38.    Water resources

Prof. Dr. Savvas Katsikides and Dr. Iakovou,Chr., Dr. Sarris,M.
Towards Sustainable Water Use in the Mediterranean and the Middle East: Conflicting Demands and Varying Social and Political Conditions.
The major goal of this paper is to add a sociological, political and anthropological dimension to current debates on the sustainable use of water in the Mediterranean. In the paper, we look at eleven different countries or areas in the Mediterranean region: Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Syria, Jordan, Crete, Lebanon, Malta and Iraq. In methodological terms, the application of our research model takes specific forms as we extend the scope of an elaborate survey to cover all these areas. Our main aim is to reach specific conclusions on the matter and thus illuminate a largely unexplored field of inquiry. More specifically, we plan to investigate the social impact which the state's management of water supplies can have on local populations with a long-standing and elaborate "culture of water", as well as the political impact on interstate relations. As for the proposed use of the research, our ambition is to formulate suggestions of a more general nature on the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (EU-WFD). This will be done on the basis of the codified results that the surveys will yield.

Dr. Marios Sarris
Anthropological Perspectives on the Management of Water Supplies: A Case of Competing Agencies
This paper offers a social anthropological perspective on the potential impact which the construction of water dams can have on riverside village communities. It looks at changes in the ritual status and social role of local specialists in the regulation of water supplies. By virtue of their privileged access to cultural knowledge, the latter appeal to an elaborate set of rules and practices in order to arbitrate between conflicting parties. The paper explores the consequences which the transfer of this power of arbitration to state officials might have on clientistic politics, and examines the terms of an uneasy relationship developed out of the competing agencies of local arbitrators, state bureaucrats and scientists.

Sustainable development can't be achieved without water. Many countries are suffering from shortage of water resources, places where the supply is lower than the required demand. Other countries have huge storage of water. This situation could cause political conflict in the Global Community. This issue aims to evaluate the available water resources in each country. Water resources in each country can be compared with the required for all sectors (irrigation, municipal, industrial), then countries can be classified depending on their water resources and needs. Results and analysis indicates that sustainable development could be obtained only by sharing and transferring water from some countries (rich with water) to the others (poor with water).

James Mwami File explained that soil and water conservation activities are under taken under various agro-ecological and socio-economic circumstances, in different parts of the World. However, for a multitude of reasons farmers do not generally engage on their own in investment in soil and water conservation. In the more advanced economies farmers may sometimes take initiative, but in most cases they are stimulated to do so as a result of specific government policies, direct incentiveness on participation in specific projects. When the seriousness of the erosion problem was realised in Uganda, in the 1950's, government took the initiative and for along time they followed a top-down approach in the design and implementation of soil conservation projects and programmes. Many of these failed. Usually the priorities and capabilities of the land users were insufficiently considered in the preparation and execution of such projects or programmes.

Uganda government has now come to realise that proper implementation of such activities depend on the acceptance by and full participation of the population, so that soil conservation and reforestation activities become less dominated by regulations. There is a shift towards "protect and produce" including less direct soil conservation related activities (e.g. promoting tree crops) and the measures are accompanied incentives (e.g. subsidies) or by rural development "starter" activities (e.g. drinking water supply) to incite farmers to participate. In other words conservation has gradually evolved into regional development activities using "watershed activities"

Pedro Berliner File explained that afforestation in arid zones, marginal water use, and water management are important in arid zones. Indiscriminate felling of trees is one of the major causes for the desertification of semi-arid regions. It is however possible to use available (usually marginal) water resources to plant trees and manage the forests for long term sustainability.

Md. Hasibur Rahman File described the IMPACTS OF AIR POLLUTION ON HUMAN HEALTH IN BANGLADESH. Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated country of the world. Industrial and vehicular toxic gaseous emission impacts on environment and causing human health problem in densely polluted urban area. Mitigative measure is being implementing through air pollution monitoring, research, dissemination of research activities, particularly phasing out of two-stroke engine smoke belching auto-rickshaws the most polluting vehicles and finally government has decided to import lead (Pb) free fuel and encouraging to use Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). Public awareness already been adopting in urban area by the government and different non-government agencies to prevent serious health problems causing by air pollution.

In common sense people thinks air pollution means vehicular smokes and industrial gaseous emission. But air pollution means any solid, liquid or gaseous substances present in the atmosphere in such concentrations that impact on human health or other living creature as a whole creates environmental pollution. Composition of fresh dry air contents 78.09% Nitrogen and 20.94% Oxygen by volume. The rest of 0.97% is composed of different gaseous mixture elements (i.e. carbon dioxide, helium, argon, nitrous oxides and xenon) and very negligible amount of some other organic and inorganic gases. If these compositions found different in any atmospheric air then the air would be called polluted. Air pollution could be happen by two ways i.e. by naturally and artificially. Naturally, air pollution caused by volcanic eruption, dust bearing cyclone, natural-fog, pollen grains, bacteria etc. Significantly, air is polluting by artificially i.e. man-made vehicular and industrial gaseous emission and also by house holds municipal wastes odors.

Human beings cannot survive without taking atmospheric oxygen through respiration system in a suitable mixture of oxygen, nitrogen and other inert gases. It is an assumption that an adult man takes 16-18 kg air through respiration system in his day life. Fresh air is a basic demand of human beings.

