Sunil Seth
Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.
The wars of the twenty first century will be fought over water.
Water held on this planet earth is nearly 97.60% out of which 1.87 percent is stored in the polar region. Less than one percent of water on earth is suitable for drinking. If we estimate the ratio of drinking water and total population of the world, it would be more than a billion of people all across the world surviving on one gallon of water per day. Also estimated is that around more than three billion of people would suffer water shortage by 2025. Nature based solutions explore how we can use nature to overcome the water challenges of the 21st century. Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, has become global garbage bin. When ecosystem is neglected, it becomes harder to provide everyone with water but the nature based solutions have the potential to solve many of our water challenges. “Green Infrastructure”, “Blue Infrastructure” and “Grey Infrastructure” is being thought of to use Nature for replenishing the problems being faced due to disturbances in ecosystem which in turn is resulting into various problems associated with maintaining adequate water resources. Working with nature, rather than against it, can further pave the way towards a more resources efficient, competitive and green economy. Cities are an important habitat for array of physical, economic, social, political and cultural activities. Given this importance it is significant to think carefully about the nature, operation and form of cities particularly in respect to the challenging issue of sustainability. Cities however, today stand in the face of grave danger in the form of uncurbed urbanization and climate change. As a result of this phenomenon, they are facing problems like biodiversity and natural habitat loss, air pollution exceeding safe limits and urban flooding accompanied with shortage of drinking water. Responding to these changes lies in innovative development of Green / Blue / Grey Infrastructure which not only ensures resilience but also includes environment and well-being benefits.
Green Infrastructure:- It is an approach to water management that protects, restores the natural water cycle. It holds different interpretations for different people. In an urban area it may refer to the trees in the city which provide the necessary “Green” benefits. It uses vegetation, soils and other elements and practices to restore some of the natural process as required to manage water and create healthier urban environment. Planning new forests, reconnecting rivers to floodplains and restoring wetlands will rebalance the water cycle and improve human health and livelihood. It uses the consequent loss of urban and pre-urban green spaces which could adversely affect ecosystem as well as human health and well-being and the Engineering perspective may involve, involvement of several technical approaches applied to facilitate various environmental benefits.
Blue Infrastructure:- It is associated with development / restoration of water bodies; building reservoir; using rain water harvesting techniques and reducing losses due to evaporation
Grey Infrastructure:- Concept of Grey Infrastructure includes pipes, pumps, ditches and detention ponds engineered by people to manage storm water. Safely managed waste water is an affordable and sustainable source of water, energy, nutrients and other recoverable materials too. Nature based solutions, often referred to as “Green Infrastructure”, address water related problems at landscape level and can work alongside “Grey Infrastructure”, resulting in cost savings by avoidance of construction and operation of complex water management system. It can help to reduce capital cost and in some cases be more cost effective than Gray Infrastructure when addressing water resource management. Meeting the water security challenges for the growing world will require an integrated combination of nature based Green Infrastructure and Grey Infrastructure solutions to be more cost effective and resilient. Grey Infrastructure needs to be harmonized with Green Infrastructure wherever possible.
Broadly, management associated with nature based solution for water will involve maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystem that have been damaged by human activities.
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