Mathia is a village in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, India. Traditionally, this village is divided into four parts – Dakhin Patti[1] (southern part), Purub Patti (eastern part), Pachhim Patti (western part) and Dalit settlement(ex-untouchables). All three enclaves are dominated by people from the General Categories (mainly upper caste Hindu). There are no separate Patti for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). People from the Scheduled Castes (SCs or ex-untouchables or Dalit) is settled in the western corner of Mathia. Once this enclave was the periphery of the village. Increasing expansion of the OBCs overlapped caste-wise demarcation in Mathia. They have crossed the settlement of the Dalits and connected another village. Such new settlers collectively called as Taaltirha (people who are settled near the pond) in Mathia. In development discourse, a great deal of ink has been consumed for natural resource management, sustainability and community-led development. Increasingly, institutions are expressing their concern about this. From time to time, they showcase a couple of success stories at their platform where everything seems perfect. Though, it’s not clear whether all such posts about natural resource management have changed anything in real lives. In other words, what’s going on at the ground level in Mathia is really disappointing. In this village, there were 20 functional Kuwa (wells) in the 1990s and today there is only one functional Kuwa in the entire village. In the last decade, wells disappeared and no one is bothered about them. The case paints a gloomy picture of natural resource management. Historically, the well enjoyed a respectable position in everyday village lives and several important rituals revolved around it. What went wrong? In this backdrop, three themes emerged: massive use of hand pumps, sheer lack of awareness and construction. In the last decade, the government distributed hand pumps which reduced dependency on well significantly and it lost its relevance. Unwillingly or willingly, people started ignoring. Small boys and girls started throwing waste. Initially, elderly people advised them to stop such ‘nefarious’ activities but they did not pay much attention to it. Increasing diffusion of families contributed to cover the several Kuwas. After consulting with priests, couple of families closed Kuwas because they were not using it. In a village, people renovated a well but it was full of waste with no water. No one was interested to clean from inside. Similarly, in this village, there were Talabs (ponds). Such ponds were owned by the entire village and some were owned by a couple of families. During the Kharif and Rabi seasons, influential farmers withdrew water for various crops from Talabs using diesel engines and tractors. No one complained when the water reduced. Though, it provided an opportunity to get fish free of cost. Over the last few years, uneven monsoons worsened the condition and Talabs dried up during the months of January-February. Using water resources responsibly is an issue which demands an active engagement of all households in a village. However, this seems like a distant dream at village level. With increasing need of water in agriculture and uneven rain during the monsoon season worsens the condition of water bodies. No one is bothered about sustainability and sustainable development in Mathia. Excerpt from A Portrait of Rural India by Vivek Rai [1] A Patti comprises various families from a caste and all families are from same pedigree. In Mathia, there are three different pedigrees.
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Sharon Chipo Manzvera taught in Zimbabwe in both primary in Harare, and secondary schools in Goromonzi District for 3 years. She did a Bachelors in International Studies and Criminology at Monash University in South Africa. Currently, she is part of Wallacea Editorial Board that focuses mainly on Indo-Pacific Politics and has an interest in exploring matters of concern around the globe on water security and cervical cancer issues in the Sub Saharan African Countries. Water challenges in Harare: Zimbabwe The issue of water scarcity emerged in 2007 and many were happy when cholera was eliminated in the city of Harare. Also, the period between 2007 and 2015, there was adequate water due to the change of economy and the inclusive government. As a result, water treatment and repair of the old pipes that were inserted in 1980s and 1990s took place. However, not all the old pipes were fixed as the budgeted money was also prioritized for some issues in the Municipalities of Water. As such, water issues hit back strongly the citizens of Harare in 2016. Borehole water was now preferred as the safe water source than taped water, however poverty has caused criminals to steal borehole parts during the night, thereof leaving many people resorting once again to dirty taped water. There were no UNICEF Bouzers or drums to cater for the clean water. Again, another disease emerged, though this time it was typhoid. No one knew about typhoid in Glen View 3, and many people who died of the disease were reluctant to go to the hospital. In most of the local houses in Glen View 3, majority of people survived because they presented their cases early at Central Hospital in Harare. However, the unfortunate ones lost their life because of lack of awareness, and money to go to the hospital. Finally, water issue has been neglected with the government as it is not seen to be of importance. Two months ago, my family told me that the Parirenyatwa Hospital (major hospital in Harare which all people with critical issues are referred to) had no water for 2 weeks. This caused the alert to all patients to bring their own water to the hospital. As if it is not enough, in Glen Norah hospital all pregnant women were told to bring 20 liters of water when they go to deliver their children. Therefore, water remains a major challenge in Zimbabwe. "Water Rights: Opportunity and Crisis" Lecture at School of Global Studies, Thammasat University5/8/2016 On April 26, 2016, Our Co-Founder, Dr. Ross Michael Pink presented an engaging lecture at School of Global Studies at Thamassat University in Thailand. His presentation highlighted water security and climate change issues affecting Thailand, India and China. Dr. Pink addressed dramatic challenges facing three billion people on human rights, economic development, food security and health. The presentation also addressed solutions such as cloud-seeding, desalinization and rainwater-harvesting.
