SaciWATERs is organizing its first International Conference on Water Resources Policy in South Asia on December 17-20, 2008, at Colombo, in SriLanka. The conference is part of the regional capacity-building project Crossing Boundaries , a joint initiative of SaciWATERs and Wageningen University. The conference is a forum to bring together regional and international water professionals, academicians, policy makers, activists, politicians and others involved and interested in South Asian water resources issues. As part of the ongoing water resources policy dialogue, the conference aims to enhance the understanding of water resources governance and water management and use in the region by critically assessing the agenda for reform. It seeks to investigate and understand the varied dynamics of existing water resources management in South Asia and compare them with those in other regions. The conference will document policy reforms in South Asia and the challenges therein. It will also critically assess the impact of the different initiatives to reform water resources governance. The importance of scientific knowledge while formulating water policy and the strengthening of water resources policy studies in the region will receive special attention.

South Asia, a node of population explosion, is faced with issues emanating from ill-managed water resources and use. Millions of people in the region do not have access to clean drinking water and sanitation. Many countries in the region rely on groundwater exploitation to supplement their scarce surface water resources, this dependency reaches 30-35 percent of the total supply in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, putting renewable water resources at medium-to-high stress.

The problem of insufficient, ill-managed supply is compounded by the poor quality of fresh water supplies in the region, which are threatened by water pollution due to location, ecosystem characteristics, land-use and the degree and type of development. For example, the River Ganges in India is the recipient of raw sewage from 114 towns and cities, while the Jaffna Peninsula in SriLanka is faced with nitrate problem of the shallow groundwater aquifer due to dumping from latrines. Bangladesh is struggling with issues of arsenic poisoning, as millions of people in rural areas of the country are exposed to potentially fatal quantities of arsenic. According to World Bank estimates, 18-50 million people out of a total population of about 120 million in the country are at risk of arsenic poisoning.

Given the plethora of water-related issues, many countries of the region have reviewed or revised their national policy on water resources development and management. National water policies and strategies often seek to address the following:

However, policies are subject to change, reflecting the dynamic reality of economics, demography and ideology, thereby throwing challenges to civil society organizations, NGO's and academicians who have been persistently involved in identifying the existing problems and bringing them to the forefront.