Clean water crisis: Nitrogen pollution to triple scarcity in river sub-basins worldwide
- February 9, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Clean water crisis: Nitrogen pollution to triple scarcity in river sub-basins worldwide
Subject: Environment
Section: Pollution
Context:
- The growing crisis of water scarcity is worsened by declining water quality across various regions, with a particular focus on nitrogen pollution in rivers.
Clean Water Scarcity: Study findings
- This issue, first recognized in 2010, is projected to continue until 2050, significantly impacting global water scarcity by potentially tripling the number of sub-basins affected.
- A study published in Nature Communications introduces “clean-water scarcity” as a concept that assesses water scarcity by considering both quantity and quality.
- It predicts that an additional 40 million square kilometres of river basin area and three billion people could face water scarcity by 2050, a situation far grimmer than previously estimated.
- This assessment highlights the role of nitrogen pollution in exacerbating water scarcity, affecting 2,000 sub-basins worldwide.
- In 2010, while 984 sub-basins were identified as water-scarce based on quantity, the inclusion of water quality issues raised this number to 2,517, expected to grow to 3,061 by 2050 in a worst-case scenario.
- The study also notes a dramatic increase in the global population living in areas of severe water scarcity when quality is considered, jumping from 45% to 80%.
- Future hotspots for clean-water scarcity include China, India, Europe, North America, and potentially Central Africa, each facing unique challenges.
- The study indicates that nitrogen pollution from human waste, agriculture, and fertilizers is significant, with sewage expected to become the dominant source due to urbanization and inadequate wastewater treatment.
- This trend is particularly noted in India and Africa, where sewage is projected to surpass agriculture as the primary pollution source in the worst-case scenario.
- The urgency of integrating water quality considerations into water management policies is underscored, with references to India’s deviation from Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in clean water and sanitation.
- The report calls for proactive measures to address water quality and pollution, highlighting the critical need to manage nitrogen pollution as part of mitigation strategies to combat the escalating issue of water scarcity.
Impact of Nitrogen Pollution:
- During precipitation, surplus nitrogen oxide compounds and sulfate oxides mix with oxygen molecules and other atmospheric components to produce acid rain.
- Nitrogen pollution often results in Eutrophication – the abnormal growth of algae on water bodies.
- Deterioration of soil microbes and acidification.
- It intensifies the greenhouse effect.
- Leads to photochemical smog.
Steps taken to control Nitrogen Pollution:
- Mandatory neem-coated urea production: Nitrogen is used most effectively when it is released from urea that has been coated with neem because it takes longer for plants to absorb.
- Soil Health Card: It informs farmers about the nutritional state of their soil and offers suggestions for the right amount of nutrients to add to improve soil health and fertility. It has caused the consumption of nitrogen in agriculture to decline.
- Bharat Stage Norms: It aims to regulate the harmful emissions from vehicles, like carbon monoxide (CO), unburnt hydrocarbons (HC), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), and Particulate matter (PM).
- The National Air Quality Index (NAQI) has been put into place, and nitrogen dioxide is one of the eight pollutants whose emission needs to be managed and tracked.
International Initiatives:
- Gothenburg Protocol: It aims to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication, and Ground-level Ozone and is a part of the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution.
- To control and reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), ammonia (NH4), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and Particulate Matter (PM) that are caused by human activities.
- International Nitrogen Initiative (INI): The goal of this global initiative is to maximize nitrogen’s advantageous contribution to the production of sustainable food. It was established in 2003 with support from the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP) and the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE). The Indian government is also involved in this project.
- Colombo Declaration on Sustainable Nitrogen Management: The declaration aims to halve nitrogen waste by
Source: DTE