Water: As demands increase, the world struggles to stay afloat

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), launched a report today entitled: World Water Development Report. Speakers included William Cosgrove, Content Coordinator, and Richard Connor, one of the authors of the report.  They underscored the extent current crises are linked to water and how all the decisions countries take now about water will have implications to all future water development resources. They also suggested how crises are related to the price of food and water.

Cosgrove said energy consumption will go up 60 percent in the next few years. He said more people also want to shift to diets consisting of more water based food and agricultural costs are going up as well as prices of oil. These have  all had implications on the production of fertilizer.

“We have always been subjected to climate variability. But if we look at countries in the developing world–Ethiopia and Tanzania–it is clear that climate variability has a direct impact on GDP. Over a 12 year period, Ethiopia could lose 38 percent of it GDP due to climate variability.”

The financial crisis was also cited as slowing down investments in water in development. “Water should be crucial to all infrastructural development.”

Connors said natural disasters also greatly slowing down water infrastructure developments. In countries that are short of water, good like grains are imported to produce water. Through trade mechanisms, we could help these countries. Cosgrove added “the big decisions are made by governments. Water is essential to development and will help achieve the Millennium Development Goals.”