13 Dec 2019
What To Do About The Water Crisis?
As of today, there are majorly 17 countries that are severely affected by water shortage.

The water crisis across the globe is dangerously on a positive slope. Usually, I try to explain the situation in the form of a story or a scenic situation, but this article is going to be purely factual and informative. The reason is that we are all aware of the water scarcity situation is not just India but in various countries where the people rely heavily on underground water tables for their daily activities. 

Water Conservation
Water Conservation is a niche in the Climate Change world, doesn’t mean we have done
enough to create it.

As of today, there are majorly 17 countries that are severely affected by water shortage. To begin with, countries like India, the Middle East, and North African countries comprise of 12 of the 17 afore-mentioned nations. The rest are from Europe, South Africa, and Central Asia. Except for countries like Greenland and some regions in the Philippines, on a scale of 10, where 10 is the worst, 90% of the remaining countries are facing the crisis too at least on a 3.

Not enough conversations about Water Conservation

Water Conservation is a niche in the Climate Change world, it doesn’t mean we have done enough to create it.

The water crisis is because of the unavailability of water, which is a pretty evident reason. The unavailability of water can be because of three major reasons, actual water scarcity, pollution of usable water and lack of infrastructure to extract water. 

The earlier mentioned 12 of the 17 countries are facing a water crisis because of scarcity and pollution. Although some countries have good infrastructure in terms of urban area development, they still lack resources to harness available underground water. 

Over 1.2 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water

This lack of water availability due to poor infrastructure is also known as economic water scarcity as termed by Science Daily. Sometimes they have the required infrastructure, but poor management of resources and other factors such as geopolitics and controversial societal beliefs add to the existing crisis.

water Crisis
Image Source: India Times

Do what you can with what you will. Choose plants that use less water, it still makes your space look pretty. Now, what are the activists or conservationists doing about it? Are we waiting for a hero to come and save us from this swamp? 

No man has made a mark in history by just turning off taps while brushing your teeth or following the concept of mindful flushing. Are we at a stage where we are thinking big enough to make an impact on an individual level? Creating history is not just by going out on strikes and doing another Chipko Movement for water, we should have a game plan for conserving water at a domestic level.

We need to aim higher because people in Cape Town, Africa or Chennai, India are not getting water for their basic needs by us trying to just turn off taps while brushing. This also does not account to not stop doing what we have been doing because every drop counts.

” You cannot expect to water the roses if you use up all of it to water your lilies. “

So, I ask again, are we doing what it takes to save the planet? The water conservationists are trying to help people get access to water, but it cannot be achieved by one person or an organization alone. Rainwater harvesting, modern irrigation techniques, redistribution of groundwater are just a few ways a society can develop towards sustainable infrastructure. 

There is no limit to creativity and innovation. The conservationists are in a watering dilemma because they are the face of a community, but they cannot progress if everyone in the community does not make an effort to support the cause. 

They wish to fulfill their responsibilities because they are passionate about it, but if we do not give them enough to work with, they will have so little to look forward to when it comes to conserving water. Now, how is your water-conserving strategy going to benefit some kids in Africa? You use less water, you save water, you distribute the remainder to someone in need.

You cannot expect to water the roses if you use up all of it to water your lilies. The facts are all on the web, the tools you need are one click away, all you need is the courage to be a part of a bigger camaraderie that will help a family cook a meal living miles and miles away from you.

(Shraddha is an energy engineer working towards an interdisciplinary approach in sustainable development, energy optimization and green energy to solve climate change issues. She can be contacted on Twitter and Instagram)

(The views expressed in the article are the author’s own. Let Me Breathe neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)

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