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.
"Freshwater is not being used sustainably," UNESCO
Director-General Irina Bokova said in a statement. "Accurate
information remains disparate, and management is fragmented ...
the future is increasingly uncertain and risks are set to
deepen."
It says that demand from agriculture, which already sucks up
around 70 percent of freshwater used globally, is likely to rise
by at least 19 percent by 2050 as the world's population swells
an estimated 2 billion people to 9 billion.
Farmers will need to grow 70 percent more food by that time
as rising living standards mean individuals demand more food,
and meat in particular.
The report will be debated at the World Water Forum, which
starts in the French city of Marseille on Monday.
A "silent revolution" has taken place underground, the
report warns, as the amount of water sucked from below the
surface has tripled in the past 50 years, removing a buffer
against drought.
And just as demand increases, supply in many regions is
likely to shrink because of changed rainfall patterns, greater
droughts, melting glaciers and altered river flows, it says.
"Climate change will drastically affect food production in
South Asia and Southern Africa between now and 2030," the report
says. "By 2070, water stress will also be felt in central
and southern Europe."
Asia is home to 60 percent of the world's population but
only around a third of water resources, it points out.
A separate water study by the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) released last week forecast
world water demand would rise by 55 percent by 2050, with more
than 40 percent of the global population likely to live in water
basins facing water stress.
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