Re: Sabakzai, Mirani dams in Balochistan to complete this year
Thanks to a friend for this article on solutions to water problem that are much better than dams.
http://peacejournalism.com/ReadArticle.asp?ArticleID=8322
Water Wars
Mohammed Mesbahi
Chair and Founder - STWR
** Excerpts: **
In Pakistan, in the province of Baluchistan the water table is falling by 3.5 metres per year. The capital of Baluchistan, Quetta, will run out of water in 15 years, according to Richard Garstang, water expert with the World Wildlife Fund.
But about 80% of irrigation water is wasted through leaking pipes, unlined channels, evaporating reservoirs and canals. One quarter of all irrigated land has now accumulated salts, rendering it useless for cultivation, for example two million hectares have been lost to salinity in Pakistan.
Pollution
450 cubic km of wastewater are discharged into rivers, streams and lakes every year. This polluted water reduces the amount of freshwater available. Groups such as International Rivers Network, Clean Waters Network and Friends of the Earth International have been confronting industry over the contamination of rivers.
Solutions
Reducing consumption of water is essential.
Improving irrigation efficiency
Irrigation projects could cut down on the amount of water they use by as much as 80% if drip systems were used. Drip systems deliver exactly the amount of water a plant needs.
Water recycling
Water recycling, especially in industry, will also help cut down on water consumption.
Rainfall harvesting projects
1,500 women from 12 Indian states met together in Rajasthan, Western India for the National Women’s Water Conference in February 2003. They discussed ways of protecting water supplies in rural India.
Villagers in Madhya Pradesh have resolved the problem of heavy summer rainfall followed by months of drought by building small dams and wells, sharing both the work involved, the money invested and the water harvest. Women in Gujarat built check dams and revived old ponds.
Women in Rajasthan have begun to green the desert through community rainwater harvesting projects.
The women who attended the conference fiercely opposed the Government’s proposal to privatise water and resolved to fight to protect it. “We will take our sticks and chase out those who attempt to sell our water to us” one Rajasthani woman said.
Recycling of human waste
Recycling of human waste, rather than discharging it into rivers, will provide valuable fertilizer for growing more crops and will leave more clean water in rivers to be used as drinking water.
Stopping industrial river pollution
Cutting down on pollution from industrial processes will similarly help keep rivers clean and available as drinking water.
Planting Trees
Trees prevent soil erosion and conserve water. Village women in parts of India, for example Orissa, have planted trees.
Water is part of the earth’s heritage. It needs to be preserved for future generations and protected in the public domain by local, national and international law. Access to clean water for basic needs is a fundamental human right. We cannot continue to abuse the world’s precious water resources. International cooperation over sources of freshwater is possible and practicable. International legislation which enshrines the principle of equitable and reasonable sharing of water resources already exists. Similarly international legislation already exists for the control of pollution. Water privatisation is not the answer. A return to the principle of sharing this vital resource is possible and essential.