Isn’t it high time we talk about water?
According to WWF, water covers 70% of our planet. Yet only 3% of the world’s water is fresh water.
The thought that 1.1 billion people worldwide who lack access to water of the 2.7 billion people means water scarcity is as much as an opportunity as it is a challenge.
If we think about exposed diseases such as cholera and tythoid fever and other water borne illnesses and how almost 2 million people, particularly children die each year due to diarrheal diseases – it is very tragic.
To add to the concern, the World Health Organisation highlights how climate change- induced flooding and droughts can impact household water, sanitation infrastructure and related health risks.
How can we do more with less?
In other words, can we produce more water, with less resources/technology?
(Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme)
According to the WHO/UNICEF, in 41 countries, a fifth of people drink water from a source that is not protected from contamination.
If collecting water is still a major burden, what changes can be made to assist villages/communities to gain access to such piped supply of water?
Who is responsible for collecting water?
One can see from the above WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme that it is women whom primarily collect water. One can also see how this can impact on education and development of gender equality in the short and long term. Some would say, that the water crisis disproportionality affects women.
Universally, it appears that we do not know what water is affordable. We use it for all sorts of things – to drink, shower, toilet – can we produce what we want with less water?
No city is immune to this problem of water scarcity, including:
Australia
Even the World Bank is taking an initiative to look at transforming Water-Scarce Cities through collaboration.
It truly reminds us that climate change is not limited to the obvious. Neither the problem simply being another country’s problem.
