Scaled-up solutions for a future of water scarcity

Scaled-up solutions for a future of water scarcity

Article:

1. Vikram Soni, professor and Aditi Veena, urban ecologist, discussed the India’s water scarcity problems and also scaled up solutions for this problem.

Important facts:

2. Presently, India is facing huge water scarcity due to the following reasons:

• Rising population
• Invasive schemes like dams to service large cities and huge needs of agriculture have caused extreme ecological devastation.
• In global market economies, the products and services that are derived from natural infrastructure have often led to the terminal loss of the source itself.
• Large scale non-invasive schemes are scarce because they are far more challenging.

3. The author has suggested the following points to address water scarcity problem:

• Large scale schemes that can provide a perennial supply of water to large population in cities and towns.
• Engage the natural landscape.
• Sustain ecological balance and have major economic and health benefits.
• ‘Conserve and use’ our evolutionary resources with the help of science.
• Use and conserve floodplains, it can be self-sustaining acquifer every year. The Delhi-palla flood plain project on the Yamuna is an example of this.
• Land on the floodplains can be leased from farmers in return for a fixed income from the water sold to cities.
• The farmer can be encouraged to grow food forests to secure and restore the ecological balance of the river    ecosystem.
• River floodplains are exceptional acquifers where any withdrawal is compensated by gravity flow from large surrounding area, can be used      as a source of providing water to cities.
• The scheme of ‘conserve ad use’ should be applied rationally; it would allow a forest to be sustained as a mineral water sanctuary. Forest could then provide enough natural mineral water.
• This water can improve the health of citizens and preserve forests at the same time.

4. Currently, mineral water is brought from faraway mountain springs, putting huge pressure on the mountains. It is packaged and consumed in plastic bottles that end up in landfills.

5. Rain water through the various layers of humus and cracked rock pathways, picking up nutrients and minerals and flows into underground mineral water acquifers.

6. Water in these aquifers is comparable to several international natural spring mineral waters.