Dr. Arvind Kumar*
The overall human impact due to overpopulation on the environment is causing overconsumption, excessive pollution, and proliferation of technology has pushed the planet into a new geological epoch known as the Anthropocene. With the advancement of science and technology, the mortality rate among humans has reduced significantly and within the last two centuries the population has increased manifolds. India is surpassing China to become the world’s most populous nation this April. According to the United Nations World Urbanisation Prospects, Delhi-NCR will become the most populous urban agglomeration surpassing Tokyo by 2030. In addition to it the country is reeling under heatwaves since March 2022 – which was the hottest and driest month recorded in 120 years. This year too for several consecutive days, residents were hit by temperatures surpassing 40 degrees Celsius. There is no doubt among experts that this unprecedented heatwave is a direct manifestation of climate change. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), India is the country expected to pay the highest price for the impacts of the climate crisis. Aside from extreme weather events such as flash floods and widespread wildfires, the country experiences long heatwaves and droughts that dry up its water sources and compromise crops. The indiscriminate use of water for irrigation, coupled with the absence of conservation efforts and the huge policy gap in managing water resources has left over 10% of the country’s water bodies in rural areas redundant.
Is this the new NORMAL? Isn’t this whole scenario perplexing?
Interrelation of Population burst, climate change and access to water
India has promised to get 50% of its energy from renewable resources by 2030, and by the same year to reduce total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes. Green energy and Forest restoration is the key to India’s ambitious climate goals and conserving biodiversity which is declining at an alarming rate. Although India has committed to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030 but are we doing enough in this regard?
In rural areas, population increase typically leads to more land being cleared for agriculture, while in urban areas, the situation is even more worrying as development comes at a significant environmental cost. With a growing population, natural resources are depleted faster than they can be replenished; leading to poor air and water quality, water scarcity and extreme weather events. The government is taking steps to address some of these issues through programmes like Jal Jivan Mission which have given tap water connectivity to 60% of rural households till now however considering the fast depleting ground water table and diminishing springs where will the water come from for the taps.
If you look at the water scarcity and climate change scenarios projected, rains may be in same quantity but there is a likelihood of an increase in intense short spells. In that case we need to store surface runoff in wetlands’ wetlands can be the best buffer for extreme climate change impacts, mitigating floods and also droughts. Considering the same the government launched Mission Amrit Sarovar to address the issue of water scarcity. It is imperative to do so because not only are we staring at depletion of groundwater and pollution of surface water but also vanishing water bodies like lakes, ponds, wetlands etc. due to encroachment and development works.
India Water Foundation has been expressing its concern for the past fifteen years regarding the water quality and quantity mapping in the country for futuristic planning. Policy, Planning and framework require unidata and accurately mapping wetland types and monitoring their dynamic changes provide the scientific foundation for wetland protection and restoration. We not just have the SDG 6 targets to be achieved by 2030 but also the water action agenda and commitments made at UN 2023 Water Conference in New York have to be achieved.
It is worth mentioning here about the timely intervention of the Ministry of Jal Shakti by releasing the report of India’s first water bodies census, a comprehensive data base of ponds, tanks, lakes, and reservoirs in the country. Although the Ramsar sites in the country have gone up to 75 but the census shows that 1.6% of enumerated water bodies — 38,496 out of 24,24,540 — had been encroached upon. In almost 63% of encroached water bodies, less than a quarter of the area was under encroachment; in about 12% water bodies, more than three-quarters of the area was under encroachment. Their loss has had massive consequences for cities – flooding and loss of water security being some. As a member of the Wetlands Committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Government of India, we drafted the guidelines for the implementation of the wetlands Rules 2017 under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. We made the provision of enumerating, geo tagging and making an inventory of water bodies to make encroachment difficult especially in urban areas by making them part of the revenue records.
Way forward
Science and Nature-based solutions such as tree planting, ecosystem restoration, investing in renewable energy and public transportation, and adopting sustainable agriculture practices are essential to reducing carbon footprints, mitigating the impact of climate change and achieving water security. It is imperative that we prioritize the conservation and restoration of our natural resources if we want to ensure a healthy and sustainable future. Recognizing, measuring and expressing water’s worth and incorporating that into decision-making is still a challenge, apart from the water scarcity. Therefore we need to shift the attention from a single-minded and linear water management approach to a multi-dimensional integrated water management approach, that is, the ‘Transversality’ approach, for a comprehensive, resilient and sustainable management of water resources.
Active collaborations with industry, agencies, policymakers, business leaders and various stakeholders is a regular practice in the ‘Transversality’ approach, whereas collaboration is need-based in conventional water management systems. A peoples centric whole of society approach where not just government but civil society has an active role to play. An integrated holistic approach towards all sources of water is the need of the hour. This concept is about bringing all the diverse stakeholders together via peoples movement to advance common-ground solutions to combat the water and urban ecology challenges. Every individual, every community, every sector and every stakeholder group has a role to play in an improved decision-making network, from implementing policies to formulating plans for future developments so together we can secure a sustainable water future for all.
*President, India Water Foundation
