The Politics of Groundwater

Photo Courtesy: ACWADAMBy Dr Himanshu Kulkarni and Uma AslekarJun 4 2018 (IPS)A growing demand for water implies the need for an improved understanding of our resources, and the ability to manage that demand in an equitable and sustainable way.Wells, not dams, have been the temples of modern IndiaIndia is a groundwater economy. At 260 cubic km per year, our country is the highest user of groundwater in the world–we use 25 percent of all groundwater extracted globally, ahead of USA and China.When we think of water however, our brains have been programmed to think of large dams and rivers, and not wells. This, despite the fact that India has at least four crore irrigation wells and millions of farmers who use well water in agriculture. “How can you own the water below your land, when the water in your well has come from underneath someone else’s land and the water from under your land is naturally going to flow underneath your other neighbours’ lands?”India was not the highest extractor of groundwater in the 1960s and 70s; the Green Revolution changed that. At independence the share of groundwater in agriculture was 35 percent; today it is a startling 70 percent. Looking at water as a common pool resourcePeople tend to think of groundwater only through an agriculture or urban water supply lens. This however, is just a supply-side perspective that lacks an understanding of what the resource is, and what we need to do to ensure better use of it.We need to think of ...

Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - June 4, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Dr Himanshu Kulkarni and Uma Aslekar Tags: Asia-Pacific Development & Aid Environment Food & Agriculture Headlines Health Poverty & SDGs Water & Sanitation Source Type: news