World Water Day is observed on March 22 every year since 1993 and turns 25 today! ‘Nature for Water’ is the theme for World Water Day 2018 and focuses on how the world can use nature-based solutions to rescue freshwater and other water challenges like floods, droughts and water pollution for sustainable management of freshwater.
The degradation of ecosystems is the primary reason for our fresh water woes. The nature itself is a green infrastructure that reserves water and makes it available for human consumption. However, with the loss of 64% to 71% natural wetlands since 1900, over 780 million people across the globe cannot access clean water and a massive 1.9 billion dwell in areas hit by water scarcity.
Soil erosion is another issue that has added to freshwater accessibility, by increasing the evaporation rates and lowering soil water storage.
Our country has already witnessed the goodness of using nature-based solutions to conserve water back in 1986 when Rajasthan was hit by worst droughts in the history of India. Several NGOs and communities had joined hands to establish water harvesting structures and redevelop the soil and forest base, which resulted in 30% increase in the forest cover, rise in groundwater levels and improvement in agricultural produce.
Creating more forests, planting more trees and increasing the soil cover can help balance the water cycle in the most natural way. Environmental engineering is the need of the hour than Civil engineering as the ‘Answer lies in the Nature!’
Here’s a short video outlining the theme for World Water Day 2018:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q6unaOiTzk
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