The Global Water Crisis: Addressing an Urgent Security - Unu-inweh ...

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The Global Water Crisis: Framing the Issue Thomas S. Axworthy Secretary-General, InterAction Council President and CEO, Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation, Canada Bob Sandford Senior Water Policy Advisor, InterAction Council
Introduction In March 2011, high-level experts from around the world were invited to Toronto, Canada, to meet with members of the InterAction Council about the status of the world’s freshwater supply as it relates to global security issues (see List of Participants in this volume). These experts reported that that the global water crisis is real and that there is urgency in addressing the growing number of security risks associated with threatened water supply and quality. They also, however, expressed hope and identified opportunities that can be realized by the timely triggering of change in policies, institutions, and the way society thinks about water. 1. Something Must Be Done: Urgency and Risk The magnitude of the global freshwater crisis and the risks associated with it have been greatly underestimated. One billion people on earth are without reliable supplies of water, and more than 2 billion people lack basic sanitation. Water is critical to the attainment of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals whose targets are set to expire in 2015; it is already known that the world lags far behind on the sanitation target, which is predicted to be missed by over 1 billion people. In many countries, national security has historically been defined as military security. It is now understood that military might is only one element in the human security equation, and that water can play a determining role in international, national and transboundary conflicts. Although real potential exists for conflict over water, water tensions can also offer potential for cooperation between states, so long as the underlying institutions and capacity are in place for such cooperation to happen. Water security is also the foundation for food and energy security, and for overall long-term social and economic development. Water underpins health, nutrition, equity, gender equality, well-being and economic progress, especially in developing countries. But equitable water supply and quality problems are also threatening the security of some of the most developed countries in the world. In the USA, for example, water availability has already been identified as a national security concern, threatening its ability to meet the country’s water, food and energy needs. To complicate matters further, water stress is expanding globally but especially at mid-latitude countries that are already deemed to be water scarce, threatening to further undermine important development progress. Add to this the increasing number of environmental migrants moving within and beyond national boundaries in response to impacts from climate change and other impacts on water, and the global water crisis grows more serious each day. The environmental impacts of the water crisis are equally alarming. Multiple, cumulative and compounding problems with water supply and quality are converging globally. Increasing population growth is already competing with nature for finite water resources. A growing number of rivers do not make it to the sea, and there is widespread surface and groundwater contamination that makes valuable water supplies unfit for other uses. A growing number of contaminants, such as endocrine-altering substances, will demand higher wastewater treatment standards and more exhaustive monitoring of water contaminants. Although in many parts of the world, economic development has been slow as has been investment in science, there is significant potential for investment, research and development in water technologies, systems, treatment, use and productivity. Advances in technology, innovation and best practices are needed in order to keep pace with the current rate of growth to be able to meet rising levels of water demand, decreasing water availability and aging urban water infrastructure. Advances in technologies and development offer multiple opportunities for involvement of the private sector in meeting the world’s water needs, and the potential for public-private partnerships. Such advances will need to be integrated with national water policies. Until now, an apparent inter-jurisdictional and cross-sector willingness to cooperate over water has not led to effective action. Difficult reforms remain necessary and must be based on integrated land and watershed management principles rather than the fractured jurisdiction of artificial management units imposed by political boundaries. The Global Water Crisis: Framing the Issue 3
Page 1: The Global Water Crisis: Addressing
Page 4 and 5: About the InterAction Council Estab
Page 6 and 7: Acknowledgements
Page 8: Foreword
Page 11 and 12: The undeniable seriousness of the g
Page 13: Foreword xiii
Page 18 and 19: Ethical considerations also need to
Page 20 and 21: 3. Support Ratification of the UN W
Page 23 and 24: 1 Water and Global Security
Page 25 and 26: Introduction Since the serious stat
Page 27 and 28: Jury and Vaux project that the numb
Page 29 and 30: 5. The Potential for Conflict and t
Page 31 and 32: References Cullen, H., 2010. The We
Page 33 and 34: Introduction Water is an integral p
Page 35 and 36: shortage Statewide Regional Local N
Page 37 and 38: summer months. To alleviate the con
Page 39 and 40: References Department of Energy, 20
Page 41 and 42: Introduction Water, economic and en
Page 43 and 44: Economic analyses of ecosystem good
Page 45 and 46: • Managing for sustainability. De
Page 47 and 48: Richter, B.D., M.M. Davis, C. Apse
Page 49 and 50: Introduction Water is an essential
Page 51 and 52: early post-Cold War period, from a
Page 53 and 54: 2.4. Water, conflicts, and institut
Page 55 and 56: Renaud et al. (2011) proposed a pre
Page 57 and 58: Carius, A., D. Tänzler and A. Maas
Page 59 and 60: Turton, A.R., 2004. “The Evolutio
Page 61 and 62: Introduction In the West Asia and N
Page 63 and 64: 2. Water in the WANA Region 2.1. De
Page 65 and 66: Following on this, during a persona
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Below are some suggestions for how
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plants through evapo-transpiration)
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WANA Forum, 2010b. Toward Supra-nat
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Introduction “The trouble with wa
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• Upgrading current water infrast
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60,000 ventilation improved pit lat
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5. The Bottom Line It is widely ack
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The Blue Economy: Risks and Opportu
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2.1 A Human Development Approach to
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apparatus assists nation-states in
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By ensuring that the international
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2.2 Water and Health Security Ganes
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1.1. Human-induced Pollutants Domes
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Table.1. Water pollutants and human
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In many urban and semi-urban areas,
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2.3 Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and
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1. The Impacts of Poor Water, Sanit
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77 64 2015 MDG target Coverage (%)
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3. The Neglect of the WASH Sector a
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References Checkley, W., G. Buckley
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2.4 Water, Food and the Development
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2. Keeping Pace with Change Since t
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one and has yet to attain widesprea
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2.5 Investing in Women’s Particip
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of agriculture resulting mainly fro
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their substantial contribution is p
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Although cultural constraints still
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UNEP, 2009. Water Security and Ecos
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2.6 Water Governance Reform in Afgh
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1.2. The Extreme risk of food secur
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Furthermore, within each basin, lan
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3.2. Early doubts vis-à-vis progre
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transboundary water management conc
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3 Will the Right to Water Alleviate
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Introduction A growing number of ar
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2. Ethical Perspectives on State Ob
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References Barlow, Maude, 2007. Blu
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Introduction It is widely recognize
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Later in 2010, the UN Human Rights
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3.2. Legislative Recognition Dozens
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Mandela, M., 2002. No Water, No Fut
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Introduction South Africans have a
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water per person per day. The appli
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References Bluemel, E. B., 2004.
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Introduction Water conflicts are nu
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4. Water Policies and Their Impact
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y its interconnection to encompass
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Access to Water and Conflict: An In
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Response from the InterAction Counc
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As former U.S. President Mr. Bill C
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The InterAction Council Québec Dec
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List of Participants
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List of Participants: 29 th Annual
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