Transboundary Environmental Stressors on India-Pakistan Relations: An Analysis of Shared Air and Water Resources

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Miro, Michelle E.

Contributor:

Girven, Richard S.

Marlier, Miriam E.

Language:

English

Other Title:

Transboundary Environmental Stressors on India-Pakistan Relations

Place of Publication:

Santa Monica, Calif. RAND Corporation 2019

Summary:

An important, yet sometimes overlooked, potential flashpoint between India and Pakistan is the ongoing discourse by governments, news media, and citizens over transboundary water resources and air quality between the two countries. Each nation has continued to voice concerns over its perceived impacts from water resources development plans and air pollution from agricultural burning. Yet conversations about shared air and water resources between the two nations could benefit from tangible science and analysis on the actual causes and effects of water and agricultural management activities. This report is an initial step in that direction. The authors present the results of a preliminary pilot study intended to spur future, in-depth research. Researchers provide an assessment of the potential capacity of 13 hydroelectric projects to effectively control downstream flows in Pakistan along the Chenab River — a major tributary of the Indus River — which has its source in India and flows through both nations. Researchers also examine the influence of agricultural burning from Punjab State in India, as well as from an approximately equivalent area across the border in Pakistan, on air pollution in both countries. Finally, the authors detail the implications of this research on policy debate and decisions in South Asia and outline follow-on research that could be instrumental to formulating policies related to the shared use of water and air between India and Pakistan.