"The Water, Energy and Food Security Nexus": Lessons from India for Development

It is becoming increasingly recognized that for the optimal sustainable development and use of natural resources, an integrated approach to water management, agriculture, food security and energy is required. This "nexus" is now the focus of major attention by researchers, policy-makers and practitioners.

In this book, the authors show how these issues are being addressed in India as part of its economic development, and how these can provide lessons for other developing nations. They address the conflicting claims of water resources for irrigation and hydropower, where both are scarce at the national level for fostering water and energy security. They also consider the relationship between water for irrigated agriculture and household use and its impact on rural poverty. They identify weaknesses in the current hydropower development programme in India that are preventing it from being an ecologically sustainable, socially just and economically viable solution to meeting growing energy demand.

The empirical analyses presented show the enormous scope for co-management of water, energy, agricultural growth and food security through appropriate technological interventions and market instruments.

M. Dinesh Kumar is Executive Director of the Institute for Resource Analysis and Policy (IRAP), and is based in Hyderabad, India. 

Nitin Bassi is a Senior Researcher with IRAP and is based in Delhi, India. 

A. Narayanamoorthy is NABARD Chair Professor and Head in the Department of Economics and Rural Development, Alagappa University, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, India. 

M.V.K. Sivamohan is Principal Consultant for IRAP, and is based in Hyderabad, India.