1 Water Resource Conflicts: An Interactive Approach (3-5 class periods) Suggested Curriculum Areas: Social Studies/Global Studies, ELA and the Living Environment Goals: 1. To introduce students to water resource issues in different parts of the world 2. To encourage students to think about decision making in the context of resource shortage 3. To introduce the students to internet and library research skills 4. To provide students to think critically about an issue from a variety of perspectives Background Information for Teachers • PowerPoint on the History of the Narmada Dam Projects in India • “The Greater Common Good” (Arundhati Roy 1999) • “Narmada Revisited” (Penz, Drydyk and Bose 2011) • Video: Kaise Jeebo Re! (1997) o This video discusses the impacts of the Bargi dam, one of the first dams to be built in the Narmada Valley, and how local communities have protested the project. (Available through the SU South Asia Center) • Video: Dam/age (2003) o This documentary examines the role which Arundhati Roy has played in bringing attention to the plight of those affected by the Narmada River projects. • Video: Drowned Out! (2002) o The documentary follows an Indian family living in the Narmada valley who must decide what to do when they find out that their home is in the submergence zone of a dam. They have three choices: move to the slums in the city, accept a place at a resettlement site or stay at home and drown. They decide to fight for their home. They would rather drown than make way for the Narmada dam. • Government Websites: : http://www.nca.gov.in/aboutus_ind.htm http://www.nvda.in/ http://www.sardarsarovardam.org/Client/Index.aspx • Pro-Dam Website: http://www.supportnarmadadam.org/default.aspx • Anti-Dam Website http://www.narmada.org/
Transcript
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Water Resource Conflicts: An Interactive Approach (3-5 class periods)
Suggested Curriculum Areas: Social Studies/Global Studies, ELA and the Living Environment
Goals:
1. To introduce students to water resource issues in different parts of the world 2. To encourage students to think about decision making in the context of resource shortage 3. To introduce the students to internet and library research skills 4. To provide students to think critically about an issue from a variety of perspectives
Background Information for Teachers
• PowerPoint on the History of the Narmada Dam Projects in India • “The Greater Common Good” (Arundhati Roy 1999) • “Narmada Revisited” (Penz, Drydyk and Bose 2011) • Video: Kaise Jeebo Re! (1997)
o This video discusses the impacts of the Bargi dam, one of the first dams to be built in the Narmada Valley, and how local communities have protested the project. (Available through the SU South Asia Center)
• Video: Dam/age (2003) o This documentary examines the role which Arundhati Roy has played in bringing
attention to the plight of those affected by the Narmada River projects. • Video: Drowned Out! (2002)
o The documentary follows an Indian family living in the Narmada valley who must decide what to do when they find out that their home is in the submergence zone of a dam. They have three choices: move to the slums in the city, accept a place at a resettlement site or stay at home and drown. They decide to fight for their home. They would rather drown than make way for the Narmada dam.
• Government Websites: : http://www.nca.gov.in/aboutus_ind.htm http://www.nvda.in/
• Introduce the topic of water resource management to students and discuss what happens when a scare resource is needed by different groups of people. Ask them if they have any examples of where this has happened near where they live (NYC watershed, Susquehanna Basin, Great Lakes) and what kinds of uses are in conflict (drinking, fishing, recreation, power generation, ecology, etc.).
• After this discussion, introduce them to the case of the Sardar Sarovar Project in India and the damming of the Narmada River. Discuss the situation of water management in India and give a brief history of the project.
• Break the students up into groups and give them their “Stakeholder Position Packets.” Each group is assigned one of the following stakeholder positions:
o The Government of Gujarat o Adivasis (or indigenous communities) displaced by the dam o Environmental groups o Farmers in the Command Area
• Each stakeholder group will be responsible for researching and preparing their position statements. To get them started we have included some brief background materials, but encourage students to find other resources. How long the students have to do outside research is up to the teacher, but one to two class periods should be sufficient.
• Once each group has determined their position, set up an in-class debate.
Alternate Activities
• This example can also be used to discuss the engineering and science behind dams. How do dams work? How much of the world’s energy is from hydro-electric power? What are the benefits? What are the challenges?
