Introduction
The United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, intending to end poverty by 2030 and ensure a peaceful and prosperous existence for all. The clarion call was to ensure that “no one on the planet was left behind.” There were 17 SDGs in all, supporting major essentials of human development. However, the most fundamental Goal, (1) aimed to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere,” was the central driving force behind this aspirational vision.
It was understood that all 17 SDGs are integrated and interdependent. Achieving positive action in one would affect outcomes in others, and the aim was to achieve development that balanced social, economic, and environmental sustainability.
The most fundamental Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #1, aimed to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere,” was the central driving force behind this aspirational vision.
Goal No.1- END POVERTY
The SDGs look to end poverty in all forms and dimensions by 2030. This entails targeting vulnerable sections of society, improving accessibility to basic resources and services, and supporting those affected by conflict and climate disasters.
The world is endowed with vast water resources including lakes, rivers, and aquifers. However, this precious resource has been degraded and overutilized, leading to a water crisis. Given the SDGs, synthesizing the importance of water is key to development. Thus to realize the SDGs, it is critical to recognize the centrality of water as a resource. Water has the potential to contribute to various economic sectors such as agricultural and livestock production, energy, manufacturing and processing, tourism, health, fisheries, and trade.
Water as a resource is ubiquitous. As such, it is recognized by the adage “Water is life.”
Water is a universal component of every living being and the importance to human life. Water is a major driver of human economic and social expediency and is a leading driver of economic development. On the flip side, it is also a source of contention and conflict.
SDG #6 looks at making clean water and sanitation accessible to all. Water has a central role to play in poverty reduction and tackling inequality among other goals. Water, therefore, has an overlapping role to play in achieving the SDGs.
What is the Importance of Water in the Entire Life Cycle?
- Agriculture and Food Production. Agriculture is a major component of India’s employment and GDP and an important economic driver of economic growth. India depends on rain-fed agriculture, making it closely tied to food production. Water plays a decisive role in ending poverty in all its forms (SDG 1) since agriculture accounts for 60 percent of the labor force in India. With a large population, agriculture has the potential to attain SDG 2 to end hunger and SDG 3 for good health and well-being.
- Energy. Energy can be harnessed from either renewable or nonrenewable sources. Nonrenewable sources include petroleum, coal, and radioactive elements that require forever to replenish. Renewable energy sources include wind, sun, and water. Renewable sources have the potential for replenishment in a short period and are thus crucial elements in addressing the problem of affordability and access. Hydropower from water accounts for a major part of the total energy consumed in India. In this context, Hydropower is a major source of economic development. This in turn has a bearing on the attainment of SDG 7 and indirectly affects the attainment of the majority of the SDGs. With industrial and other economic sectors, including agriculture requiring energy, it can have a bearing on achieving SDGs 1, 3, and most of the other SDGs directly and/or indirectly.
- Access to Safe Water is perhaps one of the major issues that affect the attainment of all the SDGs in India. Almost 80 percent of all wastewater in India, most of it in rural areas, is discharged untreated directly into the available water sources or left to percolate in the water table. This compromises people’s health and leads to epidemics and waterborne diseases, which are rampant. Clean water sources guarantee healthy citizens and, therefore, help spur growth.
- Industrial Manufacturing and Processing. The rapid economic development in India has led to an expansion in the manufacturing and processing industries. Growth in these sectors has led to an increase in water demand, which is much higher than in any other sector. Principal manufacturing industries, including food products, directly or indirectly rely on water for the smooth flow of operations and activities. Energy-sector bottlenecks can affect the GDP by 2–4 percent, undermining sustainable economic growth, jobs, and investment. These in turn have a bearing on poverty reduction across the Indian landscape.
Besides all the above, water is a key element in marine life, tourism, and a host of other areas, and has a direct bearing on the economic development of India. It is, therefore, a central resource for achieving the lofty goals of sustainable development not only in India but the entire world.
On a grassroots level, some of the considerations to take this vision forward can be in the following areas:
SDG #6 looks at making clean water and sanitation accessible to all. Water has a central role to play in poverty reduction and tackling inequality among others.
Water: The Way to Poverty Reduction
Achieving water security is a prerequisite to long-term sustainable development. At the household level, water security refers to “access by all individuals at all times to sufficient safe water for a healthy and productive life.” Country-specific water security is understood to be “the availability of an acceptable quantity and quality of water for health, livelihoods, ecosystems, and production, coupled with an acceptable level of water-related risks to people, environments, and economies.”
Water security is important in achieving SDGs, and failure can lead to serious economic loss compounded over time. The time has come to reduce risks and ensure a basic supply of water for productive and other purposes. This in turn will create a firmer foundation for development.
