Muslim Lifestyle

Not a Drop

Issue 9 Jan / Feb 2005

Water is life. We know that 70% of the physical bodies of biological life on earth are made up of water, whilst approximately two thirds of the planet is covered by it. Every cell in our body is regulated, monitored and dependent on an efficient flow of water which is essential for every process taking place within us. “We made from water every living thing,” the Qur’an states. (Al-Anbiya’ 21:30) A hadith reminds us to avoid excessive consumption and misuse of water: the Messenger of God passed by his companion Sa’ad while he was performing ablution and said “What is this extravagance, Sa’ad?” Sa’ad asked in return “Can there be extravagance in ablution?” The Prophet replied “Yes, even if you were at a flowing river.”

In the majority of the western world we are all to some degree complacent about the supply of water. It is all too easy to forget that we are in a privileged position, the signifi cance of which is far from acknowledged in today’s throwaway disposable culture. We freely run our taps for instant supply and take for granted its abundance. However, only 1% of the world’s water is actually usable to us. About 97% is salty sea water and 2% is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps, which means that we ought to be acutely aware of this most precious commodity.

Such a basic necessity in every day life should surely be a right for each and every human being but sadly, its availability in the world is uneven. With a third of the world’s population already living under water stressed countries, it is predicted that this fi gure will rise to two-thirds in less than 20 years. The world’s population is growing fast and today’s six billion is estimated to reach nearly nine billion by 2050. With a finite quantity available in the world, together with a greatly increased need for water, we cannot underestimate fears of a looming water crisis. Politicians are distracted instead by the threat of terrorism, which much of the media has also popularised. Whilst there is increased use of violence, the stark reality is that lack of water and poor sanitation already condemns millions of people to ill health and death, and sadly predictions are that it will continue to increase.

Lack of access to safe drinking water is not the only problem. Scientists at the World Water Week conference earlier this year in Stockholm said that the risk of wars being fought over water is rising because of the ignorance and complacency that were widespread in wealthier countries. “We have had oil wars,” said Professor William Mitsch. “That’s happened in our lifetime. Water wars are possible.”

“I don’t know what will shake these regions out of complacency other than the fact there will be droughts, pestilence and wars that break out over water rights,” said Mitsch, professor of natural resources at Ohio State University. One of the critical, though little publicised prelude to peace in the Middle East is water rights. Guaranteeing fair access to water is critical to any peace agreement. Experts say that a lack of agreement on how the region’s scarce resources should be divided could not only destroy any peace deal, but could actually lead to new outbreaks of war amongst the Arab states. There is also danger of conflict over water rights to the great rivers of the region: the Nile, the Tigris and the Euphrates.

A report by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) states that “Continuing on our present path will mean more conflict.” With the world’s population growing at exponential rates there was extreme pressure on water supplies to provide drinking water and food, said scientists at the Stockholm gathering. Professor Frank Rijsberman, the IWMI’s director general has estimated that $80 billion was invested each year in the water sector, but this needed to at least double.

Some international charities use practical solutions to provide safe water and effective sanitation to the world’s poorest people. Also working to influence governments’ water and sanitation policies, Water Aid is one such charity which serves the interests of vulnerable people and has attempted to overcome water shortage by introducing rainwater harvesting and wastewater recycling.

Falling rain can provide some of the cleanest naturally occurring water that is available anywhere. There is considerable scope to collect rainwater from roofs of houses when it falls, before it evaporates or becomes contaminated.

Guttering placed around the eaves of the buildings runs down into storage tanks fitted with a tap. The pipe from the guttering is able to swivel so that the first rains can be used to clean the roof without this wastewater flowing into the storage tank. The water is then safely stored right next to the house ready for use whenever needed, thus collecting as much precious rainwater as possible on the few days a year that it rains in some countries.

Warning signs for the shortage of water, whether as a result of over-exploitation or because of inadequate management strategies are already apparent and cannot be ignored. As urban populations continue to grow, there will be greater demand for water, which may be supplied at the cost of irrigation needs. In addition, pollution caused by increased human densities and irresponsible disposal of industrial wastes has also started to reduce the limits of usable water resources. At the global level there is a pre emptive need to develop a better understanding of the management of water resources and ensure the conservation and sustainable use of the world’s water. “Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink,” so goes Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s famous line which now more than ever before perhaps, seems an apt but frightening precursor to our not too distant future.