TESTING TIMES

sanitation and hygiene, food and
energy security, poverty eradication
and many other aspects of Sustainable
Development. Alarming levels
of water stress in many regions,
threaten progress towards achieving
Sustainable Development Goals.
Lack of fresh water in the poorest
countries is increasing their vulnerability.
Ensured public participation
in sustainable water resources management,
water governance, and
women’s roles in local peace-building
processes.
Global water use has risen six fold
over the past 100 years, and 80 percent
of wastewater is released back
without treatment, while about half
of accessible freshwater is appropriated
for human use each year. Since
1900, 64-71 percent of natural wetland
area worldwide has been lost
due to human activity. As a result,
about 4 billion people – 60 percent
of the world population – live in regions
with nearly permanent water
stress, and 3 billion people lack basic
hand washing facilities at home.
By 2030 global demand for water
is expected to exceed supply by 40
percent, and about 6 million people
might face clean water scarcity and
violent conflicts by 2050. Enhancing
water availability and quality is thus
a major challenge.
Nature – based solutions focused
on water availability to address
water supply by managing
water storage, infiltration and transmission
are essential. For instance,
natural wetlands, improvements in
soil moisture and groundwater recharge
are ecosystem friendly methods
of storing water and are cheaper
and more sustainable than building
and maintaining big dams.
Nature – based solutions for cities
include catchment management,
water recycling and green infrastructure.
Catchment measures are
traditionally used to improve water
supply, but they can also store water
and control regular water flows
to a city. Urban green infrastructure
Opinion Express July 2021 27