World Water Day 2007 and Water Scarcity

World Water Day 2007 and Water Scarcity



March 2007 - Water scarcity is 
a fact of life for 700 million people around the world, a 
figure that could rise to more than three billion by 2025, 
according to the United Nations. In a message today marking 
World Water Day UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for 
integrated cross-border water management since many of the 
world's rivers and aquifers are shared among countries. 
"Available supplies are under great duress as a result of high 
population growth, unsustainable consumption patterns, poor 
management practices, pollution, inadequate investment in 
infrastructure and low efficiency in water-use," said Ban. 
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon calls for international 
cooperation and water sharing. 
W-W: "Yet even more water will be needed in the future - to 
grow food, to provide clean drinking water and sanitation 
services, to operate industries and to support expanding 
cities," he said. "The water-supply-demand gap is likely to 
grow wider still, threatening economic and social development 
and environmental sustainability." 
"The way forward is clear," said the secretary-general, 
"strengthening institutional capacity and governance at all 
levels, promoting more technology transfer, mobilizing more 
financial resources, and scaling up good practices and lessons 
learned." 
Some 425 million of those without enough water are children 
under 18, said UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman, kicking 
off the Walk for Water Event in New York City today. 
"Access to clean drinking water is critical for the health of 
children around the world," said Veneman at the event 
organized by Starbucks Coffee Company and Ethos Water. "In 
many parts of the world women and children walk long distances 
to fetch water for their families for drinking, washing and 
cooking." 
UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman, far right, at the Walk 
for Water Event in New York City. Veneman is a former U.S. 
Agriculture Secretary. 
For each bottle of Ethos water purchased in Starbucks stores, 
five cents is contributed to the Ethos Water Fund of the 
Starbucks Foundation. These funds support Starbucks' goal of 
contributing at least $10 million over five years to 
non-profit organizations involved in water issues. 
Many top restaurants in the city are asking diners to pay $1 
for tap water they normally get for free, with the funds going 
to UNICEF's drinking water projects around the world. 
From Geneva, UN World Health Organization Director-General 
Margaret Chan noted that over 1.6 million people die every 
year because they lack access to safe water and sanitation, 90 
percent of them among children under five, mostly in 
developing countries. 
Diseases such as cholera, typhoid, malaria and dengue could 
rise due to climate change, which makes availability of 
freshwater less predictable because of more frequent flooding 
and droughts, Chan warned. 
"For every child that dies, countless others suffer from poor 
health, diminished productivity, and missed opportunities for 
education. Much of this illness and death could be prevented 
using knowledge that has existed for many years," she said. 
UN Environment Programme Executive Director Achim Steiner 
stressed the dangers of climate change and its relation to the 
theme of World Water Day 2007 - Coping With Water Scarcity. 
"If we want to avoid water scarcity as the permanent theme for 
the 21st century, a big part of the solution is cuts in 
greenhouse gas emissions of 60 to 80 percent," he said, 
referring to humans' role in heating up the planet. 
UN Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General Jacques 
Diouf pointed to the agricultural sector's role as the number 
one user of water worldwide and its consequent duty to take 
the lead in addressing rising global demand and its potential 
drain on the Earth's natural resources. 
Speaking at the World Water Day celebration at FAO 
Headquarters in Rome, Dr. Diouf called coping with water 
scarcity the "challenge of the 21st century." 
The global population is expected to reach 8.1 billion by 
2030. To keep pace with the growing demand for food, 14 
percent more freshwater will need to be withdrawn for 
agricultural purposes in the next 30 years. 
Irrigation of fields in Syria where water is scarce. 
Agriculture is the world's number one user of water. 
"As population grows and development needs call for increased 
allocations of water for cities, agriculture and industries, 
the pressure on water resources intensifies, leading to 
tensions, conflicts among users, and excessive strain on the 
environment," said Dr. Diouf. 
Climate change has raised the stakes, he said. "Global warming 
has been blamed for more frequent droughts. Climate change has 
also intensified storms and flooding, which destroy crops, 
contaminate freshwater and damage the facilities used to store 
and carry that water." 
But Dr. Diouf held out hope, saying, "With the right 
incentives and investments to mitigate risks for individual 
farmers, improving water control in agriculture holds 
considerable potential to increase food production and reduce 
poverty, while ensuring the maintaining of ecosystem 
services." 
"The potential exists to provide an adequate and sustainable 
supply of quality water for all, today and in the future. But 
there is no room for complacency," said Dr. Diouf. "It is our 
common responsibility to take the challenge of today's global 
water crisis and address it in all of its aspects and 
dimensions." 
Businesses and financial institutions, too, are marking World 
Water Day 2007. In Tunis, the African Development Bank Group, 
AfDB, is prioritizing its water and sanitation operations to 
"quench Africa's thirst" for more investments to this sector. 
The AfDB says one African out of every three lacks access to 
safe drinking water supply, and half of all Africans lack 
access to sanitation. 
While Africa uses only about four percent of its renewable 
freshwater resources, water is becoming one of the most 
critical natural resource issues, according to the Bank Group. 

