India’s Food Security Threatened by Groundwater Depletion- says expert

Published on by

Dear friends, "India's Food Security Threatened by Groundwater Depletion" says Sandra Postel of National Geographic's Freshwater Initiative in Water Currents on February 3, 2015. In her article she said thatThe severe and ongoing depletion of underground water supplies in India poses a growing threat to the nation's food security. Without serious efforts to stem the mining of groundwater, food production will decline, unleashing painful social and economic consequences for this nation of 1.25 billion people. http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2015/02/03/indias-food-security-threatened-by-groundwater-depletion/

Is there any rules across India to govern ground water harvesting? Is there any difference in policies for ground water pumping for agriculture purpose and industrial purpose?

Taxonomy

6 Answers

  2. “Effective water management” let it be a Groundwater or Surface water resources is a much more a complex challenge in a democratic country like India. Here there are many a competing interests at the political, administrative, and also at basin levels with competing users for agriculture, Industries and Drinking water supplies. The water based and water oriented industries are thriving on a larger scale in many a states of India. Likewise, water intensive crops are cultivated in water starved regions of many a states in India, as it has been practiced from historical past. The futuristic predication says a huge gap between water supply and demand will exist up to more than 25% by year 2030. This will be most acute in water scare states; unless a better water management practices are adhered too. The upcoming process on water and food security is a vicious cycle, where in the food Security will be a question mark at the expense of many multinational water based companies exploiting the precious commodity. Hence, it may pose a 'wicked challenge' in the years to come. The existing line Department in many a states of India is a complex mix of expertise in hydrology, Hydrogeology, engineering, constitutional, legal, political, social, inter-sector, institutional, and agriculture etc and each department work out as a separate entity with vested interests. There is no uniformity and common consensus approach as far as the safe up keep of the water resources are concerned. In India, ownership and user rights, as well as responsibility for the management of water are largely a vested interest in the hands of the state governments and Union Territories. The role of the central government is limited to Trans-boundary issues between states or across national boundaries. Thus, basin wide water conflicts between states are more prevalent and the conflict continuous for years without any solution for the problem quoted. The prime factors which may pose a setback towards water and food security in India are: Vested Interest of Government. • Increasing political Influence. • Weak Institutional capacity. • Non- coherence of strategies and approaches among various line department concerned. • Decision making processes are very slow and ambiguous. • Community are not taken in the decision making process. • No concerned Department is willing to take up the responsibility, accountability, prompt implementation of projects and positive outcomes. • The process of sustainable agriculture and water management is carried out without proper interface of Agriculture, CGWB, or other concerned department. • The Draft National Water Policy has been published in June 2012 and the government has also announced its 12 five-year plan to redress past weaknesses. The draft water policy is contributing to active debate on the appropriate balance between centralized and decentralized approaches to water management and governance in India and the debate process still goes on without any outcome. The extent to which India will be able to provide decisive and common consensus direction between state and Central Government, developing nested multi-level solutions, and implementation of the same with a common goal/objective in an effective, efficient, rapid, and sustainable way through democratic process is a big question mark and carries a lot of turbidity in it. The effective and efficient water and food security can be ensured provided: Good Interdepartmental interaction and derivation of common consensus and well defined plan of action with all political support at micro to macro level. • Community members are to be considered as one of the stakeholders and their ideas and thoughts are also to be valued. • Better, more reliable and transparent information on the changing nature of hydrological condition needs to be available on a common platform without any restriction so that, the decision makers and implementation agencies can have a sound back up support for more deriving a sustainable plan for water utilization. • Awareness raising, information, and advocacy campaigns among people and decision makers at all levels to develop consensus on the seriousness of the water challenge. This is an essential ingredient in developing effective solutions that are to be effectively and efficiently implemented. • Also, various primary and secondary data related to soil, agriculture, groundwater and surface water status, socio-economic profile of various regions, Environment set up, identified issues and problems of the regions, contact officials etc can be published in a public domain and the data are to be constantly updated for any implementing agency or decision makers to promptly rely up on beyond doubt.

    1 Comment

  4. The problem is many fold. The maximum extraction of ground water is for irrigating the crops by farmers. The supply of water using dams and canals should be increased. The cultivators must be encouraged to grow less water consumptive crops and also delivery systems must be improved to carry water efficiently. The saving of water, less utilization by major sectors and encouraging use of purified waste water and reducing seepage losses in the dams and canals will help more availability of water. This will reduce dependence on ground water. The ground water , where possible, must be replenished with fresh water.

  6. French English Proposition Lyseconcept avec sa proposition de revalorisation des eaux usées pour une productivité agronomique diminuera sensiblement le prélèvement dans les réserves d'eau potable souterraine. Le principe: chaque maison individuelle est équipée du concept d'Assainissement Biologique individuel dont le rejet d'eau arrosera le jardin potager ou tout autre biodiversité végétalisée. Toutes les constructions en zone urbaine ayant une propriété paysagère sont équipées de l'Assainissement Biologique individuel. Cela aura pour conséquence de réduire la consommation d'eau potable et en même temps de réduire le coût de traitement des eaux usées de l'assainissement collectif. Cela aura aussi pour effet de réduire certaines sur consommation d'arrosage avec de l'eau potable. Proposal Lyseconcept with its proposal for a revalorization of waste waters for an agronomic productivity will appreciably decrease the taking away in the drinking water réservessouterraines. The principle: each house is equipped with the concept of individual Biological Cleansing whose water rejection will sprinkle the vegetable garden or any other vegetalized biodiversity. All constructions in urban area having a landscape property are equipped with the individual Biological Cleansing. That will result in to reduce the drinking water consumption and at the same time to reduce the cost of treatment of waste waters of the collective cleansing. That will also cause to reduce some on consumption of watering with drinking water.

    1 Comment