Resource Integration Based Institutional Framework for Sustainable Drinking Water Arsenic Contamination Mitigation and Management

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Ground water Arsenic contamination has exponentially endangered the human life and complicated the efforts for obtaining and maintaining drinking water quality standards. The deadly contaminant (Arsenic) has created an alarming and catastrophic crises world over, especially in South Asia e.g., Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Vietnam, China and Myanmar who are facing ground water arsenic contamination problems (Islam, 2005). Every affected country is combating the arsenic contamination menace within the framework of their own socio-economic, legal and cultural perspectives which may not be cost-effective and efficient in time and space matrix. The reason might be of devoid of integration approach amongst the key stakeholders. Hence, under the circumstances, there was a dire need of an integrated approach to combat the arsenic contamination which has virtually emerged as a crises situation, thus necessitating formulation of national action plan for arsenic mitigation. Strategies and objectives within the action plan framework are based on the earlier initiatives of addressing the serious issue of arsenic contamination which includes, establishing integrated institutional arrangements and developing capacity, coordination mechanism amongst all the implementing agencies / stakeholders, like, government(s), NGOs, donor agencies and other related departments & organizations (NAPAM, 2005). The prudent institutional arrangements will make policy decisions and legislation to implement resource integration based arsenic mitigation which includes monitoring and surveillance of water quality/ aquifer mapping / treatment and data base thereof, establishing case diagnosis / treatment of affected arsenicosis patients under health department, developing effective and sustainable behavioral change communication strategies. It will also include community participation / social mobilization and developing cost-effective water treatment technologies and establishment of research related infrastructures. The resource integration based action will converge all the financial, technological and human resources in achieving desired objectives cost-effectively, both qualitatively and quantitatively.