The bounties of nature seem endless. The rivers, the lakes and the numerous other wetlands that replenish our water sources seem eternal too. It doesn’t look like they’d ever stop providing for us.
But there’s only so much we can consume without exhausting our natural resources. Wetlands – lakes, rivers, marshes, swamps and flood plain areas – that provide for our daily water needs are disappearing rapidly, leaving millions among us in a water crisis that may soon become irreversible and engulf entire cities.
While many of us struggle with the crisis every day, many remain oblivious to its effects. However we choose to see it, water crisis is for real and here’s how it has reached its present stage in the country:
- Between 1951 and 2011, the population of India tripled from 0.4 billion to 1.2 billion.
- As the national population grew rapidly, so did the country’s food and water demands. This has exerted tremendous pressure on the nation’s natural resources such as its wetlands.
- Increased urbanization, encroachment, industrial and household pollution, tourism, overconsumption, exploitation of natural resources, lack of good governance and inefficient management have been major reasons the country’s wetlands are disappearing one by one!
- While there is a common consensus among people that water resources need to be better managed, there exists no real knowledge as to how this can be done.
The Water Tales campaign, therefore, brings to people not only expert knowledge about the exact amount of water they consume or waste on a daily basis but also provides them with tools to measure their water footprint – an important step in building awareness and responsibility among individuals.
Did you know that the water you get in your taps is directly indicative of the health of the wetlands in your city?
Every city across India is blessed with wetlands. These water bodies, so far, have been helping cities meet their water demands and support their supply chains. As wetlands help recharge our groundwater and keep our water sources secure, they ensure a regular supply of water in villages, towns and cities.
However, the rate at which we are drawing out water far exceeds the rate at which our groundwater resources can be naturally replenished.
Wasteful consumption, high levels of pollution and unchecked construction projects are currently putting so much pressure on our water bodies, that it will not be long before they completely disappear – thrusting us into the greatest water crisis of all times.
The Water Tales campaign aims to help you take small steps – at your home, school or workplace – that can play a big role in reducing the country’s overall water consumption and in saving its wetlands.
With these simple changes that you make in your life, you can control what happens to your wetlands.
Click here to see how you can become a Water Tales supporter.
Why the need for this campaign?
During the last century, about 50% of India’s wetlands have disappeared!
Your involvement today can save our wetlands from becoming extinct or turning into drains. Let us together take a few steps back and reverse the events that have led us to this crisis. Let us exercise our power, while we have it – to help bring back the country’s wetlands.
