India's water woes and climate change

India is running out of water. And it has a lot to do with climate change. The statement seems rather banal, but the fact remains that India's water future seems insecure, at least at the moment. The country's ground water resources are dwindling, at a much faster pace than they are being recharged, naturally or otherwise. Some experts have already painted a grim scenario for our country in this regard. And it certainly is an irony for a country that takes pride in the fact that even in an environment of global economic gloom, it is expected to witness a strong GDP growth. Somehow, India's economic might has not helped much on the water front. Our water management record is among the poorest. It does not show any signs of improvement, at least, for now. Our past efforts have either fallen woefully short or were carried out in a disconcerted manner. Water remains the essence of life. It is quite evident now more than ever in the history of mankind. Already, world over, its availability, or the lack of it, is making states and people face grave hardships. Countries are fighting between themselves for shared water resources, whether it is in the Middle East or in Asia or Africa. Several countries are witnessing a fight between their communities too. Doomsayers are warning that sometime in the future, wars may erupt over the fast dwindling resource. Some of them see many more Darfurs in the making. And climate change is going to exacerbate the problems. The future seems fraught with current difficulties magnified several times over. India is not an exception. Some of the Indian states have been fighting between themselves over water. And so have been communities. Whether we like it or not, we are also involved in various stand-offs with our neighbours over water: with Pakistan over the Baglihar dam and Chenab River; with Bangladesh over the Ganges; with Nepal over the Kosi and other rivers; and with China over the mighty Brahmaputra. Against a backdrop of fast depleting groundwater reserves - in some villages, wells have now to be dug at over 200 meters to reach water - and little efforts on managing water demand, climate change is expected to worsen water scarcity in India. The Himalayan glaciers are melting at an alarming rate. These glaciers are the lifeline for a sizeable population -- in India, Nepal and China -- that relies on glacier-dependent rivers. Two billion people in the basins of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Indus, Mekong, Yellow and Yangtze Rivers, which depend on the Himalayan glaciers for their water supply, face acute water shortages ahead. The Ganges alone drains an area of over a million square km with a population of over 407 million; Brahmaputra, which drains 940,000 sq km with a population of over 118 million; and Indus, which drains over 1.2 million sq km with over 178 million people. Millions depend on water from the holy river for several things: drinking, bathing, agriculture, industry and other household chores. Life would come to a standstill if the Ganges goes dry. Changes in climatic conditions are also playing havoc with the weather patterns over the country. Monsoon rain patterns are getting affected. This is bringing great hardship to the people across the country, dependent as we remain on rains for agriculture, power and even potable water. Several Indian states this year saw a fall in agriculture production as rains were below normal. On the other hand, some states, like Orissa, saw draught and floods at the same time. Faced with a drought-like situation following inadequate rainfall, Maharashtra had to announce some innovative measures to conserve water. The state government had to direct concerned authorities to use chemicals or polymers in minor and medium dams to prevent evaporation of water. Things were never so bad, and they seem to be getting worse. Climatic changes are making some parts of India prone to droughts, while in some others floods are causing widespread misery. India's northern region runs the risk of more floods in the coming years due to changing stream flow patterns in the Himalayan rivers. A warning to this effect came from researchers from University of Pune and College of Military Engineering (CME), Pune in the wake of the floods caused by the change of course of Kosi River in Bihar, which affected close to 3 million people. Researchers have said that smaller glaciers in the Himalayas have receded at a relatively faster rate than the larger ones due to global warming. Going ahead, the smaller glaciers may even disappear. Experts are of the view that the glacier contribution is going to be impacted due to global warming and there will be variations in response to the monsoon rainfall. Even the national Capital, New Delhi, is going to have a tough time ahead. Already in the grip of a constant water crisis, the city is expected to face more conflicts and pollution in the years to come, experts have warned. India's water woes are plenty, and would very likely grow if concerted efforts were not done on an immediate basis. On its part, the government recognized the need to outline existing and future policies and programmes addressing climate mitigation and adaptation and unveiled the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) earlier this year. The Plan recognized the fact that water scarcity was projected to worsen as a result of climate change and set a goal of a 20 per cent improvement in water use efficiency through pricing and other measures. The plan also aims to conserve biodiversity, forest cover, and other ecological values in the Himalayan region. Of course, it would require far more efforts to arrest problems related to climate change. But, thankfully, a modest beginning has been made. Now, it is for us all to do our bit. Our collective future depends on it. Courtesy: Girish Chadha for Green.NDTV