Water Resources, Depletion and Conservation

 Water Resources, Depletion and Conservation.

By Dinesh K Kapila (CGM (Retd) NABARD

Water resources, depletion and conservation. This topic was taken up sometime back at a function of the Navothan / Parjai. I spoke there from my perspective as a development banker and  along with two experts, Dr SS Grewal and Shri JP Singh. My focus was on the practical realities and the theoretical construct as also on the efforts put in bias in Morni  Hills to substantiate that water is the core of sustainable development. It's critical for socioeconomic development, energy, and production of food for a healthy ecosystem. For  human survival rather life itself. Water is fundamental. It's also an issue of rights. As the world grows, as the population and economies grow, we need to balance our commercial and consumer needs as also integrate communities and gender friendly policies too.

And in addition, we have to move away from the dependency syndrome of looking to the Government and its varied arms for resolving local level issues. In the hills, there has been a history traditionally in India of water sharing of people sharing their water at fixed intervals, downstream and upstream for irrigation, for storage, for agriculture purposes, so that the equity remains and all residents and users are able to share. So, We have to think about reintroducing this through the water user associations and such associations. Furthermore, water and sanitation are intrinsically linked. The challenge is 2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water. The health implications and impact on a productive economy and on sanitation are tremendous and need not be amplified.

Many nations are under high water stress. 90% of natural disasters are weather related floods or drought. Pertinently, worldwide, 80% of water is untreated as per many estimates. It flows back into the ecosystem and is not treated or reused. We have limited transboundary water sharing agreements. This is another concern. Water resources and usage could be a source of conflict in case transboundary agreements are not in place for water sharing. Agriculture is responsible as per many estimates for 70% of global water withdrawal. We have been listening today to many looking at domestic use and industrial use and focusing on the same, but this is the fact agriculture itself is a major, major consumer of water. We have to realize this. Then only we can work on corrective measures.

Then we have to look at another aspect, how can we make, as per the United Nations, 50 to 100 liters of water per person per day as the optimum usage which is appropriate both as affordable and for safe health. Moreover, the water source has to be within 1,000 metres of the home and collection time should not exceed 30 minutes. As per SDG Six, we have to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Childhood diarrhea is another issue. At 1.5 million deaths a year due to unsafe drinking water. A 2012 WHO study shows that every US $1 invested in improved sanitation translates into an average global economic return of US $5.5.

 

Since the 1950s, innovations like synthetic fertilizers, chemical pesticides and high-yield cereals have helped humanity dramatically increase the amount of food it grows. We have had an experience of increase in final production certainly, but they need water, which is under threat. Pollution, climate change, ever-changing extraction of water are the reality. Multiple generations have used plenty of water. We are now over mining water literally. It's going to have severe consequences for us. 

The amount of fresh water per capita has fallen by 20 per cent over the last two decades and nearly 60 per cent of irrigated cropland is water-stressed, says the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The implications of those shortages are far-reaching: irrigated agriculture contributes 40 per cent of total food produced worldwide. We have droughts of a longer duration. 10% of the global harvest has been, has grossly overdrawn water and the aquifers are impacted. Drip and Sprinkler Irrigations are the answer, but they're still to really  have the offtake for mass usage. Then there is salt water intrusion by over irrigation at many regions in the world.

In 1961, a 139 million hectares was irrigated, which in 2012 became 320 million hectares. Livestock under animal husbandry has increased from 7.3 billion in 1970 to 24.2 billion in 2012. This is the challenge. In aquaculture the growth is too rapid by any standards. Now, why look at only the world and not within India?

We, situated as we are in the tropics have huge challenges. We have to understand and realize this. Now, what can we do? What are the policies and practices we can adopt to take this on, the farm practices in livestock agriculture, agriculture, in aquaculture, scientific applications and the time period have to be observed. We have to establish protection zones along surface water courses within farms and buffer zones, these will be effective for mitigating run off and pollution. Efficient irrigation to reduce major water flows is another alternative. Now as regards off-farm responses. Buffer strips, construction of wetlands, vegetational filter strips, integrated farming of crops and vegetables, livestock, fisheries is one pathway to increase production and to  impart stability also.

Improved management of water sources is a must. A coordinated development and management of water and land can maximize development better. Organic and Natural methods of farming help retain soil moisture, add more groundwater and prevent pesticides, leaching, etc. But again, the impact on production and productivity has to be assessed and then on consumerism worldwide and also on the income of farmers.

