International Conference on Integrated Water Resources Management: Prospects and Challenges

The water crisis at the global and national levels has opened the eyes of water managers world over to address the challenges in the water sector on a war footing. The problem has become more acute in the context of climate variation and the predicted changes in climate leading to frequent occurrence of hydrologic extremes, deglaciation and sea level rise.The problems in the water sector are more pronounced in the arid and semi-arid zones. Several of the countries in the world are having large .. continue reading areas under water stress or scarcity. This condition leads to water crisis and disputes culminating in unrest and litigations. In a country like India, there are several water disputes among the federal states, the examples being those pertaining to Cauvery and Krishna rivers in Southern India. It is reported that there has been considerable deterioration in the quality of water in different parts of the globe. The untreated industrial effluents, sewage, excessive use of agrochemicals and lack of sanitation facilities are pointed out as some of the major reasons for water quality deterioration.