|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
Interview: Karin Krchnak
The Conservancy’s top advisor on international freshwater policy talks about a new idea for protecting rivers, what water means to women and why she owes her life to a dam.
— By Courtney Leatherman
Nature Conservancy: I have to ask, is water your drink of choice?
Karin Krchnak: It is, but you won’t like this — I’m drinking Perrier right now.
Nature Conservancy: You’re kidding. Bottled water creates all that plastic waste, and isn’t increased consumption depleting groundwater?
Karin Krchnak: It is part of the demand on our water systems, but not the largest. I was at a meeting where I heard that the New York City water supply system [routinely] loses in one day through leakage the same amount that is bottled by some companies in a year. So, yes, we want to work with bottled-water companies to reduce their impact on watersheds, but that applies to all water users.
Nature Conservancy: For instance?
Karin Krchnak: Worldwide, about 70 percent of freshwater goes for agricultural use, 20 percent for industrial use and 10 percent for human use. Other beverages, including beer, require far more water to produce than you would think.
Nature Conservancy: That reminds me of the Mark Twain quote “Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting over.” If water was a contentious issue back then, why should it be any better now, given the billions more people?
Karin Krchnak: We have come a long way in the form of laws. We know more about our freshwater resources than he did. We have more tools in our hands. Certification, for example. That gives us an opportunity to change how we manage water.
Nature Conservancy: Certification is all the rage these days. Forests are certified as being well-managed; fish are certified as being properly caught. Now the Conservancy wants to certify rivers and streams.
Karin Krchnak: Not rivers and streams, but the entities that make use of our rivers and streams.
Nature Conservancy: So how does it work?
Karin Krchnak: We’re looking to change watershed management. We helped start the Alliance for Water Stewardship. It is creating a box of standards for [industries and municipalities] to follow to be certified.
Nature Conservancy: Why do they care? Is it for PR or self-preservation?
Karin Krchnak: It’s a combination. Some companies, like beer companies, that rely on water are facing a drastic situation with climate change and the possibility of scarcity.
Nature Conservancy: Meanwhile, dams are becoming more abundant. But dam building isn’t just a topic of professional concern, right? It’s also personal.
Karin Krchnak: It’s true. My mother’s parents were born in northern Slovakia near the Polish border, and they were displaced because the government was building a dam. They were moved to Trnava. That started the ball rolling: My mother’s parents met; my mother was born. My mother met my father, and I was born in that town. Without this dam, I probably would not exist.
Nature Conservancy: Do you have a love-hate relationship with dams?
Karin Krchnak: There are benefits to dams. There are also negatives. We are trying to work with dam operators and builders to reduce the footprint. I won’t say no dams. But I also won’t say we [humans] have license to build dams however we want, wherever we want.
Nature Conservancy: Early in your legal career you worked with rape victims for a U.S. District Attorney. Did that influence your career?
Karin Krchnak: That was an eye-opener. I [later] got involved with the Gender and Water Alliance. It [aims] to involve women in decision-making — when wells are put in, for example. It combines my interest in water and my belief in making sure women have equal access.
Nature Conservancy: Why does access to water affect women more than men?
Karin Krchnak: Women bear the brunt of our problems with water in the developing world. If access is an issue, girls don’t have the choice of going to school. They have to walk to collect water, putting it on their heads and carrying it in huge drums.
Nature Conservancy: Ironically, you’ve had to tote your own water — when living in Russia and water was cut off to your building for two months.
Karin Krchnak: I never thought of it that way, since for me it was just a limited period of time. I used large bottles to fill at the office and bring home. I could take a shower with one kettle. I had to use the water I was lugging for flushing the toilet. I had to plan ahead for weekends.
Nature Conservancy: That’s rough.
Karin Krchnak: I can’t compare myself to a woman in a developing country, but I did realize what it adds to your day to have to put so much energy into getting something so basic as water.
Nature picture credits: Photo © Annie Griffiths Belt
Join The Nature Conservancy on