Source material and useful links for Water Scarcity briefings

18/10/2021: Over half the countries across the world are unlikely to achieve the 2030 target date for managing their water resources sustainably, according to a report by the World Meteorological Organization. As water know no borders, more coordination between countries will be necessary.

Source: Devex

Where on earth is a water-secure world?

7/10/2021: The water-related Sustainable Development Goals have turned out to be over-ambitious. Sadly, not a single country can currently boast that it is, indeed, water secure.

Source: Inter Press Service

Make every drop of water count

26/8/2021: Two new UN progress reports map water stress levels and underscore urgency of water efficiency. The water stress report observes that about one-third of the world's population (or 2.3 billion people) live in countries experiencing water stress, while 10 percent (733 million) live in countries with critical water stress, which has a significant impact on availability for personal needs.

Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization

Water scarcity: What's the big deal?

23/8/2021: Access to clean drinking water is a human right, but as the global population grows and the planet heats up, can we rely on this resource we take for granted? A summary of concerns about water scarcity.

Source: DW

The water cycle is intensifying as the climate warms

9/8/2021: The new global climate assessment published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change includes an assessment of the water cycle. It warns that rainfall intensity is expected to increase for most land areas, whilst the largest increases in dryness are expected in the Mediterranean, southwestern South America and western North America.

Source: The Conversation

Water scarcity: coming soon

29/7/2021: A recent scientific paper suggests that population growth alone (not factoring in climate change or water quality considerations) will lead to a widespread drop in freshwater availability per capita. Low-income countries are projected to have an average drop in water availability of around 46% by 2050.

Source: Inter Press Service

Billions risk being without access to clean water by 2030

1/7/2021: Latest global data from the World Health Organization and UN Children’s Fund reveals that access to safely managed drinking water at home increased only from 70 to 74 per cent between 2016 and 2020. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of universal coverage by 2030 will require a quadrupling of the current rate of progress.

Source: UN News

Big irrigation projects in Africa have failed to deliver

9/6/2021: Failures of large-scale irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa over several decades may be due to a preference for large projects. Entrepreneurial small-scale farmers may offer better returns on investment in food and water security as rainfall patterns become increasingly erratic.

Source: The Conversation

The war waged against access to clean water and sanitation

9/6/2021: A new report by UNICEF highlights that attacks on clean water infrastructure in conflict regions are increasing. Attacks that aim to terrorize a population, or as a military advantage, contravene international humanitarian law.

Source: Devex

China makes desalination push to ease water scarcity

3/6/2021: China will invest in new desalination plants over the 2021 to 2025 period in a bid to backup municipal water supplies in regions suffering from shortages. China's water per capita is about 2,000 cubic metres, less than a quarter of the global average and among the lowest in the world.

Source: CNA

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