Sharing water should be the motto from now on
Decisions taken at the World Water Forum in Brasilia will play a decisive role in the assessment of Agenda 2030
The Pororoca is one of nature’s most dazzling phenomena. When translated from Brazil’s indigenous Tupiguarani language, it means ‘big rumble’ and denotes the big clash of sea and fresh water that happens at the Amazon delta, most vigorously in March and April. This clash results in large tidal waves that are so forceful that they manage to temporarily reverse the natural flow of the river.
Some 2,000 km down south of the Amazon, and about the same time when the tidal waves are at their highest, more than 40,000 people will be talking about the power of water. Brasilia will host the eighth edition of the World Water Forum (WWF-8), where heads of states, civil society, and private sector, will gather to discuss the present and future of mankind’s most valuable resource.
This year’s theme is ‘Sharing Water’, and the government authorities are expected to put forth a political declaration, aimed at raising awareness about threats and opportunities associated with water resources. Deliberations here would play a decisive role in the periodic assessment of the sustainable development goals of Agenda 2030.
Brazil has established a solid institutional and legal framework for water management, based on the principle of multi-stakeholder participation. Brazil has also been conducting one of the boldest river interlinking projects in which 500 km of canals will transfer abundant waters from the São Francisco basin to small rivers and weirs in one of Brazil’s most arid areas, benefiting more than 12 million people in almost 400 municipalities.
India, too, has a large variety of water resources. An institutional framework consisting of regional river boards and rivercleansing missions has been set up, while successive central governments have made efforts to address dire needs of irrigation and mitigation of groundwater depletion. As in the case of Brazil, a lot remains to be done.
Adequate treatment of industrial wastewater, the fight against contamination of riverbeds and assistance to drought-affected areas are high priority topics for both New Delhi and Brasilia. Due to these commonalities, there is ample room for bilateral cooperation. Water is a local, regional and global common, and as such, collaboration is key to address most of its associated threats.
Today, mankind is faced with two facts: water is too powerful a force to be fought over, and a too valuable resource to be lost. To harmonise these two conflicting aspects, sharing water is perhaps the only meaningful motto for the ages to come. Ordinarily speaking, life and death are like the two ends of a candle. A candle burns at one end and then shines until it gets burnt out. Similarly, we, from birth to death, enjoy life, and suffer as well, till the time to bid adieu.
Of course, those who understand the two sides of life can face sufferings as an inevitable part of the totality of life. And, joy, for them, is nothing but the other side of suffering. As such, they take both happiness and