The Vrindavana forest was as sanctified as the clear mind of a devotee and was full of bees, flowers and fruits. There were chirping birds and clear-water lakes, with waters that could relieve one of all fatigue. Sweet-smelling breezes blew always, refreshing the mind and body.
KRSNA-Book, Ch. 15
httpv://youtu.be/vtXHi1lr3H8
video: FidelityInvestments
Global Environment Outlook 5 (GEO-5) | United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)<
http://www.unep.org/geo/pdfs/geo5/GEO5-Global_PR_EN.pdf
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Water Quality and Quantity
6 June 2012 — Despite some improvements, water quality remains the largest cause of human health problems worldwide.
At the same time, climate change and further population growth are likely to result in even greater water shortages in many regions.
Water quality in at least parts of most major river systems still fails to meet World Health Organization (WHO) standards.
More than 600 million people are expected to lack access to safe drinking water by 2015, while more than 2.5 billion people will lack access to basic sanitation. As water scarcity increases, some regions will be forced to rely more on energy- intensive desalination technologies. By 2030, an estimated US $9-11 billion will be spent annually on additional infrastructure to provide sufficient quantities of water, especially in developing countries.
Curbing water pollution could result in health benefits of more than US $100 million in large OECD economies alone. Nitrate concentrations are projected to increase due to water pollution from fertilizers and inadequate sanitation, resulting in serious threats to human health and aquatic life.
Although freshwater pollution seems to be on the increase, proper monitoring has declined in many regions.
Ground Water Depletion
Further deterioration of groundwater supplies has been recorded since 2000, while global water withdrawals have tripled over the past 50 years.
Agriculture accounts for 92 per cent of the global water footprint and many global agricultural centres are particularly dependent on groundwater, including northwest India, northeast Pakistan, northeast China and western United States.
Integrated Water Management Integrated water management and monitoring tools need to be developed and strengthened if the world is to better manage current and future water challenges.
At present, about 158 of the 263 international freshwater basins still lack cooperative management frameworks.
Other obstacles to better water management include: Insufficient data, the absence of comprehensive monitoring systems and water security indicators to track trends over time.
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