1

Topic: Water Resources

Water is an exclusive resource; it can be utilized flexibly while in many cases it does not

have any substitute. Water has been an essential requirement for the development of mankind

and over the ages has been fundamental in the settlement patterns of humanity. The demand for

water has been consistently increasing and has now assumed dramatic proportions with the onset

of urbanization and industrialization. Water is vital for plant life and is a chemical raw material

for several products and procedures. It is a vital means of movement in providing transport and

navigation support for waste materials. Its ability to flow down slopes makes it a source of

energy when harnessed as a source of hydroelectric power. Water has a vital role to play for the

environment since it sustains several life forms and ecological fauna. It also causes a great deal

of harm by way of floods and soil erosion if not checked in time and often causes a threatening

range of water borne diseases. Water is essentially a resource that is demand oriented and

sometimes its demand creates substantial pressure leading to problems in its management.

Several global and national organizations have become active in focusing on the concerns

relating to water resources.

The main message pertains to the fact that water is gradually becoming a scarce and valuable

resource and there is now consensus about scarcity of water posing severe threats to sustained

development. The increasing competition amongst industries, agriculture and municipal

requirements has already begun to contain developmental efforts in several countries. With the

expansion of populations and economies, the competition for water will be intensified and so

will the conflict in this regard. In spite of water shortage there is misuse of water by
 2

communities, industries, farmers and large cities. The quality of surface water is gradually

deteriorating in the major basins due to industrial and urban wastes. The ground water is getting

polluted and the capacities of over exploited aquifers are also losing their ability to hold water.

Big cities are finding it difficult to supply adequate fresh water and sanitation services. Water

logging and high salinity are reducing the productivity of agricultural land and declining flows of

water have rendered a reduction in the generation of hydroelectric power. Fish and wild life

habitats are also suffering due to pollution assimilation. The maximum demand for water is from

the agricultural sector and as degradation, waste, conflicts and competition increases, policy

makers are looking towards agriculture as a safety valve for the systems (Bhatia et al, 1992).

In addition to being a fundamental part of the eco system, water is an economic and social

good and its demand for various needs will continue to grow with the increase in populations and

urbanization across the world (Flint and Houser, 2001). It is essential that all efforts directed at

sustainability should consider the health and operating aspects of aquatic systems. The

environmental values of watersheds must be recognized while considering decisions about the

allocation and uses of water in any given area. A conceptual framework from the perspective of

the systems has to be evolved to understand the interaction amongst the different forms of

economic, social and environmental capital along with the procedures that directly impact them

so as to achieve better decision outcomes towards sustainable improvement of water resources.

A conceptual view of sustainable water resources has to be developed for the new strategies to

succeed. The plan involves the framing of policies and actions which will enhance the equalities

in regard to access and quality of life for all people. Sustainable development has to recognize

the limits and restrictions as related to the behaviour of the eco systems that could change in
 3

unexpected ways. It has to also advocate the possibility of spatial scale in recognizing that there

is interaction amongst different geographical regions.

Sustainability efforts require the categorization of the main economic, social and natural

resources so as to ascertain the core values of stake holders in regard to water resources. Capital

in this context is the capacity and conditions of given stocks, inventories and accumulated

resources available in the social, environmental and economic systems that yield a flow of goods

and services which connote direct value (Daly and Cobb, 1994). Capital in this context refers to

stocks of natural resources which are available in the environment which have the potential of

rendering a flow of goods and services. Natural capital includes surface and ground water in

terms of quality and quantity, patterns of precipitation, ecological infrastructure, watershed

functionality, ecosystem services, land use conversion and environmental aesthetics. Social

capital comprises of equal resource access, quality of life, access to knowledge, institutional

infrastructure, regulatory frame work, fiscal budgets and community characteristics, supply of

drinking water and subsistence rights (Homer-Dixon et al, 1993).

Achievable goals for sustainability of water resources have to be developed which are

indicative of the core values of stake holders. Objectives have to be used in beginning with the

detailed evaluation of watersheds which can result in sustainability. Such objectives should be

framed to cater to a wide range of essential principles which will lead to the remediation,

protection, conservation and durability of water resources. The goals that should be outlined in

this regard are:

 Provision of safe and equal availability of water for agricultural, industrial, municipal,

domestic and hydro electricity.

 Provision of essential water supplies for supporting ecological functions.

 Prevention against the ecological and biological degradation of aquatic eco systems.

 Reduction of polluting discharges into surface water and elimination of contamination of

ground water.

 Preventing humans from water contamination and the spread of water borne diseases.

 Preventing physical modification from hydrologic disturbance and land use within water

sheds which can be risky to humans and natural habitat.

