Water is the most important resource for the survival of life on this planet, it
is a fundamental human need and a critical national and an international
asset. In every drop of water, there is a story of life and livelihoods.
Unfortunately, this precious resource is depleting swiftly everywhere. The
world’s water resources are, however, under increasing pressure from a
growing human population, expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, and
increasing per capita consumption of water, the demand for water will grow
by about 55 percent between now and 2050 exacerbating current pressure.
India has about 17 percent of the world's population as compared to only 4
percent of its water resources. The water sector in India has faced significant
and problematic issues related to management. Despite a sizeable water
resource base and vast land resource, challenges of water sector
infrastructure requirements, including operating and upkeep costs, etc. are
significantly higher.
Earth science and environmental policy issues confronting society are the
potential changes in the Earth’s water cycle due to climate change. Global
climate change will affect the water cycle, creating perennial droughts in
some areas and frequent floods in others.
Targets
• Water for All’ means for ALL living things and not only for humans.
• Per capita, water availability must include disparity in water allocation
and access
• Comprehensive assessment of India's water sector, from
an interdisciplinary perspective.
• Exploring Alternative strategies
• Educating technocrats with integration skills.
• Erratic distribution of rain, often contributing to floods and droughts
in several areas
• Water use inefficiency
Unregulated groundwater extraction
• Water pollution
• Decreasing water quality due to poor waste management laws
• Interstate river disputes
• Growing financial crunch for the development of resources
• Safe drinking water
• Private investments and private sector partnership in Water for all
Debate Needed Today
The essence of the ‘debate needed today’ for policy coherence, revolving around:
(a) Social Equity
(b) Healthy Environment and
(c) Viable Economy
We should move away from conventional, narrowly defined approaches that
focus primarily on specific projects and activities – such as big dams and
large-scale projects.
Water is an immeasurably political issue. This resource interacts with a highly
inequitable society marked with class, caste and gender differentiation. Techno
-managerial reforms in the water sector cannot tackle the issues of inequity in
the water supply. India has signed the 2010 United Nations (UN) declaration
of water as a right, this gives equal opportunities for all.
The focus of the seminar is to evolve an environment where water is available
for all in a sustainable manner—safe drinking water for basic needs, adequate
water for agriculture, water for industry and for the ecosystem.
So, the challenge before our meeting is to identify the Innovations, Investments,
and Convergences that India now has to bring about to create a development
pathway that provides all its citizens, rich and poor, with an adequate quality
of water without destroying its sources.
