Climate Change

The history of the United Kingdom’s interest in the Indian monsoon is discussed as also the challenges of climate change for India. Some basic facts regarding the Indian socio-economic context are presented to underline the importance of rainfed agriculture and hence the dependence on monsoons.

Wastewater/Sanitation

• India: Land of many cell phones, but fewer toilets
• Rural women help Himachal fight open defecation
• Eco toilets at the Pollutetech 2010 exhibition in IISc draw attention
• 6 districts in Karnataka achieve near total hygiene standards
• Poor sanitation lets super bug thrive in India

Volume I is divided into six chapters and includes:

Chapter 1: Provides a brief introduction on the background of the National Water Mission in the context of the threat of climatic change and its impact on reduction in the water resources in the country.

Chapter 2: Describes the objectives or features of the National Water Mission

The  document is guided by the following principles:

Water for Industry

• Indian farmers fight billionaire Mittal and Posco, a leading company in steel making, for water rights in Orissa

Drinking Water/Urban Water/Water Quality

• The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) loses money on half of water it supplies
• The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is paying a hefty price for supplying water to Mumbai with outstanding water supply dues upto Rs 3,065 crore
• 40% water is lost in leakages in Mumbai: The water level over the catchment area at 12.9 lakh ml, but the city still wrangling with water woes
• Poor access to safe and good quality drinking water: water contamination is an important public health concern in Bihar
• After several years of suffering, the villagers of Hebani Gram Panchayat in Mulbagal Taluk of Kolar have found a way to get safe drinking water by themselves
• 1650 water supply schemes planned for meeting the drinking water needs of people in rural areas in Madhya Pradesh
• Diarrhoea cases on the rise in Orissa
• Cholera incidence second highest in Kolkata

There has been growing public and policy preoccupation in recent years with potential climate impacts on water security in the wake of the worsening risk of global warming. In 1991, then–UN secretary general Boutros Boutros-Ghali pronounced that “the next war will be fought over water, not politics.” In 2001, Kofi Annan warned that “fierce competition for fresh water may well become a source of conflict and wars in the future.” And present UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon has argued that the ongoing Darfur crisis grew at least in part from desertification, ecological degradation, and a scarcity of resources, foremost among them water. Apart from this chorus of concern, many policy scholars have asserted that, as population growth and economic development raise pressures on demand and environmental pressures degrade supplies, resource scarcities could precipitate violent international conflicts, with shared rivers an especially dangerous flashpoint.