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

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
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