With reference to the River Ganges case study, examine the international issues that arise as a result of river Management

Where river management is used it can cause some sever issues which are made more complex by the conflicting demands of users, such as the example of India and Bangladesh. The damn was built to control the amount of sediment entering the port of Calcutta which is India's largest importer and exporter, where they gain most of their economic activity, the deposition of silt was starting to damage the infrastructure and block the canal and docks up. However now that it has been built the salinity of the water and soil has increased because of it, due to the sediment containing much salt, which hinders the water to flow past the damn but instead collects in one place raising the river bed. This has a knock on effect as it starts the process of salinization and increases the salinity of the soil, which is traditionally used for farming. A lot of salt in the land is very bad for agriculture, as crops won't grow in these conditions, this effects the country greatly in their economic activity, as it is one of the countries largest exports from the Port of Calcutta. Also traditionally the water from the river Ganges has been supplied to the villages and towns to improve living conditions, but the increasing levels of salt in the water causes diseases and poor health to the population and the water goes to waste.

A leather factory was built along the river Ganges near Kanpur, this created employment and increase in economic activity, it was situated there so the river could be used to transport resources needed from other countries, and make it easily accessible to transport goods to the ports. This industry released strong chemicals such as Chromium into the river, causing great pollution and knock on effects to the species living in the river. Also for the people needing the water for bathing and drinking, this was no longer a possible thing to say as the level of toxics in the river were highly dangerous. Also each day over 1 billion liters of mostly untreated raw sewage enters the river each day, producing a great source of pollution, due to no river management aid in clearing it up. One of the species living in the river is the Ganges river dolphin, it is found in all stages of the river, but due to the excessive amount of pollution and mud in the river their vision is useless and they are mainly blind and their eyes have no lenses. The Ganges river dolphins are endangered species, with only an existents of around 4000-6000 due to reasons such as the damming of rivers for hydro electrical and irrigation purposes, due to increase in boat traffic and also fishing and pollution. Also due to the high salinity and the silt and sand deposited in the river the river beds have been raised causing a reduction in capacity of the river, this limit's the freedom the Ganges river dolphins have to swim up close to land, and leaves them struggling to reach higher levels of the river.

The Delta of the river Ganges used to be densely forested and inhabited by many wild animals. During change in time, this is no longer the case as it has become intensely cultivated to meet the needs of growing population, causing many of the wild animals to disappear. However a high level of fish remains in the river, which is a great importance of the inhabitants diet, though now due to the increase in pollution of the river, this is no longer a healthy option leading the people to have to find food on the land, by agriculture and growing crops. The Removal of trees and forested areas across mainly Nepal has increased risks of flooding due to less interception of the trees from the heavy monsoon rainstorms, this has increased landslides and soil erosion as the journey of the water reaching the river through over land flow has sped up. Reasons for the forests being cut down is due to the rapid increase in population size across the river, they are in need of fuel and timber for building housing and grazing land is required for the life-stock to bate. 50% of ones forested areas has now been destroyed to make way for the inhabitants.

I feel that the development of the Farakka Barrage in the river Ganges lead to unsustainable damages to the natural habitat and environment in this region of the world. I think that the river management has only created problems, by increasing pollution and an increase in toxics released into the forests and the river, disturbing its natural growth and the natural flow of the river. I don't think that the plans for this development were properly thought through and the consequences were not weighed out next to the benefits of its development, and has mostly caused conflicts between the countries, and also caused long term physical damage to the land and its population due to the high risks in flooding, also the case of the flood in 1998 in Bangladesh taking place over a 56 day period. Over all I feel that the damages brought to the river are too strong for the Countries to fight back on, due to them not necessarily having a very high economic activity percentage, leaving them with great difficulty to build up the land and reduce the levels of salinity and pollution in the river.