Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Governments call for urgent action on water

BusinessGhana: With some two billion people around the world still lacking safe drinking water, world leaders gathered in Stockholm for the 23rd World Water Week on Monday called for global co-operation in tackling the coming demand for water.

Although the target of halving the number of people without access to clean water sources under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was achieved in 2010, problems still lie ahead as the world's population continues to rise rapidly.

By 2050, there will be nine billion people on Earth. However, the amount of water in the world will not increase, according to experts.

Addressing the opening session of the World Water Week, the Executive Director of the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), Torgny Holmgren, warned: "Mortgaging our future by draining water from the ground, surface and sky faster than it can be replaced by nature is untenable and unwise. It will undermine the stability and security of our entire civilisation."

He called for strengthened international co-operation over water, adding that collaboration over the world's most essential resource was more urgent than ever. "For the sake of the generations to come, we need to change the way the world uses water. We cannot delay," Mr. Holmgren said....

The fountain at Sergels Torg in Stockholm, shot by Jonas Bergsten, public domain 

1 comment:

stephen gibson said...

An enormous amount of focus is on energy, yet water is perhaps the most critical resource of all.

The key is integrating sustainable development within the water cycle. Sustainable drainage solutions need to become mandatory across the world.