Water Resource Management is the need of the hour

Sorry for the Inconvenience, We have run out of water – Earth Soon.

Time is not far when humanity will be devoid of the most crucial and quintessential necessity of survival, “water.” With the incessant rush to chase higher standards of living and sacrificing ecology for the economy, we must stop to ask, where are we heading? We need to see what survival without water would look like. Would all that we achieve without water make sense after all?

In this essay, we will analyze the security of the water crisis at present. Furthermore, we will see how the water crisis would affect mankind in each sphere of its survival and why proper management becomes imperative. Lastly, we will focus on how we should take steps to manage water resources efficiently to avoid any future water crisis.

Crisis to Calamity India has only 4% of the world’s fresh water resources with 17% of the world’s population. Our population has even failed to manage that chunk effectively. Pristine historical rivers have not only lost their sanctity with polluted water but also their capacity to irrigate vast agricultural tracts and provide a means of drinking water. One after the other, each city is heading towards a water crisis – be it Shimla, Chennai, or Bangalore, something that was not usual for decades. We fare poorly in the latest NITI Aayog’s Composite Water Management Index (120/122) and in saving the livelihood of our future generations. If no interventions are made, disastrous repercussions are inevitable.

Water – The very Essence of Existence Someone has rightly said, “It is not the presence of something but the absence of it that reveals its true importance.” Just ask a person thirsty for the last few hours how a few sips of water feel. Just ask the child whose bright childhood was lost in fetching water from a distance what water availability means. Just ask the woman who has been brought and purchased as a “water wife” how the scarcity of water has changed the meaning of her very existence. Water constitutes the basic ingredient of the lowest slab in Maslow’s need pyramid.

If water is not managed properly, the economies will suffer, where the water equations among countries drive the markets of the day. In a country where 1% owns 73% of the wealth (Oxfam), water scarcity is a recipe for ‘water divide’ and fueling existing socio-economic inequalities. Buying a glass of water may not mean much to the people at the top of the pyramid, but it will definitely shrink the purse of a common man. Thus, water resource management is imperative to avoid “water poverty” and move towards “water justice.”

In a country with 50% of the population relying on agriculture as a means of livelihood, not paying attention to water management is inviting the demon. If we fail to manage water, we fail the farmer, shatter his dreams, and cripple the rural landscape.

Escaping our responsibilities will lead to a situation of “water everywhere but not a drop to drink” soon. It is a compromise on the ideal of ‘Intergenerational parity’ that we, as a society, aspire to achieve. We will be ashamed when our grandchildren realize that “we had the means to act but lacked the will.”

If wars are ever fought again, these wars will be over ‘water.’ Evolution has shown that existence is nothing but ‘survival of the fittest.’ In a world where water becomes the new gold, countries will take protectionist, self-centered moves, much more intense than what is prevalent today.

Not resorting to water management will be an embankment on the path to turmoil, terror, and tussle. The Syrian crisis, which facilitated the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2015, had at its roots the anguish, frustration, and heat of millions who had suffered perpetual droughts. In a world where water becomes scarce, ‘water refugees’ will join the existing list of climate refugees.

Thus, now is the time to act. Now is the time for the individual to save the last drop of water. Now is the time for people to build “water conservation,” the campaign of the decade. Now is the time to act!

From Water Calamity to Water Conservation Water needs to be managed in its entirety. Surface water and groundwater have been effectively managed in a cohesive manner through watershed management programs. Neeranchal watershed management program is evidence of that. The government’s promotion of water harvesting structures at households and public places deserves appreciation. Eighty percent of groundwater consumption is for irrigating agricultural lands. Thus, focusing on micro-irrigation methods such as sprinkler irrigation and drip irrigation will do much to check water crises temporarily.

However, we all must act together. At the individual level, closing the tap while brushing is a step towards water conservation. Being cautious in water usage for bathing and day-to-day chores is a small but inspirational move.

At the societal level, there is a need to innovate new means of water conservation and the treatment of polluted streams. One can also return to traditional knowledge structures such as kul, johads, and baolis, which constituted efficient water harvesting structures of the time. Temple inscriptions near rivers are a treasure trove of knowledge that can be utilized with modifications for present-day architecture.

At the international level, countries need to collaborate to save the world from the “crisis of the century.” Hydro diplomacy should be utilized to its full potential. India has upper riparian states such as Bhutan, Nepal, and China. A harmonious collaboration will go a long way in not only minimizing water scarcity but also strengthening bilateral ties.

Conserving water is a recipe to treat multiple ailments with a single cure. In our responsibility to do so, we are bringing back education to the child whose childhood is spent fetching water. In doing so, we give a new life to the women who has been purchased as a “water wife” just for the sake of fetching water. In doing so, we take care of our children who, 50 years from now, will blossom in the adequacy of water and not die of scarcity. In doing so, we give life to people and meaning to our lives.