Nurturing Water Systems

Water, essential for all life, is becoming increasingly scarce. The vitality of this resource is underscored by ‘Water Scarcity’ being classified as a top global risk since 2012. As per the WHO, 2.2 billion people lack safe drinking water, and 4.2 billion lack proper sanitation. By 2025, the UN predicts that 1.8 billion people will face absolute water scarcity, affecting two-thirds of the world's population.

Urbanisation, a major cause of water scarcity

In recent years, rapid urbanisation, leading to increased demand from cities, has escalated water scarcity. The situation is further aggravated by factors like Poor Water Resource Management; Climate Extremities; Pollution, and Indiscriminate Usage of Resources. India too is facing a severe and persistent water crisis, as a result of which ‘Ensuring Water Security’ forms a core focus through its G20 Presidency and the Urban 20 (U20) Engagement Group tasked with providing a roadmap for achieving global agendas of development.

Challenges and Solutions for Conserving Water

According to the World Bank, India has 18 percent of the world’s population but only 4 percent of fresh water resources, making it among the most water-stressed countries in the world. More than 25 percent of cities in India are water-stressed, which is likely to affect 100 million residents. This problem is further intensified by India's reliance on an increasingly unpredictable monsoon, leading to frequent and severe floods and droughts to meet its water needs. 

Furthermore, groundwater depletion due to overdrawl is being intensified by reports of contamination.In an attempt to conserve water and effectively manage their limited resources, some cities have implemented rainwater harvesting, but the result has been far from adequate. Some other approaches include using treated water for non-portable purposes and focusing on rejuvenating water bodies (lakes and ponds) to augment groundwater levels. 

However, for effective and sustainable change, it is imperative to proliferate knowledge and know-how on Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), which is an approach where all components of the urban water cycle (water supply, used water, and storm water) are managed holistically.

In 2021, the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) and UNESCO developed a framework for evaluating the extent of IWRM implementation in Indian cities based on a set of 10 criteria categorised under three heads: the enabling environment, institutional arrangements, and management instruments. The framework has already been applied in Delhi as a pilot project. 

UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 aims to ‘Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’. Although several Indian towns have started actively putting together Climate Action Plans, setting evidence-based goals towards a sustainable future, a lot still needs to be accomplished through innovative solutions in managing urban river systems. 

Rivers: An important water resource

In the Indian ecosystem, rivers are revered as a critical and valuable natural water resource and asset of a city. Their health is therefore an absolute necessity for ensuring productive and livable cities. However, the change and development in river landscapes have seen an increasing risk of erosion, an increased likelihood of flooding, pollution, and a decline in groundwater resources, as well as reduced biodiversity. 

River cities in India are particularly at risk due to factors such as industrial waste contaminating groundwater and river resources; building on flood plains; blocked river channels and storm-water drainage; and untreated sewage.

To sustain the environment for present and future generations, the restoration and conservation of rivers need to be prioritised. Increasing water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensuring sustainable withdrawal and supply of fresh water will address water security issues. This requires collaborative action from public, private, and civil society actors for not just our own survival but also as a social responsibility towards future generations.

In the same vein, India has taken comprehensive steps in recent years to address water issues through national missions like Namami Gange under the Ministry of Jal Shakti. With cities at the forefront of the climate-induced water crisis, the AMRUT 2.0 of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is also focused on the long-term water security in the 500 AMRUT cities.

It is touted as the largest water mission in India, going beyond the provisioning of water to resource conservation and protection. The Mission has, for the first-time,mandated cities to prepare their Urban Aquifer Management Plans, thus bringing groundwater management into the city’s priorities. 

Healthy rivers can significantly improve a city's overall water security. In response to the Prime Minister's call for new thinking in river cities and under the aegis of the G20’s Urban 20 platform, NIUA, as a knowledge partner, with support from MoHUA and the Ministry of Jal Shakti, collaborated to establish DHARA (Driving Holistic Action for Urban Rivers) 2023, a platform to co-learn and discuss solutions for managing local water resources.

An annual meeting of the River Cities Alliance (RCA) members, this provides a dedicated forum for river cities across India to network, build capacities, and offer technical assistance for sustainable management of urban rivers. The alliance, launched in 2021 with just 30 cities, today boasts more than 142 members across the country.

During CoP 28 in Dubai, a historic India-led Global River Cities Alliance (GCRA) was launched, which is India’s attempt to expand on cooperative knowledge sharing to promote the exchange of positive experiences across national boundaries.NMCG and NIUA will take on the role of the Secretariat of the GRCA. 

Managing Urban River Management

NIUA, in partnership with NMCG, also developed a first-of-its-kind strategic Urban River Management Plan Framework. This has brought about a paradigm shift in how cities perceive their rivers. From piecemeal beautification interventions, the cities have started to shift to a systems approach, expanding their focus to the entire river ecosystem, waterbodies, and wetlands and their economic and socio-cultural significance.

Five river cities in India have already formulated and adopted their URMPs, and to mainstream holistic river management at scale, it is now being rolled out for 60 cities in the Ganga Basin in partnership with the World Bank.

Additionally, the project has also created and implemented one-of-a-kind and customised capacity-building programmes for decentralised wastewater management in smaller cities throughout the Ganga basin. 

Potential nature-based solutions in river cities and case studies on cutting-edge river-related techniques are deliberated upon to manage Indian urban rivers, including Groundwater Management, Flood Control, Lake and Pond Rejuvenation, and Decentralised Used-Water Management. 

Creating Water Champions

Initiatives such as ‘Jal Prahari’ organised by sarkaritel.com have been felicitating water conservators from across the country to acknowledge the water conservation efforts from all over India. Thereby, it is championing water conservation initiatives and building a ‘Jal Atmanirbhar Bharat’.

NIUA and NMCG have been organising a sponsored thesis competition on 'Re-imagining Urban Rivers' to raise student awareness and capacity for river-sensitive planning and development. It sensitises young minds, helps them think beyond the confines of their academic curriculum, and bridges the gap between academia and practice by positioning students as future change-makers by incorporating a river-sensitive approach into their works.

All these initiatives emerging in the Indian urban landscape, ranging from rejuvenating water bodies, protecting and managing groundwater, and reviving wetland ecosystems, will subsequently strengthen the interlinkages and nudge actions towards comprehensively reviving river ecosystems.

Conclusion

Today, it is our individual and collective responsibility to protect and improve the quality of our rivers and safeguard natural resources. Cities exist for their citizens, and as such, they must be at the forefront of urban transformation as active participants. As we navigate this challenging terrain, youth participation can help create an equilibrium in our ecosystem by controlling environmental degradation and resource depletion.

A world sans water scarcity, propelled on a sustainable, reliable, and nature-based model, is what we owe to our progeny. We must fulfil... to attain water sustainability. The battle is far from over, but with concerted efforts, we can build sustainable, inclusive, future-ready cities—a legacy worthy of our progeny.

(Debolina Kundu, Director (Additional charge), National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) and Ila Singh, Head of Communications, NIUA)