REVERSING THE TREND THIS WORLD WATER DAY
The UN estimates point out that by 2050, at least one in four people is likely to live in a country affected by chronic or recurring shortages of fresh water. This World Water Day (March 22nd), let us face this massive challenge head on.
Cape Town in South Africa is about to run out of water — completely.
Authorities are warning that as soon as July 9 — which has been dubbed ‘Day Zero’ — the droughtstricken city will have to cut off taps to all homes and most businesses, leaving nearly all of the city’s 4 million inhabitants without access to running water.
Cape Town’s water crisis is emblematic of a larger problem.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations (UN), 2.1 billion people live without safe drinking water at home; affecting their health, education and livelihoods. Not being able to access clean water is a denial of the basic human right of these people. The UN estimates point out that by 2050, at least one in four people is likely to live in a country affected by chronic or recurring shortages of fresh water and they would all be from developing or underdeveloped countries. The other issue is with water quality, with at least 1.8 billion people globally using a source of drinking water that is fecally contaminated according to the UN. Contaminated water along with the lack of basic sanitation are undermining efforts to end extreme poverty and disease in the developing world.
In India, we are facing both – water scarcity and poor water quality. We are sitting on the ‘water time bomb’. Two back to back drought years is all it takes to put India’s rural economy in distress. Also, pollution, lack of facilities and lack of knowledge and awareness has resulted in Indians facing a multitude of health issues.
An occasion like World Water Day is a reminder that in this uphill battle to improve access to water and ensure that the children of India drink clean and purified water, along with the government and international agencies, everyone has a potential role to play. Corporates, NGOs, citizen groups and even individuals can play significant roles in ensuring access to clean water to everyone.
As users of ground water, it is important that corporate entities strive towards minimising the impact on the environment through ensuring that they give back more water than they use. The Hindustan Unilever Foundation (HUF), set up in 2010, is a not-for-profit company that acts as a vehicle to anchor water management related community development and sustainability initiatives of Hindustan Unilever Limited. HUF operates the ‘Water for Public Good’ programme in 57 districts across India in partnership with 20 NGOs. HUF also supports several knowledge initiatives in this area. HUF has created a cumulative potential of more than 450 billion litres of water collectively with rural communities and other stakeholders through water conservation efforts, community-based governance of water resources and efficient use of water in agriculture.
R&D is another area where changes can be brought in. HUL’s brands have developed initiatives to decrease consumption of water at all stages- procurement of raw materials, manufacture and usage. Rin is one such example, where the novel ‘smart foam technology’ helps consumers do their laundry with significantly less water.
Hindustan Unilever Limited through its brands also work towards improving access to purified drinking water. Pureit currently partners with Micro Financing Institutions across India, which provided a potential access to low income consumers who could otherwise could not afford to own a water purifier. Pureit has also partnered with last mile distributors such as Dharma Life to increase its reach in rural areas by leveraging on a network of village level entrepreneurs.
In 2017, Pureit partnered with Water Health International to set up 4 pilot community water plants in Tumkur, Karnataka. These 4 plants are providing safe drinking water to low income consumers in that area.
Behavioural change is an important element in ensuring that water that is consumed is purified or boiled. HUL’s Swachh Aadat Swachh Bharat runs multiple programmes to ensure that water, sanitation and hygiene habits are adopted across India and behavioural change in water consumption is an important component.