Abstract
The Brahmaputra is one of the largest river systems of South Asia, providing life-supporting services to about 70 million people. Massive flooding, land erosion, over-exploitation of water, excessive fishing, habitat degradation and fragmentation, exploitation of flood plains, climate change impacts, absence of integrated basin wide management, and transboundary cooperation are major challenges for the present and future sustainability and development in the basin. Although hydrological connectivity is intact in most of the main course of the river, the infrastructure development plans may convert the Brahmaputra to a predominantly managed river system. In this regard, this paper examines the physiographic, ecological, hydrological, and socioeconomic status of the Brahmaputra river, its transnational basin in South Asia, and the basin population in the cross-cutting context to explore its sustainable management options. For a durable future of the river and its communities, an integrated management mechanism among the basin countries with the objective of equitable benefit sharing, disaster risk management, and resilience building is needed. The suggested strategies will help in maintaining the ecohydrological health and utilitarian services of the river for the socioeconomic development of millions of poor and marginalized people living in the basin.
Highlights
The Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region is home to 10 major river basins of Asia and covers a territory that is over 4.2 million km2 in area [1]
What is required for water diplomacy at various levels in the Brahmaputra river basin are better transboundary cooperation facilitated via a well-established knowledge network, a coordinated approach to capacity building, the formulation of joint adaptation projects, a mechanism for high-level coordination, and the creation of an adaptation portal
Communities in the South Asian region have a long history of successfully adapting to changes in the environment
Summary
The Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region is home to 10 major river basins of Asia and covers a territory that is over 4.2 million km in area [1]. It is not surprising that it provides critical ecosystem services such as water, food and energy that benefit and support the livelihoods of over 240 million people both within the region and in downstream areas. Of these 10 rivers, the Brahmaputra basin is one of the world’s largest and most populated, with a transboundary drainage area of 528,083 km2 [2]. The socioeconomic benefits that the river provides can be broadly classified as fisheries and ecosystem services Among the latter are water for domestic use, navigation, irrigation, wetlands, wildlife areas, tourism, and hydropower for 68.07 million people as of 2015 within the countries it traverses [2]. The river transports soil and nutrients to downstream floodplains in addition to contributing to fisheries and agricultural production of the inhabitants, thereby supporting the livelihoods of millions of people
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