Alongside, better water conveyance and irrigation systems, especially drip systems for crops and seeds and varieties for contingency planning and evolving climate patterns and variability. As we are now doing for millets, this has to now restart and we have to revise our strategy every few years to hasten the process and then store rainwater, watersheds, and in the hills through watersheds and springsheds. Watersheds are possible in the plains also. We need to develop both springsheds and watersheds. And initiate immediately best practices for soil quality that will enhance soil mass, moisture, manure / composting, and also initiate actively the rotation of crops.

In India, urbanization is again, a problem. We have to lower the cost of heat mitigation measures. Heat stress reduces productivity and man hours possible per  day for work in all sectors. It could cost by 2050 2.80 % of India’s GDP. Urban heat islands will be a reality as climate change accelerates and cheaper Acs drive demand. Urban heat islands alter cooling and precipitation patterns. Greenhouse gase emissions from cooling are estimated to account for at least 7 % if India’s total emissions by 2037. The India Cooiling Action Plan, 2019, provides a policy framework encompassing better construction / design, building materials, landscaping and cool roofs, using both passive and active measures. District cooling could be an answer too . Also, ideally, 135 liters of capita per day should be the norm but normally it's 69.25 liters in urban areas. The Capacity as per the rural and urban gap is huge on access to safe water and sanitation, in urban areas it is stated to be around 51% and in rural areas 21%. This is the challenge which we have as also the challenge of polluted water. Plantations and regeneration of green areas in urban areas is a must. This is equally as important as building better habitations. Plus water recharge systems. Maybe storage reservoirs for storm water too. 

I just want to emphasise that many experts view urban water supply and sanitation issues as more an inability to manage rather than of shortage,  even in our own context, but that I view as an oversimplification.   Urban water shortages can be the result of major intersecting trends, including population growth, unsustainable water management, poor governance, deteriorating infrastructure, inefficient water use, and increasing competition for water between different sectors.

The a lack of sufficient infrastructure, services and funds to support water and wastewater treatment facilities required for an urban area further exacerbates the problem. Moreover, the drainage and solid waste collection services are not adequate in most of the urban areas.
we can sum it up as that the urban water supply and sanitation sector in the country is suffering from inadequate levels of service, an increasing demand-supply gap, poor sanitary conditions and deteriorating financial and technical performance.

Use of natural capacities of soil and vegetation (green infrastructure) can be applied to absorb and treat waste water. Natural systems are found to be more cost-effective and require low building, labour and maintenance costs.  Solutions to addressing water shortages include dams and reservoirs, rainwater harvesting, aqueducts, desalination, water reuse, and water conservation. Use of sprinkler systems that throw large drops of water rather than a fine mist will reduce water losses from wind drift and evaporation. Drip irrigation for bedded plants, trees, or shrubs would be ideal in the cities.
Energy efficient buildings, low carbon public transport and encouraging cycling and walking are essential to cutting CO2 emissions. Greening cities with parks and gardens reduces CO2 and helps cool urban areas and reduce flooding but this requires a cultural shift on our mindset and the need to own these initiatives. 

We need to manage fresh water resources, waste, waste water resources, storm water resources, all in an integrated manner by technological application and by real time measures. State governments are concerned. The degree may vary of implementation of various measures across the states, but the concern is there and the Hill states even more so. We tend to think of Hill states as to be ideally situated for water, but they are not. And as I said earlier, watersheds and spring shades are one option.  Our own participation, through the water user associations, interest groups, RWAs are varied modes. We tend to disassociate ourselves mentally from government owned assets ad projects, we need to own them to ensure their appropriate usage. We don't think of owning our projects mentally or socially. We think they're constructed by the government, even for small water channels we await repairs or declogging by government arms. A sarpanch told me why should I repair, it’s the JEs job.

The repairs we insist should be done by the government too. We have to own them in our mind and in the real sense. Do some maintenance, do some work on them, then only can water stress management be introduced actively. And then of course there are other areas like drips, sprinklers, underground pipelines, et cetera.

If I look at it to tackle the problem of erratic rainfall and to reduce the need to build large dams and long irrigation channels, I think we in India have to opt for a mix of storage options, including efficient acquifer  recharge, restoring natural  wetlands, enhancing soil moisture, and small ponds and tanks, and we have to opt for climate sensitive crops. If I may put it. Agriculture is decentralized. Then why is it not for water? My point, We'll have to strike a balance. I do understand that. We certainly require  large dams in this process, but it's time we start looking at looking at it more holistically. That would be a major enabler.