It is recognized that civilization of mankind was started with the invention of fire. Fire creates smokes, so air pollution was started from the primitive period of cave man. At that time air pollution was very negligible in ratio with the density of population. Air pollution increasing rapidly due to technological development, creation of engines, industrialization, power plant set-up, burning coal & crude oil, steam locomotives use of railway, steamer, motor vehicles, transport and internal combustion engines burning petrol, diesel, kerosene and also by households vegetable oils burning, fire-wood, paraffin's & kerosene burning. Including all above, use of aerosol and pesticides are mostly polluting the atmospheric air very seriously.

Dr. Tee L. Guidotti showed that sustainable development is a widely-discussed alternative to currently unsustainable economic development patterns. It is all the more attractive because it may be cast in terms compatible with the market economy. However, there must be a social dimension to the concept, a vision, for it to become a viable alternative to unrestrained economic growth. The Earth is no longer a self-regulating planetary system. Its future will depend on human action and the continuation of natural ecosystems will be achieved because people want them to be preserved. Acceptance of sustainable development by society may depend on cultural values and even spiritual notions about the relationship of humankind to the Earth. This is why the otherwise quasi-religious concepts often expressed in the environmental movement, such as the Gaia hypothesis, have value as metaphor even if they do not necessarily express literal fact. Sustainable development is often described in terms that suggest a static, less technology-dependent, and culturally more homogeous regionalized society. However, sustainable development cannot be stagnation. People will not accept a view of sustainable development that recreates a technologically more advanced version of a basic peasant society, especially if they have only recently developed economically. For societies to accept sustainable development and to continue to grow within, the new way of living must accept cultural diversity, encourage individual expression, allow social change, offer opportunity, and examine values. There must be ways to permit opportunity and growth without ecological compromise. Achieving sustainable development may therefore be linked with policies emphasizing community, the value of information, originality in ideas, and the arts.

Livestock Waste a Big Environmental Problem in Wakerton, Ontario, Canada(and now in many other provinces), and in the Philippines. The study noted that in some cases, he damage resulting from irresponsibly handled livestock waste has been spectacular and tragic. In June 1995, it said the artificial waste lagoon at a hog farm in North Carolina burst, releasing nearly 100 million liters of hog urine and feces that polluted neighboring communities and killed millions of fish in nearby rivers.

A similar incident in 2000 resulted in the contamination of drinking water which led to several deaths in the small Canadian town of Wakerton. In other cases, the study said livestock waste causes continuous and pervasive damage to people's health and the environment.

The situation in the Philippines is no better, according to the report.

Germain Dufour File explains that air and water are fundamental human and Earth rights. For centuries we have found it necessary to control water so as to have it where we wanted it. Despite our efforts, large areas on the planet still suffer from drought, and others from flood, due partly to the nature variability of climate to change fast than it used to, and this is now impacting on the availability and distribution of water. Our fresh water sources are already being used and yet, the world population is increasing rapidly. This increase in population and the increase of pollutants in our drinking water sources have created conflicts which will only become more and more serious in the near future. In numerous places in the world drinking water sources are rare, sometimes non-existant, and sometimes were polluted by transnational corporations from our industrialized world and which companies became rich by mining or manufacturing products in those countries. Should anyone be allowed to control our freshwater resources? Is freshwater a 'human and Earth right' or is it a 'human need'? Should water resources be privatized and commodified for profit? Or should water be declared a 'human and Earth right' in the Charter of the Earth Community? Is it no true that water is just as important to an individual as the air we breathe? Freshwater is needed and is a human and Earth right. So is clean air! The Scale of Human and Earth Rights shows how and where these rights should be included with respect to all other human rights. Because of an ever-increasing global population and of human impacts on the natural environment, freshwater resources have become essentials to human life and to all life in Earth. There is an urgent need to protect these resources and for integrated understanding of lakes, wetlands and flowing waters.

Fresh water resources and clean air are at least if not more important to every human being than any other human rights ever listed in any charter of any society. If there was a scale of values to be drawn where would you insert these two human rights?

Human rights are those that individuals have by virtue of their very existence as human beings: to live, eat, drink fresh water, breath fresh air, have shelter. Just as human beings have human rights, they also have moral, legal responsibilities and related obligations and accountabilities. Every person needs Oxygen to live so clean air is certainly a primordial human right by our very nature. A large part of our body is made of water and we could not live without water; therefore water is also a primordial human rights by our very nature.

Fresh water resources and clean air are therefore proposed to be categorized as human rights.

James Mwami File investigated the need for public participation in watershed development. Soil and water conservation activities are under various agro-ecological and socio-economic circumstances in different parts of the World. However, for a multitude of reasons farmers do not generally engage on their own in investment in soil and water conservation. In the more advanced economies farmers may sometimes take initiative, but in most cases they are stimulated to do so as a result of specific government policies, direct incentives on participation in specific projects. Uganda government has now come to realise that proper implementation of such activities depend on the acceptance by and full participation of the population, so that soil conservation and reforestation activities become less dominated by regulations. There is a shift towards "protect and produce" including less direct soil conservation related activities (e.g. promoting tree crops) and the measures are accompanied incentives (e.g. subsidies) or by rural development "starter" activities (e.g. drinking water supply) to incite farmers to participate. In other words conservation has gradually evolved into regional development activities using "watershed activities"