Is the world running out of water?
Water is fundamental to life, but if current patterns of consumption continue two-thirds of the world’s population could be facing water shortages by 2025.
Global leaders are scrambling to avoid what could be an impending global water crisis.
“What’s happening bit by bit is that water scarcity is becoming increasingly common all around the world, no matter where you look as country after country hits the limit of what it can use,” Professor Mike Young told news.com.au.
“Whether that’s in Australia, California, China, India, Pakistan, or right throughout Africa.”
According to the World Economic Forum’s 2017 Global Risks Report, the World Bank forecasts that water availability in cities could decline by as much as two thirds by 2050.
While the earth is mainly comprised of water, freshwater – the water we can drink – only accounts for 2.5 per cent of that. And worryingly, the majority of fresh water is in hard to access places like glaciers and snowfields. Currently, less than one per cent of the earth’s water is feeding the world’s 7.5 billion people.
Water scarcity has also been intensified by the increasing global population. The growing affluence of the world is also having a big impact. For example, a bottle of wine takes over 400 bottles of water to make. A calorie of meat requires 10 times as much water to produce as a calorie of food crops.
Professor Young, a specialist in water policy reform and holds a Research Chair in Water and Environmental Policy at the University of Adelaide, says the challenge to combat water scarcity is a political one. We need to establish world sharing systems to manage and share regional water resources.
“That’s a big transition that has to happen everywhere,” he said.