Suggested  Citation:  Shamsudduha,  M.  (2013),  ‘Groundwater  resilience  to  human  development  and  climate  change  in  South  Asia’,  GWF  Discussion  Paper  1332,  Global  Water  Forum,  Canberra,  Australia.  Available  online  at:  http://www.globalwaterforum.org/2013/08/19/groundwater-­‐resilience-­‐to-­‐human-­‐development-­‐and-­‐climate-­‐change-­‐in-­‐south-­‐asia/    

Groundwater  resilience  to  human  development  and  climate  change  in  South  Asia      

 

Mohammad  Shamsudduha  University  College  London,  UK  

Discussion  Paper  1332   August  2013    

This   article   highlights   the   critical   issues  surrounding   groundwater   storage   and  quality   in   South   Asia.   These   issues   include  development,   irrigation,   public   health,   and  climate   change.   The   author   concludes   that  more   scientific   research   is   essential   for  addressing   the   complex   problem   of  deteriorating  groundwater  resources.  

The  Global  Water  Forum  publishes  discussion  papers  to   share   the   insights   and   knowledge   contained  within   our   online   articles.   The   articles   are  contributed   by   experts   in   the   field   and   provide:  original   academic   research;   unique,   informed  insights  and  arguments;  evaluations  of  water  policies  and   projects;   as   well   as   concise   overviews   and  explanations   of   complex   topics.   We   encourage   our  readers   to   engage   in   discussion   with   our  contributing  authors  through  the  GWF  website.  

Keywords:  groundwater,  South  Asia,  climate  change,  water  quality,  food  security,  development,  irrigation  

Globally, groundwater is recognized as an

important natural resource with great

economic value. In many developing nations,

groundwater abstraction has accelerated

resource development over the past 20 years

and led to major social and economic

benefits.1 Estimates show that freshwater

represents nearly 2.5 percent of the Earth’s

total water content, of which around 30

percent is groundwater and the rest includes

ice and glaciers, surface water, and soil and

atmospheric water.2 Thus groundwater

represents a significant proportion of the

Earth’s freshwater content, and in many

countries groundwater is the only reliable

source of freshwater.

Approximately one-fifth of the Earth’s total

freshwater resources can be found in South

Asia – the home of around 1.7 billion people

(Figure 1). During the monsoon surface water

is abundant throughout the region; during the

dry season surface water scarcity is common.

A vast amount of freshwater is stored as

groundwater beneath the densely populated

Groundwater resilience to human development and climate change in South Asia  

 

floodplains of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and

Indus River systems. In the dry season or

when the monsoon is delayed, this storage is

critical. It can also be a safer alternative to

often-polluted surface water year-round. For

these reasons, groundwater is the main source

of domestic, industrial and irrigation water

supplies throughout South Asia.

A safe and sustainable water supply is

essential for improving public health, and

achieving economic growth and food security

in the region. Currently, groundwater

resources are facing degradation due to a

range of problems, such as overexploitation,

mismanagement, and natural and

anthropogenic contamination. The strategic

importance of groundwater for global water

and food security will further intensify under

climate change.3

Groundwater-fed irrigation has become the

mainstay of irrigated agriculture over much of

India and Bangladesh, Punjab and Sindh

provinces of Pakistan, and the Terai plains of

Nepal.4Traditionally, surface water from

ponds and rivers had been used to provide

both drinking and irrigation water supplies in

all South Asian countries. However, over the

last few decades groundwater has largely

replaced surface water-fed water sources. In

Bangladesh, currently 97 percent of drinking

water and nearly 80 percent of irrigation

water come from groundwater (Figure 2). The

use of groundwater for irrigation in India and

Pakistan is approximately 60 and 35 percent

respectively. By volume, India is the biggest

groundwater user in the world. A recent

estimate shows that in India, Bangladesh,

Pakistan and Nepal combined the annual

groundwater withdrawal is nearly 250 km3 –

approximately 35% of the world’s total

groundwater withdrawal. A substantial

proportion of this groundwater is used to

produce rice, the staple food of South Asia.

