Analysis: UN World Water Development Report 2020

Introduction: UN has Released the Report (News)

The UN World Water Development Report is an annual and thematic analysis of freshwater resources in the world. It is formulated by the joint efforts of UNESCO’s Water Assessment Program and UN-Water, where the former compiles the findings while the latter publishes it. United Nations Water (UN-Water) is a system that coordinates over 30 UN agencies to come together and contemplate solutions for the issues orbiting water.

Every year, it is published on the 22nd of March by UN-Water. This day was marked as the World Water Day and was first observed in 1993, to collectively attain the aim of sustainable management. Parallel to this fact is every year’s theme which is quite noticeable, as is this year’s ‘Water and Climate Change’. It aims to manifest the relatedness between the two and confront challenges implicated by climate change on water resources.

Details and Significance of this Report

“Water is the medium through which nature and human societies experience most of the impacts of climate change. Sustainable water management is an essential part of the solution to climate change.” This statement directly comes from the main message given along with the report. And seemingly, it gives an idea about the direction of the report in tackling the trouble.

The report is climacteric as it provides a holistic assessment of freshwater resources which is vital as it enables planning on them. The water report focuses on different issues that portray a clear picture of the current state of how the resources are being put to use and managed. This gives an idea to the policymakers to formulate attainable goals. The significance can be understood by the growing global water crisis. It threatens the security, stability and environmental sustainability of not only developing but also developed nations. The world sees millions of deaths every year from water-borne diseases already. Additionally, nature’s outcry will escalate the number of problems. These reasons have pushed a lot of countries to take the management of water resources seriously. This has led to a demand for a full-fledged assessment report to guide every government’s plan of action.

To elaborate, the report examines how the world’s water resources are being managed and the varied problems that different regions are experiencing. It takes a close look at the growing water problems worldwide, segregating them by continents and even countries sometimes. There are some common grievances like access to clean water and sanitation, and the cross-cutting issues that affect them, such as energy, climate change, agriculture, and urban growth. However, countries like Jordan, Mexico, Peru, and Thailand have come up with some innovative treatment projects that would eventually help tackle climate change. Even the report cites some similar novel ways to handle water management efficiently.

Its Salient Features

The report strikes at how climate change is expected to harm water resources leading to a scarcity situation. This would hamper all the activities that are in any way dependent on water, namely food security, public health, energy production, economic growth, and ecosystems all across. To be more precise, climate change would make it extremely difficult to achieve the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, Paris Agreement on climate change, and Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Climate change is expected to degrade water quality as a result of higher water temperatures, reduced dissolved oxygen and thus a reduced self-purifying capacity of freshwater bodies. It also affects the traditional water infrastructure. Hence, nature-based solutions(NBS) can be habituated to for better adaptation to climate change. Dry and low flush toilets, septic tanks have a considerably higher resilience hence make up for a good substitute. But the investment in NBS remains well below 1% of total investment in water resources management infrastructure, according to the 2018 report.

Groundwater is facing menacing circumstances. Thus arises a need to tap into the underutilized water resources like used water, desalinated water, atmospheric water capture, etc. Given that, in developing countries, 80–90% of the wastewater is still neither collected nor treated as per the 2017 report. So, its potential to contribute significantly to climate change mitigation should not be neglected.

There can be a very detrimental effect on water resources, with the global use of water already increasing at a rate of 1% per year. The situation that climate change has the potential of bringing about could range from water quality getting grossly affected, contamination through floods, forests, and wetlands being at a risk, degradation of ecosystems leading to a loss in biodiversity. Not only this but even the artificial ways of water purification, carbon capture and storage would be influenced. Another fact to be noted is that developing countries are more vulnerable to getting water stress. But drylands are expected to increase across the globe with the glaciers already melting. The water infrastructure is thus under threat as these conventional solutions are not ideal anymore.

Adaptation and mitigation of climate change are the courses of action available to cope with the adversaries ahead. By way of these two strategies, the plan is to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda of Sustainable development, particularly SDG-6 (water goal) along with SDG-13 which aims to combat climate change itself. The Paris Agreement on climate change and Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction are the other two international frameworks to be attained. And apparently, water’s role as a connector is imperative.

Another requirement is to focus on sustainable adaptation methods and disaster risk reduction whose strategies include hard and soft approaches. Hard one being the structural measures that include enhanced water storage, resilient crops, climate-proof infrastructure. On the other hand, the soft measures are the policy instruments which include flood and drought insurance, forecasting systems, and capacity building.

The deteriorating situation can be menacing to human health as well, with food and water already getting vitiated thereby making way for vector-borne diseases. The elimination of such diseases seems difficult along with the affairs of human settlements. Besides, mental health is at no advantage either.

The agricultural sector is heavily dependent on water infrastructure which is why it will also bear the brunt. Adaptation of existing modes of production to balance the stress of water, along with the need to decarbonize agriculture through mitigation measures that reduce greenhouse gases will enhance water availability. Climate-Smart Agriculture is a recognized suite of well-informed approaches that could be put to solve a multitude of problems. Likewise, mitigation measures can be used for manufacturing and energy generation as well because they also depend on water.

