Three-fourths of the Earth’s surface is surrounded by water, but only a handful of it accounts for freshwater that can be used in the future. Water is an imperishable resource.
Water Shortage and the Requirement of Water Protection and Management
The accessibility of water resources changes with time.
- Water shortage is created by overuse and unnecessary use and dissimilar bout to water within different social groups.
- Water resources are continuously depleted ecologically to increase watering areas for dryland farming.
- In some regions, water is adequately available to meet the requirements of the people. But, those regions still struggle with a shortage of water because of the inadequate quality of water.
The requirement to protect and manage water resources can be met by the following:
- People should protect themselves from the deadly chemicals present in the water.
- Fostering food security, preservation of life and successful activities.
- Managing the deployment of biodiversity hotspots.
Modifiable Planning of the River and unified water resources preservation
In the ancient world, water was stored by building revolutionary waterpower structures such as dams created on stone debris, pools or lakes, barricades and canals for irrigation. In modern times people have continued to make dams on rivers.
Dam
A dam is a barricade across running water, that blocks, manages or preserves the movement, often making a pool, lake or reservoir. A dam refers to the pool rather than the formation.
Utilisation of Dams
Dams are constructed
- To limit rivers and rainwater that can be used in future to irrigate agricultural land.
- For generating energy.
- Water reserves for inside and outside the country.
- Flood management
- Relaxation, inland waterway transport and fish reproduction.
Difficulties of Making Dams
- Managing and constructing dams impacts the natural movement of the water.
- Constructing dams can affect the aquatic life of marine plants and animals.
- Collapsed rivers make it impossible for water animals to wander.
- Dams are made on the floodplains to drown the continuing plants and soil, leading to their decay for a long period of time.
- The construction of large dams has led to several new environmental campaigns, such as the Narmada Bachao Andolan and the Tehri Dam Andolan.
- Several times community people had to leave their land, house and management of resources for the building of dams.
The purposes of the project happened due to their frustration with attaining the goal for which dams were constructed. Dams were built to manage floods, but these dams have caused floods. Dams have resulted in severe land degradation. Overuse of water has led to earthquake, water contamination diseases, insects and pollution.
Rainwater Harvesting
Rainwater harvesting refers to the process of storing rainwater for later use. The gathered rainwater can be preserved and used in several ways or used directly for restoration purposes. Several techniques have been used in various regions for rainwater harvesting.
- In hilly regions, people have constructed diverting channels such as guls or kuls in the Western Himalayas for cultivation.
- In Rajasthan rooftop rainwater harvesting is used to preserve drinking water.
- In the flood areas of Bengal, people created streaming channels to cultivate their fields.
- In parts of Jaisalmer cultivational fields are transformed into rain-fed pasture which helps in providing moisture to the soil.
- The tanks are portions of the excellently created rainwater system and are constructed in the houses and enclosures. It is followed in Bikaner and Phalodi and Barmer regions for preserving rainwater.
