Millions in the world don’t have access to safe drinking water
The first-ever Young Water Professionals Symposium was held in Colombo last week with a number of serious and challenging water-related issues being discussed and solutions sought.
At the inauguration of the symposium, Ms Kusum Athukorala, Chairperson, Sri Lanka Water Partnership (SLWP), enumerated the issues confronted by Sri Lanka and pointed out how development encroached water systems in Sri Lanka. She said catchment areas have been neglected and mountain slopes are being cleared for potato cultivation.
Sri Lanka is not alone in these water related problems, she noted adding that though the world is to achieve water and food security by 2050 some 800 million in the world lack safe drinking water.
Ms Athukorala said 30 – 50 per cent of food resources are wasted; 2.6 billion people lack good sanitation; two billion are undernourished; one billion people go to bed hungry and 60 per cent of ecosystem services are deteriorating.
She said to achieve the vision of water by 2050 the hope is to provide equal access to water for drinking, health and sanitation; food, healthy ecosystem and for all stakeholders to use water resources wisely and also to ensure transparency and accountability. But she cautioned that the world is very far from these ideals.
In this context, Sri Lanka too is in a critical situation with the country having a fragmented water sector which has created a series of water related problems, made worse by the climate change.
Extreme situations are created by floods and droughts, she pointed out and indicated that they affect the wellbeing of men and animals and damage the ecosystems and livelihoods.
The symposium was organized by the Sri Lanka Water Partnership (SLWP), in collaboration with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and Unilever Pureit.
Prof Mohan Munasinghe, Chairman, Munasinghe Institute for Development (MIND) made the keynote address while Dinesh Gunawardena, Minister of Water Supply and Drainage was the chief guest.
Minister Gunawardena reminiscing the past experiences spoke of how he led a protest against the setting up of the Knadalama Hotel, where it was tear gassed.
In sporadic discussions among the participants before the inauguration of the Water Symposium it emanated that some ‘older’ professionals were not so happy at the term “Young”, as some of these “old” professionals indicated that it would mean that the vast experience they carry in the area of water would be excluded and pointed out that most of the participants appeared to be not so young and also the speakers at the inauguration.
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