Political Ecology of Water Security in the Indian Western Himalaya: A Critical Review

Abstract

Consideration of water security in the Indian Western Himalaya (IWH) is dominated by discussions of glaciers, snow and river discharge. While these are important, they do not explain for instance why some villages, located on rivers, do not have dependable sources of drinking water, or why hydropower projects can redirect and alter the flow of water and energy. This critical review examines the literature on Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand through political ecology and the concept of hydro social relations. It employs a narrative synthesis of 26 sources on the Himalaya, and a range of water security and hydro social literature, to examine the body of evidence. Five primary themes are presented: scarce water resources, weakening of springs and irrigation commons, hydropower and the shift of risk, urban water institutions and gendered burdens. In all, insecurity is manifest in the intersection of environmental change and unequal control of natural resources. The evidence is skewed towards Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and one of the key focal points of the study is drawn from a single site. Evidence from Jammu and Kashmir is limited to Dal Lake. The review concludes with six policy suggestions and an agenda for further study, focused on Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.