PAPER PUBLISHED IN
Social Vision, Visakhapatnam. Vol. 6 & Issue. 2
July – Sept 2019. ISSN: 2349-0519.
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3Rs
WITH WATER BODIES: OPPORTUNITIES FOR 3As OF WATER
Lakshmi Narayana
N
Mentor
Geo
Rehabilitation Centre, Hyderabad.
ABSTRACT
It is the fact that ‘Water’
is the most precious natural resource and life cannot be imagined with out it.
Every activity over this earth needs water for the growth and development of People,
Environment and the Nation. Presence of water bodies do help to harvest
rainwater, store, recharge ground water, utilization and outflow to another
water body. It is observed that the growth and development of people in general
took around the water bodies and along the river and coastal belt. The shift in
development from people centric to business motto has affected water bodies
both in quantity and quality. Continuation of such processes added with less
rainfall and encroachment both within water bodies & catchment area has affected
water bodies and sometimes lost its presence or visibility. Water is well
connected in achieving the targets of Sustainable Development Goals and the
mission of Water Security for All, Food Security for All and finally in
achieving New India or Modern India. The mission of repair, renovation and
restoration of water bodies came up as an initiative to develop water bodies
and thus increase water. The challenges in
developing water bodies and water resources do affect the health and wealth of the
People, Environment and Nation and are alarming to the stakeholders. The opportunities
came up are capable to enhance the capacities of the people and agencies in
strengthening water bodies both existing and new one and able to improve the availability,
accessibility and affordability of water to all which further improve the wellness
of the Nation and its people. The initiatives are effective and able to sow
better ways for strengthening water resources. The strategies and initiatives
are simple, scalable, replicable and sustainable matching to the dynamics of
the given environment.
Key Words: Water Bodies, Community, Environment,
Irrigation, Development, Growth, Challenges, Opportunities, Sustainability, Water
Security, Wellness.
Statement of the Problem
Conclusions
The study made on water
has gained priority as the whole process of growth and development of People, Environment
and Nation is very much linked with water and some of the key conclusion made include:
ü Poor availability of water with poor
access both in respect of quantity & quality leads for crises in water
security for All which further affect the health & wealth of the People, Environment
and Nation.
ü Water is the lifesaving and more precious
natural resource and very well linked up with every stage of growth and
development of the People, Environment and Nation.
ü It is the fact that Life cannot be
imagined without water (after air) and it is the essential commodity for every
activity of people & their development.
ü Poor access to water (Surface and
Subsurface) both in quantity & quality and challenges connected with Water
Security for All, Food Security for All and all other aspects of development
are alarming.
ü Making water available, accessible and
affordable to all both individuals and their activities will work for their
growth and development with better sustainability and quality of life
(QOL).
ü The effective and efficient use of
initiatives or measures (HACAARRRD) supports for making water available,
accessible and affordable (3As) for All which further works and ensures for
Water Security for All.
ü There exist several types of water bodies
which include: Oceans, Seas, Rivers, Lakes, Irrigation Tanks, Dams, Ponds,
Community Ponds, Wetlands, Subsurface Tanks, Aquifers (Groundwater) and other
such smaller surface bodies which store water.
ü Water and achievement of Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs: 2015-2030) are well connected where SDGs are a
universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all
people enjoy peace and prosperity.
ü The main objectives of 3R of water bodies include:
comprehensive improvement of selected
tank systems including restoration;
Improvement of catchment areas of tank; community participation and self
supporting system for sustainable management for the water bodies; Groundwater
recharge; Capacity Building of communities, user groups, standing committee for
Panchayats and State Government / Central Government Agencies concerned with
the planning, implementation & monitoring of the project; Increase in
storage capacity of water bodies; Improvement in agriculture / horticulture
productivity: Increase in recharge of ground water in downstream areas of water
bodies; Environmental benefits through improved water use efficiency,
irrigation benefits through restoration of water bodies, supplementation of the
groundwater use and promotion of conjunctive use of surface & ground water;
Development of tourism, cultural activities, etc., and Increased availability
of drinking water.
ü All such limitations or challenges or
unhealthy consequences do affect the dynamics of water bodies as well as water
in it by way of: poor access, quantity, quality, security, protection, monitoring,
& evaluation and further limits the people’s growth, development, wellness
& quality of life (QOL).
ü All such cause and consequences connected
with water bodies and water in general are alarming to the stakeholders and
need of the hour is to accept them and look for better alternatives as a
solution.
ü The outputs and impact of opportunities is
expected to develop water bodies both quantitatively and qualitatively which
improves availability, accessibility & affordability (3As) of water; and
water security to All so that sustainable development of the people, community
& Nation can be achieved with improved wellness.
ü The initiatives developed and deployed
have broadly worked effectively & efficiently for making water available,
accessible and affordable (3As) for all and further contributed in achieving
the mission of water security for all.
ü The strategies, models, and initiatives taken
up for the development of water bodies and thus enhance water resources are
simple, replicable, scalable, and sustainable matching to the dynamics of the given
water environment.
Recommendations
The conclusions drawn reflect
that the continuation of the processes is needed to make water available,
accessible and affordable for All and the recommendations emerged include:
- To
conduct more and more Awareness cum Advocacy programmes for sensitizing the
People to take up water aspects as a process.
- To
support for the development of Community Based Initiatives (CBIs) with better
participation, accountability and transparency.
- To
support various Groups at community level as a part of Livelihood or Income
Generation Activity aligning to Missions of the Nation.
- To
encourage Students to take up Project Works and Research Studies for better
visibility on water bodies & resources and support for effective
transfer of technologies from Lab to Land.
- To
conduct Trainings, Workshops and Seminars for various stakeholders in general
and particularly Youth and Women for effective sharing and dissemination
with connectivity.
- To
support NGOs to work with Government and Private on Partnership (GPN) basis
on the model of DIME with PART.
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LOOKING FORWARD
