"Fleeing Catastrophe, Stuck in the Slums of Bangladesh," by William Wheeler and Anna-Katarina Gravgaard, TIME Video
8 January 2010
REPORTS
“Imminent Water Crisis in India,” the Arlington Institute
"UN World Water Development Report: Water in a Changing World"
“Freshwater Under Threat: South Asia” UNEP and Asian Institute of Technology
“Action needed to avoid world water crisis, UN says” Reuters March 12, 2009
“Running on Empty: Pakistan’s water crisis,” Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Water Crisis Headlines Water Partners International
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South Asia’s Troubled Waters
Reporters in the field
The majority of India’s water sources are polluted. A lack of access to safe water contributes to a fifth of its communicable diseases. Each day in the booming, nuclear-armed nation, diarrhea alone kills more than 1,600 people.
The regional scenario is even more grim given the projected impact of population pressures and global warming—which aggravates the flood and drought cycle of the monsoon, and the melting of Himalayan glaciers that serve as a natural water reservoir used by a billion people. Northern India may run out of groundwater within a decade, leading to a collapse of agriculture in regions like Punjab, the country’s “breadbasket.” Pakistan is already on the brink of water scarcity. Meanwhile, a rash of environmentally questionable dam building along the nuclear rivals’ shared rivers is further stoking geopolitical tension.
From India to Bangladesh and Nepal, this project will explore the role of local innovators and international actors in aggravating or alleviating the region’s water crisis. The reporting will take them from the slums of Delhi to parched rural deserts, and from monsoon-ravaged Bangladesh to the Himalayas.
South Asia's Troubled Waters is part of the Pulitzer Center's interactive global climate change portal, "Heat of the Moment."
View all Heat of the Moment reporting here, and join the conversation.
This project is also part of an ongoing global conversation about water. The Pulitzer Center's Water Wars site is part of an educational outreach effort to raise awareness of the global water crisis. Join the conversation here!
William Wheeler
William Wheeler has reported on political affairs from East Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.....
Click on name above for full bio
Anna-Katarina Gravgaard
A print reporter from age 14, Danish Anna-Katarina Gravgaard transitioned into multimedia storytelling while studying on a Fulbright grant at Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism... Click on name for full bio
William Wheeler interviewed about his Earth Journalism Award in The Orange County Register
18 December 2009
PRESS
"Blue Gold: Have the Next Resource Wars Begun?" The Nation, March 31, 2009
“Race to the death over Kashmir waters,” Asia Times Jan 31, 2009
“India is stealing water of life, says Pakistan” The Independent March 26, 2009
“Action needed to avoid world water crisis, UN says” Reuters March 12, 2009
“Thirsty Giant,” a New York Times series on water crisis in India.