Policy action is required to give higher priority to investments in water in ways that strongly support the most fundamental Goal (1) to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere.” Efforts to integrate water interventions into the sustainable rural development agenda are the need of the hour.
Water security is important in achieving SDGs, and failure can lead to serious economic loss compounded over time. The time has come to reduce risks and ensure a basic supply of water for productive and other purposes. This in turn will create a firmer foundation for development.
S M Sehgal Foundation: Leading the Way in Water Management in India
S M Sehgal Foundation (Sehgal Foundation) has been working since 1999 to improve the quality of life of the rural communities in India. A sustainable rural development NGO in India. S M Sehgal Foundation’s main program areas are Water Management, Agriculture Development, Local Participation and Sustainability, Transform Lives one school at a time, and Outreach for Development.
The Water Management program by S M Sehgal Foundation works with communities to harvest and store rainwater for direct use, and/or replenish groundwater by building and restoring infrastructure in villages. It supports the revival of traditional water bodies, construction of water storage infrastructure, and safe disposal of wastewater. It promotes safe drinking water for all with innovative low-cost, sustainable technologies and WASH behavior. It creates awareness about the need for water conservation and builds the capacities of local communities for better management and long-term sustainability of their water resources. The program seeks opportunities to collaborate for continuous improvement and replication of low-cost water management interventions.
Check Dam Revives Water Table
Guwada is a village in Chula panchayat, Alwar district, Rajasthan. The 350 families who live here are entirely dependent on agriculture for livelihood.
During the monsoon, a rainwater stream flows through Guwada’s Panchayati land. This Panchayati land was in the form of a rainy river with a depth of about eleven feet. In Sodawas village, the stream merges with the Sabi River. The rainwater stream flowed straight across and out of Guwada and did not benefit the villagers in any way.
In December 2020, the team under a CSR-supported partnership project, implemented by S M Sehgal Foundation, approached the members of Chula panchayat and the community of Guwada with a proposal to construct a check dam across this stream, so that the rainwater would accumulate in it and recharge the groundwater. This proposal was enthusiastically accepted by the people who understood that the depleting groundwater level was a problem for them.
The check dam construction began in December 2020 and was completed in April 2021. During the monsoon season, the villagers observed that the check dam, which was of a capacity of 33 million liters (about 5 feet in depth) filled up and emptied four times, implying that about 132 million liters of water had percolated into the ground. The three farmers whose homes are close to the check dam reported that the water level in their wells had come up by about thirty feet. The water level at a depth of about 125 feet earlier came down to about 95 feet. The villagers were enthused upon observing these results and realized this was an investment for their future. Agriculture in the area has benefited from the rise in the water table, and this has a long-term potential to address the problem of water runoff by harnessing it.
In December 2020, the team under a CSR-supported partnership project, implemented by S M Sehgal Foundation, approached the members of Chula panchayat and the community of Guwada with a proposal to construct a check dam across this stream, so that the rainwater would accumulate in it and recharge the groundwater.
FAQs
The United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 with a view to ending poverty by 2030 and ensuring a peaceful and prosperous existence for all. The clarion call was to ensure that “no one on the planet was left behind.” The most fundamental Goal, (1) aimed to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere,” was the central driving force behind this aspirational vision.
- Agriculture and Food Production
- Energy
- Health Access to Safe Water
- Industrial Manufacturing and Processing
Besides all the above, water is a key element in marine life, tourism, and a host of other areas and has a direct bearing on the economic development of India. It is, therefore, a central resource to achieving the lofty goals of sustainable development not only in India but the entire world.
Water security is important in achieving SDGs, and failure can lead to serious economic loss compounded over time. The time has come to reduce risks and ensure a basic supply of water for productive and other purposes. This in turn will create a firmer foundation for development.
Hydropower from water accounts for a major part of the total energy consumed in India. In this context, hydropower is a major source of economic development. This in turn has a bearing on the attainment of SDG 7 and indirectly affects the attainment of the majority of the SDGs. With industrial and other economic sectors, including agriculture requiring energy, it can have a bearing on achieving the SDGs 1, 3, and most of the other SDGs directly and/or indirectly.
In December 2020, the team under a CSR-supported partnership project implemented by the S M Sehgal Foundation approached the members of Chula panchayat and the community of Guwada with a proposal to construct a check dam across this stream, so that the rainwater would accumulate in it and recharge the groundwater. This proposal was enthusiastically accepted by the people who understood that the depleting groundwater level was a problem for them.
The check dam construction began in December 2020 and was completed in April 2021. During the monsoon season, the three farmers whose homes are close to the check dam reported that the water level in their wells had come up by about thirty feet. The villagers were enthused upon observing these results and realized this was an investment for their future.
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