Have we ever imagined a life without water? Will there be any single that we can call as ‘living thing’? The most special creature of God- water is a like a moving mercy that flows within and around us and yet we neglected it. Vast beneficial functions of water are derived from the central role of it due to inner structure of water molecule. Falkenmark & Lindh (1975) have briefly describe water through two hydrogen atoms that are fastened to a common oxygen atom in such a way which makes water molecule has a surplus positive electric charge at one end and a predominantly negative charge at the other. Because of it, water molecules tend to join together at low temperatures, the positive end of one molecule attracting the negative end of its neighbors. These hydrogen bonds make the water as extraordinary complex as if a polymer. It is a common science knowledge about how water serves man and nature. Just name the any percentage or figure that resembles water function and whatever change may takes place if the number shift- everyone will seems to be know-enough about it. Then why must happens such a riot like water crisis when human ‘know’ well about water?

The story of half glass is vey interesting when talking about water crisis. While optimist describing the glass as half-full, the pessimist think of it as half glass is empty. From the point of view of environmental attorney, half of the water resources are gone, and the other half is polluted- A conceptualized of water crisis. The term of water crisis is actually used by UN to explain the relationship between world’s water resources and human demand. Rajindar Singh wrote a letter to the editor of Membrane Science journal in 2008 reminding that water crisis is going to be the greatest problem facing humanity in 21st century. According to UN, 1.2 billion people currently do not have access to clean drinking water and half of world’s population lack adequate water purification. It is very surprising when someone or organization comes out with a statement saying water crisis does not happen. It’s a good humor though when organization of Food and Agriculture claimed such statement without having a glance at a five-year old kid dying for a drop of water next to them.
We have to agree on a fact that our earth is a closed system and everything in it is very much related to one another. Numbers of causes contributing to water crisis are pretty similar with factors of other environmental problems. Most important reason of water scarcity is the resources of our water are being polluted with industries, agricultures and other human activities. The situation get worsen when water pollution is coupled with others factors like degradation of groundwater quality by naturally occurring arsenic, sea level rise by global warming, mismanagement of water resources and overpopulation. Look real carefully, we are draining off the rivers and soon the land will die because of thirst.
World Tour of Water Crisis
Postel (1992) explained that nearly 40 percent of the world’s people live in river basins shared by more than two countries. India and Bangladesh haggle over the Ganges River, Mexico and United States over the Colorado, Czechoslovakia and Hungary over the Danube and Thailand and Vietnam over the Mekong. In Africa alone contains 57 river and lake basins shared by at least two nations. Looking at this situation, we should be able to imagine the worst if those big rivers were to dry. In water-stressed country like India, Australia, China, South East Asia, Northern Africa and North East Africa the situation is especially acute.
Middle East water crisis is likely a legend to us. Postel (1992) again has briefly elaborated on the issue. Middle East is one of the highest population growth rates in the world and they are very dependently relying on irrigation for their agricultural productivity. Middle East countries have much at stake when it comes to distributing the region’s supplies. Over next decade, water issues in the region’s three major basins- the Jordan, the Nile, and the Tigris-Euphrates will foster either an unprecedented degree of cooperation or a combustible level of conflict. Israel, Jordan and occupied West Bank share the waters of Jordan River basin. Israel’s annual water use already exceeds its renewable supply by more than 15 percent. With the projected influx of up to 1 million Soviet Jews over the next decade, its yearly water deficit will worsen so greatly. Jordan’s water use, less than half of Israel’s per capita basis is also growing near to the supply limits with its expanding population of 3.4 percent annually. The old issue in Middle East involves also Ethiopia, Sudan and Syria and it needs a book specially entailing the problem. Conflicts, arguments and fights keep on going until today and it seems like the end dot over the matter is almost unreachable.
Ann-Christin Sjondler Holland in her book of The Water Business has shared many experiences as she travelling extensively in Latin America and Europe. One of most interesting part is problem of rural water supply in Kenya. The major global companies are mainly interested in establishing themselves in cities, where populations are financially secured. Since it is not profitable to install water in the countryside, villagers of Kampi ya Moto in Kenya are unlikely to make their acquaintance. Recalled of one respondent statement on water scarcity they are facing, she said that “To be without water is a catastrophe during the dry season. There are people who have live without water for two or more days and neighboring farmers are forced to rely on the rains.” While a report by UN-Habitat tells horror stories about the struggle to get water: people fighting for their pitiful quota of water pump where access is allowed for only few hours a day, issues of corruption have been spread. Ministries and public authorities tend not to bother to pay for water for instance. Such problem is facing by Kenya alone in all of Africa regions.
There are some more examples of water crisis in this world tour. In India, groundwater from aquifers is being pumped at nearly twice the rate of aquifer recharge from rainfall, while both demand for water and the country’s population is expected to increase at least 50 percent by 2050 and 60 million people in Bangladesh have been affected by arsenic in drinking well water (Singh, 2008). For case in Malaysia, we had a global experience of 1998 El Nino has cause a long drought. Lack of rainfall in catchment areas especially in Selangor has resulted 2 dams that supply water to KL and surrounding regions to almost critical level and this affected 1.8 million residents (Aini et al., 2001).