 Encouragement of holistic and water based approaches to evaluate issues of water

resources that are sensitive from the perspective of participation, equitability, and socio

economic factors.

 Development of efficient water resources policies, institutional structure and

arrangement, financial system and regulatory and legal authority to attain an efficient

water resource management.

Sustainability also requires that criteria have to be defined in establishing the conditions that

create the circumstances which are protective and maintain the expected beneficial purposes of

water resources. The criteria for water resources pertain to the monitoring of ground water and

protecting it from depletion and pollution. The quality of water should meet the required

standards and in stream flows should be increased and protected for the benefit of the

environment. Fish species and populations should be healthy as per scientific standards and

endangered species should be protected from any action that could harm them in sustainability

efforts. Municipal and industrial pollution should not exceed the Total Maximum Daily Load

(TMDL). Best management practices should be adopted in preventing erosion from extensive

land use. Water conservation strategies should be used regularly for reduction of waste water and

enhancing efficiency in use.

The community has to define indicators to measure the progress of sustainability efforts and

keep watch over the warning signals relating to poor performances. Such indicators enable policy

makers to understand and perceive the complex systems. Effective indicators assist communities

in ascertaining where they stand and which direction they are going in terms of water resource

sustainability. Key indicators can be identified and bench marks set for each one of them. A

target is a threshold that can be used in defining sustainability from practices that become

unsustainable. In turn such thresholds assist in identifying resource criteria which can be

sustained.

Arising from such conceptual concepts is the need to conduct research activities which are

very important as a means to get feed back about social learning and techniques of adaptive

management. Policy makers can follow the indicator models in diagnosing the unfavorable

patterns that show up during sustainability efforts. Such attempts assist in understanding the

alerts provided by systems conditions and in getting to know where anything is going wrong.

Over time and with the continued application of such procedures, dialogues can evolve on

research requirements to address issues arising from the identified indicators as also to develop

an understanding about eco system procedures.

As policy makers initiate measures towards sustainability a lot of resistance is encountered

due to the newly instituted water management strategies, policies and perceptions on national,

local and international levels. Sometimes public policies and market forces are not conducive to

the pursuing of sustainable water management policy and strategy. However if the initiatives are

delayed, a lot of opportunities can be missed for attaining leadership and environmental

improvement in addition to the hurdles that may arise in the future in regard to options for
 6

sustainability. By developing new approaches policy makers can make sustainability efficient

and bring permanent solutions to the several problems in regard to water resources.

A great deal of progress has been made in water sustainability in terms of controlling water

borne diseases and the change that has occurred in regard to global debates on water policies,

though large numbers of people still die from water related diseases, that can be prevented.

Thought patterns about water have changed considerably and big dams and storage projects have

brought immense relief in areas that face water shortage. The added advantage of such projects is

the generation of hydro electricity in making extra energy available for humanity. World

governments and global agencies are actively engaged in efforts to alleviate suffering from

diseases, water shortages and environmental destruction, which are all positive efforts in building

more sustainability and a better future.

It is unfortunate that over one sixth of the global population continues to suffer from lack of

safe water supplies, and the future prospects from the adversities that could arise due to such

disparities could be frightening. The basic cause for the acceleration of the global water crisis is

the unsustainable management and utilization of water resources, as also because of the

indiscriminate annihilation of eco systems such as soil, wet lands and forests that conserve, store,

filter and discharge water. In evaluating the sustainability of water resources it is required that

public awareness must be increased about the challenges being faced and governments must alter

the ways in which water resources are perceived. There is need for people and policy makers to

change from being drivers of conflicts to catalyst agents towards collaboration and partnerships.

Thus sustainability becomes an issue of all streams including economics, science and

engineering. The issue has to be founded on the ethics, cultures and equal efforts by all. Hence

there should be no conflict in the ideals of preserving and protecting and of economic
 7

opportunities and vitalities. They should be closely linked in the spirit of a sustainable future and

remain open and flexible to the maximum extent by using techniques of adaptive management.

Policy makers must frame policies that reflect cautious distribution patterns in using the entire

water resources of the world.

List of References

Bhatia R & Falkenmark M, (1992). Water resource policies and the urban poor; innovative

approaches and policy imperatives, Background paper for the ICWE, Dublin, Ireland.

Daly H E & Cobb J B, (1994). For the Common Good, Boston: Beacon Press.

Flint R W & Houser W L, (2001). Living a Sustainable Lifestyle for Our Children’s Children,

Campbell, CA: IUniverse.

Homer-Dixon T F, Boutwell J H and Rathjens G W, (1993). Environmental change and violent

conflict, Science American.