American states are countering the $15 billion bottled water industry with campaigns on the purity of public water supply. Why are middle class Indian consumers opting for bottled water instead of demanding that the State provide potable and pure drinking water?
A recent editorial in the New York Times wondered if Americans were one of the world's thirstiest people! It would seem so if the telltale cap of a water bottle sticking out of every other satchel is an indication, be it in New York or Denver. Over 25 billion litres of bottled water are lifted from the grocery shelves each year. That’s about $15 billion worth of bottled water sold in the US each year, and trade in bottled water is growing at 8%.
Drinking water is undoubtedly a good thing, far better than buying soft drinks or liquid candy, as nutritionists like to call it. But the editorial bemoans the obsession with bottled water when the country has some of the best public water supplies in the world. Why should the average American import a single bottle of water from Italy or France or the Fiji Islands and end up spending $1,400 annually when the same amount of tap water would cost about 49 cents?
Some local governments are protesting this trend. It has been reported that the city of San Francisco has prohibited its departments and agencies from buying bottled water, noting that the city's water is “some of the most pristine on the planet”. Salt Lake City has issued a similar decree, and New York City recently began an advertising campaign that touted its water as “clean and zero sugar”.
With billions of dollars at stake, the bottled water industry is not going to give in easily. Beverage giant Pepsi has already announced that its new bottles will carry the label – ‘The purified water originates from a public water source’. Not that this hasn't been the case thus far, says a report by the Washington-based advocacy group National Resource Defense Council, as one-fourth of all bottled water is just bottled tap water -- sometimes with additional treatment. Thanks to a campaign by Corporate Accountability International, this bottled secret has leaked out. Although the beverage industry has been on a damage control spree, consumers have been taken aback by these developments. Having gone thus far, the challenge before the campaigners is to confront the marketing muscle of the bottled water corporations and simultaneously revive confidence in public water systems around the country.
The bottled water business in India is also growing fast, but the supplies are erratic and the quality of water delivered is unreliable too. No wonder consumer preference for bottled water has spurred a billion-dollar industry during the last decade. From less than 2 million cases in the early-’90s, the current consumption of bottled water is well over 90 million cases in India and growing.
With a little over 5 billion litres of bottled water being consumed in a year, the bottled water industry has been growing at a compound growth rate of anywhere between 25-40%. This is the highest amongst the world's leading bottled water consuming countries. Industry pundits believe that the boom time for the Indian bottled water industry is to continue -- more so because the economics are sound, the bottom line flat and the government uncaring about what happens to the nation's water resources.
The phenomenal reach of bottled water, available in plenty even where taps run dry for the better part of the year, is worrisome on three counts. One, the unrestricted reach of bottled water absolves the government of its primary duty of providing potable water to its citizens. Two, the patronage of bottled water by the middle class leaves the poor at the mercy of unreliable municipal supplies. Three, overdraft of unregulated groundwater by the bottled water industry leaves the farmers high and dry.
Calls for regulating the bottled water industry have often gone unnoticed. Far from taking the bottled water industry head on, the State is instead playing to its design. Else why would the world's largest railway system have its own brand of bottled water and why would the Delhi Jal Board launch its own version of packaged water? India's enormous water resources seem to be for the taking, by the State or the private vendor!
Ironically, consumers are not aggrieved at this usurping of peoples' rights. Nor does the judiciary consider it an infringement of fundamental rights. This leaves the bottled water industry space and scope to rework its marketing strategies. Targeting the growing middle class segment, companies have re-invented their 20-litre jumbo home packs that are fitted with a spout to make them more 'consumer-friendly'. Bottled home packs have become part of household grocery bills across cities.
The question is: can consumers, who are the victims of the erratic and unreliable public water distribution system, be expected to lead the change? Unless the well-off stop buying bottled water, there will not be sufficient political pressure to rev up quality public water supply. The unquestioning consumption of bottled water reflects an abject surrender of one's fundamental right! Inadvertently, access to cheap and clean water to millions is denied too.
Away from the rights-obligation discourse, there are compelling reasons for the State to revive public water distribution systems. If calculations by the Washington-based Earth Policy Institute are any indication, it takes about 300,000 barrels of oil to manufacture the water bottles Indians use each year. Add the substantial amounts of fuel used in transporting water and the cost of recycling, and the environmental costs of bottling water are substantial.
Sudhirendar Sharma
InfoChange News & Features, October 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Ground Water Lifeline
We cannot continue to subsidize the economic and commercial use of water. There are related policies that must also be corrected to ensure adequate emphasis on water conservation, especially ground water. For example, providing free power to farmers has encouraged excessive use of pump sets and excessive drawing of ground water. If there is economic pricing of power, there would be some incentive for conserving ground water. Water conservation and management can be better served through appropriate incentives and penalties," said Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh while inaugurating the first-ever National Ground Water Congress on September 11. The Congress was organised with the main objective of developing strategies for sustainability and equitable use of ground water to mitigate water and create awareness: evaluate the role of ground water in national food and water security and promoting more crop and income per drop of water.
