lack of Freshwater is becoming a problem

Lack of fresh water is becoming a global issue of increasing importance. What problems does this shortage cause? What measures could be taken to overcome these problems? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words. “Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink”, quoted by Williams Wordsworth is applicable, now more than ever. From the sinking capital, Jakarta of Indonesia to the desert regions of Nambia, Water Scarcity has touched every life, especially lives of common people in the developing countries where accessibility to clean drinking water is considered a Luxury. Despite the huge advances in technology, this is a problem that has not yet been eradicated, inspite of the issue being addressed multiple times in UN Conferences. There are several reasons for the ongoing Global situation of water scarcity. The first reason is Climate change. With increasingly erratic weather, Rainfall which has always been humanity’s best bet for fresh water has become unpredictable and unreliable means of freshwater. The existing fresh water sources such as lakes and Springs are being encroached upon by developments and Factories and poisoned by effluents making them impossible to consume. The best example for this is the highly politicised case of the contamination of the freshwater in areas where the Factories often dump their undesirable by products. The slow poisoning of wells and the water table in the area by Copper posisoning, which led to numerous cases of Cancer and diseases in the area. Coming back to Jakarta, despite being the capital of Indonesia (which inspie of being surrounded by water, Ironically more than 50% of their population do not have access to clean drinking water), Jakarta sinks 25cm every year due to the borewells dug deep into the ground to extract ground water destabilising the Natural aquifer which is unable to replenish itself due to lack of rain. So why are Indonesians facing such huge scarcity of water? To address this question we must first understand a little bit of history about the place. The Western and Eastern parts of Indonesia have a steady supply of drinking water but the canals meant to segregate the Indigenous from the Dutch constructed way back in the 40’s have been conatminated due to neglect and lack of sanitation, becoming a breeding ground for several diseases with mosquitoes as carriers. The process of De-salination needs to addressed urgently so that water scarcity can be addressed, especially Climate change is the root which must be adressed so that water scarcity can be eradicated completely. Instead of coming up with temporary solutions, we must look for permanent ones. Also, the second reason is that the process of converting saline water into drinkable water is an expensive and time consuming process. This must be made Efficient and affordable so that common man can access this. The Nambian desert beetle is said to have evolved its body in such a way that it rraps the early moring fog with its shell and condenses it into water for consumption every day. When an insect with far lesser brain cells has evolved in such an astounding way, why not humans. We do have means to it. The lack of resources is not a problem. The problem is its not affecting the richer sections of the society. Perhaps when it does, we might see a change. A change for the better. Change must be made in the form of better sanitation, increased affordability and improved quality so that we achieve a better way to retain and protect our natural resources so that we can truly thrive.