The recent report by the United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) sheds light on the risk tipping points of groundwater depletion in the northwestern region, specifically Punjab and Haryana. The report highlights that a significant proportion of groundwater withdrawals, around 70%, are utilized for agricultural purposes in this region. It further predicts critically low groundwater availability as early as 2025, posing a serious threat to both the environment and human livelihoods.
The report focuses on six risk tipping points, with specific emphasis on the issue of groundwater depletion in Punjab. Drawing from a Times of India report in 2022, it reveals that 98.9% of cropland in Punjab relies on ground and surface water for irrigation. Alarmingly, the report also highlights that approximately 78% of wells in the region are considered to be overexploited. This worrisome scenario demands immediate attention and sustainable solutions.
One of the significant concerns raised in the report is the irreversible damage to ecosystems and the catastrophic impact on both people and the planet when they surpass tipping points. It emphasizes the importance of reducing planet-heating emissions and underscores the need for a more holistic approach to farming practices and water management.
Dr Zita Sebesvari, the Lead Author of the Interconnected Disaster Risks report and Deputy Director of UNU-EHS, warns that the excessive extraction of water resources, coupled with the harmful impact on nature and biodiversity, brings humanity perilously close to multiple risk tipping points. Moreover, it restricts our ability to manage future disaster risks effectively.
Apart from groundwater depletion, the report also addresses other risks such as accelerating extinctions, melting mountain glaciers, space debris, unbearable heat, and uninsurable futures. The report explains that the degradation of systems is not a linear process; it gradually deteriorates until it reaches a tipping point, leading to fundamental changes or even collapse. This has the potential to cause significant and irreversible damage to societies and ecosystems alike.
The report identifies agricultural intensification as a primary driver pushing the region towards a risk tipping point of groundwater depletion. Groundwater irrigation plays a crucial role in sustaining approximately 40% of global crop production, including staple crops like rice and wheat. The expansion of irrigated agricultural land worldwide can be attributed to access to groundwater. In 1900, only 63 million hectares were under agricultural land, which increased to 306 million hectares in 2005. Irrigated land also expanded to semi-arid regions with limited surface water and precipitation.
India experienced food shortages and famine in the 1960s, leading to a focus on crop intensification. The national food policy of the government prompted farmers in regions with inadequate climatic and soil conditions, such as Punjab and Haryana, to cultivate water-intensive crops like rice. Consequently, Punjab and Haryana became the top producers of wheat and rice, accounting for around 50% of the country’s supplies. However, the overuse of groundwater for irrigation purposes in these areas is depleting the region’s groundwater resources rapidly, foreseeing critically low groundwater availability in the near future.
The report also highlights the insufficient risk management associated with groundwater usage. Groundwater is often perceived as a reliable and constant water source, independent of seasonal or climatic changes. However, accessing it is not an easy task and comes at a cost. Farmers have to bear the expenses of digging wells and electricity costs for extracting water. Some countries subsidize the energy cost for water pumping to support farmers. While these subsidies aim to make groundwater more accessible and affordable, they inadvertently increase the chances of over-extraction and discourage the adoption of alternative irrigation methods. The availability of energy subsidies, along with other factors, has contributed to groundwater depletion.
The report traces the increase in wells across India since the 1960s to the government’s initiatives aimed at boosting food production. These initiatives included subsidies for irrigation electricity, which reduced the pumping costs for farmers nearly to zero. As access to groundwater increased, farmers in the region could intensify crop cultivation and expand the cropping seasons into the traditionally dry winter and summer months.
However, the lack of effective metering, billing, and payment collection systems for electricity usage in groundwater pumping led most State Electricity Boards to adopt flat tariffs in 1970. This further lowered the pumping costs for farmers. Consequently, the reliance on groundwater increased significantly, while the development of alternative irrigation methods, such as canals, lagged behind. Although these programs had good intentions, they worsened the pressure on already depleting groundwater resources without implementing contingency plans for potential risk tipping points.
The overuse of groundwater for agriculture and the impending risk tipping point pose a significant threat to the livelihoods of farmers. The reduction in access to groundwater is likely to result in decreased crop yields, adversely affecting both farming livelihoods and food security in the region.
In conclusion, the UNU-EHS report alerts us to the risk tipping points associated with groundwater depletion in Punjab and Haryana. Urgent action is necessary to tackle this imminent problem and ensure the sustainable management of water resources. Effective measures should include reducing planet-heating emissions, adopting a holistic approach to farming practices and water management, promoting alternative irrigation methods, and encouraging diversification of crops. Failure to address these issues may lead to irreversible consequences for both human societies and the environment.
