aatmaNEERbharta – A Journey towards Water Sustainability

 

Authors: Mr Setu Shah, Founder, Sujalaam, www.sujalaam.com

 

INTRODUCTION TO THE CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABILITY

What is considered “sustainable” in one location may be a challenge to sustainability elsewhere. Sustainability is a concept that describes the dynamic condition of complex systems, particularly the biosphere of Earth and the human socioeconomic systems within it. It reflects both our fundamental values and our knowledge of nature and life on Earth.

Sustainable water supply is a component of integrated water resource management, the practice of bringing together multiple viewpoints to determine how water should best be managed. Sustainable water systems should provide adequate water quantity and appropriate water quality for a given need, without compromising the future ability to provide this capacity and quality.

It is clear that because water is essential to all life, water resources management, using the principles of sustainable development, will be essential for achieving sustainability

RAIN RICH INDIA

India is extremely fortunate to receive 120 cm rainfall annually against the world average of 80 cm which is the maximum rain per sq. mt. in the world. It’s even said that our country will get submerged in 3 feet of water. Yet ironically, we are the 13th Most water-stressed country in the world. India’s water crisis is often attributed to a lack of holistic planning, increased privatization, industrial and human waste, and corruption. In addition, water scarcity in India is expected to worsen as NITI Aayog predicts that by 2030 – 40% of the population will have no access to drinking water and 6% of our GDP will be lost.

HISTORY OF WATER IN INDIA

Bharat was known as Golden Sparrow

Ancient India (from 3000 BCE to around 10th century AD) is the period when India was known as the “Sone Ki Chidiya” (a Golden Sparrow). This era witnessed cultural confluence and economic boom at many junctures, yet the fabric of traditions never got destroyed. Even today people say ‘Jaha Daal Daal par sone ki chidiya karti hai basera’ (where the golden sparrow dwells on every branch of a tree).

Traditionally Indians worshipped both water and rain as “Jala” and “Varuna”. Even rivers were worshipped. Till 3000 B.C., Rainwater Harvesting & Recharge happened without human effort as the rain got collected in rivers and natural depressions. Civilizations flourished on riverbanks all over the world. Indus Valley civilization in India. From 3000 B.C. to 1800 A.D., Rainwater Harvesting & Recharge happened with human effort. Indians harvested rainwater using different methods. These methods depended on local conditions. Different parts of India used different structures for harvesting rainwater. Some examples are:

1. North: Zing in Leh Ladakh
2. East: Bamboo Irrigation and Zabo in NorthEast
3. South: Jack Wells in Andaman & Nicobar, Eri in Tamil Nadu
4. Central: Pat in Madhya Pradesh, Ramtek in Vidharbha
5. West: Tankas and Step Wells in Gujarat, Bawri & Jodhads in Rajasthan.

 

Figure 1: Tankas
Source: http://www.inaplanetofourown.net/assets/papers/Spruha%20P.%20Chokshi%20-%20Cumulus%20Mumbai%202015.pdf

Drawing upon centuries of experience, Indians continued to build structures to catch, hold and store monsoon rainwater for the dry seasons to come. Skilled people managed these structures over generations. These sustainable traditional techniques, though less popular today, are still in sustainable and efficient.

Talab
Talabs are either natural or man-made reservoirs that store water for household consumption and drinking purposes. They were also built to regulate the flow of water and prevent flooding. Talabs were at the core to recharge rainwater via aquifers and used as surface water. Several ponds were built across Gujarat during the 15th Century for both irrigation and drinking water.

Taanka
Taanka is a traditional rainwater harvesting technique indigenous to the Thar desert region of Rajasthan. A Taanka is a cylindrical paved underground pit into which rainwater from rooftops, courtyards, or artificially prepared catchments flows. Once filled, the water stored in a taanka can stay in the same condition for years together. An important element of water security in arid regions, taankas can save families from the everyday drudgery of fetching water from distant sources. Tanka is mainly used for storing roof rainwater to be then used for household purposes.

This history reflects the ingenuity and wisdom of our forefathers who made harvesting of water and its management an integral part of the native culture and community life. These practices were perceived by the common man as his sacred duty and by the communities as part of good local self-governance and social responsibility. This Water-Wisdom at all levels of society ensured adequate availability of water for all, which in turn, formed the basis for all-around development and prosperity. Water, Forest, and Community interdependence worked hand in hand and allowed multiple civilisations to flourish in India.

