Events & Issues

New Delhi, 24 March 2016

Water WaterEverywhere…

YET NOT A DROP TO DRINK

By Dhurjati Mukherjee

On Tuesday the world celebrated Water Day even as many wonder whether the Third World War would be due to water shortage. Either which way, today increasing water scarcity of a burgeoning population is a reality.

Additionally, the rapid growth of Third World countries are facing a major problem due to acute water shortage. Worse, experts opine that within the next decades or earlier half the world’s population would face serious trouble in getting freshwater for drinking and irrigation.

Notwithstanding, water was recognized as a fundamental right in November 2002. Whereby, the Covenant on Economic & Cultural Rights (CESCR) ratified by 145 countries compelled these to progressively ensure that everyone has access to safe and secure water, equitably without discrimination.

Further, UN Committee on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights entitles everyone to “sufficient, safe, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use”. These five core attributes represent the foundations for water scarcity. Yet they are widely violated.

The decline in water availability would worsen when current trends are projected into the future. By 2025, over 3 billion people could be living in water-stressed countries and 14 nations would slip from water stress to water scarcity. India and China would be entering the stress league by the decade end.

Predictably, the task of water reaching every individual, especially in the Third World, is a big challenge. India’s future scenario doesn’t look assuring with water requirements increasing rapidly as the country’s utilizable surface water is 690 BCM along-with 422 BCM replenishable groundwater resources which totals 1122 BCM.

Besides, population growth, urbanization and industrial increase gross water use which was estimated at 522 BCM in 1990, jumped to 750 BCM in 2000 and is expected to reach 1050 by 2025. Of this approximately only 40 per cent of available water resources is considered utilizable due to various factors.

Recall, the 2006 Human Development Report pointed out: “The country may be heading for water stress but 224 million people already live in river basins with renewable water resources below the 1000 cubic metres per person water-scarcity threshold. The reason: more than two-thirds of the country’s renewable water is in areas that serve a third of the population”. A fact corroborated by many reports published during the last three years.

The importance of water to human health and sustainability is known. Specially, as over 15,000-30,000 people, mostly young and elderly, die every day from avoidable water-related diseases which are attributed to lack of sanitation, poor waste water, improper solid waste management and unsafe drinking water.

Resulting in diahorreal diseases like gastroenteritis, dysentery; cholera; shigellosis; poliomyelitis; typhoid and paratyphoid; viral hepatitis and vector-borne diseases like malaria, dengue, filarial etc.

Pertinently, the poorest suffer devastation due to being deprived of clean water which impedes their health. Thus, adequate amount of safe water is necessary to prevent so many deaths, especially in developing countries from water-related diseases. Towards that end the UN has underscored personal and domestic hygiene requirements and consumption of clean water for cooking, and drinking.

True, there was a time water availability was not a major problem except in a few States, nonetheless explicit reference was made on the right to water in two core international human rights treaties, which are legally binding upon all states under the Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) 1979 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989.

Later the 2000 Millennium Declaration pledged to “halve by the year 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water”. The Johannesburg Declaration adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development September 2002 also set a new target of halving the number of people who did not have access to basic sanitation by 2015.

However, unofficial reports state the targets have not been achieved and might take a few more years. Remember, water rights are natural and unsufructuary rights whereby water can be used but not owned. People have a right to life and the resources that sustain it.

Therefore, under customary laws, the necessity of water to life and right to water has been accepted as a natural, social fact. But the tragedy is that water, even adequate drinking water, is not available to a very large segment of the population.

What needs to be done? Sustainable water use is the need of the day as threat of water scarcity will be “the defining condition of life for many in the new century”. Simultaneously the quality of water, especially drinking water, is very crucial for an individual’s health.

Distressingly, India’s 14 major rivers are badly polluted while groundwater contamination has spread severely in Eastern parts of the country. The Ganga and Yamuna are examples of pollution with high contamination levels.

Undeniably, the lethal interaction of dwindling river flows, falling water tables and rising pollution have generated a major water crisis in most countries across the world.   

Apart from water reuse, watershed management has to be intensified further in the country. The Centre and States should come up with time-bound plans to protect watersheds, rivers and wetlands and work with local bodies to establish distribution systems.

Shockingly, several thousand wetlands which constitute the water security of vast areas do not enjoy legal recognition and are being filled or severely polluted.

After food and education being given the ‘Fundamental Rights ’status water being accorded the same status needs to be seriously considered. This would compel local Governments to take better care of their water utilities and make them more transparent and accountable as also simultaneously adopt water conservation measures. 

Clearly, water is a basic right and inextricably linked to sustainable development. Its varied uses from drinking, use in irrigation and industry along-with healthy life are essential for human sustenance. Consequently efforts have to be initiated to maintain our ecological systems which are complimentary for sustainable development.

All in all, our planet might have enough water for every one's need if used judiciously, but not enough for our greed. This is a holistic and sensible approach which doesn’t rely on Western models but on local solutions in an integrated manner.

Undoubtedly, the time has come to replace our current confused policies in managing water for effective management. Simultaneously, there should be a sustained campaign, spearheaded by Panchayats and NGOs for water conservation and curbing wastage.  ----- INFA  

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)