World’s Water Supply Strained by Climate Change, Growing Food Needs: UN Report

The world’s water supply is being strained by climate change and the growing food, energy and sanitary needs of a fast-growing population, according to a United Nations study that calls for a radical rethink of policies to manage competing claims, Reuters reports.

Issued on the eve of a six-day gathering on world water issues, the United Nations, in a massive report, said many daunting challenges lie ahead. They include providing clean water and sanitation to the poor, feeding a world population set to rise from seven billion to nine billion by 2050 and coping with the impact of global warming, AFP reports.

“Pressures on freshwater are rising, from the expanding needs of agriculture, food production and energy consumption to pollution and the weaknesses of water management,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in the report.

“Climate change is a real and growing threat. Without good planning and adaptation, hundreds of millions of people are at risk of hunger, disease, energy shortages and poverty.”

The World Water Development Report is issued every three years to coincide with the World Water Forum, opening in the southern French city of Marseille on Monday.

Written by experts in hydrology, economics and social issues under the aegis of UNESCO, it aims to be the world’s reference manual for water.

This, the 4th edition of the report pointed out that population growth and a shift to more meat-intensive diet will drive up demand for food by some 70 percent by 2050. Using current methods, this will lead to a nearly 20 percent increase in global agricultural water consumption.

The report calls for an overhaul in water management and a massive effort to curb waste. Better irrigation systems, less thirsty crops and the use of “grey,” meaning used, water to flush toilets are among the options.

On the issue of sanitation, the report notes that about 2.5 billion people have no access to decent sanitation, a figure meaning that a key Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for 2015 is likely to be missed. In contrast, UN estimates last week said a goal for improving access to clean water would be met.

At the end of 2010, some 89% of the world’s population, or 6.1 billion people, used improved drinking water sources, according to another report titled “Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation 2012”. That figure is one per cent more than the 88 per cent stated in the MDG targets.

UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake cautioned that victory can not yet be declared because at least 11% of the world’s population – 783 million people – are still without access to safe drinking water, and billions live without sanitation facilities.

Only 61 per cent of the people in Sub-Saharan Africa have access to improved water supply sources, compared with 90 per cent or more in Latin America and the Caribbean, northern Africa, and large parts of Asia. Over 40 per cent of all people globally who lack access to drinking water live in Sub-Saharan Africa.