By FGR Bureau
“Do you know over 1.7 billion people live in river basins where water use exceeds recharge, leading to the desiccation of rivers, depletion of groundwater and the degradation of ecosystems? Water shortages have been identified by industry, government, academia and civil society as one of the top three global risks of highest concern.”
“World Water Day” on March 19, 2019 was organized under the aegis of “Amity Institute of Water Technology & Management” and “Amity Institute of Environmental Science” at Amity University Campus, Noida. The guest of honor Dr Arvind Kumar signifying the importance of ‘Fresh Water and sustainable development – Leaving no one behind’ remarked that “Leave no one behind” is a core principle of the 2030 SDG Agenda.
It is a unique opportunity to draw attention and to create momentum that compels everyone to understand the importance of water and its linkages with human health, environment and economic development because water is not just a sector but a connector and this nexus of SDG 6 of Clean Water and sanitation for all with SDG 3 Good health and well being, SDG 12 Responsible consumption and Production and SDG 17 on Partnerships to achieve Goals is an indispensable catalyst for almost all developmental activities.
The need of the hour is to go circular by embracing the need to recover, recycle, repurpose, refurbish, repair, refuse, rethink, reduce, reuse and remanufacture. Attainment of the targets of the SDGs within a stipulated period along with achieving the targets of Paris Agreement on Climate Change, with water being at the core, can be facilitated by adopting new policies and programmes based on innovative techniques and technology along with new concepts of cooperation and partnership in tandem with existing concepts and approaches. Scientific concepts like new water, rewilding, use of green infrastructure, roof-top gardens holds high potential to revive the water economy and the application of circular economy principles can help us meet the step changes to practice that will be necessary for it to meet future water demands.
Currently, IWF’s on-field experiences working in the Aspirational Districts of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand by way of community engagement and stakeholder consultation resulted in understanding the problems and challenges of the seven aspirational indicators underlying the water sector, basic education, health, infrastructure, financial inclusion and skill development. It summed up, to the absence of clean drinking water and as discussed earlier led to 80% of the illnesses prevalent in rural India which further prevented children from attending schools leading to economic disparity. It forms a vicious cycle and we have to work towards breaking this vicious chain because sustainable interventions can only be achieved through education, empowerment and ownership. Moreover, without an understanding of the social, political, cultural, historical and economic contexts within which humans live, work and play, sustainable change in human behaviour is not possible.
To link Fresh water and Sustainable Development, some Key Imperatives must be acknowledged which as per my understanding can help in filling up the gaps
- To secure Water as Human Right, we must envisage the twin-track approach of Comprehensive Water Governance’. Governance mechanisms at all levels (local, national, regional and global) need to be more open, inclusive and accountable to marginalised groups. Local communities must be closely involved in developing local targets and indicators, and take an active role in monitoring and holding local authorities accountable for SDG implementation.
- Combining these instruments into a well-designed policy is critical for effectiveness For example; water legislation must prioritize water use for domestic consumption over other uses. A well-designed policy needs to have a substantive vision accompanied by assessment, monitoring and evaluation for cost effective benefits so that they can be appropriately improved based on an assessment of feedback mechanisms.
- Nature based solutions like recharge of natural aquifers, community conservation water bodies, Integrated Water Shed Management, restoring wetlands, water food energy nexus should be adopted.
- Upholding the human right to water and sanitation requires paying special attention to geographical differences in access, access by vulnerable and marginalized groups, and affordability issues.
To conclude, Sustainable Development is supported by ‘nature’s contributions to humans’, including the rich biodiversity, and the four ecosystem services—supporting, regulating, provisioning and cultural services. We often take these for granted and therefore must begin with a new paradigm of moving towards Conscious & Collaborated’ efforts envisaging water as a Valuable Resource. The inextricable linkages between these critical domains require a suitably integrated approach to ensuring water and food security, and sustainable agriculture and energy production worldwide. Broad estimates indicate an investment of One Trillion USD in water sector in India in coming years and I feel water is the oil of 21st century and will command the world market place in the years to come and this time is Ripe & Right to #SolveDifferent and collectively make sure no one is left behind.
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