ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER AS A BASIC HUMAN RIGHT OF THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY IN INDIA: A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE
Abstract
Unsafe water and lack of access to sanitation are not the only threats to the health of the indigenous community but it is a deprivation of basic human rights. The health and well-being of the indigenous community are affected at large by the deprivation of such basic rights. Indigenous communities from ancient times have managed the land and other natural resources through sustainable measures. Such highly dense mountain regions experience clean water scarcity and unplanned sanitation systems. This problem majorly attracts four significant sustainable development goals (SDGs) viz., SDG-3, 6, 10, and 16 that emphasize good health and well-being of the community, clean water and sanitation, reduced inequalities among people, and justice respectively. Water being a core of world politics also becomes a symbol of good governance when it is efficiently managed by the governments. In India, though there are legislations such as The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, which provides the right to water to the indigenous community, the legislation is silent on the position of indigenous people in terms of access to water and there are major problems in accessing clean water and proper sanitation facilities. The present study aims to identify the complications involved in the implementation of water management laws and analyses the existing legislation and government policies in India relating to water management and indigenous communities. It also aims to analyze the international best practices and case studies relating to water management strategies of the indigenous communities.
Keyword : Indigenous People, SDGs, water, access, sanitation, governance.
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References
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