New Delhi: There are three kinds of water — blue water, which is stored in rivers, lakes and other freshwater sources, grey water, which is treated wastewater, and the lesser-known green water, which is stored underground and is soil moisture for forests.
This is introduced in Arunabha Ghosh, Parameswaran Iyer, and Richard Damania’s new book titled Water, Nature, Progress: Solutions for a New India. Launched in New Delhi on World Water Day, the book received a warm welcome from some of the city’s biggest economists, policymakers and water scientists at the India International Centre.
“The collective wisdom on water in this room could have added a whole new dimension to the messages in the book,” joked Iyer, executive director of the World Bank Group.
Published by Harper Collins India, the book was written by a trio of economists and policymakers: Iyer, Richard Damania from the World Bank, and Arunabha Ghosh, CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). The three authors were joined by a coterie of experts, including Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs Anuradha Thakur and Anantha Nageshwaran, Chief Economic Advisor for the Government of India.
Unlike most book launches, the affair on 22 March had a late climax — the keynote speaker, PK Mishra, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, arrived towards the end of the night to formally launch the book. He was delayed by an urgent Cabinet meeting, and began his speech by profusely apologising to the still-packed conference hall.
Mishra thanked the authors for writing such a timely piece by combining the knowledge of their respective disciplines.
“Water policy has suffered from disciplinary silos. Economists, environmentalists, engineers, agriculturalists all need integration and need to work together for productive policy making. This book is a huge contributor in bridging that gap between disciplines,” he said.
Mishra also referenced the significance of water as a resource in Indian history and culture, from verses in the Rig Veda to the mythical Saraswati river, to ancient Indian step-wells and borewells that were the earliest examples of water conservation. He emphasised how the book was a continuation of that tradition.
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What does the book say?
The panel discussion that preceded the book launch, moderated by environmental journalist Jayashree Nandi of the Hindustan Times, focused on the book’s multidisciplinary approach. From water use in agriculture to wastewater treatment in urban areas to even groundwater management and the introduction of concepts such as “green water”, the trio were effective in capturing the country’s current water scenario.
“India has around 18 per cent of the world’s population, yet it has only about 4 per cent of freshwater resources,” said Iyer, while introducing the book.
“In our book, we decided to think of our water resource parity not as a challenge, but an opportunity,” he added.
One of the buzzwords of the evening was “green water”, a concept initially developed by Damania and built upon in this book. Green water essentially means the stocks of water that are drawn underground after rainfall, and are maintained as soil moisture. According to Damania, these hidden reservoirs of water are responsible for 75 per cent of global food production, yet is neglected as a resource by most policymakers.
The book also provides policy recommendations for sustainable water usage for every sector, including industries, government institutions, and even individual consumers.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)