Water! The most important resource for livelihood of the entire livings. But as we all know that water in the world is limited.
Human and other genus which shares the entire planet, cannot expect unlimited water supply.
Water covers about two-thirds of the Earth’s surface. But the most is too salty for use.
Only 2.5% of the world’s water is not salty, and two-thirds of that is locked up in the icecaps and glaciers.
About 20% which is left is in remote areas, and much of the rest arrives at the wrong time and place, as monsoons and floods.
Humans have available less than 0.08% of all the Earth’s water. Yet over the next two decades water use is estimated to increase by about 40%.
In 1999 the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reported that 200 scientists in 50 countries had identified water shortage as one of the two most nerve-racking problems for the new millennium.
We currently use about 70% of the water we have in agriculture. But the World Water Council believes that by 2020 we shall need 17% more water than is available if we are to feed the world.
So if we go on by this rate, millions people will go to bed hungry and thirsty each night than do so already.
Today, 1 of 5 people across the world has no access to safe drinking water, and 1 in 2 lacks safe sanitation.
Reasons behind the crisis:
There are several reasons for the water crisis.
1. Rise in population,
2. Desire for better living standards.
Pollution is another enemy that makes water unfit for our use.
Increasingly, governments are seeking to solve their water problems by turning away from reliance on rainfall and surface water.
Solutions:
It is very much clear that pumping groundwater is not the right solution. The pumped up water is simply irreplaceable. And for such trend, river and lakes that depend on the ground water can simply be replaced by the salty sea water.
There are some ways to begin to tackle the problem. Irrigation systems which drip water directly onto plants are one, precision sprinklers another.
There will be scope to plant less water-intensive crops, and perhaps desalination may play a part – though it is energy-hungry and leaves quantities of brine for disposal.
Climate change will probably bring more rain to some regions and less to others, and its overall impact remains uncertain.
But if we are to get through the water crisis, we should heed the UNEP report’s reminder that we have only one interdependent planet to share.
It said: "The environment remains largely outside the mainstream of everyday human consciousness, and is still considered an add-on to the fabric of life."
photo: flickr.com
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