Water Crisis In The Current Century - Holistic Approaches To Tackle The Problem

Freshwater is finite and vulnerable natural resource on which all social and economic activities are highly dependent. In the 21st century, the global demand for freshwater will grow tremendously while the quality of supplies will continue to deteriorate worldwide. However, the quantity of freshwater is limited. The growth in world population, increasing demand for a higher living standard, and ongoing development are the main reasons for this rise in demand. The demand for healthy drinking water, for sanitation, and for agriculture and industrial production will increase as a result. The demand for water for food production will also increase sharply. In this article, Dr Anil Pratap Singh has made an attempt to examine the water problem from global perspective and has suggested strategies for sustainable use of water.

Without water, life on the Earth would not be possible. The Earth is abundantly supplied with water and yet there is a shortage of freshwater. Apparently, 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered with oceans and these contain 97.5 percent of the total water available on theEarth. However, it is unfit for human consumption and other uses because of its high salt content. Of the remaining, only 2.5 percent of the water supply on the Earth is freshwater. This freshwater is contained in rivers, lakes, and streams, in the polar ice caps or in glaciers high in the mountains. There is also plenty of water available in the groundwater reserves. The shortage of freshwater is threatening the functions of ecosystem and socioeconomic development. The freshwater is unevenly distributed over the Earth’s surface. The majority of countries with limited renewable water supplies are in the middle East, North America, Central Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. But in all parts of the world, the availability of fresh water is declining at very rapid rate.

According to one of the reports as published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), there was a mention that the humanity’s use of freshwater soared six-fold over the last century and continues to rise. Demand is expected to increase by over a third over the next 25 years and to almost double for drinking water. And yet it is getting scarcer. Already one-third of the world’s people live in countries where water is in short supply; by 2025 two-thirds of them will do so.