If one were to draw the essence of the past, one would say that it was the openness to investments, openness to ideas, and a scientific temper which had propelled India to that position in the global economy at that time. India was once upon a time, big economic power in the global economy.

TODAY DEPENDENT; INDEPENDENT INDIA

We all know water is essential, but too many of us think it’s unlimited. Fresh water is a finite resource that is rapidly becoming scarce. In India, a warming climate is drying up lakes and rivers, while rapid urbanisation and water pollution are putting enormous pressure on the quantity and quality of surface and groundwater. The country’s fragile agricultural system still is now depending primarily on groundwater creating havoc on the national economy.

Figure 2: The water crisis
Source: https://www.ecowatch.com/8-major-cities-running-out-of-water-1882061458.html

Our path towards this water crisis started in 1960 when we started to draw water through tube wells instead of surface water sources like ponds and rivers. This scalding journey has seen water bodies vanish, an unplanned centralised water supply come up, subsidised rates and the devaluation of water, immense wastage of water, the pain of water becoming a commodity and various levels of mismanagement of water especially as the generations have come to take water supply for granted.

Nearly 40% of water demand in India is met by groundwater. As a result, groundwater tables are falling at an alarming rate of 2-3 meters per year. Water scarcity has many negative impacts on the environment, including lakes, rivers, wetlands, and other freshwater resources.

India is the second largest urban system in the world with almost 11% of the total global urban population living in Indian cities. The country has reached a turning point in the journey of its economic transformation wherein half of the country would be ‘urban’ in a few decades. (MoHFW, 2019). Indian cities produce nearly 40,000 million litres of sewage every day and barely 20% of it is treated. 80% of sewage in India is untreated and flows directly into the nation’s ponds, lakes, and rivers, polluting the main sources of drinking water and further seeping into groundwater, thereby creating a ticking health bomb in India. Weak or non-existent enforcement of environmental laws, rapid urban development, and a Lack of awareness about the dangers of sewage are all blamed for water pollution. Untreated sewage is killing Indian rivers. A 2011 survey by the Central Pollution Control Board revealed only 160 out of nearly 8,000 towns had both sewerage systems and a sewage treatment plant.

Regardless of improvements to drinking water, many other water sources are contaminated with both bio and chemical pollutants, and over 21% of the country’s diseases are water related. The concern is that India may lack overall long-term availability of replenishable water resources. While India’s aquifers are currently associated with replenishing sources, the country is also a major grain producer with a great need for water to support the commodity. As with all countries with large agricultural output, excess water consumption for food production depletes the overall water table. Many rural communities in India that are situated on the outskirts of urban sprawl also have little choice but to drill wells to access groundwater sources.

THE WAY FORWARD TOWARDS AATMANEERBHARTA

Sustainable development was explicitly popularized and contextualized by the Brundtland Commission in the document “Our Common Future” where it was defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (UN, 1987). Sustainable water means a nation that can be water self-sufficient: ensuring there is enough water to meet multiple needs, from agriculture to municipal and industrial. It also means water supply will remain consistent, despite climate change impacts, such as a lack of rainfall and drought, or too much rain and being flood resilient. Sustainable water also means that the economics stack up in matching supply and demand and the water delivery process is as efficient as possible. Water sustainability can also mean energy neutrality by coupling traditional water treatment technologies with renewable energies.

“जीवेषु करुणा चापि
”विधीयताम्। तेषु मैत्री 

Compassionate and Friendly to all Living Beings

 

Figure 3: Achieving Water Sustainability
Source:https://www.wateronline.com/doc/sustainability-report-creating-a-water-secure-world-0001

 

The very concept of ‘aatmaNEERbharta’ is based on the philosophy of being self-reliant in water for our daily needs. Reviving existing water bodies, smart farming, responsible industrialization, re-using wastewater, harvesting, and recharging rainwater are the most suited saving grace of survival. Water is a finite and irreplaceable resource that is fundamental to human well-being, but it is only renewable if well-managed.

aatmaNEERbharta THROUGH CHANGE IN OUR ATTITUDE

The fundamental issue facing everyone is how to reconcile our desires for all of us on this globe to have a good life with the constraints imposed by the availability of a renewable, but limited, water resource. It can be done. Let our optimism be a torch to light the way forward!!!