• Examining the work of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save the Narmada Movement) gives students a modern example of satyagraha (non-violent resistance) that was encouraged by Mohandas Gandhi.
• The essay by Arundhati Roy can be used as an example of a political essay. How does she construct her argument? What types of literary devices does she use to make her argument more emotionally intense or convincing? Ask students to write a persuasive essay about a cause that they care very deeply about.
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A Brief Background of the Narmada River Development Projects
The Narmada River is 813 miles long, starting in Madhya Pradesh flowing westward to the sea. It is considered one of the seven holy rivers in India and it is worshiped as a Goddess. The plan to dam the Narmada has a long history; the idea of the Narmada Valley Development Projects was first discussed in 1947. Thirty large dams were planned along the Narmada River along with hundreds of smaller dams (see Map). The government argued that these dams would provide three main benefits: hydroelectric power, water for irrigation, and drinking water for particularly drought prone areas (Penz et al. 2011). Others discussed the potential for the reservoirs to become popular tourist destinations.
From the beginning, these projects have been very controversial. There have been disputes between the four states—Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan—that will receive electricity and irrigation waters from this project concerning the how much power and water each will receive. The state of Gujarat is going to be the state that most benefits from the Narmada dam projects though they are also the ones footing the largest share of the bill. However, the states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have experienced the most social and environmental costs (Penz et al. 2011). Though water issues are a state level issue, the Indian central government had to step in to negotiate a settlement between the states through the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) in 1969. Over a ten year period, the states came to an agreement concerning each state’s rights and responsibilities as well as refining the basin-wide vision for the project.
However, the NWDT did not fully address one of the major challenges of building large dams—the displacement of local communities. As a result of one of the largest dams on the river, the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP), it is estimated that 37,000 hectares (142 square miles) of land in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh will be submerged and approximately 200,000 people will be displaced (Penz et al. 2011). To date, the existing dam projects have already displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
Most of the people displaced have been and will be adivasis, or indigenous “tribal” groups, who have lived off the land as foragers, farmers, and fisherfolk for thousands of years. They have also historically been on the edge of society and are often seen as “less civilized” than mainstream Indian society, making them the target of development programs.
There is a system for compensation for “Project Affected Persons” (PAP) but the system has been criticized on a number of levels. First, only people who own land will be compensated and resettled yet, as Penz et al. notes “…many of the “oustees” are landless peasants or hill adivasis who do not hold title to their land” (2011:268). Second, , the price that people have been paid for their land is often drastically below fair market value. Finally, many of the resettlement camps are near urban centers with poor agricultural land which forces them into wage labor. This is a radically different type of lifestyle as these communities are used to living off the land in a relatively non-monetized economy. Social scientists and activists claim that resettlement leads to even further impoverishment of PAPs.
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Government of Gujarat
You are representing the state of Gujarat, in the western part of India. Your goal is to gather information about the reasons why the Narmada River Projects are important for the economic development of the State. You must convince your critics that not only will the dams benefit cities and industries, but they will benefit rural areas where there is currently no electricity supply. You must also address the question of displaced peoples and resettlement. Here are some helpful websites to get you started: http://www.gujaratindia.com/ http://www.nca.gov.in/aboutus_ind.htm http://www.nvda.in/ http://www.sardarsarovardam.org/Client/Index.aspx Adivasi Protection Committee You are representing a group of adivasi communities that have organized to protest the further building of dams in the Narmada valley. You must communicate to others the ways and the extent to which the building of dams have impacted your communities socially and economically. Your group does not believe that the compensation packages are fair. You also believe that the resettlement colonies are insufficient because they lack basic amenities. Here is a helpful websites to get you started: http://www.narmada.org/ Environmentalists for the Narmada River Valley You are representing an environmental non-governmental organization that is concerned about the effects of the dams on the region’s ecology. The dam will flood millions of acres of forests and agricultural land. Fish, reptiles and amphibians will be impacted by the change from a quick moving river to a deep reservoir. Here is a helpful websites to get you started: http://www.narmada.org/ Farmers’ Cooperative You are representing farmers who are living in the command area (the area served by the dam). The completion of the Narmada dam projects will mean that you will have access to more irrigation water. This will allow you to increase the amount of food and cotton you produce. The constant delay in the completion in projects has made it difficult for farmers who need the water. Your goal is to advocate for the completion of the project so that farmers can get the greatest benefit. Here is a helpful websites to get you started: http://www.supportnarmadadam.org/default.aspx
This exercise meets the following learning standards: Learning Standards for Social Studies: Standard 2: The study of world history requires an understanding of world cultures and civilizations, including an analysis of important ideas, social and cultural values, beliefs, and traditions. This study also examines the human condition and the connections and interactions of people across time and space and the ways different people view the same event or issue from a variety of perspectives.
