Dr Banarsi Lal
The interdependence between human livelihood and nature means that any change in quality, quantity and movement of water has social, economic and environmental consequences. Water accounts for more than 70 per cent of Earth’s surface. Its inadequacy can be either man-made or natural occurrence but its effects are devastating on health, dignity and prosperity of billions of people across the globe. It is indispensable for the existence of animal and plant eco-systems and is an essential element in the development of economic activities of any nation. Ambient water quality is essential for humans and health of ecosystem and has become a global challenge in both developing and developed nations. It is the most vital resource for the existence of life on earth. No other natural resource is having such an overwhelming influence. Earth three-fourths surface is covered by the oceans. With increasing population, requirement of clean water and withdrawal of freshwater for life-sustaining purposes has intensified and thus its access and conservation has become a burning issue. Safely managed water, sanitation and hygiene are important in order to prevent and protect the population from outbreak of infectious diseases. WHO report on drinking water suggests that contaminated water and poor hygiene can serve as the breeding grounds for water-borne diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dysentery etc. Freshwater constitutes a very small proportion of this enormous quantity. About 2.7 per cent of the total water available on the earth is fresh water of which 75.2 per cent lies frozen in Polar Regions and another 22.6 per cent is present as ground water. Rest of water is available in rivers, lakes, atmosphere water and soil and vegetation. India is having 2.5 per cent of the world’s geographical area, 4 per cent of the world’s water resources and 17.5 per cent of the world’s population. It has been observed that less than one per cent of the world’s fresh water on earth is readily available for human consumption.
As the human population grows, the demand on freshwater resources will also grow. Presently the world is facing a freshwater crisis. If per-capita consumption of water resource continues to rise at its current rate, humankind could be using over 90 per cent of all available freshwater within 25 years leaving just 10 per cent for the rest of the world’s species. Each year, there are around 250 million cases of water borne diseases with around 5-10 million deaths. It is not only people who are threatened by water shortages and pollution, freshwater ecosystems which harbour the world’s greatest concentration of species are among the most vulnerable on earth. Around half of the world’s wetlands have been destroyed in the last 100 years. Two-fifths of the fish are freshwater species and of these around 20 per cent are threatened, endangered or have become extinct in recent decades. Presently the freshwater demand is increasing not only because of demographic pressures but also because of improved living standards, urban and industrial growth. The world’s thirst for water is likely to become one of the most important issues of the 21st century. Global water consumption raised six fold between 1990 and 1995-more than double the rate of population growth and continues to grow rapidly as agricultural, industrial and domestic demand increase. In some areas, water withdrawals are so high relative to supply that surface water supplies are literally shrinking and ground water reserves are being depleted faster than they can be replenished by precipitation. Due to overexploitation of ground water, water tables are dropping and some rivers often become dry before they reach the sea. According to Mahatma Gandhi, the father of nation “Nothing can be more important than the provision of irrigation facilities in all the villages of the country, because this constitutes the basis for agricultural growth. In the absence of irrigation facilities, agriculture is nothing more than a gamble”. Irrigation facility is one of the most significant factors contributing to agricultural development. Despite various schemes and programmes of the government to extend facilities for irrigation only around 40 per cent of the net cultivable land has been irrigated so far while remaining 60 per cent area is rain fed.
Freshwater is available as rainfall, surface water, ground water and atmospheric moisture. All these sources vary over place and time both seasonality and from year to year to year. Over exploitation of water resources, degradation of water recharge structures, paucity of funds, depleting water resources due to failure of monsoon and competing demand on the available water resources are the factors that cause concern on the supply front. On the demand side, factors such as growing urbanization, increase in population, change in life styles etc. also increase the complexity of the problem. Presently many Indian cities do not have sources of water and in future, it would have to be transported over large distances as the water is found more away from the cities.
The country’s present and future situation can be gauged by the trend in water availability. It has been observed that irrigation alone accounted around 83 per cent of the total water use in 1997-98 on the demand side and it is likely to slow down to 69.5 per cent by the year 2050 due to the impact of technological advancement in irrigation. Demand of water for domestic, industrial and thermal power generation is expected to increase sharply. The limited ground water sources have not been able to keep pace with recharge and discharge to renew the balance. The amount of water available per person in India has decreased steadily over a period of time. It is predicted that the world in the year 2050 will be largely different from what it is today. Water sector will undergo dramatic changes in the years to come. We have no option but to depend on the available sources of water and have the responsibility to save and conserve them without fail.
Widespread aquifer depletion in the ground water areas, water logging in the canal regions and soil salinisation due to sea water ingress in the coastal zones are undeniable symptoms of an imminent water crisis in India. The water crisis has both quantitative and qualitative dimensions. We have glaring instances of water sharing conflicts not only between the states but also among the farmers or other water users. We have not heard of river water disputes till the middle of 20th century. Disputes over river water are of recent origin. It is predicted that rivers and their water distribution will become one of the most politicised ecological issues in the near future. Water is scarce even for drinking purpose. India already is facing an alarming situation. Its fragile water resources are stressed and depleting while various sectorial demands are growing rapidly even as about 200 million people in the country do not have access to safe drinking water and nearly 1.5 million children under five die each year due to water-borne diseases.
The droughts conditions in several parts of the country are on the rise and disputes over sharing of the water resources are becoming grimmer. If the available freshwater resources in India are not managed properly India will face a severe water crisis. At present, six of India’s 20 major river basins already fall into water scarce category. It is expected that by the year 2025, five more basins will be water scarce. According to estimates, by the year 2025, India will face a severe water shortage leading to serious struggles and it is also expected that within a few decades availability of water in the country will be about 1700 to 2000 cubic metres as per person as against the world average of 5000 to 9000 cubic metres per person. India is heading towards a freshwater crisis due to improper management of water resources and environmental degradation which has led to lack of access to safe water supply to millions of people. The freshwater crisis is already evident in many parts of the country varying in scale and intensity depending mainly on the time of the year. Ground water crisis has been caused by human actions. The most tragic part is that water is a finite natural resource and so far no technology has contributed successfully to produce water for mass scale. Environmentalists like Sunderlal Bahuguna are not wrong in saying that the acute scarcity of water may force the powerful nations to wage a new global war for the control of the depleted sources of water. New strategies for water management and development are urgently needed to avert severe national, regional and local water scarcities. Major institutional policy and technological initiatives are required to ensure efficient, socially equitable and environmentally suitable management of water resources. Farmers co-operation is must in the process of water management. Recently government of India launched a scheme called as the Pardhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayi Yojana (PMKSY) under which irrigation will be ensured to each farmer of the country and special emphasis will be given on the micro-irrigation to increase the water use efficiency at his farm.
Also more crops per drop will be the major objective of this programme. An efficient irrigation system can sustain India’s expanding population. Researchers and extension personnel should pay attention in increasing the agricultural production per unit area per unit of water. Water management programmes should be implemented in a systematic way. Immediate steps should be taken for drastic reduction of wastage of water in all sectors and protection of water sources from industrial pollution. A strong political will of the government to frame an appropriate water policy and equally important indomitable conscience of water users to utilize water judiciously are necessary for sustainable utilization of water.
There is need to improve the water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and mimimizing the release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally by 2030.Water security has to be one of the most important targets to be achieved by 2030.Conservation and sustainable availability of clean water is paramount for the survival of mankind on the blue planet.
(The writer is Sr. Scientist &Head, KVK, Reasi Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology-Jammu).
