Growing Water Footprint in India Not Sustainable

Controlling the Global Water Footprint is an Issue of Concern and the Indian Subcontinent, Home to Some of the Most Densely Packed River Basins in the World, is Especially Vulnerable

As water becomes an increasingly scarce resource worldwide, with a staggering 750 million people lacking access to clean water, there is heightened concern over each country's water footprint.

A nation's water footprint, as opposed to its simple water use, is defined as the total amount of water needed for the production of goods and services calculated by adding all the water consumed plus the water inherent in products imported, then subtracted by the water in exports.

While India's water footprint — 980 cubic meters per capita - ranks below the global average of 1,243 cubic meters, its 1.2 billion people collectively contribute to a significant 12% of the world's total water footprint. This number, say experts, is simply not sustainable and urgent measures need to be adopted by the government, corporates and citizens to optimally manage this fast dwindling precious resource.

The economic effects of mismanaging water resources are well-documented. TheIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Changereport forecasts longer periods of drought and heavier extreme rainfall. The United Nations has already reported that a raft of countries are teetering on the edge of their water limits even as they grapple with the challenge of augmenting food output by up to 100% by 2050 to sustain the current global population growth. For the third consecutive year, global water crisis has been identified as thethird greatest riskin theWorld Economic Forum's Global Risk report.

India's Planning Commission had established that the existing approach to water in Asia's third largest economy threatens its GDP growth and political stability and had stressed that an urgent paradigm shift is required in the management of water resources.

India has 4% of the world's water which has to cater for 16% of the world's population, says a 2013report Sustaining India's Water Resources by the Carbon Disclosure Project. This requirement will, it states, lead to a steady shrinking of per-capita availability. It is estimated that by 2020, India will become a water-scarce nation. Already, nearly 50% of Indian villages do not have any source of protected drinking water.

The profile of the Indian agricultural sector, say experts, also contributes significantly to an increasing water footprint. The country is one of the world's top producers of cotton, a crop that requires a substantial amount of water to cultivate. For instance, cultivating just a kilo of cotton (the amount required to make one pair of jeans) requires 10,000 litres of water for growing, dyeing and washing, as against barley or quinoa that can get by with just 500 litres. In India, water is also pumped up for agricultural use at a higher rate than it can be replenished leading to levels of groundwater plummeting alarmingly.

"Indian farmers ought to reorient their thinking and cultivate crops that require less water but give higher yields helping fulfill the global goal of eliminating hunger," says scientist Kirit Bhandare, formerly with Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. "A government-led sensitisation programme, in synergy with local panchayats, can usher in the desirable change through optimal utilisation of resources."

Experts point out that the Indian subcontinent - which hosts some of the most densely packed river basins in the world - is especially vulnerable to a higher water footprint. "The 450 million people living in theGanga basinhave to cope with severe water scarcity during five months of the year with water consumption exceeding 40% of natural run off. Under such conditions, river flows and riverine ecosystems are heavily modified, water levels drop and competition over water starts affecting people's lives," writes environmentalist Arjen Y Hoekstra in an article.

In his book, ‘The water footprint of a modern consumer society', he proposes that nations can better manage and deploy their water resources by controlling their water footprint. Companies and governments, he adds, need to establish water footprint benchmarks for most water-intensive products like food, beverages, cotton and bio fuels.

Companies respond to water challenges

Hearing the alarm bells, many companies have started actively identifying the problem and exploring ways to assess and whittle down their water footprint. In 2013,C&A,a European fashion retail company sourcing cotton from India, did a study comparing water footprint of organic as against conventional cotton in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. The conclusion was that water footprint of organic farming was significantly less due to minimal pollution in the water from the absence of pesticides.

Recently, the Tata conglomerate, one of India's largest private enterprises, also did awater footprint assessmentof its companies. The study provides a valuable insight into how strategies can be developed by the government and corporates to reduce their water footprint.

Source: The Third Pole

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