Figure 4: Attitude Change Process
Source: DK Series – Managing Change

Water distinguishes our planet compared to all the others we know about. Our notion that water is an infinite source available at our beck and call is almost illusionary for now we are realising just how very finite this elixir of life is.

There is an immense need to heighten the awareness to bring about a change in our attitude towards water management, the significance of comprehensive water management, its socio-economic benefits and its ability to mobilise finances for the development of our nation.

A FEW ECO AND POCKET-FRIENDLY SOLUTIONS

A few solutions which can be adopted by communities for water conservation include:

• Roof Rainwater Harvesting Systems, for residential, office, government, school, and college buildings
• Surface Runoff Water recharge for farms, gardens, large campuses
• Excess water recharge for water bodies including lakes, ponds, rivers
• Wastewater management using efficient techniques, e.g. Root zone treatment

SUJALAAM

Sujalaam is an organizational setup which aims at nurturing communities and the nation towards achieving sustainability in water. With increasing awareness of saving water, we realized the need for having water harvesting solutions on our premises which can also educate our future generation on the need and options to conserve water. Our approach to aatmaNEERbharta is a geographic approach that helps in systematic understanding and optimizing the quest for Water Sustenance.

 

CONCLUSION

There is no escape from the fact that the need and demand for finite and vulnerable water will continue to expand and so will competition for it.

More uncertainty in water availability, higher frequency of extreme weather events, and more rapid return flow of water to the atmosphere are expected in the future.

We Indians are fortunate to receive maximum rain per sq. mt. in World. Let us change our attitude towards water management by adopting Decentralised Nature-Based Water Management Systems and make India the Golden Sparrow again.

To become aatmaNEERbhar in your water needs reach out to us on namaste@sujalaam.com

If you are keen to implement water conservation techniques in your area or village and want to know more about our work, feel free to reach out to us at info@winfoundations.org

Addressing health and nutrition – the personalized approach to wellness

 Authors: Dr. Jamuna Prakash, Adjunct Professor, MLC University, Shillong. 

Former Professor, Food Science and Nutrition, Univ. of Mysore, Mysuru.

 

Good health is the ultimate goal of every human being and good food is one of the gateways to achieve it. Here ‘good food’ refers to nutritionally balanced, safe and healthy meals and does not mean the taste quality of food per se. Despite being an agriculture dominant nation, India suffers from varying degrees of malnutrition, seen both in adults and children alike. While there are multiple avenues to deal with the issue, the WIN Foundation is very rightly addressing it through its maternal and child health program of developing women’s entrepreneurship to promote healthy foods as well as promoting hygiene and sanitation in the community. These two issues are undoubtedly the most important in addressing malnutrition in children and women.

The recent report of the National Family Health Survey-5 points out both negative and positive aspects of health-related indicators. There has been a decline in neonatal, infant and child mortality rates, and the literacy rates have improved showing a higher percentage of both men and women passing their school education. There are more women empowerment programs and gender equality schemes. However, on the nutritional front, the scenario has been rather depressing. Iron deficiency anaemia is showing a larger and wider spread, and the improvement in growth indicators of stunting, wasting and being underweight have been exceedingly low. This calls for a higher investment and efforts for health and nutrition considering that consequences have a far-reaching effect spreading across adulthood lowering productivity and work efficiency as well as a much higher risk of non-communicable diseases in undernourished children.

Creating a lifecycle approach to nutrition through personalized interactions

The experience in the field of nutrition has shown that one approach towards improving the nutrition of the masses is through personalized interaction and counselling [apart from various ongoing programs]. This can be done using the already existing resources of health workers and wellness centres, which will be operable in the near future. The team of health workers comprises doctors, nutritionists, and other paramedics on a personalized one-to-one basis paving the way for individual attention. These counselling sessions can be on a monthly basis and can deal with the health status and nutritional problems of children, women, men and the elderly from a family. This would create a genuine lifecycle approach and will have a strong psychological impact on the family of caring. This would encourage them to follow the advice regarding healthy diets, desirable food preparation, special needs of children, the elderly or any other diseased person in the family and hygiene as well.

