EPA Works with Developing Nations to Encourage Smart Water Use

In her book Water Wars (2002), the renowned physicist, activist, visionary and writer Vandana Shiva stresses:

"Water is limited and exhaustible if used nonsustainably. Nonsustainable use includes extracting more water from ecosystems than nature can recharge (ecological nonsustainability) and consuming more than one's legitimate share, given the rights of others to a fair share (social nonsustainability)."

Developing nations often struggle with using sustainable means of production, agriculture, development, etc. Developing an economy with finite resources is immensely difficult. Just think: if currently developed nations had worried about the health of the environment and people during the Industrial Revolution, we might not have developed so fast and so far. We might not also have the resulting ecological problems rising from the reliance on fossil fuels during the I.R., polluting of waterways, etc.

Evo Morales, Presidente de Bolivia 

Although wise in the long run, sustainable practices can be slower and more costly than rapid-development practices; the promise of "fast money" and rapid development in lieu of resource conservation is a strong incentive. Poor countries will drill their minerals and fossil fuels, will fell their great forests, and will clear-cut delicate ecosystems to make room for plantations. It makes sense: a country can sell these resources for a couple generations and in return can experience what is perceived to be a higher standard of living.

However, we now know that wise use of resources now will be beneficial in the long run. Convincing developing nations of this idea has proved to be difficult, although some, such as Bolivia, have taken a wonderfully progressive view of resource conservation. This year, Bolivia passed the Ley de Derechos de la Madre Tierra, or the Law of Rights of Mother Earth, which grants nature equal rights to humans. Read more here. It is interesting to note that Presidente Morales comes from an indigenous background, as do the majority of Bolivians; moreover, about two-thirds of its people are subsistence farmers (source).

High-quality soybeans growing in the residue of a wheat crop.
Photo credit to the Rodale Institute

In the interest of sustainability and development, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working with China to "help [the country] develop a long-term plan to maximize the country’s water resources in the face of a growing population and the potential impacts of climate change." Included in the delegation were representatives from 20 U.S. companies looking to do business with China. The delegates "consulted with Chinese government officials on a host of issues like water and energy efficiency, wastewater treatment and water reuse technologies. The impressive turnout by these companies shows a genuine interest in the growing Chinese marketplace. ...The Chinese government, which has set aside about $5.5 billion over the next eight years to develop a series of ground water-related strategies, has shown [a] strong interest in a growing sector of the U.S. economy." Read more about the delegation at the EPA blog Greenversations.

Financial investment is a strong, sustainable, and responsible means of encouraging the responsible use of water and other resources for nations that desire to grow their economies. Closer to home, Soil and Water Conservation Districts work to encourage producers such as farmers, foresters, and ranchers to manage their production systems in an environmentally conservative way (such as no-till farming) that improves their soil and their profits. Watch a short video about some of the great conservation projects here in Indiana below!