Dr Ross Michael Pink's book entitled "Water Rights in South East Asia and India" is now available in stores. Water Rights in Southeast Asia and India examines in fascinating detail and description the foremost human rights issue of the twenty-first century: clean drinking water. Dynamic and vital water issues are explored in nine countries: Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Around 800 million people today have no clean water source. This number will soar to over two billion by 2050 because of pollution, surging population in the developing world, and climate change, which will accelerate drought, flooding, and disease. The global community has a historic and epic task to establish innovative and sustainable practices at both the international and village levels to safeguard the precious human right to water for billions of citizens.The book was published in November 2015 by Palgrave McMillan and it is now available online. To get access to this book, click the following link: http://bit.ly/1NrQLRc or contact us at [email protected]. Rajendra Singh of India is named the 2015 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate, for his innovative water restoration efforts, improving water security in rural India, and for showing extraordinary courage and determination in his quest to improve the living conditions for those most in need.
In the past few decades, scholars and policy experts around the world have invested significant amount of time and resources in finding solutions to water scarcity and lack of sanitation. Globally, there are 1.2 billion people who do not have access to clean water and approximately 2.5 billion people do not have access to proper sanitation. Every year, around 3.5 million children under the age of five die and 400 million school days are lost due to waterborne diseases. These figures tell us that there is an urgent need for a global policy change pertaining to water and sanitation. To read the entire article please click: http://luthfidhofier.wordpress.com/ Article Summary: Globally, 1.2 billion people have no access to clean water. The lack of clean water for the poor and marginalized in India is an extremely urgent situation. 400 million people in India are living at or below the international poverty line of $1.25 a day. Poverty, marginalization and unsafe water conditions are interconnected issues in India. The article explores these issues and relevant Supreme Court of India judgements that advance water rights.
Global Water Rights participated in the Wash and Wellbeing Symposium. Dr. Ross Michael Pink was a speaker at the symposium. For full information please follow this link: http://inweh.unu.edu/wash-wellbeing-conference/ For full access to article, please follow link: http://www.hhrjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2013/06/Pink-FINAL2.pdf
The Author is the Co-founder of Global Water Rights. He lectured in International Law at the University of Toronto and currently is a Professor in Political Science and International Relations at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Surrey, BC. The article was published by Harvard University Health and Human Rights Journal. Abstract: The article explores the intersection between child rights, water scarcity, sanitation, and the human security paradigm. The recognition of child rights has been advanced through the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international legal instruments, while water rights are increasingly affirmed in international law and through the historic July 2010 United Nations General Assembly resolution that strengthened the legal foundation for water security and human rights. Yet there remains a development gap in terms of child access to clean and secure water sources for basic human development needs. The human security paradigm provides a legal and humanitarian foundation for the extension of child rights related to water and sanitation. Introduction: Fresh water is a vital and life-sustaining resource, yet water shortages and water pollution threaten the lives of more than 1 billion people on the planet, and the number of people endangered by clean water shortages increases every year. Salt water accounts for 98% of the planet’s water. The remaining 2% is fresh water, but 50% of this amount is undrinkable due to pollution and contamination. Evaporation and pollution further diminish the available supply of fresh water every year. Compounding the global water crisis is the fact that global population, and thus consump-tion, is rising rapidly. In 1927, the global population was approximately 3 billion; it was 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1987, 6.9 billion in 2011, and is projected to reach 9.22 billion in 2075.1 Approximately 1.1 billion people have no access to clean water, including 406 million in East Asia and the Pacific; 314 million in sub-Saharan Africa; 229 million in South Asia; 38 million in the Middle East; and 49 million in Latin America. According to United Nations Development Programme data, 700 million people live in water-stressed nations and this figure will rise to 3 billion by the year 2025.2 These daunting figures present a situation of profound risk and threat to life for children living in water-scarce regions; they face particular vulnerabilities due to poverty, lack of agency, and incapacity. The aim of this article is to outline the paramount importance of water and sanitation to child health and the high relevance of the human security paradigm to child protection Original article can be found at: http://www.state.gov/e/oes/water/ica/index.htm
The National Intelligence Council’s National Intelligence Estimate is the highest level intelligence product created in collaboration with 16 U.S. intelligence agencies. Secretary Clinton commissioned this intelligence report last year to get a better sense of how global water and sanitation challenges might impact our national security interests. On March 22, 2012, the National Intelligence Council released the unclassified report, the Intelligence Community Assessment on Global Water Security. The report concludes that several regions of the world such as North Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia, will face major challenges coping with water problems. And that during the next ten years, many countries important to the United States will experience water problems that will increase the risk of instability and state failure, exacerbate regional tensions, and distract them from working with the United States on important policy objectives. These findings reinforce the view that water is not just a human health issue, not just an economic development or environmental issue, but a peace and security issue. It supports the need to engage diplomatically and to carefully coordinate our development and diplomatic efforts. For Full Report Please Follow Link: http://www.dni.gov/files/documents/Special%20Report_ICA%20Global%20Water%20Security.pdf |
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