Looking at situation of water crisis worldwide today, the impacts can be summarized as limiting factors on economic and social development (as water is used in manufacturing goods, food processing, power generation and religious ritual). Besides, it will promote human displacement at unprecedented scale.
Rich Water VS Poor Water
Taking back the example of Kenya, we can separate two groups of people in a settlement according to their ability to afford clean water. Rich people tend to have safe water consumption and sometimes they are special enough to get the water for free for many years. In contrast, poor people whom of course cant afford to pay for the bills of water treatment and so forth for a good water quality, they have to be satisfied with very little and scarce water that they have. To travel kilometers away just to get 20L of water is good enough compare to others who are craving to death for it.
Water War
As world population keeps expanding, climate change, temperature rise, disease spread, water will become even more essential to life. In fact at one time, it will be a rare thing to hear a family is having more than enough of clean water. In 2000, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan warned us that water could harbor the seed of violent conflict. Later the opinion is split on the likelihood of water war. For example in Middle East that has great potential to happen a war in future. We may not like the idea but it is possible that one day people will kill each other for the sake of a glass of water.
Water Ethic - A Solution?
The emerging technologies of today has proposed some solutions to water crisis namely Water recycling (Asano, 2006); desalination (Custodio, 2006); pricing, markets and regulation (Postel, 1992); efficient irrigation (Colombi, 2009) and many more. The question is, why so much of modern water management gone awry? It is a simple answer then- because we are trying to meet insatiable demands by continuously expending a supply that has limits, both ecological and economic. Technologies, equipments and instruments are all dead things that need hands to manage them. It is our hands, the human hands that are going to either screw up the strategies or success them. There is something less tangible that we have overlooked at- the values of water and attitude of human. Some values must be exerted on the hands and not meaninglessly be put on the technologies and instruments. The so called value is when we are doing it. If the values are printed on the equipments, sign board, papers and so forth, then it should be called as decoration. We should have learned from water crisis that managing water as if it were separate and part from us is like cutting off the flow of blood to one part of the body in order to send it to another- the living entity suffers, and, depending on where the diversion takes place, may not survive.
Water ethic is part of a sustainable development code that entails a wholly new approach to economic progress, one that harmonizes economic goals and ecological criteria (Pastel, 1992). We are in need of water ethic approach as a guide to right conduct in the face of complex decisions about natural systems we do not and cannot fully understand. This method will require a reordering of economic goals and priorities. Practically, it is actually to find a dot where everybody in the world will agree to make a turning point. However, if it were to be happened that we manage to come out with a mutual benefits, enforcement must be carried out as soon as it happens. To start a good action, people tends to get forced doing it first (since they hate to separate from their devilish wants) and it is where comes the significant of some enforcement.
A society guided by a water ethic would have a set of indicators to monitor these trends, and would make course corrections to restore ecosystems to health before irreparable harm is done. We may see glimmerings of such ethic at work where scientists are trying to undo the damage caused by unsustainable economic development, as in south Florida’s Everglades, California’s Kesterson wetlands, and central Asia’s Aral Sea basin. Where an ethic operating at the outset, different economic choices would have been made, and the degree of violence done to nature greatly lessened (Pastel, 1992).
The fact that the earth is a closed system should be understood by humankind. Water creation is very much dynamic that it accepted almost everything given to it- good and bad. However at the end we will be forced to pay back on how we behave with water. We have had enough of conferences, meetings, exhibitions, organizations and many more but water crisis is still worrying. Perhaps the best practical step to take is to start with ourselves. Think twice before taking any decisions. Learn to be more grateful and appreciate water as our member of nature. Whatever we have earned today comes mostly from water. Even the history has recorded that civilization begins and blooms with water. If we are absent minded enough to ignore about water crisis, take a second glance- we are heading to end of the ages civilization.
REFERENCES
1. Aini, M.S., Fakhru’l-Razi, A. Siew Siuan, K. Water Crisis Management: Satisfaction Level, Effect and Coping of the Consumers. Water Resources Management 15:31-39, 2001. Kluwer Academic Publisher
2. Asano, T. 2006. Water recycling. Taylor & Francis plc. London.
3. Colombi, S.B. 2009. The World Water Crisis: The Failures of Resource Management. I.B. Tauris. New York
4. Custodio, E. 2006. The Potential for Desalination Technologies in Meeting the Water Crisis. Taylor & Francis plc. London.
5. Holland, A.C.S. 2005. The Water Business: Coorporation Versus People. SIRD. Kuala Lumpur.
6. Postel, S. 1992. The Last Oasis. Earthscan Publication Ltd.
7. Singh, J. 2008. Letter to Editor. Journal of Membrane Science 313(2008) 353-354. Science Direct.