爲什麼印度到2025年可能面對缺水

Rise in contamination and dip in ground water levels has worsened the situation.

污染物的增加和地下水陷落已讓情況變得更糟。

Kolhapur (Maharashtra), Delhi: Five years ago, when Ramakant Desai, 55, hired a drilling rig to sink a borewell to irrigate his maize fields, he struck water at 200 ft. Today, the rig he hires must drill more than four times as deep to 900 ft.

戈爾哈布爾 (馬哈拉施特拉邦)，德里：五年前，瑞馬肯·德塞(55歲)僱了一個鑽工打出自流井好灌溉他的玉米田，他在200英尺深取水。今天，他的鑽架必須鑽到超過四倍深到900英尺。

This is a common story in Desai’s village of Gargoti in the southern Maharashtra district of Kolhapur, as it is 682 km to the north in Jalgaon district’s Bhusaval, where Rajendra Nad, 52, narrates a similar story, complicated by fertiliser overuse. “Overuse of fertilisers has contaminated our groundwater,” said Nad, who farms millet, sorghum and groundnut.

這是在馬哈拉施特拉邦南部－戈爾哈布爾縣－德塞的戈高地村的一個平常情況，在距其以北的682公里處的賈爾岡縣的布薩瓦爾，拉金得拉·奈得(52歲)講述了已被化肥過度使用所困擾的一個類似情況。"化肥的過度使用已經污染我們的地下水，" 種植小米、高粱和花生的奈得說道。

In a country where 74% of farmland is not irrigated and water shortages are growing–this report by EA Water, a water consultancy, warns India will become “water scarce” by 2025–depleting groundwater levels add to an ongoing farm crisis. In recognition of groundwater declines, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said his government would spend Rs 6,000 crore on “groundwater management”, but the details are unclear.

在一個74%的農田沒有灌溉的國家中，水源短缺正在成形－這份報告出自EA water－一家水資源的諮詢公司，警告印度到2025年將面對"缺水"：消耗地下水位加劇了正在發生的農業危機。認識到地下水的下降，財政部長阿倫·杰特利稱他的政府將花費600億盧比在地下水管理上，但是細節還不清楚。

India draws more freshwater annually compared to any other country–761 billion cubic meters per year for domestic, agricultural and industrial use, according to four-year (2011 to 2015) World Bank data. The scarcity has worsened because more than half of that water is now contaminated, mainly by industry and sewage, sparking diarrhoea, typhoid and viral hepatitis.

根據世界銀行四年 (2011-2015年)的數據，在農業和工業用途上，印度與其他國家相比每年抽取更多的地下水：國內每年7610億立方米。缺水情況已惡化因爲超過一半的水受到污染，主要由工業廢水污染，引發腹瀉、傷寒和病毒性肝炎。

With larger population, China uses 28% less freshwater than India

與較多的人口相比，中國抽的淡水比印度少28%。

A common argument is that India’s growing water use in inevitable. But China, with 1.4 billion people, uses 554.1 billion cubic meters of freshwater every year–that’s 28% less than India.

一個普遍的論點是，印度不斷增加的用水是不可避免的。但是中國有14億人口，每年使用5541億立方米的淡水，也比印度少28%。

The consequence: India’s annual per capita availability of water fell 74% over 69 years, from 6,042 cubic metres in 1947 to 1,545 cubic metres in 2011, according to this water policy report of the Delhi government.

後果：根據新德里的這份用水政策報告，印度的每年人均用水可得69年來下降74%，從1947年的6042立方米到2011年的1545立方米。

“The political economy of subsidies has resulted in unsustainable extraction and use of groundwater and eventually to its depletion,” said Ayan Biswas, a water-management expert. Farmers using cheap, subsidised electricity are encouraged to draw groundwater without restriction, he said.

"政策經濟的補貼導致了不可持續的地下水開採和使用，最終造成枯竭，" 艾恩·畢斯瓦思，一位水資源管理專家說。農夫使用廉價、補貼電力是鼓勵沒有限制超抽地下水，他說。

Water depletion in rural India is a result of unsustainable agriculture practices, such as farms in water-scarce regions with water-hungry crops–paddy, cotton and sugarcane.

