India's Irrigation Crisis

When I was researching on the background of my February post "Period. End of Sentence." I came across articles and information about the water and irrigation crisis in India.

In that research I have learned that India has

• 15% world population, but only 4% of world’s fresh water
• 3-4 month monsoon season, June-September accounts for 75% of annual rainfall
• Per capita storage capacity of 190 cubic meters, compared to US’s 5,900 and Australia’s 4,700

India's struggle to develop infrastructure has left it ill-equipped to make use of runoff or rain capture systems.

• Dependent upon natural hydraulic cycle
• 11 river basins are declared “water stressed” or “water scarce”
• Waste contamination issues proliferate

And with India's changing climate as part of a greater trend, it is now more important than ever to develop both infrastructure and technology to meet these needs. According to the Arlington Institute, "India's water crisis is often attributed to lack of government planning, increased corporate privatization, industrial and human waste and government corruption. In addition, water scarcity in India is expected to worsen as the overall population is expected to increase to 1.6 billion by year 2050. To that end, global water scarcity is expected to become a leading cause of national political conflict in the future, and the prognosis for India is no different."

Luckily in my research I have also found the work of nonprofits that are deeply familiar with the root causes of these issues and are finding and pursuing sustainable actions to combat them. One in particular I've found is The Water Project, whose model follows spreading awareness and then acting upon it.