If current water consumption continues, the world will face a severe water shortage in 2030, which could trigger conflicts between different economic sectors and even between regions and countries, warned a UN report. Presented within the framework of World Water Day, celebrated every March 22, the report indicated that, if the current rate of consumption continues, by 2030 there will be a shortage of 40 percent of the water that the planet would need to subsist and maintain its productive activities.
The document, coordinated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), also stated that the first victims of scarcity will be the poor, marginalized populations and women.
The calculation is based on the premise that to meet the water needs of a growing world population, the agricultural and energy sectors must constantly increase their production.
By 2050, the most water-intensive sector, agriculture, will have to produce 60 percent more food globally and 100 percent more in developing countries.
In addition, demand for manufactured goods is also set to increase, adding to the pressure on water resources.
Water demand from the global industry as a whole is expected to increase by 400 percent between 2000 and 2050.
Water is still not being managed sustainably even though global demand has soared – by 2050 it is expected to increase by 55 percent – and that 20 percent of the world’s groundwater is being abused, the report said.
Intensive irrigation of cultivated land, uncontrolled dumping of pesticides and chemicals into waterways, and the lack of wastewater treatment – which affects 90 percent of wastewater in developing countries – are glaring examples of the shortcomings.
Currently, 748 million people are deprived of access to water sources protected from pollution, equivalent to one in 10 of the world’s population.