There were two Technical Sessions – “Awareness of Opportunities for Sustainable management of ground water through Rain Water Harvesting and Water Conservation” and “Role of different Panchayati Raj Institutes, Agricultural Universities, Rural Institutes, Women Institutes and Private Sector in Ground Water Conservation and Sustainable and Equitable use and “More Crop and Income Per Drop of Water”.
Dr Singh said, "any strategy for water conservation, management and utilization cannot be imposed on the country from here in New Delhi. We need a community‑based, region‑specific strategy that is owned by the people who have to implement it".
He added, "I sincerely believe that our Panchayati Raj institutions and our municipalities and local bodies, along with civil society organizations, have a critical and vital role to play in this regard. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme provides a unique opportunity to mobilize people for this purpose. I sincerely hope State Governments and local bodies will take an active interest in utilizing these resources for water management, conservation and utilization. A paradigm shift is also necessary in dealing with demand management. Every living being has the right to potable water, since water is life. However, for the economic use of water, especially in irrigation, construction and other sectors, we must emphasize the importance of efficient, economical and more rational use of water."
Groundwater is India’s water lifeline. The lifeline is in crisis situationand needs urgent intervention. Attention to Rainwater harvesting, watershed development, local water systems (tanks, lakes, ponds, talabs, pokhars… there are many names to it, but they are all local water systems), wetlands, forests, floodplains and rivers, all part of existing groundwater recharging systems, can help sustain India’s water lifeline. But the Local water systems, wetlands, forests,floodplains and rivers are facing systematic destruction in the name of development and at best lip service is
being paid for their conservation.
Government figures show that 85% of rural water supply comes from groundwater sources. More than half of the urban and industrial water supply comes from groundwater systems. At least two thirds of irrigated area foodgrains production comes from groundwater irrigated lands. 80% of additional irrigated areas in last two decades have come from groundwater sources. The existing groundwater recharging systems listed above help sustain the groundwater lifeline and their systematic destruction is one of the reasons for falling groundwater tables. And yet 80% of the water resources budget for the 11th Plan is going for big dams. That cannot help
sustain groundwater lifeline. In fact in many cases the big dams are reasons for the crisis. This is sure invitation for bigger trouble.
Union Water Resources Minister Prof Saifuddin Soz says, “This (ground water) resource has, however, come under stress due to itsoverexploitation”. SANDRP responded saying this is typical, incomplete and wrong analysis as it ignores the role played by existing groundwater systems and how they are getting destroyed. If the destruction of existing groundwater recharging systems is stopped, the situation would certainly be better. But all over the country they are facing destruction.
Scientists have repeatedly said that even to address the issues like the Arsenic contamination of groundwater, rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharging is the best option. But there is no policy for stopping the destruction of existing systems of groundwater recharge.
The govt has been trying to regulate the use of groundwater through a top down,
unaccountable, non participatory mechanism of Central Groundwater Authority, in existence since eleven years. But such a mechanism cannot regulate use of groundwater. The Central Authority has failed to achieve its objective. Only a bottom up mechanism starting from local community controlled units can possibly regulate use of decentralised source like groundwater.
There is a need for fundamental changes in the way water resources is approached.
There is dangerous all round complacency about groundwater must be countered by a clearly defined policy to ensure that the existing groundwater recharging systems are not destroyed. Creation of more such systems has to be the focus of our water resources development policy. Our plans and budgets needs to reflect such policy, but they clearly do not at the moment. On management front, there is a need afor legally enforceable regulatory system that has community at the focus of regulating use and management of groundwater. Our understanding of science of groundwater aquifers and use of that scientific understanding in groundwater management needs to improve. Use of water saving techniques like the System of Rice Intensification needs to be given more serious attention as it has big potential in reducing groundwater use.
There were two Technical Sessions – “Awareness of Opportunities for Sustainable management of ground water through Rain Water Harvesting and Water Conservation” and “Role of different Panchayati Raj Institutes, Agricultural Universities, Rural Institutes, Women Institutes and Private Sector in Ground Water Conservation and Sustainable and Equitable use and “More Crop and Income Per Drop of Water”.
Dr Singh said, "any strategy for water conservation, management and utilization cannot be imposed on the country from here in New Delhi. We need a community‑based, region‑specific strategy that is owned by the people who have to implement it".
He added, "I sincerely believe that our Panchayati Raj institutions and our municipalities and local bodies, along with civil society organizations, have a critical and vital role to play in this regard. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme provides a unique opportunity to mobilize people for this purpose. I sincerely hope State Governments and local bodies will take an active interest in utilizing these resources for water management, conservation and utilization. A paradigm shift is also necessary in dealing with demand management. Every living being has the right to potable water, since water is life. However, for the economic use of water, especially in irrigation, construction and other sectors, we must emphasize the importance of efficient, economical and more rational use of water."
Groundwater is India’s water lifeline. The lifeline is in crisis situationand needs urgent intervention. Attention to Rainwater harvesting, watershed development, local water systems (tanks, lakes, ponds, talabs, pokhars… there are many names to it, but they are all local water systems), wetlands, forests, floodplains and rivers, all part of existing groundwater recharging systems, can help sustain India’s water lifeline. But the Local water systems, wetlands, forests,floodplains and rivers are facing systematic destruction in the name of development and at best lip service is
being paid for their conservation.
