Page 2 - Sustainable Urban Development: Necessity of Integrating Water-Energy-Food Dimensions in Developmental Policies
P. 2
Policy Brief
on water and energy resources of the nation, and WATER, ENERGY AND FOOD: KEY ISSUES
intensifying the environmental stress. It is estimated
that there is increase in demand for every key service • As per NSS 69th Round only 76.8% urban households get drinking water
such as water, transportation, sewage, etc., by five to within their premises and 37.6% households do not get sufficient drinking
sevenfold3 in cities and towns of every size and type. water for 2-3 months1 .
To support its large and growing population, India • A significant amount of water is lost on the way, mainly through leaks, before
made a significant progress in agricultural production, it reaches the end user (city dwellers), often termed as non revenue water
doubling its food grain production capacity from 108 (NRW). Planning Commission of India estimates that 40%-50% of the total
million tonnes in 1970’s to 264 million tonnes in 2013- water supply is ‘lost’ in the distribution system2. Lack of metering, leakage
144 and has reached from a stage of self sufficiency to from pipes, valves, lack of proper infrastructure maintenance, corroded pipes
surplus agricultural produce5 6. However, attaining a etc. are observed to be major reasons for high NRW in Indian cities.
level of food sufficiency has been at the cost of high
extraction of water together with higher consumption • Energy is required at every step of municipal water supply system including
of energy in agriculture coupled with many other its extraction, treatment, pumping, recycling etc. and it forms the main
issues such as soil degradation, loss of biodiversity operational cost component. Most cities spend 30%-50%3 of their water
and socio-economic disparities. It has been projected supply accounts for electricity to pump water. Generally, water supply is
that population of India will reach 1.7 billion by 2050 sourced from long distances and the length of pipeline determines the cost
and would require 450 million tonnes7 of food grains including the cost of pumping water. Thus, water loss is associated with
annually to support its population. energy loss.
However, there are challenges such as water • An average urban Indian wastes 0.34kg/capita/day of food and overall 153
scarcity and limited land to grow additional food Gkg of food waste is generated by urban India daily4. Also, approximately
required to feed the growing population. While the one-fifth5 of the food served at weddings and social gatherings gets wasted,
requirement of water for irrigation in India is expected which leads to loss of associated water and energy used to prepare it.
to grow by more than 50 percent by 20508, per capita
water availability is declining rapidly9. The country is • Total electricity consumed by kitchen appliances was 25000 Gwh/ yr in 2006
also facing the potent threat of climate change and 13 which is projected to increase to 50000 Gwh/yr in 2016 and 103,000 Gwh/ yr
states constituting almost 50% of the country’s area in 2031 indicating an increase of almost 400% in 25 years6.
have been reported to be witnessing declining trends
of rainfall10. 1 NSS Report No.556 (69th Round): Drinking water, sanitation, hygiene and housing
conditions in India. Retrieved from http://mospi.nic.in/Mospi_New/upload/nss_
3 The Planning Commission, GoI. (2012). The challenges of Urbanization rep_556_14aug14.pdf.
in India: Approach to 12th Five Year Plan. Retrieved from http://12thplan.
gov.in/12fyp_docs/17.pdf 2 Planning Commission (2011). Report of the Working Group on Urban and Industrial
Water Supply and Sanitation for the Twelfth Five-YearPlan (2012-2017). Retrieved from
4 http://foodnetindia.in/blog/2015/11/26/278/ http://planningcommission.nic.in/aboutus/committee/wrkgrp12/wr/wg_indu_sani.
5 Swaminathan, M S & Bhavni, R V (2013). Food Production and pdf
Availability. Essential Prerequisites for Sustainable Food Security. Indian 3 Ibid.
J Med Res, 138, pp. 383-391 4 B Adhikari, Barrington S, Martinez .J. (2009). Urban food waste generation : challenges
6 Ahmad, F and Haseen,S. (2012). The Performance of India’s Food
grains Production: A Pre and Post Reform Assessment. International and opportunities. International Journal Environment and Waste Management, 3 (1/2),
Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 2(3),pp.1-15. pp. 4-21.
7 Ministry of Water Resources, GoI. (2006). Report of Sub-Committee 5 http://ken-foundation-awareness2.blogspot.in/p/food-wastage.html
on More Crop and Income per Drop of Water. Retrieved from http:// 6 The World Bank (2008): Residential consumption of electricity in India
wrmin.nic.in/forms/list.aspx?lid=473 on 21 July 2016.
8 Rao Hanumantha, C H. (2002). Sustainable use of Water for Irrigation Under these scenarios, resource conservation, use
in Indian Agriculture. Economic and Political Weekly,37(18),pp. 1742- optimization and waste minimization will be the key
1745. to meet burgeoning ‘quality-resource’ requirement in
9 Central Water Commission, National Institute of Hydrology, 2008. adequate amount. Reducing the demand-supply gap
“Preliminary consolidated report on effect of climate change on water on an urgent basis is also necessary to achieve the
resources”. Ministry of Water Resources. Sustainable Development Goals, within the stipulated
10 Rathore, L S, Attri, S D and Jaiswal, A K.(2013). State level climate timeline of 2030. The United Nations’ Sustainable
change trends in India. Indian Meteorological Department, Government Development Goals (See Table 1) emphasize on
of India. making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable by
implementing integrated policies and plans for resource
use efficiency and adaptation to climate change11. An
integrated approach towards managing water, energy
and food security can have double benefits in ensuring
11 United Nations SDGs (http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/
cities/)
2 OCTOBER 2016
on water and energy resources of the nation, and WATER, ENERGY AND FOOD: KEY ISSUES
intensifying the environmental stress. It is estimated
that there is increase in demand for every key service • As per NSS 69th Round only 76.8% urban households get drinking water
such as water, transportation, sewage, etc., by five to within their premises and 37.6% households do not get sufficient drinking
sevenfold3 in cities and towns of every size and type. water for 2-3 months1 .
