"Water resources are both an asset and a source of conflict in South Asia." Examine this statement giving…

Question

"Water resources are both an asset and a source of conflict in South Asia." Examine this statement giving examples.

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

South Asian rivers are an asset where treaties and benefit-sharing work, as with Bhutan's hydropower and the Ganga Waters Treaty, and a conflict source where trust fails. India placed the Indus Waters Treaty (1960) in abeyance after the Pahalgam attack in April 2025.

**Introduction**

The Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra cross borders before reaching the sea, so the water that feeds South Asia's farms and turbines also binds upstream and downstream states into rivalry. Trust and institutions decide which face prevails.

**Water as a Shared Regional Asset**

1. **Treaty resilience**: The World Bank-brokered Indus Waters Treaty (1960) divided the eastern and western rivers and survived three wars.
2. **Hydropower bond**: Bhutan's Chukha, Tala and Mangdechhu (720 MW, 2019) sell power to India, making hydropower Bhutan's biggest export.
3. **Flow-sharing compacts**: The Ganga Waters Treaty (1996) at Farakka and the Kosi (1954) and Gandak (1959) agreements with Nepal show cooperative sharing.
4. **Development diplomacy**: India built Afghanistan's Salma Dam, the Afghan-India Friendship Dam inaugurated in 2016, to irrigate Herat province.

**Water as a Source of Conflict**

SKETCH: spectrum | South Asian Water Relations
left: Cooperation
right: Conflict
- India-Bhutan hydropower
- Ganga Treaty 1996
- Teesta deadlock
- Brahmaputra mega dam
- Indus Treaty in abeyance

1. **Indus under strain**: After disputes over Kishenganga and Ratle, India placed the treaty in abeyance following the Pahalgam attack of April 2025.
2. **Upstream China**: China's mega dam at Medog on the Yarlung Tsangpo, begun in July 2025, alarms India and Bangladesh about flows and seismic risk.
3. **Teesta and Cauvery**: The 2011 Teesta deal stalled over West Bengal's objections, and the Cauvery dispute flares in distress years despite the 2018 Supreme Court verdict.

**Conclusion**

The statement holds: South Asian rivers are an asset where treaties and benefit-sharing exist and a flashpoint where trust collapses. Basin-level cooperation, real-time data sharing and joint hydropower can make shared water a source of regional prosperity.

"Water resources are both an asset and a source of conflict in South Asia." Examine this statement giving examples.

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