Environmental Sciences, asked by 2000ummehabibakhatun, 11 months ago

Preface for water pollution project

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Answered by Anonymous

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Water is a key natural resource for human survival. Water plays a vital role in sanitation for our rural and urban communities. Water is also an important economic resource. It is necessary for all forms of agriculture and most of the industrial production processes (Merrett 1997; Kay et al. 1997). Water also provides a wide range of ecosystem and environmental services (Frederick 1993; Seckler et al. 1998). It is essential for assimilation of pollution caused by industrial effluents and domestic sewage. Pressure on freshwater resources is increasing across the globe (WRI 1995; Brown et al. 1998). During the first 8 decades of this century, consumption of water increased fivefold, 75 percent of which was during the second half of the century (Frederick 1993). From a macro perspective, the overall fresh water availability across the globe remains more or less constant. But, from a micro-perspective, the freshwater supplies in many regions and localities are dwindling due to alterations in hydrologic balances, over-exploitation and increasing pollution of freshwater reserves. Many third world countries are already facing serious water shortages (Brown et al. 1998; Seckler et al. 1998). Increasing freshwater scarcity is becoming a major constraint in producing food for growing world population, ecosystem protection, and maintaining health, social and food security and peace among nations (Postel 1996). India is not an exception to this impending crisis. The growing population, which is about to touch the billion mark, the preference for water intensive agriculture and rapid urban industrialisation are putting enormous pressure on the fragile freshwater resources (Kumar 1997; World Bank 1998). Growing water scarcity problems pose serious threat to ecosystem management, social sustainability and economic growth. Community managed and indigenous system of water management existed in India for many centuries, meeting the irrigation, drinking and domestic water supply needs of the community (Agarwal and Narain 1997; Singh 1991; Shankari and Shah 1993). The colonial rule was marked by a major shift from traditional community based water management. The British built large barrages and canals, but the irrigation systems were governed rather than managed. Also, they were too large for the communities to play any significant role in their management (Chitale 1991). The undivided India had 28.2 million hectares (mha) of net irrigated land, including 15.2 mha of canal irrigated land. In the partition, the country lost a part of the irrigation sources to Pakistan (Bharadwaj 1990). The foodgrain production in the country during 1949-50 was 2 nearly 62 million tons (Sarma and Roy 1979)..