India, Australia collaborate on water resource management

The governments of India and Australia signed a five-year memorandum of understanding today related to the management of water resources.

The partnership is expected to share policies and technologies about developing and managing water resources, both surface and ground water, as well as river basin management and the impact of climate change on water resources.

As part of the exchange of information and experiences, the governments are encouraging officials to study each other’s activities. A joint working group is expected to be formed to ensure the MOU is fulfilled.

The agreement was signed today by Shri Punjiar, India’s secretary of Ministry of Water Resources, and Peter Varghese, Australia’s high commissioner to India.

The government of India faces an overwhelming shortage of distributed water, especially in agricultural production (see WaterHealth CEO calls for cleantech to meet India's water needs). If the problem is not addressed through innovation, implications for India’s agricultural sector could be severe (see Will cleantech mobilize to prevent water shortages in India?).

Australia is also looking to increase its water production capacity because of continued water shortages. In September, Australian pipe manufacturer Tyco Water scored a A$150 million (US$120 million) contract to supply energy-efficient piping for Australia's largest desalination project, planned in the state of Victoria (see Tyco scores $120M contract at Australia's largest desal plant).

Water technologies coming out of Australia have been focused on reducing energy consumption of the water sector and changing the behavior of consumers (see Cleantech panel: The days of cheap water are over).

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