The water crisis in India, as also in other countries, has shown that technology and engineering is not enough anymore to deal with water woes and we need to start taking water into consideration for our economic and spatial planning, says Meike van Ginneken, Water Envoy for the Netherlands. In an interview with businessline, Ginnekin, who is in Delhi to review and take forward initiatives under the India-Netherlands Strategic Water Partnership, talks extensively about how humanity has pushed water cycle out of balance and discusses practical ways to restore it..
Not many countries have a water envoy. What does the role entail, and what brings you to India this time around?
Netherlands is a water country. We have lived and worked with water for thousands of years, like India has. And the Netherlands is willing to share its knowledge and also learn from other countries. Water envoy represents Netherlands as a water country overseas. The purpose of my visit is to take stock of the strategic water partnership that we have with India… to celebrate the success, see where we are, and what we can do in the future.
How has the India-Netherlands strategic water partnership signed in 2022 fared so far? What are you doing specifically to clean the Ganga river?
The strategic water partnership is an MoU that we signed for government-to-government cooperation. We are working on various projects including coastal protection in Kerala and the Sundarbans in West Bengal. And we also have a cooperation on national mission for clean Ganga. The cooperation is not only on (improving) the water quality of the river but is also about how we can use water management to make the city more resilient, more liveable for its residents. But we also do other things. For instance, we have financed an international NGO to work in UP (Uttar Pradesh) to reduce water use in tanneries and make sure the wastewater is less toxic.
India is going through its own water crisis with concerns that it could affect its economy. Can the Netherlands help India tackle this through the partnership or other initiatives?
The water crisis in India has many parallels. In many countries, we — humanity — have pushed the water-cycle out of balance in the past few decades. Number one is through overexploitation, often of groundwater for irrigation. Secondly, by changing land use... there is less forest, less coverage. So there is a lot of evaporation. Water doesn’t stay in the ground or in the lakes. And third is because of climate change, as it manifests itself through water.
We talk to individuals on their sufferings from climate change… because their home floods, or the harvest fails, or the rains are late and the kids go hungry. So, if climate change creates water problems, we need to see how we can make water the engine of climate adaptation. I think that is what we want to do in the partnership between India and Netherlands.
You just mentioned overuse of groundwater. What can be done to tackle the depleting groundwater in both rural and urban areas of India?
The current overuse of groundwater in India, especially northwest India, is not sustainable. In English we have a saying, never waste a good crisis. Because of the water crisis, and now that it is in the newspapers, there is growing awareness. Not just professionals, government or universities who do research, but also common people need to be aware that this is not sustainable. Water is much more on the agenda now.
What you need to do about it is complex. First of all, you need to measure what’s really happening. Where is the groundwater? How deep is it? What’s the problem? Do solutions work? Today, you can do a lot with satellite imagery. So we understand the problem much better. Now the difficult work starts. The issue of water pricing (needs to be addressed). As long as you don’t pay for it, you can just pump all day even if you don’t use it.
And it is also about planning. What do you really want? The role of the government is important in creating awareness, letting farmers know the price of water, and working with farmers on what is possible in these areas, because a lot of people depend on this for their livelihood.
What goes into making water the engine of climate adaptation, especially in the Indian context?
There are three components to that. The first is use of best technology and engineering. But we must also realise that technology and engineering are not enough anymore. We also need to protect and restore the water buffers we have in nature.
You often have long discussions about large dams. It is very controversial here. But 99 per cent of water storage is in nature — it is in wetlands, groundwater, in lakes and in rivers. And those systems are deteriorating very rapidly. In the past 30-40 years, we have lost 30 per cent of wetlands. And if we think of climate change as more water coming, intense rains, floods or drought, you need those buffers in nature. You need to make sure these wetlands can take water if it rains a lot, so your cities don’t flood, and you save water in your lakes or aquifers for dry period.
Water storage is the second component. And the most difficult one is the need to start taking water into consideration for our economic planning, for our spatial planning.
How should the government do this?
Right now, everybody can start a farm or industry wherever they want. But with more water scarcity, the government actually needs to say ‘no, you cannot put your industry there. No, you cannot grow cotton in the desert. You cannot build a new neighbourhood in a flood plain because it will flood’. And then everybody will come and say we want compensation. That broader approach — built on technology and engineering, but also restoring your water buffer and how you work on your spatial planning and economic planning through waterlands — is really what a strategic water partnership is also about.