The Nepal Weekly 
March 19, 2024
Water is the most vital requirement in our life as it has enormous value in the households, field, forest and natural environment. It has tremendous importance in each and every aspect of our life such as health, education, economy, culture, religion and many more. However, every day, 2.1 billion people still wake up each morning without access to clean water. This means that millions of vulnerable families around the world do not drink, cook, or bathe with hygienic water.
To highlight the importance of water and raise awareness about the global water crisis, World Water Day is being observed on March 22 every year. According to the United Nations website, the idea behind celebrating the day is to “support the achievement of sustainable development goal (SDG) 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.”
The main objective of the day is to aware and inspire people to sustainably manage the freshwater resources and learn more about water-related issues like water pollution, water scarcity, inadequate water, and lack of sanitation, and take appropriate steps to make a difference.
The theme for World Water Day 2023 is ‘Accelerating the change to solve the water and sanitation crisis’, emphasising the necessity of taking stern action to address the global water crisis.
Our lives depend on water, and water depends on biodiversity. Rivers, lakes, and wetlands, as well as forests, mountains and other ecosystems, perform vital functions and services. Almost all the liquid freshwater in the world is groundwater. Life would not be possible without groundwater. Most arid areas of the world depend entirely on this resource. Groundwater supplies a large proportion of the water we use for food production and industrial processes. Groundwater is also critically important to the healthy functioning of ecosystems, such as wetlands and rivers. They are an integral part of the global water cycle which, among other things, ensures that groundwater is available to the estimated 1.5 to 3 billion people that depend on it.
All these ecosystems underpin the water supply and water quality, and guard against water-related hazards and disasters. However, they are currently among the most threatened ecosystems in the world, suffering the impacts of land-use change, over-exploitation, pollution, and other threats. On the other side, Sea-level rise is projected to extend salinization of groundwater, decreasing freshwater availability for humans and ecosystems in coastal areas.
Agriculture is the largest consumer of the world’s freshwater resources. Feeding a global population expected to reach 9 billion people by 2050 will require a 50 per cent increase in food production.
Today, approximately 70% of global groundwater withdrawals are used in the agricultural sector, for production of food, livestock and industrial crops. Reliance on groundwater for food production continues to increase globally, resulting in more use for irrigated agriculture, livestock and related industrial processes. Indeed, about 30 per cent of all the water used for irrigation is groundwater, with regions heavily reliant on groundwater for irrigation such as North America and South Asia. However. some areas of the world, we do not even know how much groundwater lies beneath our feet, which means we could be failing to harness a potentially vital water resource.
Today, water is under threat from the impacts of climate change, a growing population and increasing demands from industry and agriculture. From unpredictable rainfall patterns to shrinking ice sheets, rising sea levels, floods and droughts – most impacts of climate change come down to water.
Only 0.5 per cent of water on Earth is useable and available freshwater and climate change is dangerously affecting that supply. Over the past twenty years, terrestrial water storage – including soil moisture, snow and ice – has dropped at a rate of 1 cm per year, with major ramifications for water security.
Drought and flood risks, and associated societal damages, are projected to further increase with every degree of global warming. According to the Report of World Bank, rising global temperatures increase the moisture the atmosphere can hold, resulting in more storms and heavy rains, but paradoxically also more intense dry spells as more water evaporates from the land and global weather patterns change.
Southern Africa is susceptible and vulnerable to drought due to its type of climate. It is experiencing droughts that have led to water shortages, pressing food insecurity, and the deaths of wildlife in Botswana and Zimbabwe. The region has been suffering its worst drought in 40 years since October 2020, with extended dry conditions punctuated by short intense rainfall that has often led to flash flooding. There have been five consecutive seasons of rainfall below normal levels.
At least 4.35 million people need humanitarian assistance, and at least 180,000 refugees have fled Somalia and South Sudan for Kenya and Ethiopia, which have also been affected by the drought. Thousands of people have been forced into displacement while seeking food, water and pasture, and the governments of Kenya and Somalia have declared national emergencies.
An estimated 55 million people globally are affected by droughts every year, and they are the most serious hazard to livestock and crops in nearly every part of the world. Water scarcity impacts 40% of the world’s population, and as many as 700 million people are at-risk of being displaced as a result of drought by 2030.
Safe and quality water resources is not only crucial for human but also for marine life. Did you know that we are currently allowing around 8 million tonnes of plastic to get into our oceans every year?
This plastic pollution is having a terrible impact on ocean wildlife, spreading through marine ecosystems, acting as a vector for pollutants and affecting our well-being, and potentially our health.
Oil spills kill indiscriminately. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico impacted more than 14 species of whales and dolphins, killing more than 5,000 of these majestic creatures. While noise from shipping, oil and gas drilling, military sonar, and marine construction interfere with whale and dolphin communication, their ability to find food, and increase their stress levels. Increased stress levels impact their immune systems and ability to reproduce.
Globally, we are not using water in a sustainable way and all too often are taking it for granted or presuming it is our right to have an unlimited supply.
The true value of water is complex. It is much more than fresh water to drink and keep us healthy; it is also key for the economy, socially, culturally and for maintaining a healthy environment. All of these values must be assessed to ensure the correct management of this irreplaceable, finite resource that all of us as humans rely on.
Conserving water is essential to ensuring a sustainable future. As the world’s population grows and climate change continues to impact water resources, the need for water conservation will only become more urgent. However, there is hope. By valuing water and taking action to conserve and protect it, we can ensure that future generations have access to this precious resource.
