The national action plan on climate change and sustainable water resources management

With growing scarcity of water and deteriorating quality, water resources management in India is becoming more challenging with the passage of time. The imminent onset of climate change will exacerbate these impacts, placing even greater pressure on already stressed resources and regions. The National Action Plan on Climate Change of the Government of India (2008), provides useful insight on climate-change impacts on water resources. The plan sets a goal of a 20% improvement in water use efficiency through pricing and other measures. Till date, many public debates on water have focused on the direct impacts of climate change on hydrology. However, there is growing evidence that climate change policies themselves may have substantial additional and negative impacts on freshwater resources and ecosystems and may thus result in mal-adaptation. To avoid such mal-adaptation, integrated, coordinated policy making is required.
In this paper an attempt has been made to
•    Analyze the agenda discussed in national climate change policy of  India,
•    Identify where negative trade-offs exist between climate change policies and freshwater resources,
•    Analyze where institutions and structures exist to optimize integration among climate, water, and biodiversity policies, and
•    Provide a much needed overview from a broad selection of countries with a view to identifying further opportunities for theoretical exploration and testing.
The synergies and conflicts among climate, energy, water, and environmental policies create additional challenges for governments to develop integrated policies to deliver multiple benefits. Synthesis include engagement of senior political leaders, cyclical policy development, multi-agency and stakeholder processes, and stronger accountability and enforcement measures and at the same time integration of climate change-related issues with other risk factors, such as climate variability and market risk, and with other policy domains, such as sustainable development.