The National Water Resource Council (nwrc) approved a new National Water Policy (nwp) document on April 1, 2002. The bill based on this document is now pending in Parliament. When compared to the water policy of 1987, it could be said that the 2002 policy explores several new dimensions and issues.

For example, paragraph 1.3 of nwp 2002 states, "Water is part of a larger ecological system.' It is another matter that there is no further examination of what this statement means. If one starts from the ecological perspective, one could say that water-related ecology begins in forests, and not just in riverbeds or rainfall cycles. Evapotranspiration, precipitation through plants and undergrowths assist the process of water seepage and purification. This also regulates many ecological functions performed in the forest