Can there be a commercially viable solution for the kind of water crisis faced by a nation like India?

Question

How effective can large scale afforestation be? If yes, what agencies must one approach to find a solution? To what extent can an individual involve in a programme for fighting water scarcity?
Pl do not give household tips like saving rainwater.

Answer 1

Water scarcity is a major issue; in the last 50 years global water use has tripled, and now more than 50% of all freshwater flows have been allocated for human use. So your question is a good one, and one that will require a lot of attention in the near future.

You've named two approaches:

1) Ecological approaches (afforestation, etc). These can have a significant effect in certain areas, assuming that they are well suited to forest production in the first place. Forests draw water up from deep aquifers and release it to the atmosphere through transpiration; the residence time of water in the atmosphere is pretty short so much of that will fall as rain relatively quickly. Of course, this means taking large areas out of agricultural production, which is hard expecially in areas like India with high population densities.

2) conservation: This is in fact an important step; since we cannot continue to have our consumptive water use grow it's important to start using the water we have more efficiently. So yes, saving rainwater is a good idea, especially in arid climates.

3) large scale detention projects: ie dams and reserviors. This is the classical engineering approach to water scarcity; scarcity is caused in part by the fact that we can't predict when and how much water we will recieve as rain, so reservoirs can store water from high rains (that would otherwise flow to the ocean and be lost) for times when there's little rain. They can also provide hydropower, which is a reliable and cheap source for electricity, very important in developing nations. Unfortunately the ecological costs are very high, which is why dam building has fallen into disfavor in the United States.

4) Desalinization - effective, but very expensive; not practical for developing nations at this point. This will become a necessary solution, however, as water demands are likely to continue to rise.

In terms of an individual getting involved; if you wnat to work at a global scale you'll need to get a degree that relates; Water Resources Engineering is one option if you're technically minded; Environmental Sciences if you're interested in the policy side of things. Without these your influence will likely be best applied at the local level; you can get involved with a watershed organization locally.

Personally, I have a Master's in Water Resources Engineering and am getting a Ph.D. in Environmental Science so I'm not entirely impartial in pushing these options! It's a challenging and interesting field, and there are lots of big problems that will need lots of smart creative people.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

One big solution is nationalisation of rivers, in India, and a independent constitutional authority like the CEC should lead it, and I do not agree that saving rain water is a house hold tip, if you would have studied about rain water harvesting properly you would not have made this comment, in Chennai where rainwater harvesting was made compulsory, there was a big increase in groundwater sources,even though most of the domestic houses did not have proper rain water harvesting methods, and it was only a part of rainwater was harvested from each house.
Large scale afforestation I am not very sure about this, so I am not able to comment on this.

Answer 4

Most waters can be used . I lived in Ecuador for 12 years. Most rivers are open sewers ,and 25 miles down the river they pumped the water out to water their gardens. So a lot of the fresh vegetables are contaminated. The best solution is just to cook everything. Lettuce is good fried in a litter butter and olive oil .after y fry it a little bit put a lid on it and steam it ,and add a little bacon bits. U can purify water ,first u need to strain it , then add 1 tablespoon of Clorox ,the plain, for each quart ,and allow to set 30 min. It will taste like too much Clorox ,so then bring it to a boil about 10 min should be enough to flash off most of the chlorine.. The Clorox ,not the soapy or lemon etc.

Answer 5

The population of S. Asia will soon overtake E. Asia..I don't think forrestation is the answer, but protecting current lands might be wise. Protecting community wells from industries that draw down the water table would be important. Hopefully technology for seawater will become more inexpensive and viable. Agriculture is so very important for this area...but care must be taken that it is managed so as not to pollute water supplies.

Answer 6

I don't quite understand what you mean by "commercially viable" ....if you are implying that there must be a monetary return for such an investment, it is of course possible, given land and water ... and that is on an individual basis .... you see, eventually such a project WILL be 'commercially viable' because it helps everyone ....fresh air, rainfall, moist cooler air, green growing things (easy on the eye and heart and THEREFORE the health, which means the government can cut down on medical expenses)

... however the problem is much larger in scale than that, like diverting waters from rivers that are full to reservoirs and then to the areas that need water ... the way the waters were recently diverted to a large reservoir outside Chennai and sent on to Chennai itself to end their crisis .... they were very grateful, to say the least .....

