Global warming and climate change are the most written-about topics in the newspapers and magazines in the last few years. The importance of this phenomenon was highlighted when last year’s Nobel Prize for peace was awarded jointly to Al Gore and R K Pachauri, Chairman of the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Although concern for global warming had been expressed in the UN framework for climate change in 1986, the phenomenon has not been given much attention since. Burning of fossil fuel by automobiles and industries worldwide, more so in developed countries like the United States, is the main cause for global warming.

Methane gas emissions from agriculture and animals, which is known as green house gas emissions, also contribute to this phenomenon. As a result, temperature on the earth’s surface is rising, causing the melting of the polar caps and the snow-glaciers in the mountain peaks.

Rise in temparature

Both the IPCC 4th assessment report and the Stern’s Review Report have indicated that rise in atmospheric temperature is nearly 2 degrees centigrade in the last 50 years. On account of this, there is a slow and perceptible rise in the ocean level. This will cause submersion of coastal cities all over the World, if this phenomenon is not arrested and the temperature is allowed to rise to 4 degrees and beyond.

Already, the effect of climate change is felt, as the glaciers recede slowly and visibly and almost all the rivers in the World witness increased levels of floods. A further rise in temperature would only cause perennial rivers of the Himalayas and elsewhere to disappear, creating untold miseries to millions living in the plains of these rivers.

This would also result in uncontrolled floods and droughts.

There will be mass migration of people that would create conflicts and violence unseen in the history. Hence nations of the world must work together to arrest this phenomenon. The recent Bali conference that ratified the Kyoto protocol is a step in this direction, which indicates all nations, except the US, would work to stop climate change.

Meanwhile, India, which is likely to be the worst affected by the phenomenon, must take immediate measures to preserve shrinking fresh water resources and make sure access to it is equal. Water storages of all sizes must be built wherever possible, with minimum disturbance to environment, and excess flood water from the rivers and streams must be stored up.

Delineating aquifer zones accurately all over the country and connecting them with feeder channels, both on the surface and underground, with minimum disturbance to agricultural lands, could be one of the ways of doing it.

This enables water to be stored underground and could be pumped out whenever required. This will also minimise the creation of surface reservoirs. Such efforts must be carried out along with steps to reduce pollution in the rivers.

Water  management

Sewerage generation from habitation in rural as well as urban areas should be reduced to the least by adopting zero water toilets for which technologies are available. Wastage of water must be prevented at all cost at both individual and community level. There must also be ways of recycling waste water.

Efficiency in agriculture (which uses nearly 80 per cent of water for irrigation), that is currently at 30 per cent, should be gradually increased to 60 per cent, so that a large amount of water could be made available for municipal and industrial requirements. Water literacy should be introduced at primary and university levels to create awareness about water conservation.

Integrated water resource management should be adopted in right earnest at all levels in various sectors where water is used. This should be done by all stake holders, including the governments and corporate agencies.

These measures coupled with the measures taken by countries around the world to counter climate change, that involves all the stakeholders, are important to ensure sustainability of water and are necessary to take on the challenges posed by climate change.

There are still some skeptics who profess that climate change is a natural phenomenon and we can tackle it. But the writing is on the wall and none can miss it.