Executive Summary
Water conflicts are a subject of intense debate and discussion in Southern Asia, which comprises India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and China. Factors such as the history of partition, a burgeoning population, increasing urbanisation and scarcity of water resources have only magnified transboundary river disputes in the region. It was against this backdrop that the Symposium on Inter-State Water Conflicts in Southern Asia was organised by the South Asia Programme of the RSIS Institute for Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS), and the RSIS Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies, on 18 February 2011.
The Symposium brought together participants from diverse fields – politics, academia, media and civil society – to present points of view from both sides of India's water conflicts with Pakistan, Bangladesh and China, and to discuss those perspectives. The aim was to understand and identify areas of agreement and disagreement, come up with ways to reduce differences, and explore new, practical steps to reduce friction among states.
