| News Details |
Water guidance... and the water poverty line
2022-06-23
Prof. Dr. Isam Khudair Hamza Al-Hadithi
Instructor at the College of Agriculture– University of Anbar
A member of the board of administrators of the Upper Euphrates Basin Development Center
Great civilizations arise on the course of great rivers... An unquestionable saying... However, it can only be achieved by the presence of a great man who improves the management of land and water resources.
Almighty Allah has appointed man to reconstruct the earth, not to corrupt it (when your Lord said to the angels, "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority”) (Al-Baqarah: 30) Almighty said: (And cause not corruption upon the earth after its reformation) (Al-A'raf: 56), but there are people who work on destroying and degrading the land to transform it from a good and benevolent land to an arid, barren land, with or without intention.
· In Mesopotamia, in earlier periods of man's life, the earth was named after the land of blackness because of its greenness and fertility. However, this Great Valley did not have good governance in later periods until it was transformed from "paradises, plantings, palms and grapes" into a "non-planted valley", and the soil deteriorated and salinity increased.
· The ancient methods of agriculture and irrigation, the bad management of water in Mesopotamia, and the use of water in large quantities that exceed the needs of crops, in the belief that production increases with the increase in water led to the deterioration of agriculture, land and environment, and the result was desertification.
· Integrated water resource management is (thought, approach and policy) and (community responsibility) in addition to the responsibility of the state regardless of (scarcity or water poverty) or (water abundance), and it has become necessary to correct the behaviors and understanding of individuals and communities about water to achieve good water management that achieves a better life for man.
The main problem of water in our country is its mismanagement, and the correct scientific management requires a high level of awareness and water conservation culture among people and specialists, and the dissemination of the culture of (water rationalization), which is a task that falls on the shoulders of (water guidance), which in many countries is a formation associated with specialized ministries such as Water Resources.
The current and future stage requires serious work to spread a (modern water culture) as an alternative to (the old traditional culture) based on rationalizing the use of water in various fields, at all times and seasons, and in conditions of abundance and scarcity alike..
Water conservation has great benefits that achieve the objectives of modern agriculture and irrigation, while preserving water resources, while traditional concepts of water cause great harm, the traditional water culture of people was built on the basis of what they inherited from their parents and grandparents in their dealings with water, that water is the gift of nature and an inexhaustible free source, concepts that have prevailed for centuries because there is no real problem of water under small communities where water resources are sufficient and exceed the need and preparation of the population.
· With the growing population, the demand for food, the expansion of cultivated areas, and the stability of water resources, its constant shortage, or the deterioration of its quality, these concepts have become obsolete to collide with water stocks that do not achieve sufficiency or abundance, especially in the drier areas.
· All of this led to the need to spread a modern culture based on the principle of rationalizing water use and following modern scientific foundations in irrigation and agriculture until the following slogan prevailed now (higher agricultural production with less water and less energy). Environmental conditions and the sustainability of water resources for future generations.
· Rationalizing the use of water for domestic, industrial and agricultural purposes contributes to reducing the phenomenon of drought and desertification, and that every drop of water we save for the need of one tree, we will plant another tree, and water guidance is our way to raise the level of water awareness and water culture in order to achieve water rationalization and (water security) on the At the local and international level, just as water security is our way to food security, there is no food security without water security.
· Water security avoids the specter of crossing the (water poverty line), and the lack of water leads to a lack of food, and both of them cause poverty and diminished job opportunities. Poverty leads to starvation and famine leads to unemployment and unemployment generates real hotbeds of violence, conflict, murder, drugs and underdevelopment in some regions of the world, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.FAO.
· Our way, then, for a dignified future for us and for our future generations, is to conserve our waters and to make the Tigris and Euphrates rivers a permanent and real address for our civilization by taking care of them and not neglecting them as they are now. The new water culture also requires protecting water from pollution and salinization to produce a better and healthy, decent life for people.
· In order to achieve the above concepts, it is necessary to:
1. Presentation of programs concerned with water guidance through audio-visual means
2. Community participation (organizations, individuals, associations, groups, specialists and farmers) with the official authorities in spreading water awareness in order to achieve the principle of participation of water beneficiaries.
3. Adopting modern technologies in agriculture and irrigation to reduce water losses.
4. Providing training programs for specialists and beneficiaries in the field of water guidance.
5. Develop laws and instructions to protect water resources.
6. Raising awareness of rural women about modern water culture.
7. Reducing encroachments on water networks within cities or in the fields.
8. Incorporating the concepts of water extension into education syllabuses and curricula, especially agricultural.
9. Finally, I suggest creating two formations
The first: It is concerned with water guidance and is linked to the Ministry of Water Resources.
Second: A formation called the Environmental Police linked to the Ministry of Interior or local governments to protect the environment and its resources from abuse, tampering and pollution. One of its most important duties is to protect the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and their tributaries, streams and water bodies from pollution, throwing debris and wasteful use.
At the end, let us all remember what the Almighty said: (and made from water every living thing? Then will they not believe?) (Al-Anbiya’a: 30).And the saying of our Noble beloved prophet (Do not waste water even if you are on a flowing river),This will spare you from my entire article, but rather from what has been said and says about the importance of water and the need to rationalize its use.
