Kalabagh Dam: International Water Disputes (Part 2)

Jun 1, 2016 | Zafar Mahmood
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What encouraged me to search for the elusive consensus on KBD Project was the research conducted by Ms. Sjomander Magnusson, Director Trans-boundary Water Management of Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). She takes into account all water disputes, inter-state or intra-state and concludes that dooms day scenario of looming water wars propagated few decades ago does not reflect the current scenario. The main reason she propounds for the subtle and slow change was the recognition of water as a public good commodity. Human progress on the road of civilization has taken us far from the days of Mark Twain who feeling disillusioned about American water disputes wrote sarcastically, “Whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting”.

Water disputes between nations and regions are not a new phenomenon. But with the advent of technology to tame rivers and build water reservoirs, conflicts surged to a new level. Lower riparians were always suspicious of the intentions of the Upper riparians on building of dams as that could restrict or disturb the flows in the Lower riparian areas. The disputes led to development of legal principles to safeguard the historical rights of water users in lower riparian regions.