30 Indian Cities To Face Severe Water Scarcity by 2050: WWF

A report by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has revealed that 30 cities of India may face severe water scarcity by 2050. The report listed a hundred cities across the world including the 30 Indian cities that are likely to face such severe water scarcity.

The reason for this grave water risk has been accounted to the expected rise in population in the given time. WWF in a press statement mentioned that the population of these hundred cities are expected to increase dramatically to 51 percentage by 2050. The cities that are expected to face a population explosion in the near future include global hubs such as Beijing, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Mecca and Rio de Janeiro.

The thirty Indian cities that are also included in the list are:

It is prudent to prepare for such a crisis in order to prevent it or manage it better in advance.

How to prevent such a crisis?

WWF Global Water Stewardship Lead, Alexis Morgan said, “Cities needed to invest more in nature-based solutions and enhance the health of river basins, watersheds and wetlands to build resilience to water risks.”

It has also been recommended by experts that the cities need to work towards improving their aquifers and implement water harvesting techniques. In addition to this, the cities will also need to take steps to prevent water wastage by being more vigilant and proactive about leaks. All in all, it is important for cities to keep sustainable growth to the forefront while increasing urbanisation.

Role of CSR in preventing the future Water Crisis

It has been brought to attention by the UN World Water Development Report 2020, that current levels of financing are inadequate to reach universal availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation. In order to manage the initiatives to prevent water crisis in the near future, the corporates will need to deploy their CSR funds towards financing such projects.

In addition to this, the corporates will need to take up more responsibility towards rebuilding the water capacity of these cities as they consume a major chunk of water for their operations, and they tend to pollute the existing freshwater bodies by releasing the residuary pollutants and industrial waste.

Such a project will also require active participation from citizens who can work towards reducing their greenhouse emissions and use energy and water-efficient products. The cities can also create a public funding pool to encourage citizens to contribute to the management of these initiatives.

WWF’s Water Risk Filter

WWF has launched an online tool called the WWF Water Risk Filter to help cities imagine future water risks and plan a better and sustainable future facilitating climate and water resilience. The tool will provide simulations which are designed by the organisation itself, which will help the cities plan in a more effective manner even based on old data.