Integrated management of water in today\\\'s world

Time is running out, so is water. The reality points to decreasing per-capita availability, degrading water quality, increasing competition/conflict within sectors and within society, urban versus rural scenarios --- haves versus have-nots --- upstream versus downstream flows, national versus international perspectives coupled with increasing competition or conflict with the environment.

Water scarcity already poses a great threat to economic growth, human rights protection and national security. As per recent UN estimates, around 1.2 billion people, nearly 20 per cent of the world population, are living in areas where the limits of sustainable water use have already been reached or breached. It is high time to realise that the issue needs to be placed with high importance on the global agenda. In fact, the world is urgently required to adapt to the reality. There is still enough water for all of us only if we keep it clean and evenly share it. The fact is we face the challenge: we must make safer stores of water available to all.
Even Beijing, proud of achieving the status of  the 'highest-growing region' in the world, still remains drought-prone and the water shortages are expected to persist for years to come. The mighty river Colorado, in North America, seldom meets the sea. One-third of the US and one-fifth of Spain still suffer from water stress. Central Africa's Lake Chad, supporting the very life of 30 million-plus people, has already shrunk one-tenth of its former size, the negative contributory factors being climate change, drought, mismanagement and over-use, among others.
Clearly, it is a global phenomenon -- an area where immediate adequate attention is to be paid so that the things do not go from bad to worse. It is essential for survival, poverty alleviation and promoting development. Globally, more than two and half billion people live in the most abysmal standards of hygiene and sanitation. Wastage of water and absence of regular clean water supply not only to the burgeoning metropolis but also to huge rural regions exist simultaneously.
Then, what about the fast-growing cities, the major water users? The table clearly shows the population pressure we are shortly going to experience and the consequent pressure on this scarce-resource population would put further strain on the per capita availability of water.
 
Not only in China. Although accessibility to drinking water has increased considerably in India during the last decade in particular, around 10 per cent of the rural and urban population still does not have access to regular safe drinking water. During the critical summer, the condition goes from bad to worse in many parts of the country. Excessive extraction of ground water to meet agricultural needs and industrial and domestic demands is steadily harming the rural and urban settlements.  
Water limits are close to being breached in several countries, while food output has to be increased by up to 100 per cent by 2050 to sustain a growing world population, according to the United Nations. The World Bank has rightly said that key problems in the water sector include data secrecy, competition for resources, too much focus on increasing supply and not enough on management.
Added to this are the piping system to homes, unclean water tanks, improper drainage and waste disposal systems, which also contribute to impure or contaminated water. Again, the presence of excessive inorganic matters (iron, lead, salt, etc) also paves the way for various ailments and diseases like constipation, dyspepsia, colic, paralysis, kidney diseases; and, sometimes, even death.
This adequately shows that immediate actions need to be taken to cut down the number of people without safe access to water in a time-bound manner. The Secretary-General of the United Nations has rightly observed: "We need to begin thinking about better strategies for managing water -- for using it efficiently and sharing it fairly. This means partnerships involving not just governments but civil society groups, individuals and businesses."
Undeniably, we are still at the early stages of awakening. A realistic approach, obviously not by holding seminars and through observance of World Water Day only, can mitigate the incidence. The responsibility lies equally with the government sector, as well as the private sector,  for checking the unrestricted exploitation of ground water, encouraging planned urbanisation, optimisation of use (read Israel), restricting the flow of effluents from industrial units to the rivers and obvious enough stricter supervision; and effectively discharging the duties and responsibilities related to 'corporate social responsibility'.
As a whole, the system should ultimately work as part of the solution rather than a problem. The need is to move beyond mere use of water to stewardship -- to protect what is steadily becoming an increasingly scarce resource, ultimately benefiting the communities. Efforts to enhance drinking water supply must move at a greater speed so as to cover all of the villages with adequate potable water connections.
The observations of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) should not lose sight of. Climate change may bring about a decrease in the quantity and quality of land for agricultural use, scarcity in surface water for irrigation, and a boom in pest population, the Bank has said.
Other food production sectors such as fisheries may also suffer from an increase in water salinity, affecting fish populations; heat stress and limited water intake due to a decrease in rainfall may adversely affect livestock yield. The ADB has said that to address these issues, governments must improve water and farm management practices, adopt new technology and invest in more agricultural infrastructure.
To mitigate the impact of climate change on food production, the ADB urges governments in developing Asia, to push for improvements in water and farm management practices while increasing investments in agricultural infrastructure. In particular, the ADB observes, "Sound water management practices, such as promoting the adoption of water conservation techniques, water recycling, or integrated river basin planning, (may be adopted) to improve resilience to changes in the hydrologic cycle and to provide co-benefits to other sectors, such as health."
Obvious enough, technology would play the bigger role in such a context to meet people's basic needs in a sustained manner. Naturally, protecting fresh water reserves, watershed development, chemical treatments following the safety norms, tackling the arsenic and fluoride contamination, among others, could give rich dividends. It is high time to note that the gross disparity prevailing on this score requires immediate attention in order to mitigate the incidence. Investment or raising fund allocations in this infrastructure development will benefit all in the long run inasmuch as it will ensure coverage of all rural habitations by reaching the non-reached with access to safe drinking water; sustainability of the systems and sources; and tackling the water quality problems in affected habitations.
For a 21st century society it is all about the triangle -- water, food and climate change. The challenge could only be mitigated if collaborative approaches are taken up backed by political will, market mechanisms and innovative technology. Market forces could work well under a cap-and-trade approach similar to those applied to carbon dioxide. Favouring market forces in playing a role in the management of the scarce water, and defining the value of water will positively help in taking a big leap forward.
The immediate need is thus to invest in reliable, proven and advanced water purification systems that guarantee the public, in both rural and urban areas, safe and pure drinking water at all times. Latest technology available must be extensively made use of in a time-bound manner to protect the human beings from getting crushed amid pollution routes.
A forward-looking realistic plan has to be in focus:  improving data collection on the location and types of water resources, promoting water-saving farming technologies, developing sewage treatment facilities alongside water projects, and establishing a national monitoring body and a new legal framework for the sector. As we cannot expand in a quantitative sense, we have to expand by using our water more carefully.
The process has to be driven by water-related health impacts, planned industrialisation, water security, and strengthening environmental awareness.
Are we really serious on this score?
Dr. B. K. Mukhopadhyay is a
management economist and an
international commentator on
business and economic affairs.  [email protected]