Question

What is the need for water conservation and management ?

Hint:

To explain the need for water conservation, focus on the imbalance between a growing demand (due to population and development) and a shrinking or threatened supply (due to pollution, overuse, and climate change).

Answer 1

Water is an indispensable resource for life and development, but it is finite. The need for water conservation and management arises from several critical factors: 
\[\begin{array}{rl} 1. & \text{Growing Demand: With a rapidly increasing population, urbanization, and industrialization, the demand for water for drinking, sanitation, agriculture, and industries is rising continuously.} \\ 2. & \text{Limited Freshwater Supply: While the Earth is covered with water, only about 2.5\% of it is freshwater. Much of this is locked in glaciers and ice caps, making the available freshwater a very small fraction of the total.} \\ 3. & \text{Uneven Distribution: The availability of water is highly uneven across different regions and seasons. Some areas face floods, while others suffer from severe droughts. Proper management is needed to address this disparity.} \\ 4. & \text{Water Pollution: The quality of available water is deteriorating due to pollution from industrial effluents, agricultural runoff (pesticides, fertilizers), and untreated domestic sewage, further reducing the amount of usable water.} \\ 5. & \text{Depletion of Groundwater: Over-extraction of groundwater for agriculture and urban needs is causing a rapid decline in water tables in many regions, which is unsustainable.} \\ 6. & \text{Climate Change: Climate change is altering rainfall patterns, leading to more extreme weather events like prolonged droughts and intense floods, which makes water management even more crucial.} \\ \end{array}\]

 In summary, conserving and managing water is essential to ensure a sustainable supply of water for present and future generations, maintain ecological balance, and support continued economic and social development.