MAY 2010 Four East African states have signed an agreement to seek more water from the River Nile - a move strongly opposed by Egypt and Sudan...with populations soaring, demand for water increasing and climate change having an impact, there are warnings that wrangling over the world's longest river could be a trigger for conflict. Read more
UPDATE June 2010 - Read more
As the international community focuses on climate change as the great crisis of our era, it is ignoring another looming problem: the global crisis in land use. Providing for the basic needs of 9 billion-plus people, without ruining the biosphere in the process, will be one of the greatest challenges our species has ever faced. It will require the imagination, determination and hard work of countless people from all over the world, embarked on one of the noblest causes in history. But the first step is admitting we have more than one problem.
THE WEEK - War over water - The conflict threatening Africa.
Read more about The Other Inconvenient Truth by Jonathan Foley / May 4, 2010
World Water Day 22 March 2010
The World Water Day 2010 and its campaign is envisaged to:
- · Raise awareness about sustaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being through addressing the increasing water quality challenges in water management and
- · Raise the profile of water quality by encouraging governments, organizations, communities, and individuals around the world to actively engage in proactively addressing water quality e.g. in pollution prevention, clean up and restoration.
Competition for global water resources is fierce. The demand is so heavy that the waters of several major rivers no longer even reach the sea all or most of the year -the Colorado, the Ganges, Indus, Amu Darya, Syr Darya and Yellow River in Asia and perhaps followed soon by the Nile in Africa. Most of the demand is due to agriculture as a result of the green revolution. Water is being withdrawn from the worlds aquifers faster than it can be replenished by rainfall due to exponential demand for bottled water. In the year 2000, the Asian Development Bank warned of water wars in its annual report, identifying 70 water-related flashpoints around the world. The next world war will be fought over water - Boutrous Boutrous-Ghali warned as far back as 1985, before becoming Secretary General of the UN and repeated again and again by Ismail Serageldin, Vice President of the World Bank.
‘Very few activities occur in the world today that do not rely on freshwater in one way or another, whether this is personal sustenance, basic hygiene, growing crops, producing energy, manufacturing goods or maintaining ecosystems to keep the earth in balance - human beings are inextricably linked to freshwater.’ SAB Miller report.
Take a look at the best interactive production on water - Waterlife
Our economy needs energy to deliver water, and water to produce energy. But climate change is worsening existing water shortages, which in turn are spurring increased regulation, driving up costs, and putting key global supply chains at risk. At the same time, many technologies touted as key to carbon reduction—such as biofuels and nuclear, geothermal and hydropower generation—consume significant quantities of water. Conversely, many of the emerging approaches for securing clean water— long-distance transport and seawater desalination—are extremely energy-intensive. This panel will examine the issues and highlight top corporate and investor approaches to reducing risk and capturing opportunities in a water and carbon-constrained world. Speaking on the sidelines of the Stockholm International Water Conference, Lundqvist told reporters that 'improving water productivity and reducing the quantity of food wasted can enable us to provide a better diet for the poor and enough food for growing populations.' Read More.
Only 3% of the water on the planet is fresh, more than two thirds of which is tied up in glaciers and ice caps, with a tiny portion of the remainder frozen underground as permafrost. There is six times more water in the atmosphere than all the rivers on earth.There is 75 times more fresh water underground in aquifers than in all surface lakes, rivers and all atmospheric water combined. Most of this groundwater, however, is hard to reach or inaccessible.
Like us our planet is 70% water. 97% of that is saltwater. This means only 3% is available for the 6 billion people on the planet today, and that 3% is not crystal clear !
ONE IN SIX PEOPLE ON THE PLANET ARE FORCED TO DRINK A GLASS OF WATER LIKE THIS EVERY DAY
Half the world is on diet and the other half are starving to death.
The world's growing food crisis - which triggered riots and demonstrations in over 30 developing nations early this year - is being aggravated primarily by wastage and overconsumption. 'Obesity is a much bigger problem than undernourishment,' said Professor Jan Lundqvist of the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). He pointed out that there are 850 million people worldwide who suffer from hunger and starvation daily compared with over 1.2 billion people who are overweight and obese, which can lead to a vast range of health problems like diabetes and heart disease.
- World Water Forum 2009: the world's largest water event - Read more
- Water facts World Resources Institute
- See how much water it takes to produce the food on your table Water Footprint Network
- The WBCSD’s Global Water Tool, updated in 2009 for the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul is a free and easy-to-use tool for companies and organizations to map their water use and assess risks relative to their global operations and supply chains.