To support its large and growing population, India • A significant amount of water is lost on the way, mainly through leaks, before
made a significant progress in agricultural production, it reaches the end user (city dwellers), often termed as non revenue water
doubling its food grain production capacity from 108 (NRW). Planning Commission of India estimates that 40%-50% of the total
million tonnes in 1970’s to 264 million tonnes in 2013- water supply is ‘lost’ in the distribution system2. Lack of metering, leakage
144 and has reached from a stage of self sufficiency to from pipes, valves, lack of proper infrastructure maintenance, corroded pipes
surplus agricultural produce5 6. However, attaining a etc. are observed to be major reasons for high NRW in Indian cities.
level of food sufficiency has been at the cost of high
extraction of water together with higher consumption • Energy is required at every step of municipal water supply system including
of energy in agriculture coupled with many other its extraction, treatment, pumping, recycling etc. and it forms the main
issues such as soil degradation, loss of biodiversity operational cost component. Most cities spend 30%-50%3 of their water
and socio-economic disparities. It has been projected supply accounts for electricity to pump water. Generally, water supply is
that population of India will reach 1.7 billion by 2050 sourced from long distances and the length of pipeline determines the cost
and would require 450 million tonnes7 of food grains including the cost of pumping water. Thus, water loss is associated with
annually to support its population. energy loss.
However, there are challenges such as water • An average urban Indian wastes 0.34kg/capita/day of food and overall 153
scarcity and limited land to grow additional food Gkg of food waste is generated by urban India daily4. Also, approximately
required to feed the growing population. While the one-fifth5 of the food served at weddings and social gatherings gets wasted,
requirement of water for irrigation in India is expected which leads to loss of associated water and energy used to prepare it.
to grow by more than 50 percent by 20508, per capita
water availability is declining rapidly9. The country is • Total electricity consumed by kitchen appliances was 25000 Gwh/ yr in 2006
also facing the potent threat of climate change and 13 which is projected to increase to 50000 Gwh/yr in 2016 and 103,000 Gwh/ yr
states constituting almost 50% of the country’s area in 2031 indicating an increase of almost 400% in 25 years6.
have been reported to be witnessing declining trends
of rainfall10. 1 NSS Report No.556 (69th Round): Drinking water, sanitation, hygiene and housing
conditions in India. Retrieved from http://mospi.nic.in/Mospi_New/upload/nss_
3 The Planning Commission, GoI. (2012). The challenges of Urbanization rep_556_14aug14.pdf.
in India: Approach to 12th Five Year Plan. Retrieved from http://12thplan.
gov.in/12fyp_docs/17.pdf 2 Planning Commission (2011). Report of the Working Group on Urban and Industrial
Water Supply and Sanitation for the Twelfth Five-YearPlan (2012-2017). Retrieved from
4 http://foodnetindia.in/blog/2015/11/26/278/ http://planningcommission.nic.in/aboutus/committee/wrkgrp12/wr/wg_indu_sani.
5 Swaminathan, M S & Bhavni, R V (2013). Food Production and pdf
Availability. Essential Prerequisites for Sustainable Food Security. Indian 3 Ibid.
J Med Res, 138, pp. 383-391 4 B Adhikari, Barrington S, Martinez .J. (2009). Urban food waste generation : challenges
6 Ahmad, F and Haseen,S. (2012). The Performance of India’s Food
grains Production: A Pre and Post Reform Assessment. International and opportunities. International Journal Environment and Waste Management, 3 (1/2),
Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 2(3),pp.1-15. pp. 4-21.
7 Ministry of Water Resources, GoI. (2006). Report of Sub-Committee 5 http://ken-foundation-awareness2.blogspot.in/p/food-wastage.html
on More Crop and Income per Drop of Water. Retrieved from http:// 6 The World Bank (2008): Residential consumption of electricity in India
wrmin.nic.in/forms/list.aspx?lid=473 on 21 July 2016.
8 Rao Hanumantha, C H. (2002). Sustainable use of Water for Irrigation Under these scenarios, resource conservation, use
in Indian Agriculture. Economic and Political Weekly,37(18),pp. 1742- optimization and waste minimization will be the key
1745. to meet burgeoning ‘quality-resource’ requirement in
9 Central Water Commission, National Institute of Hydrology, 2008. adequate amount. Reducing the demand-supply gap
“Preliminary consolidated report on effect of climate change on water on an urgent basis is also necessary to achieve the
resources”. Ministry of Water Resources. Sustainable Development Goals, within the stipulated
10 Rathore, L S, Attri, S D and Jaiswal, A K.(2013). State level climate timeline of 2030. The United Nations’ Sustainable
change trends in India. Indian Meteorological Department, Government Development Goals (See Table 1) emphasize on
of India. making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable by
implementing integrated policies and plans for resource
use efficiency and adaptation to climate change11. An
integrated approach towards managing water, energy
and food security can have double benefits in ensuring
11 United Nations SDGs (http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/
cities/)
2 OCTOBER 2016
