Impact of population growth on quality of life Title of the chapter

Impact of population growth on water and quality of life (Executive summary)

Prepared for

United Nations Population Fund

T E R I Project Report No. 1999RD42

T E R I Report No. 1999RD42

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Impact of population growth on water and quality of life

© Tata Energy Research Institute 2002

Impact of population growth on water and quality of life Executive summary A suggested format for citing this report is as follows. T E R I. 2002 Impact of population growth on water and quality of life New Delhi: Tata Energy Research Institute. [T E R I Project Report No.1999RD42]

For more information about this report, please contact Project Monitoring Cell TERI

Telephone +91 11 2468 2100 or 2468 2111

Darbari Seth Block Habitat Place, Lodhi Road New Delhi – 110 003 / India

E-mail [email protected] Fax +91 11 2468 2144 or 2468 2145 Web www.teriin.org

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Executive summary

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Executive summary Rapid increases in population over the past century have aggravated the pressure on existing water resources. The quantity of water available worldwide, might not be able to meet the needs of a much larger population for much longer as pressures continue to increase. In India, too, water resources are under tremendous pressure. Revised UN projections on the per capita availability of annual renewable fresh water indicate that by 2025, India will reach the water stress benchmark, even in the low population projection scenario (PAI 1997). Uneven distribution of water throughout the country further aggravates the problem.

Objectives of the study This study undertaken by Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) with funding from the UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) seeks to understand the linkages between population and water resources. The study, carried out in two phases, has the following objectives: !

National level– macro assessment of the impact of population growth on water resources to identify critical states/districts, and,

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Village level – microanalysis of the impact of water availability and water quality on the quality of life of people, particularly women and children.

National assessment of water availability: identification of 'critical' districts The first phase of this study focused on identifying critically water-stressed areas in the country on the basis of per capita water availability. The identification of critical districts was based on the following information. !

Per capita groundwater availability at the district-level

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Density and growth of population

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Utilizable flow of surface water per unit of catchment area at the river basin level

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Ground water potential in various aquifer systems. GIS (geographical information systems) techniques were employed

extensively and several maps digitized including the AEZ (agro-ecological zones) map, the river basin map, and the aquifer map. These maps were used in

T E R I Report No 1999 RD 42

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Executive summary

sequential overlays to systematically zero in on districts that met with certain criteria; namely !

Low per capita groundwater availability

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High population density and low population density

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Located in major river basins with low utilizable flow of surface water per unit of catchment area or not located in any major river basin

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Part of aquifer systems with low ground water potential. In order to capture water-related dynamics through 'examining' inter-

linkages among natural, demographic, and socio-economic factors, the project sought to cover the following characteristics: climate (low and high rainfall); geographical setting (mountainous, coastal plains); and socio-economic parameters (different levels of 'human development'). Four districts were selected for field studies, details of which, are given in Table 1 below. Table 1 Districts selected for micro studies District

Bikaner Raichur Solan Thiruvananthapuram

State

Rajasthan Karnataka HP Kerala

River basin Population (1991) water availability

No_basin Med_low Med_low No_basin

‘000 persons 1211 2310 382 2947

Per capita Population Population Percent of growth urban groundwater density CARG availability (1991) population (1981-91) (1991) persons/sq% Cum/ yr % km 44 40 120.99 3.62 165 21 463.99 2.62 197 12 140.43 2.34 1344 34 101.66 1.27

No_ basin : indicates that the district is not located in any major river basin Med_low : indicates a river basin where water availability per '000 sq km of catchment area is 1 to 6 km

14

15

300#

90#

560

300-450

25

18

17

15.3

14

7

Irregular supply of piped water

No piped water supply scheme

Shortage of water for drinking

Distance from nearest drinking 300 m 110 m water source Time spent (minutes) in water 45 30 collection/day/household Per capita daily water 11 8.5 consumption (litres)* Key concern relating to water Lack of water for irrigation availability * Estimated for drinking and other household uses # Estimated time spent by each person in a household

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HDV

Shortage of water even for drinking