Facts about Seas and Oceans:

• Oceans cover 70 percent of the Earth’s surface and more than 90 percent of the planet’s living bio mass is found in it.

• Three-quarters of the world’s mega cities are by the side the sea. Forty percent of the world’s population lives within 60 kilometers of a coast, which by 2010 will increase to 80 percent within 100 km.

• Plastic waste kills up to 1 million sea birds, 100,000 sea mammals and countless fish each year.

• An estimated 21 million barrels of oil run into the oceans each year from street run-off, effluent from factories, and from ships flushing their tanks.

• Less than one half a percent of marine habitats are protected compared with11.5 percent of global land area.

Save the Seas and Oceans and thus save the Mankind

Our agenda is to give a human face to environmental issues: empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development; promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitude towards environmental issues; and advocate partnership which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future, thus World Environment Day is a people’s event with global participation.

      ....Editor....

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Water: Natural resource of human life

Many cities in developing countries are growing so fast that they cannot manage the water supply. In developing countries including India, as much as 70 percent of the water pumped in to cities is lost before it can reach consumer, leaking out of faulty water mains, pipes, and faucets (Warner, D., 1998). According to National Commission for Integrated Water Resource Development Plan, it is estimated that the volume of India’s annual usable water resources is approximately 1,086 km3. The current demand is around 600 km3 and by 2050 the demand estimated to be 1180 km3! Utilization of piped water and water requirement found to be more in densely population areas and Industrialized areas, leaving agricultural land which mostly depends on rain and river water. Demand and supply of water in four Metros is given in Table 1.

Table 1 explains water situation in selected mega cities in India. But as 80 percent population lives in RURAL areas, many questions would arise that How to manage water for India’s Population? What would be their requirement? And where is the source?

It was found that 66 percent of water resources from the rivers Ganga- Brahmaputra system accounts for 33 percent of Indian area. The rest has to depend on rivers, which flow in monsoon season and dry during other times. Scanty rains and dry rivers will add up the problem of water scarcity Experts suggests that: water management can be done by (1) Linking and preserving large water sources (Ganga-Cauvery link),(2) Storing ground water and trapping rain water (watershed management, drip irrigation etc), (3) Reducing consumption of water (counseling and education of water management) and many more. Save water-save life.

Table.1 : Water demand and supply in Mega Cities in India

• *MLD: Million liters per day  

•   MGD: Million Gallons per day

Reference: 
Amrith Lal: “How Scary is the water Scare?” Sunday Times of India, Mumbai June 13,2004 pp 6.

Warner, D: “Drinking Water supply and environmental sanitation for health”, Presented at the International Conference of Water and Sustainable Development, Paris, 1998 pp 10

........ Editor......