Water’s Role in India's Journey Towards Net Zero and Sustainability

Water’s Role in India's Journey Towards Net Zero and Sustainability 

We all have heard that there will be no life on earth without water, but what are we doing to conserve it? India is one of the most water-stressed places on earth. Visuals of tankers and people queuing with containers have been coming out from big cities like Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai, and Mumbai, depicting the worsening situation of the water crisis in India.

Water is one of the most crucial resources for achieving the targets of net zero and sustainability. It has an important role in environmental preservation and climate change. Water constitutes three-fourths of the earth's surface in different states: solid, liquid, and gas. The correlation between the Earth’s temperature and water bodies is responsible for global warming. The limited availability of water makes it precious; it is estimated that we have less than one per cent of freshwater available for humanity. India has almost 20% of the world’s population and only 4% of the world’s freshwater resources, making it one of the most water-stressed places in the world, according to the NITI Aayog. The water demand in India is likely to go up by 70% by 2025.  We are close to the international threshold of water scarcity of 1,000 m3 per person. The sources of freshwater are limited and found in ponds, lakes, rivers, and groundwater. According to the Emissions Gap Report 2022 published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), India emitted 2.4 metric tonnes of CO2 per head of population in 2020, compared with 14 metric tonnes for the US and 13 metric tonnes for Russia that year. During COP 26, India promised to cut down its carbon emissions and achieve net zero by 2070.

It’s depleting due to the climate crisis; therefore, we need to transition towards sustainable use of water. Rapid economic development, urbanisation, industrialization, and population growth have already put pressure on the existing meagre freshwater resources. India’s dependence on its erratic monsoon and the unbridled climate crisis exacerbate the stress on water levels and agriculture, which is considered to be the backbone of the Indian economy. Water scarcity threatens different aspects of our lives. We need collaborative efforts to adopt sustainable ways for its use.

As India has become one of the largest populated economies, it becomes important to ensure an equitable distribution of water for social harmony and to move towards sustainable ways of water consumption. “When the public is associated with a campaign, they also get to know the seriousness of the work. Due to this, a sense of ownership also comes in the public towards any scheme or campaign,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the importance of people's participation in water conservation and asserted that GOI attempts alone cannot be successful in the first national conference of water ministers from states in Bhopal. 

Challenges and Water Crisis in India 

India is facing several challenges: I. groundwater depletion in major cities; II. the disparity in water distribution to marginalised societies; III. Inadequate water supply networks to the cities; IV. dying and pollution of rivers....

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