Now if you come to watershed management, I thought I should just take it up. Considering the topic. It plays an important role in mitigating weather and weather induced risks, It builds resilience, strengthening adaptive practice. It captures rainfall, recharges groundwater systems, reduces soil erosion and minimizes losses to livelihood and infrastructure and life. Forests, afforestation and revived grasslands, sustained biodiversity, retain water and moisture in soils and microenvironments for larger periods. They reduce the impact of adverse climate events. It provides the environmental resources to enable communities to cope and adapt. We are doing this across India, but it remains a silent sort of task. It has not caught the public imagination.

NABARD, if I talk of my, uh, former employer, I served a lifetime there, has taken to dry land farming and promoted this for 20 years. It promotes holistic development, soil and moisture conservation. Productivity enhancement measures and alternative livelihood interventions are its unique features. Rehabilitation of people monitoring and financing are other aspects. We move from the Ridge to the Valley. Systematic watershed treatments, local indigenous species, digging of water absorption, trenches In the upper, middle and lower parts portions of the hills or the lower rolling plains, planting trees and grasses, shrubs, binding the soils, water impounding structures to make sure the water falls safely, water budgeting. All these are put together in these efforts, and the criteria for selection is, We look at deficit areas.

We look at changes in the cropping patterns, over a thousand hectares. Some economic characteristics are taken up. We take commitments that there'll be no tree filling and free  grazing or it will be within limits. No free grazing, optimum livestock population will be there and shramdan -  own labor as contribution will be there as integrated components. Village watershed committees are set up In an effort to decentralize the effort and initiative.

As refards springsheds, drinking and irrigation aspects, preserving forests,  looking at forests and reducing their destruction. You know, the spring sheds are drying up because we are destroying the forests. Look at Moon Hills. There is no perineal source of water there. It is the strong cover of the forests and the shrubs. Actual forest, not manmade trees grown in select patterns, which has brought about water availability there. The more we will cut this, the more will be the water case. We have to revive the drying spread springs, and enhance productivity in all such sub regions. At the same time, I do acknowledge there are certain geographical changes occurring in the Himalayas. Which have resulted in springs drying up also. But alongside that, the greater danger is, massive human intervention. It's occurring in Kerala. Also wherever there are hill states in India, these are major areas where developmental interventions are required and they must happen.

Polly houses in just to take up, this is a major example. Where we, around fifteen years ago, in a mountainous state, along with the state government and central government, collaborated through credit and grants, a mix of the two extended subsidies to the farmers and intertwined micro irrigation systems along with the poly houses. It has brought up out a huge revolution in vegetables across the state. This can certainly be studied as a sort of, Pilot, which can be taken up in other states after adapting for local conditions and needs. Of course, storage systems, cold stores, mini cold stores, other areas are important but this is the base. But I'm confining myself to the water and can climate related condition. We look at industrial water con and conservation, but we have to look at agriculture also.

Industry does find its way around with with better technology, but in agriculture that still alludes us. There are manpower issues, there are participation issues of the local population. People don't come forward. We have to show a preference for mechanization. Now we have been insisting on own labor, but it's high time We start looking at mechanization also. And there's an effort to hijack local interests many a times  during, you know, these developmental initiatives across India by many agencies including us, we have to control that tendency. We have to plug the technology gaps, in fact, induce technology use more and more across all areas.

And we need numerous experts working on the ground, but not on paper. We need people who prefer to go on the ground, test the application, watch it, monitor it, guide the people locally, then switch back to paper / desk planning again. It has to be an expert at home, both in the field and at the desk. And there is no glamor of it Sadly, that takes people away from seeking a career or a job in this sector, even if the glamor cannot be built, we have to build enhanced respect in our mind for this sector so that we can focus upon having a more humane, a more developed society, which at the same time is more sustainable and more natural based, and this requires immense patience too.

Immense patience is the key for development. Be it even for water budgeting, water conservation, water resources, or any other initiative, we need to tap the local experts. We need to take the local wisdom into account, guide them where they need to be strengthened in some areas. And we need the media to pay more attention to the sector. The media really is not focused  on development. We get some articles on pollution and water or the Spring Maze and Summer Maze and Water, but we are not really getting the attention on a holistic basis and neither the appreciation or an assessment of the efforts which have been undertaken, say, nearby in the sills, somewhere around Chandigarh, Sukhomajri etc or at he Arravallis.

