In 1947, South Asia emerged out of the colonial era with the world's largest centrally managed canal irrigation infrastructure. In 2007, its small-holder agriculture has come to overwhelmingly depend on a vast, atomistic irrigation economy with more than 25 million dispersed tube-well owners drawing groundwater without let or hindrance. What was an orderly irrigation economy, has now transformed into a colossal anarchy. How has this transformation come about? What are the drivers of this groundwater anarchy? What are its ...
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In 1947, South Asia emerged out of the colonial era with the world's largest centrally managed canal irrigation infrastructure. In 2007, its small-holder agriculture has come to overwhelmingly depend on a vast, atomistic irrigation economy with more than 25 million dispersed tube-well owners drawing groundwater without let or hindrance. What was an orderly irrigation economy, has now transformed into a colossal anarchy. How has this transformation come about? What are the drivers of this groundwater anarchy? What are its social, economic, hydrologic and environmental impacts? "Taming the Anarchy: Groundwater Governance in South Asia" answers these questions by exploring the challenges involved in managing South Asia's anarchic irrigation economy and warns that though it has often been beneficial in cases of droughts and famines, it could turn into a human and environmental disaster soon.In this context, the unique dynamics of South Asia's groundwater boom is understood as a phenomenon in itself rather than as part of the global network of groundwater irrigation. This book presents a comparative analysis of other countries' experience in managing the demand for groundwater and describes how nascent efforts to address them in South Asia are unique and distinctive. In addition, the work also analyses the issues and challenges related to groundwater management in South Asia today and builds an argument for changing the way South Asian governments manage irrigation. It investigates how the groundwater irrigation boom is silently reconfiguring river basins, upsetting old calculations and challenging received wisdom on river basin management.The author concludes the book by arguing for a practical, short to medium-term groundwater governance strategy for South Asia that is society-centric rather than state-centric. Thus he throws new light on contemporary global thinking on the nexus between water, food, poverty and environment and develops a cogent argument for changing the way South Asia manages its irrigation economy.
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