Sustainable Groundwater Management In Asian Cities

In 2007, the world's urban population surpassed the number of people living in rural areas and is still growing. The number of city dwellers who do not have access to piped water and rely on groundwater is also increasing. In many Asian cities, groundwater is not only the source of domestic water but also an important resource for industrial development, making better management of groundwater resources essential for sustainable development. Because groundwater is easier to access and costs less than water from piped systems, groundwater abstraction cannot be easily regulated. Policies for groundwater management adopted in Japan and other Asian countries are compared, and technologies for efficient use of groundwater are elucidated. Groundwater contamination is also a serious problem that exacerbates water scarcity in Asian cities. Case studies illustrate the cause and consequences of naturally occurring contaminants such as arsenic and fluoride, and groundwater contamination due to anthropogenic contaminants is described. Also discussed are technologies for treating contaminated groundwater to reduce the health risks of drinking contaminated groundwater.

Groundwater contributes to the sustainable development of many Asian cities by providing water for domestic, industrial and agricultural uses and regulating ecosystem flows. However, groundwater has not always been properly managed, which often has resulted in depletion and degradation of the resource. Groundwater Environment in Asian Cities presents the up-to-date scientific knowledge on groundwater environment in fourteen Asian cities using Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework. In detail the book presents the facts and figures of groundwater dependency, problems related to groundwater over exploitation, implementation of various policy instruments and management practices and their results in selected fourteen Asian cities, namely; Bandung (Indonesia), Bangkok (Thailand), Beijing (China), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Chitwan (Nepal), Delhi (India), Dili (East Timor), Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam), Hyderabad (India), Khulna (Bangladesh), Lahore (Pakistan), Seoul (South Korea), Tokyo (Japan), and Yangon (Myanmar). The book provides the one-step platform to get sufficient details about groundwater aquifers, hydrogeology, groundwater status, impacts on groundwater environment and responses (technology, policy, institutional, etc.) deployed in the case studies cities, and therefore, provides a snap-shot of Asian groundwater environments. The theoretical background of the topics discussed along with the case studies help the readers understand the similarities and differences about the status of groundwater development and use in each city. In addition, the information in the book will serve as a baseline for other research such as mitigation of groundwater related problems (e.g., land subsidence), impact of climate change on groundwater, and importance of groundwater for implementing sustainable development goals in future. Presents a framework for evaluating groundwater environment in urban environments Includes case studies and local examples from a broad geographical range of urban environments from virtually every region in Asia, including Bandung, Bangkok, Delhi, Bishkek, Beijing and Tokyo The book will be a valuable resource for groundwater adversaries in the scientific, decision-making and end-user communities, particularly for understanding and assessing state of groundwater resources in the region as well as learning from the responses practiced so far (Dr. Linda Anne Stevenson, APN) The contents in this book are very much useful for informed decision-making for protecting groundwater environemntand therefore contributes in making invisible visible (Dr. Neno Kukuric, IGRAC) With concrete examples and lessons for readers, this book responds to the call for comprehensive research and studies, the implementation of new science-based methodologies and endorsement of principles for groundwater resources management and cities (Dr. Aureli Alice, UNESCO-IHP) As a “Regional Hub for Groundwater Management in the Asia Pacific Region , IGES finds this book as a very much useful reference for knowledge hub partners, groundwater managers, academic institutions, research scholars, and international organizations working in the areas of groundwater in Asia and beyond (Dr. Hideyuki Mori, IGES)

This book features expert contributions on key sustainability aspects of urban water management in Chinese agglomerations. Both technical and institutional pathways to sustainable urban water management are developed on the basis of a broad, interdisciplinary problem analysis.

This book presents water insecurity issues in urban areas while developing a water security index and explores the innovative approaches to water development and management with examples from Asian cities. The urban water crisis is a global phenomenon, but it is more obvious in the megacities of the developing world. Urban drought, although not a familiar term, will pose a significant threat to humankind in the near future, especially in the context of increasing population in cities. Many cities are already unable to provide safe, clean water for their citizens. Some of the world’s largest cities depend heavily on groundwater for their water supply. It is unlikely that dependence on aquifers, which take many years to recharge, will be sustainable. As urban populations grow, water use will need to shift from agriculture to municipal and industrial uses, making decisions about allocating between different sectors difficult. Inefficient water-use practices by households and industries, fragmented management of water between sectors and institutions, climate-induced water shortages, environmental degradation of water sources, and inadequate use of alternate sources are also issues of major concern. Despite recent advances in the literature, there exists a considerable gap in attempting an integrated water-resource management approach. Covering all aspects of urban drought and water insecurity, this book is a valuable resource for students, researchers, academics, policy makers, and development practitioners.

Excessive groundwater pumping, groundwater contamination, and subsurface thermal anomalies have occurred frequently in Asian coastal cities, greatly disturbing the urban aquifer and the subsurface environment. In this volume, the relationship between the stage of a city’s development and subsurface environment issues have been explored. Intensive field surveys were done in Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Taipei, Bangkok, Jakarta, and Manila. New, advanced methods, including satellite, tracer techniques, and the social economy model, were developed to evaluate subsurface conditions. Groundwater storage and groundwater recharge rates, as well as the accumulation and transport of pollutants, have been compiled as integrated indices of natural capacities under climate and social changes, and used to evaluate the vulnerability risk for all cities. The indices have been made on a yearly basis for seven cities for a century (1900–2000). Using these indicators it is now possible to manage groundwater resources in a sustainable fashion. This volume is indispensable to researchers in hydrology, coastal oceanography, civil engineering, urban geography, social economy, climatology, geothermics, and urban management.

Foodandwatersecurityissuesareregardedassinequanonif asocietywants to p- mote health, peace and prosperity. People who are well fed are also people with the means to changetheir situation. However,this is still an immense challengefor Asia especiallyintheglobalenvironmentalperspectiveinthe21stcentury. Peoplearound the globe will be facing a combination of problems concerning both environmental as well as social changes; therefore, the policy for future food and water security has to be upgraded in an integrated and holistic way. The need to put into persp- tive the ever-mounting body of new information on environmental security of food and water issues in Asia beyond the boundaries of separate disciplines provided the impetus for the development of this book. It is a compilation of selected ar- cles from two international symposiums entitled “Food and Water Sustainability in China 2007” and “Food and Water Sustainability in Asia 2008” which were held in Macau, China. Eminent scientists/researchers from different parts of Asia spoke at the symposium on topics such as the challenges in sustainable water resource m- agement, future projection of development strategies for sheries, increased yield of food grains by rainwater management in arid lands, multi-functional role of rice paddy area for food and water sustainability, the impact of biofuel production on food security, reclaimed wastewater for sustainable urban water use, heavy metal removal from contaminated soil and water, and adaptation strategies to cope with the climate change issues for food and water.