Sustainable development and efficient management of Water Resources are key for economic growth – Prof. Soz
UNDP HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT- 2006 RELEASED
Prof. Saifuddin Soz, the Union Minister for Water Resources released the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) commissioned Human Development Report-2006 here today. Dr. Maxin Olson, the UNDP Resident Representative and UN Resident Coordinator in India was present on the occasion. The Report has focused on the issue of Water. The scheme is “Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and Global Water Crisis”. The main discussion in the Report is on “Water for Life” and “Water for Livelihoods”
Delivering the key note address Prof. Soz complimented UNDP for this initiative and said that the theme chosen “Beyond Scarcity : Power, Poverty and the Global Water Crisis” mostly represent the important issues confronting the world and needing urgent attention. Water affects each and every aspect of our life rather all living objects.
Prof. Soz emphasized that for optimal utilization of the water resources, we have to adopt the most appropriate measures for development and put in place an efficient management system. Almost all of us are fully aware of this need and are working in this direction. Considerable achievements have also been made in many countries including India. Many countries have already chalked out strategies to achieve the targets set under the Millennium Development Goals. This is very encouraging and we must appreciate the efforts of the nations who have made considerable achievements.
The Minister opined that for most of the countries and more particularly for the developing countries, the two important concerns related to water are: the decreasing per capita water availability; and deterioration of water quality. We realize that sustainable development and efficient management of water resources is the key for economic growth and poverty alleviation. This is more so for India where about 70% of the population is dependent on agriculture. Prudent and sustainable water management will determine the future of our country. Choice of the most appropriate approach for sustainable development of water resources and its success will depend on realistic assessment of the present state & identification of the root cause of the problems. It is in this background that the Human Development Report 2006 with the theme “Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and Global water Crisis” which highlights the critical issues related to water resources development and management, becomes very important.
Prof. Soz expressed his concern that the issue of water is not as much about scarcity as about its careful use and about its equitable and distributed access. Apart from taking up necessary measures for comprehensive and integrated development of available resources, water management strategies will need to be carefully designed so that they lead to overall development of the country benefiting each and every member of the society. We need local and distributed water infrastructure. The sustainable use of groundwater accompanied by distributed recharge systems – ponds, tanks, check dams and soil and water conservation – is critical in this water future. It is for this reason that our government has decided to constitute the “Artificial Recharge of Groundwater Advisory Council” with water experts and NGOs to build ways of conserving rainwater and recharging groundwater.
He cautioned that the entitlement in respect of use of water for any stakeholder has to be made with due care keeping in view: the availability of water; its distribution in both time and space, the requirement of the various stakeholders; inter-se priority of uses projected by various stakeholders; and other related issues. Further, the need of an individual or an area cannot be seen in isolation. It is necessary to have a broader outlook and examine the water related issues at different levels e.g. the cluster of people, villages, districts, and then the country.
The Minister reiterated that the issues related to water are to be addressed with full involvement of local people and taking into account the local conditions, socio-economic and environmental profile of the target groups, availability of resources and future demands. The local needs of the people need to be appropriately addressed with equitable distribution of resources to all the stakeholders and with primary focus on meeting the drinking water and sanitation needs on a sustainable basis. We have to ensure the preservation of this precious natural resource not only to meet the growing demands of the present but also for our future generations, he added.
The Report argues that the global water crisis is not about quality and supply but in fact about access to and management of water for personal and productive uses. It strongly calls for bringing water and sanitation into the mainstream of national and international strategies for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. It notes that what is needed are policies aimed at making access to water a human right and legislating for the implementation of that right. The Report emphasizes the need for increasing public investments in extending the water network in urban areas and expanding the provision in rural areas. It takes note of the encouraging trend in India of increase in Central spending on water. The Report commends several pro-poor community-based water conservation and sanitation initiatives from India that are enabling water coverage to some of the poorest and severely water-distressed areas and households in various parts of the country.
India receives a mention in several sections of the Report in terms of how community action in water management has revived local economies. This has happened as a result of several grassroots leaders who have shown the way and led communities to manage resources, however scarce. Drawing on these initiatives, the Government of India has framed policies that enable and promote community management of water. There is scope for giving greater impetus to this movement and the Government of India is committed to this. Citing experiences from Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, the Report says that equitable distribution of water and sanitation services is greatly enhanced when access and management rights are transferred to communities themselves.
India has made some progress on the Human Development Index (HDI) value that has gone up from .602 in last year’s Report to .611 in HRD 2006. On HDI ranking, India is ranked at 126 this year against a total of 177, going up one rank as compared to last year. India’s rank on the Human Poverty Index (HP1-1) is 55 in a universe of 102 developing countries.
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(Release ID :21872)