WATER – TWO
BILLION PEOPLE ARE DYING FOR IT!
Ahmed
Noor Khan*
The World Environment
Day (WED) observed on June 5 every year was ratified by the UN
General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm
Conference on Human Environment. Another resolution adopted by
the General Assembly on the same day led to the creation of the
United Nations’ Environment Programme (UNEP). WED is one of the
principal vehicles through which the UN seeks to create world-wide
awareness of environment and conservation.
This year’s theme,
"Water – Two Billion People are Dying for it!",
echoes one of the most pressing environmental issues facing the
planet and its six billion people. The theme for WED this year
also supports the celebration of 2003 as the International Year
of Freshwater.
Lebanon, a country
whose fabled cedar trees have been revered since the sea-faring
days of the Phoenicians, will host this year’s WED. It will be
the first time in the 30 year history of the awareness – raising
event that the main celebrations are being held in the Arab world.
West Asia, the region in which the country lies, highlights the
threats and challenges people across the globe face in their search
for that most basic and fundamental element of life-water. Trees,
forests and water are inextricably linked and the celebrations
to be held in Beirut and around Lebanon, whose national flag is
the majestic cedar tree, will also include the presentation of
UNEP’s Global 500 Awards. These are presented to a total of 8
winners - individuals and organisations that have made outstanding
contributions to the conservation and protection of the environment.
To coincide with
last year’s WED, the UN Ocean’s Atlas was launched. It provides
the users with continuously updated data on the state of the world’s
oceans, maps, development trends and threat to human health from
the deteriorating marine environment. An expedition, despatched
to the Himalayas to chronicle the health of one of the world’s
most famous mountain ranges, has gathered startling evidence of
the impact of climatic change. The team, backed by UNEP, learnt
that the glacier from where Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay
set out to reach the Everest on May 29, 1953 has retreated by
around five kilometres in the last fifty years.
Water Stress
About one-third
of the world population lives in countries with moderate to high
water stress. The problems are most acute in Africa and West Asia
but lack of water is already a major constraint to industrial
and socio-economic growth in many other countries including India,
China and Indonesia. If present consumption patterns continue,
two out of every three persons on the earth will have to live
in water-stressed conditions by the year 2025. Declining freshwater
resources in terms of quantity and quality may prove to be a ticklish
issue in the future.
The Habitat Conference
in Vancouver in 1976 had "Freshwater for All by 1990"
as its theme. The UN Water Conference at Mar del Plata, Argentina,
in 1977 made this more specific and designated the period 1981-1990
as the International Water Supply and Sanitation Decade, while
1978-1980 were the years for collecting data and evaluating the
dimensions of the crisis.
Control over
water resources has always been a live issue in the recorded history
of mankind. The mighty have always tended to grab all the water
resources depriving the weak of their right to its use. Kautilya’s
Arthashastra written in the third century BC, talked about
the issues involved in the distribution and consumption of water.
Ancient India
stored rainfall in tanks and ponds. But modern India neglected
them. Where tanks irrigated half the cropped area a century ago,
they now cover less than 10 per cent of it. Experts have calculated
that if tanks are to be built over 3 per cent of India’s land
area, they could store a quarter of its rainfall.
The Vision Document
for Integrated Water Resources Development and Management released
by the Ministry of Water Resources details the requirements in
the water sector and the strategy to be adopted to achieve a sustainable
growth rate. The document calls for engaging in active water diplomacy
for mutually beneficial use of international water resources with
the neighbouring countries.
Water Development Report
Presented on
the eve of the Third World Water Forum at Kyoto, Japan in March
2003, it represents the single most important intellectual contribution
to the Forum in the International Year of Freshwater. It says
all the social and natural crises we face, water scarcity touches
every facet of life, from the health of children to the ability
of nations to secure food for their citizens. Water supplies are
falling while its demand is growing at a rate that is impossible
to meet. Over the next 20 years, the average supply of water world-wide
per person is expected to drop by a third. By the middle of this
century, billons of people in over one hundred countries will
be faced with acute water scarcity. The report says climate change
will account for an estimated 20 per cent of increase in global
water scarcity. Water quality will worsen with rising levels of
pollution and water temperature.
The poor continue
to be the worst affected with 50 per cent of the population in
the developing countries exposed to polluted water sources. The
per capita water supply decreased by a third between 1970 and
1990. Even though birth rates are slowing down, the world’s population
is expected to cross 9 billion by 2050, as compared to 6.1 billion
of 2001. Water consumption has almost doubled in the last 50 years.
The developed countries consume 30 to 50 times of the water resources
as compared to the developing world. Meanwhile, the water quality
continues to worsen. Everyday 6000 people, mostly children under
five, die from diarrhoeal diseases. These statistics illustrate
the enormity of the problem facing the world with respect to its
water resources and the startling disparities that exit in its
utilization.
Vatavaran 2003
For decades
it has been a familiar sight to see women in much of rural India
trek long distances, balancing earthen pots on their heads, looking
for water. In a dreaded season where nerves are on the edge and
tempers go up at the drop of a hat, the prospect of water scarcity
has hit everyone hard all over the country. Quarrels over water
are turning violent, even bloody at times.
The National
Environment and Wildlife Film Festival "Vatavaran 2003"
will be held in November this year to highlight the pressing environmental
concerns. The theme for the three-day film festival beginning
November 18 is "Water for Life". Water is a resource
that cannot be manufactured and is a volatile and crucial environmental
issue. It is intended to encourage talents, creativity and expertise
in films that influence the people. Vatavaran 2003 will see government,
industry and environment groups coming together to create awareness
of the need to tackle pressing environmental concerns.(PIB Features)
*Technical
Expert, Nagpur