While malnutrition in children is just one of the problems to tackle, there are also numerous instances of lifestyle disorders across the community, which need to be prevented or managed well. These counselling sessions would deal with all the health issues of a family by way of advising them on all aspects of healthcare including self-management advice. 

The process would require the following- A family health record to be maintained with the necessary details of all family members, for example, the age, height and weight, blood pressure, general health, and medical condition along with the treatment history. A diet pattern can also be maintained based on which counselling can be done. The progress and adherence of the family regarding desirable food behaviour and proper management of diseases can be monitored very well with this, and slight deviations will be observed early. This would also bring forth the group of elderly, who are often neglected by families, and they also can be provided with necessary comfort care.

The multi-sectoral approach towards health

A point to be noted here is that health is an outcome of multiple factors and not diet alone. The counselling session will bring forth the non-nutritional issues which could be important for health such as the availability of adequate potable water for drinking or for hygiene purposes, the pollution around the houses, the social issues of drinking, poverty, food taboos, superstitions, unemployment, school dropouts, etc. While the support centre may not be able to solve all of them, it will create an understanding of the prevailing situation. 

The problem needs to be tackled with multiple angles and approaches.  For example, one of the reasons for children not responding to various nutrition supplements in attaining normal growth status is frequent episodes of gastrointestinal and respiratory infections.  Scientific evidence shows that repeated gastrointestinal infections shorten the intestinal villi thus reducing the absorption capacity, resulting in malabsorption syndrome which could be long-lasting.  A morbidity record maintained at the centre would be helpful in knowing if a particular child falls sick frequently. Now, the next step apart from administering proper treatment to the child will be of exploring the causes, is it because of low immunity, polluted water, unhygienic environments, or repeated exposure to infections? An analysis would help to deal with the causes which may not be related to nutrition directly. Once these repeated episodes of infections are arrested, a child can attain normal growth. Similarly, questions need to be asked, if the mother or caretaker is adequately informed or educated, a personalized approach would certainly help these issues.

 

Unhealthy foods and emerging issues of overweight and obesity

Let us now look at one more aspect of emerging health issues in women and children, that of overweight and obesity, obviously, both linked to transitioning food behaviour. A general perception of obesity is that it occurs in affluent societies or urban areas. However, the trend is changing and so-called unhealthy food is eaten across all regions, whether urban or rural. Many of our own surveys in rural areas show that ‘fast foods’ specifically sold by street vendors have gained popularity even in rural India. Undoubtedly, these are energy-rich, fat-rich sugary or fried foods with a very low content of fibre and essential vitamins and minerals [prepared mostly with refined wheat flour, hydrogenated fats, cheap oils, sugar and salt]. By far, sugar, refined flours and oils are the cheapest sources of calories and foods providing protective nutrients are expensive, [these include whole grams and dhals, milk and milk products, eggs, fish and animal foods, fruits and vegetables, nuts, etc.], hence it is easy to binge on foods which are cheap and satiate hunger, with no consideration for overall healthy nutrient density. This is indeed a very serious and complex issue to tackle as food laws cannot prohibit people from eating unhealthy foods!!! Though only advisories can be issued. Intake of such foods also increases the salt intake. While human beings are genetically programmed to like sweet taste, the taste of salt is adaptive, the more we eat, the more we like. And the taste threshold goes on increasing.  This is very well exploited by the food industry where a higher amount of added salt lures customers. Therefore, a deliberate attempt to lower salt is needed from all angles, though easier said than done. There has been a tremendous increase in online home delivery of catered foods across the country during the pandemic, which has its own plus and minus points, increasing convenience, creating employment, improving business, but also encouraging intake of unhealthy foods. The pandemic also affected the many welfare programs and school attendance of children increasing the rates of malnutrition, as children were deprived of regular mid-day meals on account of school closures. For some of the children, a mid-day school meal is the only substantial meal of the day and a source of important nutrients. 

So, the simple take-home point towards improving malnutrition is an overall continuous effort from all the stakeholders involved to secure the future of our children. Malnutrition is a silent emergency, the voice of which is very loud, but cannot be heard, and we need to act before it is too late.

Contact details of the author:

Dr.Jamuna Prakash
Email:  jampr55@hotmail.com
Profile Link: http://uni-mysore.ac.in/sites/default/files/content/jamuna_prakash_bio-data_for_web.pdf