives
of the Government of India at different levels, including
• high political level (e.g. State Secretary, Secretary)
• intermediate level (Chairmen, nodal officers) and
• technical level.
• has led to frequent requests for information (e.g. on the Water
Framework Directive implementation in Europe, the set-up of
river basin organisations, water allocation schema, river basin
management plans, legal boundaries of the WFD)
• have resulted in the development of documents and
• have driven the celebration of specific events around these
themes.

9. Technical exchange: Blueprint for Water Accounting
Aim
• To design a framework for improved water data management and a water
indicator system in India, based on the experiences in other parts of the world.
What
• It evolved as a multi-stakeholder consultative process (Dec 2016-Feb 2017)
addressing the identified policy objectives:
• Drive efficiency in water use and large-scale demand side water
management through the availability of reliable and transparent water
consumption data across sectors
• Provide credibility to the communication of such data with appropriate
granularity (spatial and temporal) of data
• Create a knowledge base of current water use and future water demand,
a building block for robust and equitable water allocation scheme in
IWRM studies and RBMPs.
Results
• On the basis of the technical exchange, three task forces has been constituted by
the MoWR, RD & GR to further develop indicators using existing data sets. These
task forces has representatives from IEWP team and covers the following
themes: water quality; water use efficiency; and cost recovery.

10. Technical exchange: Water Quality (WQ) Index
Aim of the activity:
• Contribute to the improvement of the India-WRIS WebGIS regarding water quality
aspects as integral part of IWRM in India.
• Enable improved messaging to better support planning, policy and decision-making
on different levels as well as public information
Activities:
• Development of a Concept Document including a brief gap analysis and a first
proposal towards the achievement of the aims (short and long-term)
• Outline how (i) to improve the current CPCB WQ Index, (ii) to make use of pressure-
oriented WQ indicators and (iii) to develop new WQ Indices
• Presentation of the concept and proposals at a Blueprint for Water Accounting
Workshop (14 March) and discussion with the installed Water Quality Task Force
Results:
Proposals for improved messaging and visualization through India-WRIS WebGIS regarding
• pressures and possible impacts from municipal wastewater along the Ganga River and
initial ideas how to address related upscaling to basin-level;
• results of the existing water quality index including discharge illustration;
• Proposals how to address other pressures than municipal wastewater making use of
pressure oriented approaches and RBMPs that will be developed.
Next steps
• Further enhance short-term actions for key river basins in India regarding effective
water quality assessment and messaging in consultation with the WQ Task Force

11. India-EU Water Fora 2015 and 2016
• Edition 2015 initiated joint work and agreed on priorities
for cooperation
• 2016 within the World Sustainable Development Summit
• visualizing the different areas of cooperation within the IEWP
• showcasing experiences which can enable further cooperation,
between governments, with business and in research
• Including
• Ceremonial signature of Memorandum of Understanding
• Presentations and discussion
• Exhibition area

12. Workshops
• Three workshops have been developed with the following
topics:
• River Basin Management Planning and Governance,
• Water allocation, water economics and eflows in River Basin
Management,
• Technical exchange on River Basin Management Planning.
• relevant for the water policy and management framework India
is currently developing.
• have positioned the EU as a counterpart for India on exchanging
on river basin planning, which is also a strength of the EU water
legislation and its implementation.
• The relevant information from the workshops (e.g. agenda,
presentations, conclusions, background documents) is available
online.

13. Workshop: River Basin Management Planning and
Governance (June 2016)
Aim of the workshop:
• Analyse governance challenges in the Ganga River Basin focusing on key issues
regarding River Basin Management Planning as well as the role and establishment
of River Basin Organisations
Conclusions:
• Towards implementation regarding RBOs and governance in river basins: Make use
of pilot cases in India to establish functioning mechanisms for RBM;
• Create informal structures that provide a platform of exchange (top-down and
bottom-up approaches - like the EU Water Directors) and to build mutual trust for
enabling a frame of working together

14. Workshop: Water allocation, water economics and
eflows (September 2016)
• Aim
• Promote the setting of agreed targets, rules and implementation
procedures for water allocation including environmental flows
• Considering socio-economic and cultural aspects within the river basin
planning and management, so that water allocation contributes to
sustainable growth and development in India
• Conclusions
• A robust allocation regime, which allocates water where it is most
needed in normal times and in times of scarcity, is an essential driver
for sustainable development, at state and basin level. It mitigates
water-related risks.
• Some of the core requirements of a robust allocation regime are
currently missing in the Ganga River Basin and in the National Ganga
River Basin Management Plan
• A stepwise approach to eflows is recommended, building on the
experiences of other countries in the world, in particular Mexico

15. Technical exchange on River Basin Management
Planning
• Aim
• to provide practice-oriented support for the development of the
IWRM Plans for the river basins of Krishna, Godavari and Mahanadi.
• To identify approaches to address existing and future conflicts about
water between States (in basins, due to water transfers)
• Conclusions
• Solving intra-state issues and problems will pose a key challenge;
• Cooperation between States is good and can also be regulated by law;
• Focus should be on Long-term planning;
• Stakeholder involvement will be a critical issue;
• Explore “benefit-sharing”

16. Business opportunities
• One business meeting March 2016 was entirely focused on
business opportunities in India
• EU businesses have been invited to participate in other
IEWP events, with different roles (e.g. speakers, exhibitors,
participants).

17. Networking
• The IEWP has teamed up with other National (e.g. FICCI, TERI)
and international (e.g. 2030WRG, OECD, WWF) players,
• and cooperated with other donors (e.g. World Bank, Israel,
Australia) in order to build a better network aimed to promote
sustainable water policy and management in India, and provide
solutions and learned lessons based on previous experiences in
the same area.
• Specific activities include
• Joint organization of the National Workshop on "Blueprint for Water
Accounting in India" (New Delhi), with 2030 Water Resources Group
• Cooperation for the “India – EU Water Partnership workshop: Water &
Industry” (September 2016),
• Participation in other events, meetings or work initiatives.

18. Communications
• A website (http://www.eip-water.eu/india-eu-water-
partnership-iewp) has been set up hosts all information,
including details for the events that have been organised.
• Activities have been promoted on Twitter (mainly via
@EU_in_India),
• A slideshare account (www.slideshare.net/IEWP) has been
created and presentations have been uploaded

19. Main results
• Formal endorsement of the India-EU Water Partnership (IEWP)
by the European Union and India
• Capacity building of water managers on River Basin
Management planning and governance
• Blueprint for Water Accounting in India
• Roadmap for improving visibility and impact of water quality
monitoring data
• Regarding policy dialogue, areas of common interest have been
identified, and fixed in the work programmes of the IEWP for
2016 and 2017
• Business opportunities have been identified for a wide field of
interest, and followed up regarding RBMPs.

20. Priorities for 2017
• Sustainable development of river basins
• River rejuvenation – River restoration
• Ecological flows
• Water use in Irrigation – Water Use Efficiency
• Water use in Irrigation - Solar pumping for Irrigation
• Sustainable and optimal groundwater use and recharge
• Capacity building and organizational development

21. Let’s build it together:
http://www.eip-water.eu/india-eu-water-partnership-iewp
Thank you for your attention