Tackling the global water crisis and why it's important?

Water scarcity, both natural and of human origin, is the lack of sufficient available water resources to meet the demands within a region. Water is unequally distributed over time and space. A large amount of it is wasted, polluted, and not managed sustainably.

Approximately 1.1 billion people lack access to clean drinking water, and 2.7 billion are water-scarce for at least a month of the year. 2.4 billion people are also exposed to diseases like cholera and typhoid fever due to inadequate sanitation. Each year, diarrheal diseases kill almost two million people, primarily children.

Several of the water systems that maintain ecosystems and feed an expanding human population have become stressed. Rivers, lakes, and aquifers drying up or getting too polluted to utilize. Wetlands across the globe are vanishing. Agriculture consumes more water than any other source and wastes much of that through inefficiencies. 

It is hard to imagine that drinkable freshwater may one day be in short supply. After all, water makes up around 71% of our planet’s surface. However, on further inspection, we find that the overwhelming majority of our water is unsafe for human consumption.

According to findings from the World Economic Forum back in 2015, the water crisis is quickly going to become one of the most significant threats to the planet over the next decade. Some of the world's most productive farming nations are already suffering from the crisis. In addition, hundreds of millions of people face being left without access to safe drinking water in addition to the 785 million people already without reliable access to drinking water. The WHO (World Health Organisation) estimates that by 2025 over half of the world’s population will be living in ‘water-stressed areas.

"Factors causing Water Scarcity"

Human activities are largely responsible for water scarcity or at the very least have made it worse. For instance, one of the leading causes of water scarcity is climate change. Due to our activities, the planet has become drier and precipitation has become more unpredictable. 

"Increasing temperatures are resulting in global and regional precipitation changes, leading to shifts in rainfall patterns and agricultural seasons, with a major impact on food security and human health and well-being,”

Other leading causes of the crisis include increased water demand amid a rapidly-growing global population, insufficient water infrastructure, and water being wasted especially in more affluent countries.

Water is taken so extremely for granted in developed countries and so undervalued, that when one day the supply runs dry; panic and crisis will undoubtedly ensue.

While research organizations such as the WRI highlight the catastrophic nature of this crisis, they also emphasize that it is not too late for us to fix the shortage.

Tackling the global water crisis.

Emerging solutions such as using wastewater as a source of energy, for instance, could prove promising. Other potential solutions, such as desalination, are able to turn the Earth’s abundance of saltwater into drinking water. However, the process is yet to become widespread due to its high energy usage and high price but these problems may eventually be overcome by future technological innovation.

As our demand for water increases and its availability continues to decrease, it is clear that lawmakers need to start thinking more seriously about the issue all over the world. If left unattended it will be hard to avoid the starting of hydro-political wars in the future as the global population starts to outgrow its potable water supply.

There is not a global water shortage as such, but individual countries and regions need to urgently tackle the critical problems presented by water stress. Water has to be treated as a scarce resource, with a far stronger focus on managing demand. Integrated water resources management provides a broad framework for governments to align water use patterns with the needs and demands of different users, including the environment.

Why is saving water important?

At the current consumption rate, this situation will only get worse. By 2040, two-thirds of the world’s population may face water shortages. And ecosystems around the world will suffer even more. Access to clean water changes everything; it’s a stepping stone to development. When people gain access to clean water, they are better able to practice good hygiene and sanitation.

This is an important issue that must be addressed right now before it is blown out of proportion since water is such a necessary element of human survival that we should never take it for granted.