[ AN Mohammed ]
The World Water Day 2026, themed ‘Water and gender’ and organised by the United Nations Water (UN-Water), emphasises the importance of integrating water and gender equity into global water management. The event highlights that secure access to safe water and sanitation is both a basic human right and a key driver for equitable progress.
Worldwide, water scarcity disproportionately affects women and girls, who are often responsible for collecting water, managing household water resources, and providing care related to waterborne illnesses in areas lacking reliable water supply (unwater.org; un.org).
According to international standards, India is classified as a water-stressed nation. Basin-level data indicates that, with the exception of the Brahmaputra basin in the Northeast, all other major river basins, including the Indus-Ganga in the north, Narmada-Tapti-Mahanadi in the central region, and Godavari-Krishna-Cauvery in the south, fall significantly below the threshold for ‘water scarcity’.
Arunachal Pradesh, bestowed with major Himalayan rivers such as the Kameng, Subansiri, Siang, Dibang and Lohit, sustained by numerous pristine hill streams, has historically benefited from a plentiful water supply, often regarded as an inherent entitlement. However, this privilege is increasingly being reconsidered as climate change begins to alter the region’s hydrological systems.
Climate projections indicate that the state’s rivers will be notably affected by rising global temperatures, which are expected to elevate evapotranspiration rates and diminish soil moisture, alongside shifts toward more variable and intense precipitation patterns. With declining snowfall, river flows are anticipated to rely more heavily on rainfall.
These environmental transitions are likely to result in increased extremes in stream flow, heightened sediment loads, and greater river instability. If global temperatures continue to rise unchecked, many Himalayan glaciers will shrink rapidly, reducing the natural snow and ice storage that sustains rivers during winter. While large rivers may continue to flow, smaller streams and springs on which hill communities depend are likely to dry up more often in winter, making water availability increasingly ambiguous by the end of the century.
For generations, villages and towns in Arunachal have settled safely sufficiently above the historical flood plains, drawing water not from the main rivers but from small, clean streams that tumble down the hills right beside homes. These streams followed a gentle rhythm: snowmelt from the high mountains kept them flowing through winter, while the monsoon rains refilled them each summer. The system was simple, reliable, and perfectly suited to mountain life.
But this balance is breaking. Snowfall in the upper reaches is dwindling, and rainfall has become erratic. Many streams we once trusted now run thin or dry up completely during winter. Places that never worried about water are suddenly facing scarcity. When the nearby stream fails, communities must turn to distant main rivers. That means building long pipelines, installing pumps, and finding steady electricity – all expensive and difficult to maintain in our rugged hills.
In the green hills of Arunachal, small streams have always been the quiet heartbeat of daily life. They feed villages with clear drinking water, power tiny micro-hydel plants that light homes, and sustain mountain agriculture. For generations this felt eternal, but climate change is rewriting the story season by season.
Climate change begins to manifest in the high mountain regions. Rising temperatures have cut winter snowfall across the eastern Himalayas. Recent study reports show that Arunachal has seen a 23-year low in snowfall, leaving higher slopes bare earlier each year. Less snow means less steady meltwater reaching the streams in winter. High in the eastern Himalayas, the glaciers of Arunachal have long acted as natural reservoirs, storing winter snow and releasing it slowly to feed the small hill streams that sustain our villages. But those glaciers are vanishing at an alarming pace.
A major study tracking changes from 1988 to 2020 found that the state lost 110 glaciers during those 32 years, shrinking from 756 to just 646. The total glacier area plunged dramatically, retreating at an average rate of nearly 17 square kilometres every year. The result is a shift from reliable winter flows to uncertain trickles.
Rainfall, once predictable, now swings between sudden downpours that trigger flashfloods and landslides, and long, worrying dry spells. Advanced studies in our river basins confirm the pattern: heavy rains increase surface runoff and erosion, while winter and spring base flows are steadily declining. Springs that never failed before are drying up. Villages near the Assam border have watched their mountain sources vanish, forcing families to walk farther or rely on costly pipelines from distant rivers.
Even numerous small and micro-hydel plants built on these streams to bring electricity to remote villages and towns are suffering. When winter flows drop, the turbines slow or stop just when heating and lighting are needed most. What was meant to be reliable local power is becoming unpredictable.
The human cost is clear. Women and girls, who traditionally collect water and manage household needs, now spend more hours searching for dwindling sources. The physical strain grows, health risks rise, and girls miss school more often. In a state where most settlements sit safely above the large rivers, the failure of nearby streams turns a simple daily task into a heavy burden.
The United Nations reports for this year’s World Water Day make it plain: unreliable water hits women and girls hardest. These extra hours quietly hold back women from education, livelihoods, and community leadership. In Arunachal’s hills and valleys, the theme ‘Water and gender’ is not abstract – it is lived reality.
Yet, within this challenge lies real hope. Large hydropower projects are often talked about only for electricity, but their reservoirs are also vast, reliable water banks. They capture the monsoon’s abundance and release it steadily through the dry months, exactly the dependable flow our hill streams can no longer ensure. When planned thoughtfully, these reservoirs can become lifelines for water supply, reaching villages and towns with a steady, year-round supply. The effect on daily life would be immediate and profound. Women and girls will spend far less time trekking to distant sources. The physical burden eases. Household hygiene improves. Safety and dignity return. Dependable water from hydropower reservoirs quietly hands women back their time, their health, and their freedom – one of the most meaningful steps towards real gender equality.
These same reservoirs also bring protection from another growing threat. Climate change is making floods fiercer and more frequent, especially in the plains. When rivers rage, they destroy homes, ruin water sources, and spread disease – burdens that fall most heavily on women, children, and the elderly. By holding back peak flows and releasing water in a controlled way, hydropower projects safeguard downstream communities and keep their water sources safe.
None of these benefits happens by chance. For hydropower to truly serve water security and gender equity, we must build it the right way. Water supply needs must be integral part of every upcoming large hydro project from the very beginning. Local communities must be heard. Women’s voices must shape decisions about how reservoirs are managed. And families affected must receive fair, respectful rehabilitation.
World Water Day 2026 carries a simple but powerful reminder – water solutions work best when women sit at the decision-making table, not merely as users but as leaders. Arunachal stands at a turning point. Our traditional hill-stream systems, once so dependable, are weakening under climate pressure. The future lies in thoughtfully regulated river-based systems. Done with care and wisdom, hydropower can manage this change – delivering secure water supply, helping us adapt to a changing climate, and lightening the invisible daily load on our women.
On this World Water Day, let us see hydropower not just as a renewable energy project that helps mitigation of global warming, but as a chance to secure clean water for every home, build real resilience against climate change, and create stronger, fairer communities across our hills. When water flows reliably, women gain time, health, safety, and opportunity. And when women thrive, entire communities rise with them. That is the true spirit of this year’s message – where water flows, equality grows. (AN Mohammed is a consultant for hydropower development in Northeast India)
