Water resource management vital for nation's development: Official in G20

Holistic water resource management is a pre-requisite for the development of a nation, a senior official said at the 2nd meeting of the G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group in Gandhinagar on Monday.

Debashree Mukherjee, Special Secretary in the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti. also said there was need for collaboration in the field of water resources.

She was addressing delegates from nineteen G20 nations and nine invitee countries as well as 13 international organisations.

India is committed to strengthen cooperation in water resources development and management through sharing of technical experiences, best practices, usage of state-of-the-art tools and technology and case studies of successful interventions in the water sector for mutual benefit, Mukherjee said.

The event saw presentations from Indonesia, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, China, European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, UK, USA, Denmark, Singapore, Spain, Oman and Netherlands.

Organisations like Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Solar Alliance (ISA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) also showcased their best practices on water resources management.

The themes of the presentations included 'Integrated and Sustainable Use of Water Resources /Ecosystem Management', 'Waterbody Restoration / River Rejuvenation', 'Rainwater Management', 'Groundwater Management', 'Water Efficiency Approach with Adaptation to Climate Change' and 'Drought/ Flood Management'.

The session was followed by visit by the delegates to the exhibition stalls put-up by organisations under the Ministry of Jal Shakti showcasing various themes.

These stalls shared the quality work in Atal Jal, Swachh Bharat Mission, Jal Jeevan Mission, Namami Gange, Jal Shakti Abhiyan, National Water Mission, etc.

Thereafter, the G20 delegates visited Adalaj Vav and Sabarmati Riverfront.