WATER is a very important natural resource. It is the fundamental and main constitution of all living things. Without water, life is not possible in this planet.

        Water covers about 70 percent of the Earth’s surface. Dr. Joachim Genz, a German scientist, water expert and head of the Environment and Sustainability Division of Bayer AG of Germany said that only 2.5 percent of the total volume of water on Earth is freshwater, while 97.5 percent is saltwater found in the oceans. Dr. Genz pointed out that only “0.3 percent of the world’s freshwater is available for consumption in rivers, lakes and reservoirs.”

        While the supply of freshwater is extremely limited, the demand for freshwater is rising in many places worldwide due to soaring population and intensified agricultural development. Mr. Antonio M. Claparols, President of Ecological Society of the Philippines opined that in “less than 20 years from now, it is estimated that demand for drinking water will exceed the world’s supply by 50%”. Meanwhile, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projected that climate change could increase the number of people at risk from water scarcity from tens of millions to billions of Asians by 2050.

        We will appreciate more the value of freshwater if we understand its importance to human health and well-being.

        A large proportion of the human body is water. Dr. Gordon S. Tessler a known nutrition consultant, and Executive Director of the American Nutrition Association said that on the average, the human body is made up of 60% water, and the brain 75% water, while the human skin consist of 70% water. Without water, one can survive only for five to seven days.

        Water plays a crucial role in the maintenance of vital body functions and the distribution of essential elements to the 100 trillion body cells.

        The blood plasma, the liquid portion of the blood is mainly water. It dissolves and transports food nutrients digested in the stomach and intestines to our entire body cells. Red blood cells which capture oxygen from our lungs are likewise circulated to our body cells to oxidize the food nutrients, and convert it into energy for the specific use of the human cells.

        The white blood corpuscles found in our blood are the powerful defense system of the body against pathogens and disease causing bacteria and virus. They neutralize any foreign elements that enter the body and clean up the millions of dead cells that dies everyday by engulfing them.

        It is the main function of the blood to detoxify and remove waste from our cells such as carbon dioxide, a by-product of oxidation of nutrients into energy, dead cells and toxins, to keep our body healthy.

        It is quite amazing to know that our blood vessels that circulate blood in the body if placed end to end would measure about 100,000 kilometers long. This signifies that our blood plasma must be properly liquefied with sufficient water so it could easily circulate in our blood vessels. Without adequate water intake our blood becomes sticky and will have difficulty in transporting vital elements to our body cells and detoxify our cells from waste and toxins.

        Water is likewise very crucial in the functioning of our trillions of cells. Dr. Joyce Whiteley Hawkes, a Biophysicist and for 15 years have an intimate knowledge of the cells using an electron microscope said, health and healing happen in the cellular level. All essential body functions and processes occur in the cells.

        Dr. Hawkes learned that cells are made up of a jelly-like substance called cytoplasm thru which all the components of a cell can function. Dr. Hawkes discovered that cytoplasm, the substance that surrounds the nucleus and other working parts of the cell, is 90 percent water.

        The cellular functions of energy conversion of food nutrients, elimination of cellular waste, communication with other body cells, export of some substances to others cells of the body, metabolism and cell division cannot take place if there is insufficient water in the cells. We can literally say that our body functions under water.

        To be able to have the right amount of water in our body we should drink at least eight glasses of water or two liters of water per day. We should drink more during summer months when there is faster liquid evaporation from our body. We should drink water at the start of the day, and before, during and after an exercise. However, we should not drink water during meals, since this would dilute our digestive juice and delay the digestion of our food intake. It is preferable to drink water 30 minutes before and after meals.

        The water content of our body comes from different sources. According to the book Body and Health published by Time-Life Books, 12% of our water consumed comes from the breakdown of nutrients, 35% by drinking, 40% by eating. While of our excreted water, 17% comes out in sweat, 14% in exhaled air, and 52% in urine.

        The best drinking water is mineralized rain water from unpolluted mountain springs. The main source of drinking water is from our forests. And the primary purpose of forest is as natural catchment of rainwater.

        The Department of Environment and Natural Resources in partnership with various stakeholders is engaged in the massive reforestation of forests or watershed areas to improve its water holding capacity, as one of its purposes.

        DENR Regional Executive Director Joselin Marcus Fragada said that reforestation of denuded forest lands would insure adequate drinking water for a rapidly increasing population in the Bicol region.

        He urged barangay residents led by local government officials to participate in the largescale greening of forest lands to improve its water holding capacity and provide abundant water for drinking and agricultural development.