'India's G-20 presidency should focus on water as the centrepiece on sustainability'

A World Bank economist on Monday pitched for ''water as the centrepiece of global sustainability'' efforts during India's G-20 presidency.

Richard Damania, chief economist of the multilateral institution's sustainability development practice, said developing countries have on an average suffered with GDP falling by a third due to water-related issues.

He said under India's leadership, G-20 is poised to bring back global attention and action to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which has suffered due to the pandemic.

''India should use this opportunity to go beyond global dialogue and put the entire water cycle -- from the forests to seas -- at the centre of the G20 focus on sustainability,'' he said, delivering a lecture organised by the ORF here.

Damania explained three different water scenarios -- too much water, too less water and too dirty water -- that impact various parts of the world.

''Water stress as a result of all the three scenarios of too much, too less and too dirty water have, on average, resulted in the GDP of developing countries falling by one-third,'' Damania said.

Advancement in irrigation has driven farmers in areas with less rainfall to move to water-intensive crops such as rice, sugarcane and cotton, he said, adding that they suffer the most in case of dry shocks or droughts.

''Water scenario patterns globally have indicated that high population growth countries such as India particularly are in danger of a water crisis,'' he said.

Water pollution is a problem globally, but it is more severe in some countries. Excessive use of nitrogen-based fertilisers has increased farm output. However, their overuse has led to the leaching of the soil, producing nitrous oxide, which is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide on human and environmental health, he said.