Recently, Bangladesh has made significant

progress towards becoming self-sufficient in

food grains, primarily through groundwater-

sustained agriculture. It has long been taken

for granted that shallow groundwater used for

irrigation and drinking water supplies in

Bangladesh is fully recharged during the

monsoon season. However, recent studies

reveal that the volume of groundwater storage

is rapidly declining in many parts of

Bangladesh and India because groundwater is

not being recharged at the same rate as it is

used.5,6

Intensive and unsustainable use of

groundwater in South Asia, particularly in

northern India and central and northwestern

Bangladesh, has led to rapid depletion of

aquifers in recent years. NASA’s GRACE

(Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment)

Groundwater resilience to human development and climate change in South Asia  

 

satellite observations have been used to show

that northern India has lost approximately

109 km3 of groundwater between 2002 and

2008 (Figure 3).6,7 Over the same period,

India’s neighbor Bangladesh, which has 4.5%

of India’s landmass, has lost nearly 3 km3 of

its groundwater due to over-abstraction.8 It is

reported that sustained groundwater

depletion has contributed substantially to

global sea-level rise3; groundwater depletion

in Asia is estimated to have contributed to a

global rise of 2.2 millimeters over the period

2001 to 2008. Recent sea-level rise in the Bay

of Bengal has been attributed, at least in part,

to over-abstraction of local groundwater to

supply irrigation and municipal water over the

last few decades.5

Another concern is the deterioration of

groundwater quality due to both natural

processes and anthropogenic activities. In

large parts of Bangladesh and several

northeastern states of India, shallow

groundwater is contaminated with high

concentrations of naturally occurring arsenic.

Nearly 100 million people in the Indian sub-

continent are currently exposed to dangerous

levels of arsenic in their drinking water

supply.9 High concentrations of naturally-

occurring fluoride is another threat to public

health affecting nearly 66 million people in

southern and northwestern

India.10,11 Although, arsenic and fluoride

contamination is not as big a problem in

coastal Bangladesh, highly saline groundwater

is a major public-health concern, particularly

for maternal health.12 Similar concerns exist in

other deltaic areas of South Asia. Although

sources of high salinity in coastal groundwater

are difficult to identify, it has been shown that

the reduction of flow through the lower

Ganges and rising sea levels are partly

responsible.13

How will climate change affect South Asia’s

groundwater resources in future? Unlike

surface water, groundwater is more resilient

to climate change and slow to respond to any

change.14 However, some specific aspects of

climate change can greatly influence the

timing and magnitude of groundwater

recharge and quality, such as a shift in

monsoon season, heavy rainfall events,

increased evaporation, increased runoff and

rising sea levels.3,15 Elsewhere, it has been

shown that episodic heavy rainfall events

favor more rapid groundwater recharge in

central Tanzania.15 Heavier rainfall events are

also projected to occur in South Asia but the

potential impact on groundwater recharge

remains unanswered. As mentioned above,

sea level rise can cause coastal fresh

groundwater at shallow depths to be gradually

replaced by saltwater. This process can

Groundwater resilience to human development and climate change in South Asia  

 

accelerate through over abstraction of

groundwater in many of the growing coastal

cities of South Asia.

The degradation of groundwater resources by

human development and climate change is

increasingly disturbing drinking and irrigation

water supplies globally. The problem is not

exclusive to South Asia, but it is perhaps most

critical in what is the world’s most densely

populated region. Public health, food security,

industrial growth, and ecosystems all are

currently at greater risk than ever before.

More public investment will be needed to

manage the growing demand for drinking,

industrial and irrigation water supplies.

Alternatives are needed and improved

efficiency of use is required. Many past

development projects in South Asia did not

take into consideration the declining state of

groundwater. Governments need to recognize

the social and economic importance of

protecting aquifers from further deterioration.

Public awareness and education are also

essential. Lastly, more scientific research is

necessary, particularly in complex coastal

environments. Continually improving our

knowledge of groundwater systems in South

Asia, and the threats they face, is a key step in

protecting this precious natural resource.

Figure 1. Spatial distribution of population in South Asian countries. Data taken from a global population model of LandScan 2007 (http://www.ornl.gov/sci/landscan/).