Amidst this, good governance is fundamental. But that happens only by the collective efforts and participation of the public, building adaptive capacities at multiple levels and prioritizing risk reduction for vulnerable groups. These are the three most important measures by which adherence to human rights along with effectiveness and responsiveness can be maintained.

Finance and Technology are other critical aspects. Just like adequate financing, innovation in technology is exigent. Financing the climate adaptation process seems onerous considering the numerous complex water projects that are coming up. Similarly, to achieve technological advancement, it’s essential to focus on research and development and enhance tools like satellite based-earth observation, remote sensing, etc.

Lastly, different regions have different requirements that shall be addressed accordingly. And policy frameworks can help highlight existing gaps and opportunities for resilient water management that would otherwise inhibit progress on global climate action and sustainable development.

Where does India stand in it?

Various points can be inferred from the report that forms a picture of India’s water system.

A lot of portions of land used for crops like wheat, soybean, rice, and maize will be under permanently wetter conditions due to climate change. The Global Drought Severity Index, 2017 indicates how southern parts of India could be badly affected by droughts.

And the construction of several coastal reservoirs in China has advanced its way to India as well, for several options are being explored here too. With China facing problems like a saltwater intrusion, sediment accumulation, and ecosystem imbalances, the concerns are pronounced in India too. Groundwater is in jeopardy and India already suffers from over-abstraction of groundwater resources, which has resulted in a severe dropping of the water tables. Further, climate change is expected to make it worse.

To sum up, the distribution of water-related disasters like droughts, floods, landslides and storms between 2001–2018 shows India to be among the worst affected regions. Dependence on the monsoon also adds up to it. In August 2017 alone, intense monsoon rains affected 40 million people in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal. Not only this, but climate change is also expected to risk some major business sectors like that of energy and utilities, manufacturing and consumer goods, mining and industrial methods and food and beverage. For example, in 2013 water shortages caused shutdowns in 14 of India’s 20 largest thermal utilities, costing the companies US$1.4 billion. Similarly, in 2012, a delayed monsoon raised electricity demand for pumping groundwater for irrigation and reduced hydropower generation, contributing to blackouts lasting two days.

Water scarcity is a major concern for India, the transboundary rivers and water-sharing agreements have seen situations getting strained in the past. The 2016 report shows that factors like low literacy rates, high dependency ratios, and weak housing structures make people greatly affected by droughts in rural India, while factors like access to social networks, water and sanitation, health, and education play a significant role in reducing such vulnerability. Thus, the impetus is more on the socially, economically and geographically disadvantaged sections of India. In such circumstances, priorities must be identified and policies should be taken care of accordingly.

Schemes Regarding Water Resources in India

The Ministry of Jal Shakti was formed in 2019 by merging the two ministries of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation and that of Drinking Water and Sanitation. This step in itself highlights the seriousness with which water challenges are being planned. For that there are various schemes and developments which display India’s efforts to contain water stress.

Starting with the most recent, National Aquifer Mapping and Management program which is being implemented visualizing the mapping of aquifers, their characterization and development of management plans to facilitate the sustainable management of groundwater resources.

National Hydrology Project is another such project that has been approved by the cabinet. It aims to establish a National Water informatics Centre as a repository of nation-wide water resources data. The objective is to make available water-related information, decisions on them, any analysis or target plans to strengthen the overall management.

The National Water Mission was launched to tackle the threats of global warming. It emphasizes on conservation of water and minimizing wastage. It also ensures the equitable distribution of water by way of integrated water resources. The major goals include dealing with climate change effectively and providing a comprehensive database. Generating a collective conscience for water conservation is another. Focusing on the vulnerable areas and aiming to increase the water use efficiency by 20% is another ambition.

The government is working to establish a body called National Interlinking of Rivers Authority. It aims to implement projects for linking rivers both inter-state and intra-state. Similarly, the National River Linking Project envisions to ease water shortages through inter-basin projects. This will be done by transferring water from surplus basins to the deficit ones.

These are some of the prominent schemes in India, a set of old and recent missions. There are a lot others like the Atal Bhujal Yojana, National Mission for Clean Ganga etc. The groundwater concern in India is serious hence diligent efforts are being made to raise groundwater levels. The promotion of innovative water management techniques is another issue along with catering to the needs of the vulnerable groups.

Conclusion

Climate change doesn’t only create challenges but opportunities as well. It thus can be a catalyst in improving governance, finance and making the world a sustainable home. Even the measures of adaptation and mitigation lay open the prospects to tap the untapped, resulting in an improved water management system.

However, this should not promote a recalcitrant attitude. The current state of affairs should be a concern for every individual. The lead editor of the report, Connor, says, “Everybody wants water to come into their home. But once they flush it, they don’t care. It disappears, it’s not their problem anymore.” This attitude needs to change.

Approximately 4 billion people already endure severe water scarcity for at least one month per year, this will increase by 2050 when over half of the world’s population will be living in water-stressed regions. The easiest way to contain it is by putting wastewater to use. And this will automatically lead to achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement, sanitation and the SDGs. This way it will be a win-win situation for all.

This article has been written by Ayushi Shrivastava.

Also Read: Tackling Increasing Rate of Crimes: Let Us Cure the Cause

Law Corner

Leave a Comment