印度農村水資源枯竭是農業實踐不可持續的結果，例如在農場缺水地帶的耗水作物－水稻、棉花和甘蔗。

Groundwater levels “critical” in nine states

在九個邦的"危急"地下水位

In nine states–in south, west and central India–groundwater levels are now described as “critical”, according to this 2016 Parliament committee report on water resources. “Critical” implies a stage where 90% of groundwater has been extracted, with significant decline in recharge capability.

根據2016年議會委員會關於水資源的這份報告，在印度南部、西部和中部的九個邦，地下水位現在被標註爲"危急"。危急意指90%的地下水已被超抽的階段，再補給能力顯著下降。

As of December 2015, of 6,607 units (blocks, mandals, talukas) assessed, 1,071 in 16 states and two in Union Territories were categorised as “over-exploited”, which means 100% of groundwater has been drawn, with little chance of recharge.

自2015年12月起，6607個單位 (邦、省、街區)已評估，1071個在16個邦和2個在中央直轄區已被歸類爲過度超收，這意味着100%地下水已被抽取，幾乎沒有補給的機會。

Groundwater levels in India are now more critical than anywhere else on earth, IndiaSpend previously reported. More than half of India now faces what is called “high” to “extremely high” water stress, most across the fertile Ganga-Brahmaputra basin, as this graphic indicates.

印度的地下水位比地球其他地方更危急，印度數據網先前報導的。一半以上的印度地區面臨"高"或"極高"的用水壓力，大多數橫跨肥沃的恆河－雅魯藏布江流域，如圖所示。

Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan have the most over-exploited blocks.

泰米爾納德邦和拉賈斯坦邦有最多的過度用水區。

More than half of India’s groundwater is contaminated

印度一半以上的地下水受到污染

The other aspect of the water crisis is contamination. Surface and groundwater are laced with fluoride, nitrate, arsenic and iron.

水危機的另一方面是污染。地表水和地下水含有氫化物、硝酸鹽、砷和鐵。

As many as 650 cities and towns lie along polluted rivers, which contaminate groundwater, according to the latest report of the Central Pollution Control Board.

根據中央污染控制委員會的最新報告，多達650個城市和鄉村沿着污染的河流，污染地下水。

“Poor environmental management systems” in industries lead to toxic and organic waste discharges of water, the report said. This has resulted in “pollution of surface and groundwater sources from which water is drawn for irrigation and domestic use”.

該報告中說，在工業的"惡劣的環境管理系統"導致有毒和有機的水排出。這造成了用來灌溉和家庭用水抽取的地表和地下水源的污染。

More than half of India’s groundwater is contaminated, according to a Central Groundwater Board report. As many as 276 districts have high levels of fluoride, 387 districts report nitrates above safe levels, and 86 districts have high levels of arsenic, said the report.

根據一份中央地下水委員會的報告，超過一半的印度地下水是受到污染的。多達276個縣有高濃度的氫化物，387個縣報告硝酸鹽高於安全水平，而86個縣有高濃度的砷，報告中說。

On average, contaminated water caused 10 million cases of diarrhoea, 740,000 cases of typhoid and 150,000 viral-hepatitis cases between 2007 and 2011, the groundwater board said.

平均來說，在2007年和2011年間，污染水造成1000萬例的腹瀉，74萬例的傷寒和15萬例的病毒性肝炎，地下水委員會寫道。

Back in Jalgaon, Nad’s village is falling back on traditional methods to fight the crisis. “We are looking at reviving the watercourse, to water pooling,” he said. “Hopefully these will provide water for drinking and crops during dry spells.”

回到賈爾岡，奈得的村莊正迴歸傳統辦法來對抗危機。"我們正在着眼於恢復水道改爲水池，" 他說。"希望這些在旱期將可提供飲用和作物的用水。"

Sandeep Pai & Prathamesh Mulye write for , a data-driven, public-interest journalism non-profit initiative. Visit the website here

桑地派和裴卡邁斯穆利爲印度數據網撰文，後者是一個數據驅動、倡議型非營利的公共利益刊物。