A water balance analysis to support sustainable river basin management in desert River Luni, India: report of researcher exchange June 2019

The India-UK Water Centre (IUKWC) promotes cooperation and collaboration between the complementary priorities of NERC-MoES water security research. This report represents an overview of the activities carried out under a Senior Researcher Exchange funded by the India-UK Water Centre (IUKWC) on the topic of “A water balance analysis to support sustainable river basin management in desert River Luni, India”. The exchange was undertaken by Dr. Padmini Pani, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, from 2nd June to 23rd June 2019 and was hosted by Professor Paul Carling from University of Lancaster, UK. This researcher exchange aimed to contribute to the development of a balanced and sustainable river basin ecosystem support system to fulfil the basic water needs of stakeholders of the Luni river basin. This involved development of rainfall-runoff statistical models for translation of floods of different recurrence intervals in the Luni River to determine water availability during and post-monsoon season. The collaborators in particular, aimed to determine the quantity of loss of surface water through evaporation and transmission to the groundwater.