One thing that must be done is to educate the public to understand the rain cycle: plants create oxygen which creates moisture which is stored in the upper atmosphere and sent back down to the earth level as rainfall ... they really MUST be educated and then they will know what is going on .... it does not take much, people's hearts are soft and they will co-operate ....especially if they are given equipment and directions are printed up for them to refer to ...... seeds, shovels, watering cans, things for the project .... Gandhiji would be happy, you know he would!

//// then they shoud be encouraged to plant treees, even if it is 2 mango trees on a little plot of land, even in the back garden of the house... even that when multipled several thousand times will make a difference ...and they should plant things like tamarind which are used every day and can be planted here and there along a dusty village road ... and things that can be eaten like mangoes, chikoo, papaya,... custard fruits, guava ..and how about some more rice paddies which are FULL of water!!! And then some trees that are useful for lumber: the nice pines, and the others that grow so well in India .....and Avocados; My goodness, the climate is so perfect ... they are so good: delcious to eat, easy to digest, and full of beautiful oil for salads, great for babies ... and nut trees, please, why NOT? Oh, please...nuts are very veg! And hominy! You gotta grow hominy. It is so good you will wonder how you lived without it.
And all those beautiful crops: sweetcorn, and corn for the cattle ...it just goes on and on, this list of things to grow ....!!!

////they need to plant lawns .... many people do have enough money to plant and care for a lawn, and that adds to the moisture of the air ... and it adds to the beauty and value of the house ...and cools down the air surrounding it ... it keeps the children busy (they can mow the lawn and help all around!), and they can get a little pay in return for it which will give them some sense of finance - which is always nice (boys only! ....the girls make rangoli!!! - they can help with the flower garden which will make their rangoli even more beautiful) (flowers = perfume attars)

///// even a small garden of flowers and some vegetables when multiplied by several thousand families will add to the moisture in the air and then when it is moved up to hundreds of thousands it is better ..... people just need to know, and see, and then they will co-operate ..

/// in addition I have seen people de-nude the soil to avoid a growth of weeds ... but the problem is that different things could be planted in their place ... sometimes a bare plot is looked upon as desirable, when in fact it is hot and dry and robs the atmosphere of whatever moisture there is present in an area ... so it is possible to plant beautiful species of palms (a fan palm, for example is absolutely beautiful), or some species of ornamental grasses or plants that provide food for birds ...people will do that: Indians love India ... isn't that true? Then half your battle is won right there!

//// in addition, there are grasses that are wonderful for the cattle (pampas grass which is tall, green and beautiful and can be cut twice in one season and therefore gives two crops) that serve a double purpose: green for the ground and food for the cattle

/// the soil needs to stay organic because organic soil hold the water ... so, education there is necessary ....

/////also, another crop that serves two purposes is green soy beans, called 'edamame' in Japan and 'Mao Dou' in China ... they are far better than the standard little yellow bean since they are delicious to eat, easy to digest, are prolific growers, cook quickly which is really nice if all is available in a small village is a little kerosene stove, and .... they are very high in protein .... they make a wonderful ground cover, and in addition grow on low bushes which do not need staking up to keep them from falling on the ground, and that is good in an area where stakes are not all that available .... and in addition, after they are harvested, the cattle may eat the bushes ....(there is one variety that is good just for cattle) ...(as you must know, ground covers keep the soil moist) ... so, green soybeans are a superior choice because they are not only sensational for a nation of vegetarians, but they add moisture to the air which is what we are after, is that not so?.


///And, then of course, there is always a good project drilling wells for water for little villages... it may be a temporary set up, but it is better than not having water for your chai and rice ...(it is such a pretty sight to see the village children with their water jugs, filling them up for water to take home, and it makes you cry too ... because it is so sad, and you are so happy to see that they have something ..).


///Personally I do not think it a good idea to approach any 'agencies' if you mean government .... unless you KNOW that the politicians in the area a gung-ho on getting water for the people in their
area ; it takes too long to change their hearts and to get the ball rolling.............I think it QUICKEST AND BEST that some people of means get together and make plans and put them through for giving water to the people ....... and New Delhi is no exception, is it?

Now, for the rivers... the beautiful polluted rivers ... that is next ..


Loka Samastha
Sukino Bhavantu

Loka Samastha
Sukino Bhavantu

Loka Samastha
Sukino Bhavantu

Om, Shanti, Shanti, Shantihi


p.s. I hope and pray that some people of means will see this and agree with me that the situation is critical .... I had coffee this morning .... but, somewhere, someone has not even enough water for bath OR chai ... and I hope and pray that this information is useful and will help everyone....

Peace and Love
LP Mahadevan

Answer 7

complicated aspect. seek over google or bing. this can assist!