Bhutan enjoyed, for quite some time, the privilege of having maximum per capita water availability in the world. But today, the picture has changed. As Bhutan observed the World Water Day today experts send a grim reminder that water sources in Bhutan are drying up. The Water Resources Specialist from the National Environment Commission, Gongsar Karma Chhopel, said most water sources in the country are drying up.
“We have received many reports from all quarters of Dzongkhags saying that their water yield is actually drastically going down, some of the streams which used to be perennial have actually become really seasonal and in some cases even the drinking water sources which they have been using have actually dried up, so this is the issue Bhutan presently is facing,” he said.
Water is essential for food and food productions. The demand is growing for food as population increases by the day, according to the experts. In the next three decades, the global population is predicted to reach nine billion. The demand for food is likely to double. This will put more pressure on demand for water. For example, it takes about 2500 litres of water to produce one kilogram of rice.
“One of the options to reduce the consumption of water in agriculture is going organic farming, if you look at the economics of water consumption; every half percent of organic matter that is in the soil if you increase, it conserves around 80000 litres of water per hectare,” said Dr. A. Thimmaiah, a Consultant, Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulatory Authority, BAFRA.
The other option experts point out in saving water is cutting down food waste and losses, which are common in developing countries. About 30% of food produced worldwide is lost or wasted every year due to poor storage and transportation facilities. Bhutan doesn’t have a good storage system.
“As of now, we really don’t have centrally located storage facility that we can keep for longer duration. Only the cold storage we have at this point is in Paro, where we store apples. That capacity is about 60 tonnes,” said the Director of the Department of Agriculture, Chencho Norbu.
A 50 percent reduction of food losses and waste at a global level is estimated to save over 1300 cubic kilometre of water a year. However, the immediate threat of all comes from rapid urbanization and increasing incomes– as these bring changes in daily diet system. More meat consumption means more demand for water as it takes 15,000 litres of water to produce a kilogram of beef.
Changing lifestyle and diet amid ever-growing population is now raising concerns on the sustainability of the non-renewable water resources.
Every day, on an average, a person drinks about three litres of water, and there are seven billion on earth today. And this demand for water is going to stay and grow in future, as water is essential part of our daily intake.
The theme this year is ‘Water and Food Security’.
