World Water Day, which falls on March 22, is a global initiative backed by the United Nations, and has been observed every year since 1993. Under different themes, the attempt has been to raise awareness among stakeholders about the importance of freshwater. The theme this year is “Water for Peace”. As everyone knows, there was a time when clean water was available in wells, ponds, streams, rivers and other sources, but the situation is vastly different now. There is a problem of water availability with respect to quantity or quality.
India too faces problems
This water crisis may be physical or economic based on multiple factors such as rapid urbanisation, industrialisation, unsustainable agricultural practices, climate change, erratic rainfall patterns, water overuse and inefficient water management, pollution, inadequate infrastructure, a lack of ‘belongingness’ among stakeholders, runoff due to high rain along with soil erosion and sedimentation. Water scarcity leads to the poor functioning of ecosystems, threatens food and water security, and, ultimately, affects peace. According to the World Resources Institute, 17 countries face ‘extremely high’ levels of water stress which is threatening to result in conflict, unrest and peace among people. India is not an exception to these problems. In India, water availability is already low enough to be categorised as water stressed, and is expected to reduce further to 1341m3 by 2025 and 1140m3 by 2050. Also, 72% of all water withdrawals are for use in agriculture, 16% by municipalities for households and services, and 12% by industries.
