IWMI Leads Multi-Stakeholder Sessions on Water Governance at India International Water Week 2026

New Delhi, India — September 22–25, 2026 — The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) has taken a leading role at the 9th India International Water Week (IIWW), held at Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, under the theme “Climate Resilient Water Management,” with IWMI experts speaking across multiple sessions on multi-stakeholder partnerships, equity in water access, institutional reform, and water’s links to human health.

Background

Effective water management requires not only technological advancement but also strong institutional coordination across sectors and administrative levels. As water is a shared resource and responsibility, its sustainable management depends on the active engagement of government, private sector actors, water user associations, civil society organizations and research institutions.

While progress has been made in hydrology, infrastructure, irrigation and data systems, persistent governance challenges — including fragmented mandates, limited cross-sectoral coordination, and information gaps — continue to constrain efficiency. These challenges are further intensified within the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus, where actions in one sector carry direct implications for others. Multi-stakeholder partnerships and platforms offer a practical mechanism to strengthen governance, manage trade-offs, and promote more coherent, evidence-based decision-making — the central focus of IWMI’s engagement at this year’s Water Week.

IWMI’s Sessions Across the Week

IWMI’s Director General Mark Smith opened the institute’s participation with a keynote address at the Global Water Leaders’ Plenary on September 22.

On September 23, IWMI researchers featured prominently across four sessions. In “Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships for Efficient Water Management,” Faiz Alam, Gopal Kumar, Pallavi Rajkhowa, Alok Sikka, Mark Smith and Shilp Verma examined how coordinated partnerships can strengthen water governance across sectors. In a parallel session on “Equity in Water Allocation and Access to All Sectors,” Research Officer Oorna Raut addressed how water distribution can be made more equitable across competing users. Later in the day, Policy Engagement Specialist Suchiradipta Bhattacharjee spoke on “Institutional Reforms and Strengthening,” while Senior Regional Researcher Faiz Alam returned to address “Community Participation in Groundwater Recharge.”

On September 24, Bhattacharjee spoke again in a session on “Data Driven Governance,” examining how stronger data systems can support more coherent decision-making across India’s fragmented water sector.

The week’s IWMI programming concludes on September 25 with National Researcher Shweta Yadav speaking on “Water and Human Health,” addressing the public health dimensions of water quality and waste management.

IWMI’s Broader Focus

Through this sustained presence across the five-day event, IWMI is examining how well-designed multi-stakeholder partnerships and platforms can strengthen water governance, improve coordination across sectors, and promote efficient, evidence-based water management — particularly within the water-energy-food nexus context that increasingly shapes India’s water policy challenges.

Conclusion

IWMI’s wide-ranging participation at IIWW 2026 — spanning governance reform, equity, groundwater recharge, data systems and public health — reflects the institute’s effort to bring research-based evidence directly into India’s national water policy conversations. As the Water Week draws to a close on September 26, the range of sessions IWMI has contributed to underscores a consistent message: that solving India’s water challenges requires coordinated action across institutions and sectors, not fragmented, single-issue interventions.