"Options are limited to either long distance water transfers 
from the southern aquifers to the coastal areas or large scale 
seawater desalination technology," said the AfDB. 
A Moroccan woman mixes water with cereals and barley for her 
herd of goats. The water is carried by donkey from a spring 
more than a kilometer away. 
Currently, 14 countries in Africa are subject to water stress 
or water scarcity, with those in northern Africa facing the 
worst prospects. This situation is getting worse as a 
consequence of rapid population growth, expanding 
urbanization, and increased economic development, the AfDB 
said. 
The World Bank today called for increased investments from 
private and public sources in order to enhance water security 
in developing countries which are projected to suffer the most 
because of water scarcity. 
"We need the right combination of infrastructure investments, 
sound institutional governance, and management," said Jamal 
Saghir, World Bank director for energy, transport and water, 
"which is essential if the poorest countries are to use water 
resources effectively and achieve rapid economic growth to 
benefit vast numbers of their populations." 
"When countries reach this minimum platform, water becomes a 
driver of economic growth rather than a negative force 
associated with floods and natural disasters," said Saghir. 
Achieving this level of water security requires new 
investments, but of the right kind – there is no one size fits 
all solution, he said. 
The World Bank is the largest external financier in the water 
supply and sanitation sector in developing countries. Its 
current water supply and sanitation project portfolio is 
nearly $7 billion. 
Water for All is the vision of the Asian Development Bank ADB, 
for the Asia and Pacific region. For 2006-2010, ADB expects to 
double its investments in the water sector through its new 
Water Financing Program, which directs funds, reforms and 
capacity development programs at rural communities, cities and 
river basins. 
By 2008, ADB's new Water Financing Partnership Facility 
intends to raise US$100 million for the Water Financing 
Program. 
In London, The Chartered Institution of Water and 
Environmental Management, CIWEM, is calling for adaptation of 
water planning "to ensure climate change factors can be fully 
incorporated into the decision making process." 
Stream in England. Even in countries where water is not 
scarce, planning is critical to ensure enough water for all 
uses. 
CIWEM is an independent professional body and a registered 
charity, with thousands of members in more than 90 countries, 
advancing the science and practice of water and environmental 
management for a "clean, green and sustainable world." 
CIWEM Executive Director Nick Reeves said, "That so many 
people, worldwide, are still without access to clean and safe 
drinking water is a scandal that requires urgent action and 
the investment of resources. Water wars was once a threat. 
It's now a reality that must not be allowed to escalate. In 
the 21st century nobody should have to cope with water 
scarcity." 
In Switzerland, IUCN-The World Conservation Union launched a 
new publication today entitled, "Pay – Establishing payments 
for watershed services." 
The new book lays out a range of payment schemes that are 
commonly used, from private trading, to cap-and-trade, to 
certification and public payment schemes. 
"Markets can solve watershed degradation through investments 
in the sustainable management of ecosystems," says Ger 
Bergkamp, head of the IUCN Water Programme. 
French Vittel, the world's largest mineral water bottling 
company, already invests US$24.5 million per year to 
compensate farmers in France for reduced use of fertilizer. 
The result is a reduction in the contamination risk of the 
bottler's main source of water. 
In Costa Rica, individual water users in the city of Heridia 
pay through their water bills to protect the forests and 
watersheds on which Heridia's healthy water supply depends. 
Landowners upstream receive up to US$110 per hectare per year 
to safeguard downstream water quality, the IUCN explains. 
"Water payment schemes require careful design and people 
involved need to understand the benefits and costs associated 
with creating such markets," said Bergkamp. "As with all 
natural and biological solutions, no one size fits all." 





 

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