Water is essential for life on Earth. However, only about
three percent of Earth's water is freshwater, of that, only about 1.2
percent can be used as drinking water. Some 2.2 billion people around the
world do not have safely managed drinking water services; 4.2 billion people do
not have safely managed sanitation services, and 3 billion lack basic
hand-washing facilities. Thus in many places across the globe, water has become
one of the greatest risks to economic progress, poverty eradication and
sustainable development.
Gaps in access to water supply and sanitation, growing
population, water-intensive patterns of growth, increasing rainfall
variability, and pollution has created challenges, which need sustainable
mitigation strategies. Water is crucial for the attainment of the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and hence the world needs a fundamental
shift in how it understands values and manages water.
In India, water being a State subject, steps for
augmentation, conservation and efficient management of water resources are
primarily undertaken by the respective State Governments. In order to
supplement the efforts of the State Governments, Central Government provides
technical and financial assistance to them through various schemes and
programmes.
Although, India has 18 per cent of the world’s population,
it only possesses 4 per cent of the world’s renewable water resources. In order
to better manage the country’s water resources, the Government of India has
launched a number of water-saving projects. The Government actively promotes
water harvesting, proper distribution of water, water recycling, water
governance and awareness generation on efficient water management practices in
the country.
For an aspirational nation like India, it is essential to
ingrain climate considerations into the vision of its future development path
and water resource management forms an essential part of this climate change
solution matrix.
As India, one of the fastest growing major economies in the
world, gears up to be a ‘climate-ready’ country, we need to make ‘Every
Drop Count’! The country’s actionable agenda on water includes ensuring
universal access to safe water and sanitation, building water infrastructure,
development of sustainable cities, promoting innovation and increasing global
water cooperation to name a few.
ICC, as a leading industry association, works proactively in
the arena of water security and climate protection initiatives, taking under
its fold a wide range of stakeholder interests. ICC feels water stewardship is
important for business and both the public and private sector players can
gainfully collaborate on this.
