Revitalization of Rivers in India Draft Policy - Isha Guru Jaggi Vasudev

Revitalization of Rivers In India
Draft Policy Recommendation
degradation often leads to declines in human well-being. This is especially true in
agrarian/rural communities and developing nations, where declines in ecosystem
services can have a rapid, direct impact on incomes and standards of living,
exacerbating poverty and increasing inequality 3 . A warming planet and changing
climate will also alter the distribution, volume, timing, and type of precipitation,
as well as modify the distribution and timing of water needs. The water supply and
storage network designed for pre-change conditions will be less suitable for the
new conditions. Meanwhile, increasing populations and warmer conditions will
increase the demand for water. Climate change will also probably alter the quality
of water, affecting the effectiveness of water supplies needed for certain purposes.
IPCC Fifth Assessment Report(AR5) 4 mentions that: “In recent decades, changes
in climate have caused impacts on natural and human systems on all continents
and across the oceans. Impacts are due to observed climate change, irrespective
of its cause, indicating the sensitivity of natural and human systems to changing
climate. Evidence of observed climate change impacts is strongest and most
comprehensive for natural systems. Some impacts on human systems have
also been attributed to climate change, with a major or minor contribution of
climate change distinguishable from other influences (Figure 1.11). Impacts on
human systems are often geographically heterogeneous because they depend
not only on changes in climate variables but also on social and economic factors.
Hence, the changes are more easily observed at local levels, while attribution can
remain difficult. [WGII SPM A-1, SPM A-3, 18.1, 18.3–18.6]. Probably improved
understanding of the risks and impacts of climate change on sensitive/fragile
ecosystems like the forests and water bodies like rivers will help to identify,
prioritize and undertake practical actions in climate change adaptation and
mitigation.
The most dominant climate drivers for water availability are precipitation,
temperature and evaporative demand (determined by net radiation at the ground,
atmospheric humidity and wind speed, and temperature). Temperature is
particularly important in snow-dominated basins and in coastal areas, the latter
due to the impact of temperature on sea level (steric sea-level rise due to thermal
expansion of water). [WGII 3.3.1] In short, the total annual river runoff over the
whole land surface is projected to increase, even though there are regions with
Annexures
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