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Right To Water
By Dhurjati Mukherjee. Dated: 3/22/2017 10:48:58 PM
Sustainable use critical
Whether the third world war will be played over water is unknown, but the growing water scarcity of a burgeoning population has become a reality. Specially important is the rapid growth of Third World countries where water scarcity has already become a major problem. Experts opine that within the next decades, if not earlier, half the world's population could have serious trouble facing enough freshwater for drinking and irrigation.
This is all the more ironic because it was only in November 2002 that water was recognized as a fundamental right. The Covenant on Economic & Cultural Rights (CESCR) ratified by 145 countries compelled to progressively ensure that everyone has access to safe and secure water, equitably without any form of discrimination.
"The human right to water", declared the UN Committee on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, "entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use". These five core attributes represent the foundations for water scarcity. Yet these are widely violated.
The decline in water availability is manifest when current trends are projected into the future. By 2025, more than 3 billion people could be living in water-stressed countries, of which 14 will slip from water stress to water scarcity. India and China would be entering the global water stress league by decade-end.
Thus the task of reaching water to every individual, specially in the Third World, remains a big challenge. As regards India, the future looks not quite assuring with water requirements increasing at a very rapid pace. The country's utilisable surface water are estimated at 690 BCM in addition to the replenishable groundwater resources of 422 BCM (GOI 2002), totalling 1122 BCM. According to estimates, given the growth of population, urbanisation and industries, gross water use was estimated at 522 BCM in 1990 which jumped to 750 BCM in 2000 and is expected to reach 1050 by the year 2025. Approximately 40 per cent of available water resources are considered utilisable due to a variety of factors.
Way back in 2006, the Human Development Report aptly pointed out: "The country may be heading for water stress but 224 million people already live in river basins with renewable water resources below the 1000 cubic metres per person water-scarcity threshold. The reason: more than two-thirds of the country's renewable water is in areas that serve a third of the population". This has been corroborated by many reports and projections published since.
The importance of water to human health and sustainability is well known. An estimated 15,000-30,000 people, die every day from avoidable water-related diseases, such as those attributed to lack of sanitation, poor waste water, improper solid waste management and unsafe drinking water, These are: diahorreal diseases like gastroenteritis, dysentery; cholera; shigellosis; poliomyelitis; typhoid & paratyphoid; water-borne viral hepatitis; and vector-borne diseases like malaria, dengue, filarial etc.
Lives are often devastated by this deprivation, which impedes the enjoyment of health and other human rights. Thus, an adequate amount of safe water is critical to prevent deaths, specially in the developing countries, from water-related diseases and provide for consumption, cooking, personal and domestic hygiene requirements.
At one time, water availability wasn't considered a major problem except in a few States but even then explicit reference has been made on the right to water in two core international human rights' treaties, which are legally binding upon all States that have signed them - the Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), 1979 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989. Later the Millennium Declaration of 2000, pledged to "halve by the year 2015 … the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water". The Johannesburg Declaration, adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (September 2002) had also set a new target of halving the proportion of people who do not have access to basic sanitation by 2015. However, unofficial reports suggest targets have not been achieved and make take more years.
As natural rights, water rights are unenforceable, i.e. water can be used but not owned. People have a right to life and the resources that sustain it. The necessity of water to life is why, under customary laws, the right to water has been accepted as a natural, social fact. But the tragedy is that water - even adequate drinking water -- is not available.
What then needs to be done? Sustainable water use is the need of the day as scarcity will be "the defining condition of life for many in the new century". Simultaneously, the quality of water, specially drinking water, is very crucial for the health of individuals. It is distressing that all of India's 14 major rivers are badly polluted while groundwater contamination has spread severely in the eastern part. Both Ganga and Yamuna are examples of such pollution and level of contamination is high at places. Undeniably, the lethal interaction of dwindling river flows, falling water tables, rising pollution and other factors have generated a major global water crisis.
Apart from reuse of water, watershed management needs in the country need to be intensified, with both Centre and States coming up with time-bound plans to protect watersheds, rivers and wetlands and work with local bodies to establish distribution systems. Sadly, several thousand wetlands that constitute the water security of vast areas don't enjoy legal recognition and are being filled or severely polluted.
After food, education was given the status of 'fundamental right' and it is now the turn of bringing about statutory legislation to accord water the same status. This would obviously compel local governments to properly manage their water utilities better and be made transparent and accountable and simultaneously adopt water conservation measures. Further, pollution free water has to reach all people in remote areas.
Thus challenges are many. The question of conservation is vital and awareness is vital. The superstition of throwing away old water of day before has no scientific sanction. This, must be taken upon by panchayats/NGO and women specially need to be urged to discard such practices.
Besides, pollution free, potable water is also crucial to prevent communicable diseases. The Centre and States need to take up this challenge. As per a UN report, an estimated 100,000 Indians die from water-related diseases yearly and experts have predicted that over 50% of the country is likely to face extreme water stress by 2030 or even earlier as our water supply will fall short of demand by 50 per cent.
The Government, on instructions of the apex court, has already been taking measures to clean the rivers and this should bear fruit in future. But, people's habits have to change like defecating in the open, throwing garbage in the roads and rivers, ponds and other water outlets etc.
Water is obviously a basic right and inextricably linked to sustainable development. The varied uses of water -- for drinking, for industry, for irrigation, for a healthy life -- are essential for human sustenance. It is as if all these are competing but efforts have to be initiated at maintaining the whole ecological system and complementing each other for sustainable development. A holistic and judicious approach relying not on Western models but on local solutions in an integrated manner is imperative for effective management which must replace the current confused policies in managing water.
—INFA