On World Water Day
Nothing inspires more Malthusian angst than water scarcity does. There are seven billion people to feed in the world. And around two billion more are expected to be around by 2050. There just isn’t going to be enough water.
Of course, it is not just the two classically Malthusian factors of demography numbers and limited resources that are coming into play. Further mitigating factors like climate changes and the like are moderating the game as well. Not to speak of fresh water zones lying in conflict zones.
With food, Malthusian apprehensions were being kept at bay. Just when the world was going to see the proverbial hit the fan, the “green revolution” increased food production capabilities. And right about now, though the age of cheap food is over, it is believed that perhaps genetic modification, once apprehensions about it are removed, could perhaps play a role in meeting production targets.
Is the same going to happen with water? Even if we were to control carbon emissions, under the assumption that global warming is going to decrease, and if we were to somehow generate more energy through eco-friendly renewable sources like wind and tidal to undertake desalination projects, we would still not be able to grapple with this problem.
An effort, globally to deal with conservation is going to be essential. Consider Pakistan, consider how much water we waste. Consider how, in a soon to be water insecure city like Lahore, people wash cars, say, with drinking water. Too much water is wasted in the agricultural sector as well, with not many agriculturalists bothering with laser-levelling their land.
Water in the country should be metered and billed appropriately. This would be an unpopular decision by the government but it should be taken.
If there is a national consensus on large reservoirs, let us big large dams. Till then, let us desilt and properly line our canals and manage urban water sources well.
In addition to this, we need to work with the neighbouring countries, all of whom have serious water problems of their own, to work on well-calibrated, holistic solutions to take care of our large populations.
