Water is life. There is no life without water. This should be the fundamental principle on which any discussion related to water has to be based. Bhutan has a water Act that spells out the importance of water, its conservation, use and management. The water Act of Bhutan says that drinking water should be the first priority followed by irrigation for food production and third for other uses in factories, industries etc. Water conservation, especially watershed protection, is given utmost importance. Deforestation or poolution in watershed must be prevented and regulated at all cost. Bhutan does not use ground water, but i guess countries dependent on groundwater must have policies to prevent groundwater pollution from agricultural inputs such as fertilisers, pesticides and othe farm wastes. In many urban areas another important source of water pollution is sewage and industrial wastes. Each countries must devise suitable policy instruments to prevent water pollution, protect watershed and other sources, distribute water fairly among regions or provinces. Many big dams built across several rivers in the world must also be use for water for farming and for recreation. Water harvesting technologies must be promoted in aried regions of the world. Water is as precious if not more than anything else. It has to be conserved, used judiously and distributed fairly.
Cheers
Thinlay Thinlay