How important is water?

Without water no life could exist on

Earth - Our bodies are made up of up to

60% water. Not only do we need it to

survive and function, it also underpins

all human activity; food and energy

production, travel, industrial processes,

construction – we rely on all of these

things to sustain our society and way of

life and all of these things rely on H₂o.

Flushing toilets and hot showers are

luxuries!

This is called the water/energy nexus

Water for Energy

All energy production needs water at some stage in the process. It is used in energy production and conversion, as well as in other processes, such as the refining of coal, gas and crude oil.

Energy for Water

A massive amount of energy is used in the collection, refining and distribution of water as well as the disposal of waste water. Think of the amount of gas and electricity homes and business use to heat water everyday…

What’s Water Stress?

Water Stress occurs in areas where water is scarce or where it is not clean enough to be used for drinking or farming.

Because of the massive scale of water usage use in farming, modern energy production and industry, water use has been growing at more than twice the rate of population increase during the last century.

While there is not yet a global water shortage, an increasing number of regions are becoming worryingly short of water.

And remember, without water, everything stops…

“Water scarcity is both a natural and a human-made phenomenon. There is enough freshwater on the planet for seven billion people but it is distributed unevenly and too much of it is wasted, polluted and unsustainably managed.”

Human Development Report 2006. UNDP, 2006

Fresh running water and sanitation are basic necessities in a modern, industrialised society but for hundreds of millions these things are a luxury they may well never experience.

Around the world, in third world and developing nations millions of deaths still occur as a result of water borne diseases and a lack of proper sanitation. For many people – mainly women - collecting enough water for themselves and their families is an everyday struggle.

The good news

Over two billion people have gained access to safer drinking water since 1990, according to a report by UNICEF and the World Health Organization.

2010 89% of the world’s population or 6.1 billion had access to clean drinking water five years ahead of the World Health Organisation’s 2015 target.

780 million people still lack access to clean water – more than 12 times the entire population of

the UK

The Bad news

Water Conflicts occur when communities or nations fight for their fair share of water.

Conflicts over water rights and water quality happen around the globe, from international conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa to local conflicts over rivers and streams.

As the global population increases and demand for water becomes ever more pressing water conflicts will increase unless solutions are found to make water a sustainable and fairly distributed resource for all.

Take the Renaissance Dam Project in Ethiopia:

It will build a dam across the River Nile to produce 6000 megawatts of clean, renewable electricity for Ethiopia boosting its economy and the living standards of its’ citizens…

…However, Egypt also uses the power of the Nile for industry and farming and says that the dam will cost it 20% of the countries water. They have vowed to stop its

completion “at any cost”

”…the risk of conflicts over water is growing – not shrinking – because of increased competition, because of bad management and, ultimately, because of the impacts of climate change”

Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute.

"For us, water is [now] more important than oil.“

Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates

The future?

If our society chooses to ignore the reality of limited water resources, the number of people impacted by water stress will double from 2.4 billion people to 4.8 billion, water prices will rise dramatically and armed conflicts over water may become a reality.

…But if we waste less, pollute less, reuse more, manage more effectively and become more efficient in all uses of water –individual, collective, agricultural and industrial – more than 1 billion people could escape exposure to risks and challenges from severe water scarcity.