These are the areas which need to be taken up and through water user associations in the hills, as I have mentioned, especially on sharing water. We can look at this and then, you know, we need to be optimistic that this can be taken on.  Mankind, as always have been able to overcome many obstacles, especially with the use of technology of that age. We can still work on it. The challenge remains. But we can take it up. We need to build mutual, local dependency net networks also across rural habitations and the smaller towns. Once we understand how each area is intertwined with the next for water, our mutual respect will develop for this even for free electricity for that matter.

How many times motors keep running, extracting from water from the aquifer, even when it's not required. It's high time policy makers looked at smart meters. Also, in this connection we have the problem of saline and Sodic soils, both in Punjab, Haryana. We have been collaborating. I would know when I was in service with the Central Soil Salinity Institute at Karnal to take it up.

We require seed development of shorter duration, but high productivity. We need to look at income generation for alternative crops. Maybe not at par, but close to it. As regards, Paddy, we have to look at all this to reduce the scale of it but assessing food security too.

If you look at it in this region, the initiative started with Sukhomajri and then three dams nearby, to cater to the rain fed  agriculture and it evolved as model. Dr Grewal sitting next to me, has taken up so many dams across Punjab. Especially in the Aravallis, it's a landmark development, which goes unsung Mr. JP Singh has worked on subsurface drains, not only here, but in Africa and Rwanda. Again, something which has gone unsung.

Then as I wind up, I the last, there was a Rs twenty odd crore climate change project in a hill state where I was associated. I just thought to share, what are the major items we take up when we take up such projects. Just for information of the house, so that we know what are the components which need to be taken up. We need community based vulnerability analysis, especially of sensitivity and adaptive capacity. We need. Secondly, identifying and listing of the beneficiaries transparently and correctly. We need thirdly a component of climate smart package of practices, which are water harvesting structures in selected areas for irrigation, then moisture management for vegetables,  for 80% subsidy, 50% GOI / 30% was from the State government, then the promotion of intercropping of maize and pulses and SRI cultivation in late, but excess moisture condition.

We also took up the introduction of legumes and other green fodder and early cultivars  of fruits. We took up small ponds at community level, small run of management measures and linking of livestock improvement in the area. Then we also took off soil testing and soil moisture management practices and systemic improvement of  micronutrient application and a pest management plan.

The another component, the fourth component was FPOs and FPCs farmer producer organizations and farmer producer companies for development consisting of integrating farmer interest groups, federation of farmers clubs etc and agriculturists, and with  an integrated focus on technology.

The fifth component was the capacity building of community on to a climate smart knowledge base and in-person learning sessions on learning orientation, training on agriculture, horticulture adaptation awareness.

Third party, uh, implementation coordination monitoring for agriculture and horticulture plans. This is important. Let it be transparent. Let a third party intervene and check as to the methods taken up and their efficacy. And also the funding and impact of  extension services.  From Time to time, their introduction, whether by the state, government or otherwise. Again we took up demonstration plots and package and practices for adaptive and climate variability and the possibility thereon was another component under component five.

Then component six was the linkage and an existing financial inclusion proposals and programs mobilizing the community finalization of policy actions. And the seventh component was equally critical, credit based interventions, availability of credit by the banking channels and otherwise, and also of course, on the refinance support, which flowed in at a concession.

The idea is to have a holistic plan for climate change and variability. And to take up risk and adaption measures. This is all put together, can be a game changer in the field and is required to be replicated across many areas. In Kashmir. We have Carava lands, in Madurai pits for water, in Varanasi areas, small watersheds. Its all underway. When we visted Varanasi, We found the proper application of watersheds and the benefits, not only for irrigation, but also fisheries. The beneficiaries were very much satisfied with the increase in income and they're not having to migrate from that area. Be it the dry hills, be it the plains the reality is we need to take up such measures and the more we will take them up, the better it'll be.

 Then also, maybe exposure visits of people from cities, experts and those who are interested in volunteering to pe places like Sukomajri, Morni Hills, or even Ropar, where such efforts are underway. So that they realize the work taken up. Maybe HP too.

Since we are in an urbanized setting today, the future of sustained growth, poverty reduction, the world’s health and management of climate change, the challenge if managing water system and sanitation are tightly intertwined. Efficient cities are likely to be compact and ‘smart’ taking full advantage of the efficiency gains associated with the revolution in information and communications technology. Integrated technologies will help make dense complex cities work efficiently.

If we were to realise the challenge and the initiatives possible, it'll surely be a major step up. As the challenge of water scarcity and climate change looms across us. Thank You.