Water crisis in the making

If there is one element on Earth that has had the maximum influence on shaping human civilisation, it is water. Unfortunately, over the past century, when our civilisation ‘progressed’ rapidly, humans paid scant regard to preserve water and ensure its equitable distribution. Concerned over the wide disparities in water consumption and usage, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution in July 2010, explicitly recognising the human right to water and sanitation and acknowledging that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realisation of all human rights. Much water has flown down the major rivers since the resolution was passed, but the situation continues to be grim both in the developed and developing world. According to the World Water Development Report brought out by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation on the eve of the World Water Day (celebrated every year on March 22 since 1993), 768 million people do not have access to safe drinking water even today.

The World Health Organisation estimates that more than 2,000 children below the age of five die every day from diarrhoeal disease around the world; it adds up to a shocking 760,000 children under five who succumb every year to the disease because of lack of safe drinking water and adequate sanitation and hygiene. Diarrhoeal disease is the second leading cause of death in children under five; about 1.7 billion cases are reported every year. China and India account for 207 million people without access to improved drinking water sources, while citizens in eight other countries (Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Congo, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Kenya and Pakistan) add up to another 260 million not having access to drinking water.

And despite the global focus on water, things are only going to worsen. By 2025, as many as 3.5 billion will be living in water-stressed countries. Disparities in water usage are also huge: While an average North American uses 350 litres of water a day, an average sub-Saharan African’s usage ranges between 10 and 20 litres a day. Earth may have an abundance of water, but 97 per cent of it is in the oceans. The remaining three per cent includes water in rivers, lakes and streams (two per cent) and below the surface. Unchecked pollution of water resources, droughts and wastage are exacerbating the situation, leading to a grave crisis that can have a disastrous impact on human civilisation, if remedial measures are not undertaken soon.