We could face water migration

Part of Hotel Verde which has elements of environment conservation. Photo by Nafha Maani 

One of the most significant days on my personal calendar is Earth Day. This day that is celebrated on April 22 every year by the United Nations, gives each citizen of the world a chance to reflect on his or her contributions in preserving and maintaining mother earth.
Unfortunately, it is not all good news, global warming is not improving, world resources are rapidly fading, and though the celebration target for this year’s earth day was to plant one billion trees or seeds, a fact remains that world forests and natural reserves are disappearing. This gives their valuable and extremely needed presence to mushrooming towns or economically viable projects that at the end of the day will make a group of people even wealthier than before.

One other precious world resource is water. This source of life that is also becoming rare in some parts of the world is facing the threat of becoming even more scarce if we do not wake up in time to preserve it.
In countries where water supply is subsidised by the government –such as the Arab Gulf states- water tabs keep running endlessly, and the increasing number of househelps that has no clue how much the production of one litre of water costs to reach these tabs, does not help the matter.
On the other side of the Gulf, more specifically in Iran, the story is different. In some of its parts and in middle of the desert, wonderful oasis have sprung up, with greenery and vegetation that blows one’s mind away. The existence of such oasis is a man-made miracle. Of course this is all about water and how it reaches these remote parts of the desert. This is a story of survival and a true lesson in endurance, stamina and determination in availing this most precious commodity to a community that will plan its livelihood around its existence.

In one such village, they had to dig underground canals from the water source for about 70 kilometres. Here, I have to point out that this canal has not been dug using any kind of machines, human muscles and basic knowledge of underground water management were the only means to perform this arduous task. Once in the village, water is equally and sufficiently distributed among all. Farmers, households and even the local mill get their fair share that they use each drop of it very sparingly. Unfortunately with the climate change, the sources are running out of water and no one knows how much longer the supply will continue. And because we have seen all sorts of migration, in the near future we might witness water migration, people who would leave their dry wells to find refuge in other places.

Earth Day should not be one day on the calendar when we remember to switch off the lights for an hour or two. It should be a daily routine that starts with good practices at home by means of economically using the available energy resources and recycling ,and it extends to governments that should feel the weight of its responsibility to preserve and protect the earth’s resources for the future generations.