Government figures show that 85% of rural water supply comes from groundwater sources. More than half of the urban and industrial water supply comes from groundwater systems. At least two thirds of irrigated area foodgrains production comes from groundwater irrigated lands. 80% of additional irrigated areas in last two decades have come from groundwater sources. The existing groundwater recharging systems listed above help sustain the groundwater lifeline and their systematic destruction is one of the reasons for falling groundwater tables. And yet 80% of the water resources budget for the 11th Plan is going for big dams. That cannot help
sustain groundwater lifeline. In fact in many cases the big dams are reasons for the crisis. This is sure invitation for bigger trouble.
Union Water Resources Minister Prof Saifuddin Soz says, “This (ground water) resource has, however, come under stress due to itsoverexploitation”. SANDRP responded saying this is typical, incomplete and wrong analysis as it ignores the role played by existing groundwater systems and how they are getting destroyed. If the destruction of existing groundwater recharging systems is stopped, the situation would certainly be better. But all over the country they are facing destruction.
Scientists have repeatedly said that even to address the issues like the Arsenic contamination of groundwater, rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharging is the best option. But there is no policy for stopping the destruction of existing systems of groundwater recharge.
The govt has been trying to regulate the use of groundwater through a top down,
unaccountable, non participatory mechanism of Central Groundwater Authority, in existence since eleven years. But such a mechanism cannot regulate use of groundwater. The Central Authority has failed to achieve its objective. Only a bottom up mechanism starting from local community controlled units can possibly regulate use of decentralised source like groundwater.
There is a need for fundamental changes in the way water resources is approached.
There is dangerous all round complacency about groundwater must be countered by a clearly defined policy to ensure that the existing groundwater recharging systems are not destroyed. Creation of more such systems has to be the focus of our water resources development policy. Our plans and budgets needs to reflect such policy, but they clearly do not at the moment. On management front, there is a need afor legally enforceable regulatory system that has community at the focus of regulating use and management of groundwater. Our understanding of science of groundwater aquifers and use of that scientific understanding in groundwater management needs to improve. Use of water saving techniques like the System of Rice Intensification needs to be given more serious attention as it has big potential in reducing groundwater use.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Status of inter-linking of rivers plan
Like Ram both Congress and BJP claim ownership of proposal of Interlinking of Rivers. On the status of inter-linking of rivers plan across the country, Shivraj Patil , the Home Minister said it was a difficult proposition pending since the days of K L Rao, who had mooted the proposal during the Indira Gandhi regime. Ananth Kumar of BJP objected to it, saying the plan was mooted by the Vajpayee government and the Supreme Court has sought to know its status. He was speaking in the last session of the parliament.
But the Home Minister said the Centre would have no difficulty in giving its nod to plans relating to linking of rivers within a state provided it did not affect neighbouring states.
Like ILR project both the parties support Sethusamundram ship canal project too, the difference of opinion is with regard to a technical issue of alignment.
Given the political consensus on both the projects , environmental groups seem to be living in a fool's paradise sans any teeth.
But the Home Minister said the Centre would have no difficulty in giving its nod to plans relating to linking of rivers within a state provided it did not affect neighbouring states.
Like ILR project both the parties support Sethusamundram ship canal project too, the difference of opinion is with regard to a technical issue of alignment.
Given the political consensus on both the projects , environmental groups seem to be living in a fool's paradise sans any teeth.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Water Sovereignity
Our lives are indeed a paradox! While we harness the best of globalised economy to enrich personal lives albeit materialistic, much of our thoughts have yet to be liberated from the notion of nationalism. Human lives are being shaped by the obsessive forces governing trade and markets. Our life, lifestyle and livelihood stretch beyond the limits of the nation-state! Isn't protection of sovereignity a fallacy of sorts when life is dependent on free trade of goods and services across borders? One is not arguing in favour of `give-in' to the forces of profit and desire but to articulate a position that confronts such paradoxes. !t is indeed a tough call.
As the life fluid falls prey to the forces of market via privatisation and gets traded across borders through liberal sanctions given by the State, how well are actions to protect waters within the narrow confines of blurring political boundaries justified? If survival and well-being are the mute issues justifying such position, how can regional cooperation be enhanced to confront the greatest challenges of climate change? Need it be said that strategies towards collective survival stretch beyond borders. While food sovereignity has long been compromised, are we not heading towards a world order that may (and should) value water as global commons to be protected and shared across living beings?
Is it just a wishful thinking or an idea whose time has come!
Dr Sudhirendar Sharma
As the life fluid falls prey to the forces of market via privatisation and gets traded across borders through liberal sanctions given by the State, how well are actions to protect waters within the narrow confines of blurring political boundaries justified? If survival and well-being are the mute issues justifying such position, how can regional cooperation be enhanced to confront the greatest challenges of climate change? Need it be said that strategies towards collective survival stretch beyond borders. While food sovereignity has long been compromised, are we not heading towards a world order that may (and should) value water as global commons to be protected and shared across living beings?
Is it just a wishful thinking or an idea whose time has come!
Dr Sudhirendar Sharma
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