• Use of primary and secondary documents • Plan and organize historical research projects related to regional or global interdependence • Analyze different interpretations of important events, issues, or developments in world
history by studying the social, political, and economic context in which they were developed; by testing the data source for reliability and validity, credibility, authority, authenticity, and completeness; and by detecting bias, distortion of the facts, and propaganda by omission, suppression, or invention of facts.
Standard 3: Geography can be divided into six essential elements which can be used to analyze important historic, geographic, economic, and environmental questions and issues. These six elements include: the world in spatial terms, places and regions, physical settings (including natural resources), human systems, environment and society, and the use of geography.
• Analyze how the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of the Earth’s surface.
Standard 4: The study of economics requires an understanding of major economic concepts and systems, the principles of economic decision making, and the interdependence of economies and economic systems throughout the world.
• Understand how scarcity requires people and nations to make choices which involve costs and future considerations.
Standard 5: The study of civics, citizenship, and government involves learning about political systems; the purposes of government and civic life; and the differing assumptions held by people across time and place regarding power, authority, governance, and law.
• Analyze how the values of a nation and international organizations affect the guarantee of human rights and make provisions for human needs
• Consider the nature and evolution of constitutional democracies throughout the world • Compare various political systems with that of the United States in terms of ideology,
structure, function, institutions, decision
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Learning Standards for Math, Science and Technology
Standard 4: Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.
Key Idea 7: Human decisions and activities have had a profound impact on the physical and living environment.
Performance Indicator 7.2: Explain the impact of technological development and growth in the human population on the living and nonliving environment.
Standard 5: Students will apply technological knowledge and skills to design, construct, use, and evaluate products and systems to satisfy human and environmental needs.
Standard 6: Students will understand the relationships and common themes that connect mathematics, science, and technology and apply the themes to these and other areas of learning.
Standard 7: Students will apply the knowledge and thinking skills of mathematics, science, and technology to address real-life problems and make informed decisions.
Learning Standards for English and Language Arts
Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation
As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will present, in oral and written language and from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.
Competing Developments:Teaching About Water Resource Conflicts
Emera Bridger WilsonSyracuse University South Asia Center
Why water? • Water is abundant but scare • It is a resource needed for many things▫ Drinking▫ Hygiene/Sanitation▫ Agriculture Irrigation uses about 65% of freshwater supplies In India, 80% goes to irrigation (Ray 2010)
▫ Industry▫ Power Generation▫ Natural Ecological Functions Wetlands
▫ Religiously and culturally important• Wars of the 21st century will be fought over water
(Solomon 2010)
Water Issues Around the World in History
• http://www.worldwater.org/conflict/map/
Teaching Water Resource Conflicts
• Provides a window on a number of issues: ▫ Politics ▫ Economics▫ Culture and social values▫ Ecology and the
environment▫ Use of STEM in the real
world
Water Issues in India• Lack of drinking water and
sanitation infrastructure▫ On average Indians use 31
L/person/day (Ray 2010)• Surface water pollution• Groundwater depletion and
Conflict in the Narmada Valley• Conflict between the riparian states (Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan)▫ Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) 1969
• Displacement of Project Affected Persons (PAP)▫ Approximately 1 million people will be displaced▫ Shift to urban areas ▫ Issues of compensation▫ Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save the Narmada
Movement)• Environmental Issues▫ Loss of forest land▫ Change in riverine ecology▫ Endangered species
Using the Narmada as a Teaching Tool
• Using a case study/role play approach • Allows students to explore different perspectives
on issues• A way of incorporating research skills, use of
primary sources, and critical reasoning skills▫ A lot of sources are available
