The News Review:

- Bloomberg.com: Latin America
- Expert panel report on canal repair to be implemented
- Symposium on Ground Water Governance: Ownership of Ground Water and…
- Managing Globalization: The trouble with water

Bloomberg.com: Latin America
Bloomberg – Nov 14, 2006
“Almost all glaciers in China have already shownsubstantial melting,'' the UN Development Programme said in its2006 Human Development Report. “The 300 million farmers inChina's arid western region are likely to see a decline in thevolume of water flowing from the glaciers. '' Economic development in the world's fastest-growing majoreconomy has increased competition for water resources, which areonly a quarter of the world's average per person. Climate changeis one of several threats to China's water supplies, includingindustrial pollution, overuse of chemical fertilizers andpesticides, and weak enforcement of environmental law. Shortages of water from overuse affect 538 million peoplein northern China, where 42 percent of China's population issupplied by 14 percent of the country's water, according to theUN report. More than 70 percent of the water in the Yellow, Huai andHai rivers, which supply about half of China's population, istoo polluted for human use, the report said. Half of China'srural poor live in the basin areas of these rivers, it said…
“The 300 million farmers inChina's arid western region are likely to see a decline in thevolume of water flowing from the glaciers. '' Economic development in the world's fastest-growing majoreconomy has increased competition for water resources, which areonly a quarter of the world's average per person. Climate changeis one of several threats to China's water supplies, includingindustrial pollution, overuse of chemical fertilizers andpesticides, and weak enforcement of environmental law. Shortages of water from overuse affect 538 million peoplein northern China, where 42 percent of China's population issupplied by 14 percent of the country's water, according to theUN report. More than 70 percent of the water in the Yellow, Huai andHai rivers, which supply about half of China's population, istoo polluted for human use, the report said. Half of China'srural poor live in the basin areas of these rivers, it said. China needs to charge more for water use, and increasepenalties for pollution to reflect the scarcity of the resource,Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development DeputySecretary-General Kiyotaka Akasaka said last week in Beijing.

Expert panel report on canal repair to be implemented
Hindu – Nov 14, 2006
Eshwarappa says first phase of the project will be taken up next year Committee has suggested a Rs. 841-crore plan Meeting of all experts to be held in December Munirabad (Koppal dist. ): Minister for Water Resources K. Eshwarappa has said that the Government had decided to implement the recommendations of the H. Chiniwal Committee for a comprehensive improvement of canals under the Tungabhadra Project in Bellary, Koppal and Raichur districts…
Bose Raju (Manvi MLA), Hampangouda Badarli (Sindhanur MLA), Veerappa Kesarahatti (Kanakagiri MLA) and Muniyappa Muddappa (former Minister and Kalmala MLA), who were present at the meeting, told the Minister that the ayacutdars in three districts had been under stress because of frequent breaches in the canal. Recently, some major breaches had occurred in the Tungabhadra left and right canals affecting water supply to the tailend regions in Raichur and Bellary districts. But the Government was not serious in solving the problems faced by the ayacutdars. Badarli said there was a need to take up a comprehensive improvement in the canals under the project to ensure proper water supply till the tail-end regions of all command areas.

Symposium on Ground Water Governance: Ownership of Ground Water and…
Press Information Bureau – Press Information Bureau (press release) – Nov 14, 2006
It is paramount that basic resources for human survival, viz. air, land and water must be properly managed. The quantity and quality of these resources are critical to ensure adequate food supplies and public health. In particular, the management of water resources has profound impact on society with regard to quality of life. Prof, Soz opined that self-sufficiency in food production through green revolution has been most outstanding achievements of the post independence era in our country. Ground water has played a very important role in scaling this achievement. Ground water generally being a reliable resource, its development has had tremendous implications for agricultural production and productivity as well as the livelihoods of millions of people.

Managing Globalization: The trouble with water
International Herald Tribune – Nov 14, 2006
But globalization could also make the problem harder to solve by creating a world market for water. “As competition for water intensifies within countries, the resulting pressures will spill across national borders,” the report predicts. Some water supply basins are shared between as many as 19 countries, and 800 million people get their water from sources that originate outside their countries’ borders. Without cooperation or regulation, that competition for water is likely to be won by wealthier bidders. In the meantime, some local solutions are being found. In Thailand, Bjorkman said, some small communities are taking challenges like water access upon themselves. “People organize themselves in groups to leverage what little resources they have to help their communities,” he said…
In the meantime, some local solutions are being found. In Thailand, Bjorkman said, some small communities are taking challenges like water access upon themselves. “People organize themselves in groups to leverage what little resources they have to help their communities,” he said. “That’s especially true out in the rural areas. They invest their money in revolving funds and saving schemes, and they invest themselves to improve their villages. ” It is not always easy to take these solutions and replicate them in other countries, though. Assembling a broad menu of different approaches can be the first step in finding the right solution for a given region or country.