Groundwater resilience to human development and climate change in South Asia  

 

Figure 2. Use of freshwater and groundwater in different sectors in South Asian countries. Source: AQUASTAT

Figure 3. Trends in GRACE-derived terrestrial water mass (period August 2002 to December 2011) shows mass loss over northern India associated with recent decline in groundwater storage.7

Groundwater resilience to human development and climate change in South Asia  

 

References

1. Foster, S.S.D. and P.J. Chilton (2003), ‘Groundwater: the processes and global significance of aquifer degradation’, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 358(1440): 1957-1972. 2. Shiklomanov, I.A. (1993), ‘World fresh water resources’, in P.H. Gleick (ed.) Water in Crisis: A Guide to the World’s Fresh Water Resources, Oxford University Press: New York. 3. Taylor, R.G., et al. (2013), ‘Ground water and climate change’, Nature Climate Change, 3: 322-329. 4. Shah, T., C. Scott, A. Kishore, and A. Sharma (2004), ‘Energy-irrigation nexus in South Asia: Improving groundwater conservation and power sector viability’, IWMI Research Reports H033885, International Water Management Institute. 5. Shamsudduha, M., R.E. Chandler, R.G. Taylor, and K.M. Ahmed (2009) ‘Recent trends in groundwater levels in a highly seasonal hydrological system: the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta’, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 13(12): 2373-2385. 6. Rodell, M., I. Velicogna, and J.S. Famiglietti (2009), ‘Satellite-based estimates of groundwater depletion in India’.Nature, 460: 999-1003. 7. Jin, S. (2013), ‘Satellite Gravimetry: Mass Transport and Redistribution in the Earth System’, in J. Shuanggen (ed.) Geodetic Sciences – Observations, Modeling and Applications: InTech. 8. Shamsudduha, M., R.G. Taylor, and L. Longuevergne (2012), ‘Monitoring groundwater storage changes in the highly seasonal humid tropics: validation of GRACE measurements in the Bengal Basin’, Water Resources Research, 2012: W02508. 9. Ravenscroft, P., H. Brammer, and K.S. Richards (2009), Arsenic pollution: a global synthesis, Wiley-Blackwell: U. K. 10. Amini, M., et al. (2008), ‘Statistical modeling of global geogenic fluoride contamination in groundwaters’, Environmental Science & Technology, 42(10): 3662-3668. 11. Jacks, G., P. Bhattacharya, V. Chaudhary, and K.P. Singh (2005), ‘Controls on the genesis of some high-fluoride groundwaters in India’, Applied Geochemistry, 20: 221-228. 12. Khan, A.E., et al. (2011), ‘Drinking water salinity and maternal health in coastal Bangladesh: implications of climate change’. Environmental Health Perspectives, 119(9): 1328-1332. 13. CEGIS (2006), ‘Impact of sea level rise on landuse suitability and adaptation options’, in Coastal Land Use Zoning in the Southwest, Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services: Dhaka. 14. MacDonald, A.M., H.C. Bonsor, B.E.O. Dochartaigh, and R.G. Taylor (2012), ‘Quantitative maps of groundwater resources in Africa’. Environmental Research Letters, 7: doi:10.1088/1748-9326/7/2/024009. 15. Taylor, R.G., et al. (2013), ‘Evidence of the dependence of groundwater resources on extreme rainfall in East Africa’, Nature Climate Change, 3: 374-378.

About the author(s)

Dr. Mohammad Shamsudduha (“Shams”) is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction at University College London, UK. Shams did his PhD in Hydrogeology with a research topic “Groundwater dynamics and arsenic mobilization in Bangladesh” at University College London. His research interests include groundwater arsenic contamination, spatial and temporal dynamics in groundwater recharge, surface water-groundwater interactions in the highly dynamic Bengal Basin, and impacts of climate change and rising sea levels on freshwater storage in Asian Mega-Deltas. His current research includes an EPSRC of the United Kingdom funded research “Security of deep groundwater against the ingress of arsenic and salinity is Bangladesh”, and a UKAID-funded research “Groundwater resilience to climate change and abstraction in the Indo-Gangetic basin (http://www.bgs.ac.uk/research/groundwater/international/SEAsiaGroundwater/home.html). Shams is currently serving as an Associate Editor for the journal Climate Risk Management. He can be contacted at: m.shamsudduha@ucl.ac.uk.

Groundwater resilience to human development and climate change in South Asia  

 

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