Former Under Secretary General of the United Nations, Dr. A Ramachandran, today said that frequenty wars between nations over sharing and controlling of fresh water resources will become unavoidable in the next 25 years if an universal system is not evolved and adopted to manage and conserve fresh water bodies on the Earth.

Delivering the inaugral address of a three-day symposium - "Lake 2000 - Restoration of Lakes and Wetlands" here, Dr. Ramachandra, who worked in various capacities with the Central government, pointed out that already there are disputes over sharing of fresh waer in the world, which are likely to escalate into wars if the disputes are not solved immediately.

He lamented that though several models are available for effective management of water resources, none of them have been put to use in practice. "Over the years, mankind has destroyed environment and sources of fresh water have been reduced drastically.

Today, Israel, Jordan, Syria and Palestinians are involved in a bitter confrontation over rights to share waters of river Jordan. Similarly, in India, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu engage in legal battles regularly over sharing Cauvery water.

If one comes down to the grassroot level, we witnessed farmers in Mandya opposed to the idea of sharing Cauvery water with Mysore. Water can create society and at the same time destroy it. Hence, it is our moral duty to ensure that the remaining fresh water bodies are managed effectively." he explained.

Criticising management of water resources in India, he said at least five departments - Agriculture, Irrigation, Public Works, local bodies and dam authorities are managing water resources. "Under such circumstances, wastage of water is more.

All, one has to do, is evolve a common water management policy, which can suit the needs of farmers, industries, domestic households and dams. Unless, concrete steps are not taken in this direction, India whose population is second highest in the world, will face acute water shortage in the coming years," Dr Ramachandran said.

Karnataka Environment Research Foundation (KERF) President Dr Rajashekara Murthy, Dr Sukumar of Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Dr TV Ramachandra, Centre for Ecological Sciences (IISc) were present on the occasion.

SYMPOSUM: The symposium is jointly organised by CES (IISc), KERF, Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology, Foundation for Nature Exploration and Environmental Conservation, Karnataka Pollution Control Board and Forest Department.

It is aimed at bringing out the current trends in lakes and wetlands restoration, including the hydrological and bio-physical aspects, people's participation, role of governmental, non-governmental, educational organisations and future research needs for restoration, conservation and management of wetlands.