222893e

WATER COOPERATION, SUSTAINABILITY AND POVERTY ERADICATIONInternational water cooperationKitty van der Heijden, Ambassador, Sustainable Development and Director,Department for Climate, Energy, Environment and Water, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The NetherlandsLook at poverty, one of the persistent disgraces of our time,and you will see water. Still today, 1.1 billion peoplelack access to clean, safe drinking water, using less than5 litres (1.5 gallons) per day, and over 2.5 billion people areliving without adequate sanitation. Lack of safe water andadequate sanitation is the world’s single largest cause of illness,and 5,000 children die every day from diseases from tainteddrinking water. 1 Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest number ofwater-stressed countries of any region. Growing out of povertyrequires increases in food, manufacturing and energy – all ofwhich in turn depend heavily on sound water management.But water scarcity isn’t just poverty related. In 2008, the tankerSichem Defender arrived at the port of Barcelona carrying somethingfar more precious than its usual cargo of chemicals. 2 The nearly 23million litres of drinking water – enough for 180,000 people for aday – was the first delivery in an unprecedented emergency plan tohelp Spain, suffering its worst drought since records began 60 yearsago. After months without adequate rainfall its reservoirs were downto just over a quarter of normal capacity. A year ago they stood atalmost double that.A sand dam in East Ethiopia which creates enough groundwater to supply thenomadic population and its cattle with safe water the whole year throughImage: Paul van KoppenThe above is a grim reminder of what a worldwithout water can look like – and how a lack ofwater destroys ecosystems, causes economic distressand aggravates poverty. The water that exists todayon Earth is roughly the same as the water present atthe time dinosaurs roamed the Earth, though its formand location have shifted constantly across the globalhydrologic cycle. Yet pressures on water resources aremounting. And as pressing as water issues are now,they will become even more important in the nearfuture. Experts predict that by 2025, less than 15 yearsfrom now, nearly two thirds of the world’s populationwill experience some form of water stress. Withthe existing climate change scenario, some estimatessuggest that by 2030 demand for water could be 40 percent greater than current sustainable supplies. Nearlyhalf the world’s population will live in severely waterstressed areas, to the point at which a lack of water willimpede and even reverse social and economic development.Fragile states in northern Africa and the MiddleEast are most likely to experience water shortages, butChina and India are also vulnerable. 3About 70 per cent of the water used in developingcountries goes to agriculture. Without proper soilmanagement, watershed management, and integratedmanagement of water supply and demand, sufficientclean water will not be available to meet the needsof people, agriculture and ecosystems. Water withdrawalby the energy sector is expected to rise by onefifth through 2035, while the amount consumed (notreturned directly to the environment) increases by amore dramatic 85 per cent. 4 Higher rates of urbanizationwill increase demand for drinking water andindustrial use with consequent higher waste disposaland treatment, also requiring greater energy use.Collection of used water, separation of pollutedwater from less polluted waters, and preventionand management of wastewater pollution includingtreatment of used water, are becoming increasinglyimportant to protect populations and ecosystems aswell as to facilitate economic development. In the faceof the growing demands on finite water resources, itwill become necessary to consider wastewater as anadditional resource.Adapting to climate change is largely about water.More frequent and heavier rainfall will flush morepollutants into water systems, for example due to over-[ 196 ]