Date: 16/09/2022

Relevance: GS-3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment Disaster and disaster management

Key Phrases: World Water Development Report Of 2022, Sharp Rise In Freshwater Withdrawal, Water Scarcity Clock, Improved Water Service Delivery, Rural-Urban Transfer Of Water, Composite Water Management Index

Why in News?

• The UNESCO United Nations World Water Development Report of 2022 has expressed global concern over the sharp rise in freshwater withdrawal from streams, lakes, aquifers, and human-made reservoirs, impending water stress, and also water scarcity being experienced in different parts of the world.
• The new Water Report of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has pronounced a note of caution about this silent crisis of a global dimension, with millions of people being deprived of water to live and sustain their livelihood.

Key facts related to the growing water stress:

• The Water Scarcity Clock, an interactive web tool, shows that over two billion people are now experiencing high water stress wherein the numbers will continue to increase.
• The Global Drought Risk and Water Stress map (2019) shows that major parts of India, particularly west, central, and parts of peninsular India are highly water stressed and experience water scarcity.
• A NITI Aayog report, Composite Water Management Index (2018) has already cautioned about the worst water crisis in the country, with more than 600 million people facing acute water shortages.

India’s rapid urbanization and increasing water stress:

• Water use in the urban sector has increased as more and more people shift to urban areas, and thus, per capita use of water in these centres has increased, likely to grow with improved standards of living.
• Examining the urban water management trajectory, it is evident that in the initial stages when a city is small, water is sourced locally, with groundwater meeting the bulk of the supply.
• As the city grows and water management infrastructures develop, dependence shifts to surface water.
• With the further growth of cities, water sources shift further up in the hinterlands, or the allocation of urban water is enhanced at the expense of irrigation water.
• Almost all cities in India that depend on surface water experience this trend.
• City water supply is now a subject of inter-basin and inter-State transfers of water.

How is the water shortage being dealt with by the water-stressed regions?

• The typical response of the areas where water shortage or scarcity is high, includes the transfer of water from the hinterlands/upper catchments or drawing it from stored surface water bodies or aquifers.
• This triggers sectoral and regional competition and rural-urban transfer of water is one such issue of global concern.
• Increasing transboundary transfer of water between rural and urban areas has been noted in many countries since the early 20th century.
• Globally, urban water infrastructure imports an estimated 500 billion liters of water per day across a combined distance of 27,000 km.

Dependency of urban areas on rural areas for water supply:

• The dependence of all large cities that have switched to surface water sources has increased on groundwater, particularly in the peri-urban areas.
• Moreover, the recharge areas of groundwater aquifers are spread over well beyond the city boundary or its periphery.
• Thus, whatever the source, surface, or groundwater, cities largely depend on rural areas for raw water supply, which has the potential to ignite the rural-urban dispute.
• Available studies covering Nagpur and Chennai indicate the imminent problem of rural-urban water disputes that the country is going to face in the not-so-distant future as water scarcity grows, which will be further exacerbated by climate change.

What are the risks associated with the transboundary transfer of water:

• As per a UN report on ‘Transboundary Waters Systems – Status and Trend’ (2016) this issue of water transfer has been linked with various Sustainable Development Goals proposed to be achieved from 2015 to 2030.
• The report has identified risks associated with water transfer in three categories of biophysical, socio-economic, and governance.
• South Asia, including India, falls in the category of high biophysical and the highest socio-economic risks.

Case Study : Ahmedabad

• More than 80% of the water supply in this city used to be met from groundwater sources till the mid-1980s.
• The depth to groundwater level has reached 67 meters in confined aquifers.
• The city now depends on the Narmada canal for the bulk of its water supply.
• The shift is from local groundwater to canal water receiving supply from an inter-State and inter-basin transfer of surface water.

What are the challenges that India faces with water management?

• India is home to 18 percent of the global population but has only 4 percent of the global water resources.
• Its per capita water availability is around 1,100 cubic meters (m3), well below the internationally recognized threshold of water stress of 1,700 m3 per person.
• Population growth and economic development put further pressure on water resources.
• Paradoxically, India is also the largest net exporter of virtual water (the amount of water required to produce the products that India exports) and has one of the most water-intense economies.
• Despite looming water scarcity, India is one of the largest water users per unit of gross domestic product (GDP).
• This suggests that how India manages its scarce water resources accounts for much of its water distress
• Government capacities are lacking as far as improving water management is concerned, while policies and incentives often favor inefficient and unproductive use of water.
• This is coupled with weak or absent institutions (e.g. for water regulation) and poor data collection and assessment.

Best Practices:

1. The Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority, established under a World Bank project, is putting in place policies, regulations, institutions, and incentives that promote more efficient and more productive use of water, e.g., by ensuring the equitable distribution of water among users, and by establishing water tariffs.
2. Vietnam, for instance, has implemented a comprehensive program to manage water-related risks and build resilience
3. Nigeria has helped prevent erosion, reclaim valuable land, and focused on sustainable livelihoods to reduce the vulnerability of people, infrastructure, assets, natural capital, and livelihoods to land degradation.
4. The Philippines is implementing comprehensive urban drainage works to improve water management.

Way Forward:

1. Integrated Approach: A system perspective and catchment scale-based approach are necessary to link the reallocation of water with wider discussions on development, infrastructure investment, fostering a rural-urban partnership, and adopting an integrated approach in water management.
2. Improved water service delivery: Efforts have to be made embedded in a favorable policy and regulatory environment to improve water service delivery.
3. Strengthening of institutions and capacities: Institutional strengthening can offer entry points and provide opportunities to build flexibility into water resource allocation at a regional level, enabling adjustments in rapidly urbanising regions.

Conclusion:

• The rural-urban transfer of water is a lose-lose situation in India as water is transported at the expense of rural areas and the agricultural sector.
• In cities, most of this water is in the form of grey water with little recovery or reuse, eventually contributing to water pollution.
• Therefore, it is important to strive for a win-win situation.
• Such a situation is possible through a host of activities in the rural and urban areas, which is primarily a governance challenge.

Source: The Hindu

Mains Question:

Q. Critically examine the reasons for the acute water stress being faced by the country as well as the way forward in order to efficiently manage water related risks and challenges. (250 words).