The circulation of water in nature takes place
through the large and small water cycles. Humanity, through its activities and
systematic transformation of natural land into cultured land, accelerates the runoff
of rainwater from land. Limiting evaporation and the infiltration of water into
the soil decreases the supply of water to the small water cycle. The
equilibrium of the water balance in the small water cycle is thus disturbed and
it gradually starts to break down over land.
If there is insufficient water in the soil, on
its surface and in plants, immense flows of solar energy cannot be transformed
into the latent heat of water evaporation but are instead changed into sensible
heat. The surface of the ground soon overheats, and as a result, a breakdown in
the supply of water from the large water cycle arises over the affected land. Local processes over huge areas inhabited
and exploited by human beings are changed into global processes and with processes
that occur without the assistance of human beings; together they create the
phenomenon known as global climate change. The part of global
climate change caused by human activities then is largely based on the drainage
of water from the land, the consequent rise in temperature differences
triggering off mechanisms which cause a rise in climatic extremes. The
disruption of the small water cycle is accompanied by growing extremes in the
weather, a gradual drop in groundwater reserves, more frequent flooding, longer
periods of drought and an increase in the water shortage in the region.
The part of climatic change which is the result
of human activities (draining of a region), can be reversed through systematic
human activity (the watering of a region). The watering of land can be achieved through saturation of
the small water cycle over land by ensuring comprehensive conservation of
rainwater and enabling its infiltration and evaporation. This can help achieve
the renewal of the small water cycle over a region and fundamentally change the
trend of changing climatic conditions: it can—to reverse the trend of regional
warming—temper extreme weather events and ensure a growth in water reserves in
the territory.
The renewal of the small water cycle over an area, however,
depends not only on the extent to which the area has been damaged but also on a
number of other factors. In the case of Slovakia, we can expect visible results
relatively soon (10 to 20 years) after implementation of these measures. The
financial costs of these specific measures are moderate sums which can be
allocated from state, public and private budgets. Support for the
implementation of far-reaching measures should be linked pro rata to each
The conservation of rainwater on land "in situ"
and the conducting away only of the natural surplus of water in a region is
"condicio sine qua non"—a condition essential for ensuring
environmental security, global stability and the sustenance of economic growth.
Fulfilling these conditions should be of interest to each individual and each
community. This is the first time in the history of human civilization when the
impact of mankind's activities on the water cycle and the decrease of amount of
water in it will have to be evaluated. The statement
of the Srí Lankan king, Parakramabahu the Great—"Not even a single
raindrop should be allowed to flow into the sea without it first having been
used for the benefit of the people..." —is the best summing up of the new
water paradigm, a statement which, in the coming decades, should become
a slogan for mankind calling for the preservation of civilization.