Conservation and prudent management are the key to the preservation of the environment : The case of water resources, and the Indian situation

Economic development requires the use of natural resources. Increasing population makes increasing demand on such resources thereby leading to the degradation of the environment. Excessive use of resources can lead to a situation where declining supply can no longer satisfy the demand. Hence, without conservation and prudent management of resources the environment cannot be preserved. This paper examines the case of water supply, which is the fundamental requirement for the sustenance of all life forms on earth. The human population is expected to double to at least 8 billion in the next 30 years and the worldwide demand for water is estimated to increase by a staggering 650 percent. However, the total supply of fresh water in the world is limited as 99 percent of the earth’s water is either saline or frozen. Of the remaining 1 percent most is ground water and soil moisture. The net availability of fresh water for human consumption is one‐hundredth of 1 percent. And not even all of that can be used. Hence, how can the continued availability of fresh water resources to satisfy the growing need of the rising population be satisfied? Conservation of fresh water can be achieved to some extent by reducing the demand by imposing a price/or raising the prevailing price on the use of water. However, while conservation can stretch the supply by reducing demand, for ensuring the long‐run adequacy of supply, it is necessary to apply a prudent environmental management policy which will prevent the destruction of forests and natural resources and apply a policy of active regeneration of forests. While the supplies of water make the forests survive and grow, preservation of forests allows water resources to survive. Forests cannot be preserved unless the destruction of hundreds and thousands of wetlands to make way for human settlement and industrial development is prevented and property rights of landless people are recognised. Thus for a prudent and efficient management of water resources to be effective, the state must adopt the ecologically sustainable approach to development. This paper examines these issues.