WATER CRISIS

WATER CRISIS  I  RACE IAS : Best IAS Coaching in Lucknow I  Current Affairs

Mains General Studies: 3

(Issues and challenges related to water conservation)

Reference :

  • Water crisis has now become a critical problem for India along with almost all the countries of the world.
  • According to former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, water scarcity could become a cause of serious conflict in the coming years. If the water crisis on the earth continues to deepen like this, then definitely different countries will start clashing with each other to get water and there can be a war between two different countries.

Foreword:

  • According to an estimate, there are about two billion people around the world who are not able to get clean drinking water and due to this millions of people become ill and become the victim of untimely death. Although about three-fourth of the earth is full of water, but out of the vast source of water present on the earth, only one-and-a-half percent of the water is such that it is possible to use it for drinking water or daily activities.

Consequences of Water Crisis :

Global Commission on the Economics of Water (GCEW) report:

  • Worldwide demand for fresh water supplies will increase by 40 percent by the end of this decade and food production will decline significantly over the next two decades due to water scarcity as well as continued warming.
  • India will face a shortfall of more than sixteen percent in food supply, leading to an increase of more than fifty percent in the food insecure population.
  • Rapid melting of glaciers is expected to create dire water situation in the country.

United Nations CSE Report:

  • A recent UN CSE report states that rivers like Ganga, Brahmaputra and Indus provide water to crores of people in India, but according to the new scientific report ten rivers of India are at risk of drying up.

Conference in New York regarding water:

  • Recently, a conference on fresh water was held in New York after almost five decades, in which UN Secretary-General Guterres presented a dire picture of the water situation in the world and in India.
  • Rivers have been considered the lifeline of India, but it was said in this conference that the water in the big rivers like Ganga, Indus and Brahmaputra will keep decreasing and by 2050 the availability of water will be one-third less than the requirement. About 2500 km long Ganga is the most important river of the country, on which crores of people of many states depend. There are 9,575 glaciers in the Himalayas and the water in the rivers comes from the glaciers.
  • There are 968 glaciers in Uttarakhand alone, but due to the extraordinary change in weather, the glaciers are melting rapidly. In the last 87 years, 1.75 km of the 30 km long Gangotri glacier has melted.

International Atomic Energy Agency:

  • According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, out of the total amount of water available on the earth, only 3 percent of the water is fresh and out of that, about 2 percent of the water is stored in the form of ice on the mountains and poles, while the remaining one percent of the water is water. It is used for drinking water, irrigation, agriculture and industries. The rest of the water is not useful or life-giving because of being salty or for other reasons.
  • At present, the problem of water is standing in front of about three billion people all over the world and this problem is getting worse in developing countries, where about 95 percent people are facing this problem.
  • India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have been at loggerheads over the water issue.
  • There have also been conflicts between some countries in North Africa because of water. There have also been heated exchanges between Israel and some other countries like Jordan, Egypt and Ethiopia over water.

Current status of water availability in India:

  • With the onset of summer season in India, the situation starts deteriorating. About 18 percent of the global population resides in India, while only four percent of India's water resources are available.
  • The availability of water supply in India ranges from 1,100 to 1,197 billion cubic meters (BCM) and water demand in India is expected to double by 2050 as compared to 2010.

Government schemes for water conservation:

  • Water being a State subject, steps for promotion and conservation of water resources are mainly taken by the concerned State Governments.
  • Due to the high temporal and spatial variability of rainfall, the availability of water in many regions of the country is much lower than the national average.

Atal BhujalYojana

  • 'Atal BhujalYojana' is going on for ground water management in 8,220 gram panchayats of seven states of the country, but in view of the falling level of ground water, it needs to be run with full seriousness across the country.

Jal Jeevan Mission

  • The Government of India, in partnership with the State, has launched the Jal Jeevan Mission to provide tap water supply to every rural household in the country by 2024.

AMRUT 2.0 Scheme

  • On October 1, 2021, the Government of India launched the AMRUT Yojana (AMRUT) 2.0 to ensure water supply to all statutory cities of the country.

PM KrishiSinchaiYojana (PMKSY)

  • To ensure optimum use of water, Government of India has implemented Pradhan MantriKrishiSinchayeeYojana (PMKSY) from 2015-16.

Mission AmritSarovar

  • Mission AmritSarovar was launched on National Panchayati Raj Day on April 24, 2022 as a part of the celebration of AmritMahotsav of Independence.
  • The objective of the mission is to develop and rejuvenate 75 water bodies in each district of the country.

Conclusion :

  • Every drop of rain is precious, which is very important to save. If special attention is paid to the conservation of rain water, then the shortage of water can be easily met and in this way the water crisis can be tackled to a great extent.
  • Since water is an invaluable gift of nature, for its conservation we should protect natural resources from contamination.
  • Apart from this, rain water should be conserved and unnecessary exploitation of water should also be avoided.

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Mains Exam Question:

To what extent have the national schemes launched by the Government of India for water conservation been successful in view of the worldwide water crisis? Discuss.