A third of the world population faces water scarcity today

August 22, 2006

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Public release date: 21-Aug-2006

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-08/bc-ato081506.php

Contact: Jeff Haskins

jhaskins@...

Burness Communications

A third of the world population faces water scarcity today

Landmark study reviewing 50 years' practices calls for radical changes

in water management

Stockholm (August 21, 2006) -- One in three people is enduring one form

or another of water scarcity, according to new findings released by the

Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture at World

Water Week in Stockholm. These alarming findings totally overrun

predictions that this situation would come to pass in 2025.

" Worrisome predictions in 2000 had forecast that one third of the world

population would be affected by water scarcity by 2025. Our findings

from the just-concluded research show the situation to be even worse, "

says Rijsberman, Director General of the International Water

Management Institute (IWMI). " Already in 2005, more than a third of the

world population is affected by water scarcity. We will have to change

business as usual in order to deal with growing scarcity water crisis we

see in some countries like India, China, and the Colorado River basin of

USA and Mexico. "

The Comprehensive Assessment, carried out by 700 experts from around the

world over the last five years, indicates that one third of the world's

population is currently living in places where water is either over-used

- leading to falling groundwater levels and drying rivers - or can not

be accessed due to the absence of the appropriate infrastructure.

The Assessment, the first of its kind critically examining policies and

practices of water use and development in the agricultural sector over

the last 50 years, was co-sponsored by the CGIAR, FAO, the Ramsar

Convention on Wetlands, and the Convention on Biological Diversity in a

bid to find solutions to the challenge of balancing the

water-food-environment needs.

It was spearheaded by IWMI, one of 15 agricultural research centres

supported by the CGIAR that are striving to increase food production,

increase rural incomes, and safeguard the environment.

Rijsberman explained, " Our results show that one quarter of the world's

population live in river basins where water is physically scarce - water

is over-used and people are affected by environmental consequences from

falling groundwater levels to dying rivers that no longer reach the sea.

Another one billion people live in river basins where water is

economically scarce - water is available in rivers and aquifers, but the

infrastructure is lacking to make this water available to people. "

Access to reliable, safe and affordable water is understood and accepted

as a key step out of poverty for the world's 800 million rural poor.

Many more people dependent on rivers, lakes and other wetlands risk

falling into poverty because of declining groundwater supplies, loss of

water rights and access, pollution, flooding and drought.

Molden who led the Comprehensive Assessment says, " To feed the

growing population and reduce malnourishment, the world has three

choices: expand irrigation by diverting more water to agriculture and

building more dams, at a major cost to the environment; expand the area

under rain-fed agriculture at the expense of natural areas through

massive deforestation and other habitat destruction; Or do more with the

water we already use. We must grow more crop per drop, more meat and

milk per drop, and more fish per drop. "

Africa's savannahs - which have most of the world's poorest people who

typically rely on rain-fed agriculture - are singled out by the

Assessment as holding the greatest potential for increasing water

productivity, increasing agricultural yields per unit water used.

" The savannahs are fragile and the rainfall is variable; making them

productive systems for farmers is very difficult, " says Rijsberman. " But

this year, the World Food Prize goes to three scientists who have done

exactly that for the Brazilian savannahs, the cerrados. The Brazilians

used improved varieties of African grasses to conquer their savannahs.

They proved that it can be done. The same miracle needs to be repeated

in Africa. "

Already the consequences of water scarcity are evident in a number of

countries. Egypt imports more than half of its food because it does not

have enough water to grow it domestically. Australia is faced with major

water scarcity in the Murray-Darling Basin as a result of diverting

large quantities of water for use in agriculture. The Aral Sea disaster

is another example where massive diversions of water to agriculture have

caused widespread water scarcity, and one of the world's worst

environmental disasters.

Agriculture uses up to 70 times more water to produce food than is used

in drinking and other domestic purposes, including cooking, washing and

bathing. As a rule of thumb, each calorie consumed as food requires

about one litre of water to produce. In Thailand, the daily water

required to grow food is about 2800 litres per person per day - 40

percent for cereals, 20 percent for animal products and the rest for

pulses, fruits, sugar and oils. Italians use 3300 litres per person per

day, half for ham and cheese and a third for pasta and bread. Clearly

livestock and fish will play a significant role in future water use, but

remarkably their importance is underestmated in water resources management.

Despite the impending threat, the Assessment identifies numerous bright

spots – innovative approaches that hold potential for the future. These

include very low cost technologies that facilitate access to, and use of

water by, the rural poor. With health issues addressed, for example,

people can effectively use urban wastewaters as a productive resource.

Irrigation could also be reformed and transformed to reduce water

wastage and increase productivity.

There will be many difficult choices entailing tradeoffs between city

and agriculture users, between food production and the environment, and

between fishers and farmers. There is simply not enough water to go

around for all needs, yet allocation choices have to be made. In closed

basins, where all water has already been allocated, giving water to one

group means taking water away from another.

" The Assessment shows that while a third of the world population faces

water scarcity, it is not because there is not enough water to go round,

but because of choices people make, " Molden says. " It is possible to

reduce water scarcity, feed people and address poverty, but the key

trade-off is with the environment. People and their governments will

face some tough decisions on how to allocate and manage water. Not all

situations are going to be a win-win for the parties involved, and in

most cases there are winners and losers. If you don't consciously debate

and make tough choices, more people, especially the poor, and the

environment will continue to pay the price. "

###

Note to Editors:

The CGIAR is a strategic agricultural research alliance dedicated to

generating and applying the best available knowledge to stimulate

agricultural growth, raise farmers' incomes and protect the environment.

It supports 15 research centers worldwide conducting groundbreaking work

to nourish the future. The International Water Management Institute

(IWMI) based in Colombo, Sri Lanka is one such center of excellence. For

more information, please visit http://www.cgiar.org or

http://www.iwmi.org/assessment.

The World Water Week in Stockholm is the leading annual global meeting

place for capacity-building, partnership-building and follow-up on the

implementation of international processes and programmes in water and

development. For more information, please visit

http://www.worldwaterweek.org.

--

ne Holden, MS, RD < fivestar@... >

" Ask the Parkinson Dietitian " http://www.parkinson.org/

" Eat well, stay well with Parkinson's disease "

" Parkinson's disease: Guidelines for Medical Nutrition Therapy "

http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/

August 24, 2006

Thanks for sharing this ne,

I note how they mention the Colorado River Basin. Not only that, but many

farmers went out of business this year in Eastern Colorado as well due to lack

of water, because it got used up in the Denver area for overbuilding and

overuse and golf courses or whatever as well.

Part of the problem - trying to grow crops in arid areas. Another -

overdevelopment, which increases dust, which causes snowpacks to melt too

quickly.

Another -- people not conserving. (Many other reasons too. . . just mentioning

a few.)

Did you know the average daily water use in the world is 1 gallon a day. The

average use in the US is 80 gal/person/day.

Since we don't yet have a well hooked up, I've learned that my hubby and I

can get along fine on less than 400 gallons a month for the two of us. (Plus

rainwater collection for gardens.) Above the world average, FAR below the

national average.

It all starts at home. . . while we're at it, we should be shutting down

unused electrical equipment, switching to florescent bulbs and such. . .

Okay, off my conservative rant for the day.

Jan Patenaude, RD

Marble, CO

In a message dated 8/22/2006 7:47:58 A.M. Mountain Daylight Time,

fivestar@... writes: