The Global Water Crisis

in the 21st CenturyBy Gabriel Patino

“Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink…”1

Did you know that March 22nd is World Water Day

Overview of Earth’s Water and how we use it

What is The

Why It Matters• In simplest terms “the global water crisis is the

inability to provide a reliable supply of potable water to villages, towns, cities and regional populations, all over the world”3.

• According to the Millennium Development Goals Report 2012, 783 million people, or 11 per cent of the global population, remain without access to an improved source of drinking water4.

• Furthermore it is currently estimated that by 2025 over two-thirds of the worlds population could be living in water stressed conditions.5

Global Water Crisis and

Why It Matters

1. Because about 80% of the world's population lives in areas where the fresh water supply is not secure, according to a new global analysis.6

2. Unsafe water is the leading cause of sickness and death.7

- Every 15 seconds, aChild dies from a waterrelated disease8

- It is estimated thatat any given time half of the world’s hospital beds are filled with people suffering from water related illness9

Picture Recap

It is estimated that nearly 10% of the global disease burden could be reduced through improved water supply, sanitation, hygiene, and water resource management 11

Did You Know?

What Makes the Water Crisis a Transnational Issue

Well In order to be considered a transnational Issue one must know what a Transnational Issue is. The C.I.A loosely defines it as “any threat that does not respect national borders and that threaten global security, often arising from non-state actors”12. Along with this it is also an Issue that can not be solved by any one government, but rather requires the global cooperation of various governments in order to eradicate these said issues.13

Water Crisis as a Transnational Issue

Today over 43 countries are directly impacted by the global water crisis14, with many more being indirectly impacted

Access to safe, potable water is a fundamental human right. However, access is plagued by inequality – the wealthiest 12% of our global population utilizes nearly 85% the world’s water.15

At the end of the day “Water is not a democratic issue or a republican can issue, it's a people issue”16

The world’s demand for fresh water is growing so fast that by 2030, agriculture, industry and rapidly expanding cities will face scarce supplies, thereby jeopardizing economic development while threatening political stability and public health.17

It is also estimated that by 2030 "annual global water requirements" will exceed "current sustainable water supplies" by forty percent.18

Population growth is already colliding with finite water resources. Advances in technology, innovation, and best practices are being mocked and overshadowed by relentless population and economic growth19

Why Should we be concerned

Water Scarcity is only Increasing and if this trend continues the results could be catastrophic

The Global Water Crisis: Framing the Issue

1. How do we think about something as local as our faucets and as global as fresh water22

2. Who determines whether water is a human right or a commodity23

_ The United Nations recognizes the human right to water24, but this is not the same as having the human right to access water

1. And how do we address the different that constitute the global water crisis.

The Water Crisis: An Issue Of Supply & Demand

Overview:A finite supply of freshwater must meet the needs of everyone living today, future generations, and nature25

Water is a part of everything we do: It feeds crops, powers cities, cools computer servers, and is key to the manufacturing of everything from clothes to cars. The billion more people expected on the planet by 2025 will increase water demand for all of those functions. And just to feed those people, water withdrawals for agriculture are expected to increase by about half.25

These two things added together are problematic, especially because the demand for freshwater is increasing at twice the rate of population growth27.

Breaking Down the Issue

With that said, some experts believe, the global water crisis is perhaps more an issue of recognizing water's true value, using it efficiently and planning for the lean times, than it is a lack of overall supply.28

However, it’s important to know that the Transnational issue of the global water crisis is not just a matter of supply and demand, but rather constitutes several other key components which include the management of freshwater, the economics behind the water crisis and the importance of understanding the water crisis.

Crisis of Management

Crisis of Economics

Crisis of Understanding

Global Water Crisis

Overview of what makes up The Global Water Crisis

Crisis of ManagementLoosely categorized as the efficiency of water resources managed29, however in many countries there is little to any a government commitment to deliver water to its people

In the United States alones wastes an average of 7 billion gallons of water are wasted due to leaking pipes30.

In third-world developing countries, governments can not always guarantee access to safe drinking water. As a result “If you live in a slum in Manila, you pay more for your water than people living in London.”31

Example of Crisis Of Management

Crisis of EconomicsSimply Put it’s the impact on a country to build and maintain the infrastructure needed to treat and distribute water.34

Unfortunately Countries that don’t have adequate water distribution and infrastructure often loose millions of dollars on lost productivity in attaining potable water

Crisis of Economics“The lost productivity of people collecting water is greater than the combined number of hours worked in a week by employees at Wal*Mart, United Parcel Service, McDonald's, IBM, Target, and Kroger”35

“In Africa alone, 40 billion hours are wasted collecting water — more than the entire annual workforce of France”36

Crisis Of Understanding

Is how well informed the general public and our elected officials understand what’s going on with water, nationally and globally37

Benjamin Franklin once said “When the well runs dry, we will know the worth of water”38

Most experts believe that if there was a greater awareness of the water crisis, then real progress could be made towards managing it.

Awareness 101Many People assume that the water crisis is a result of individual wastefulness; like running the water while you brush your teeth. Therefore many people believe that by improving our personal habits the crisis can be solved39

But For those in rural villages in Africa who must walk for hours a day to obtain water, water scarcity can feel like a local and personal issue that must be faced with strength and personal sacrifice. If a woman in the United States takes a shorter shower to conserve water, it won’t make it any easier for a woman in Africa to access water. But it is this fact which simultaneously makes water scarcity a global problem. If the world is informed about the specific ways in which water scarcity can be tackled on a global scale, it can provide a united effort to improve water access.40

Examples

Of countries dealing withthe Global Water Crisis

The Good: Qatar

Imagine a country with abundant power -- oil and gas, sunshine, wind (and money) -- but missing one key essential for life: water. Through innovation, the Country of Qatar has become a leader and prime example of how to overcome water scarcity through the use of technology.41

Despite the lack of water Qatar’s economy continues to grow, and the average lifespan in Qatar has increased by about 60% with the last 70 years42

Qatar

Desalination: Qatar’s Answer to it’s Water Crisis

Desalination is is the process of removing dissolved salts from water to produce fresh water from water too salt y for human consumption, agriculture or industry44

However, One of the few drawbacks of desalination is that it can be expensive to install and maintain these facilities and machines. Nonetheless desalination has massive potential for the future and with international aid provides water opportunities for rich and poor nations alike.

The Bad: China

With an estimated population of over 1. 3 billion people, equaling about 20% of the world’s population45 and is the country with the highest consumption in the world46.

China is also one of the most water-rich countries in the world. But, its water resources are unevenly distributed and overwhelmingly concentrated in the south and far west. Water scarcity has always been a problem for northern China, but shortages have reached crisis levels as a result of rapid economic development.47

China’s uneven distribution of water is something of major concern. Northern China is home to where many of its biggest cities and industries are found, along with China's “breadbasket”. Northern China is also located where the water supply is the shortest only making the problem worse.48

China’s plan to counter the water crisis in the north. Allocate the water from the Southern China’s rivers to the North.

China is a perfect example of a country with an abundance of water, but not everyone necessarily having access to that water. Which is just as grave as not having water at all

“Made in China: The World’s Worst Water Crisis”

Currently 43 percent of the seven major river basins, 50 percent of groundwater in cities, and 77 percent of key lakes and reservoirs in China are unfit for humans52

And although China’s got a plan, it is only a temporary stopgap. The amount of water it will deliver, will buy China time to change and, hopefully, become more efficient. But it won't be enough to solve the country's water woes. China's thirst is just too great, and unless it alters its ways, millions might find one day, that their water could run dry51. Definitely something to be concerned about

The Ugly: The Aral SeaThe Aral Sea was once the fourth-largest lake in the world52, it is now a dusty graveyard of rusting shipwrecks, having lost over nine-tenths of its volume52.

This catastrophe is a result of the Soviet Government diverting the water to irrigate the dessert region for the cotton industry.

The shrinking of the Aral Sea has been called "one of the planet's worst environmental disasters.”54

The region's once prosperous fishing industry has been essentially destroyed, bringing unemployment and economic hardship.

The Aral Sea Today

Transnational Actors in the fight against the water crisis

Transnational actors are political, social, cultural, and economic agents or groups that wield considerable influence on trans-societal and/or trans-governmental politics across borders in pursuit of their goals, and to a certain degree independently from domestic governmental considerations55 Examples of Transnational Actors include Nongovernmental organizations (NGO), Multinational Corporations, and Supercharged individuals (SCI).

The World Wildlife Foundation

Is a prominent NGO involved in the global water crisis. The WWF involves itself through a variety of ways, which include promoting awareness of the issue and going to affected areas and helping assess the issue.Current areas of work include:ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE. The WWF works to address institutional challenges to managing water resources and protecting habitats before the worst impacts of climate change occur. This work includes promoting climate change adaptation in international conventions and supporting the preservation and restoration of wetlands. They help conduct assessments of river basins’ vulnerabilities to climate change and integrate climate change considerations into river basin management.

WHAT WWF IS DOING2. MANAGING WATER SCARCITY

WWF works with partners to advance the science of water conservation. We also work with governments, businesses and local communities to ensure that there are sufficient in-stream flows for people and other freshwater species, a and promote methods for sustainable water use.

3. PROMOTING WATER STEWARDSHIP To benefit both people and nature, WWF advocates for and supports organizations to become responsible water stewards. At the global level, we work on projects to establish an international water stewardship standard through the Alliance for Water Stewardship. We also support the use of water footprinting tools with the Water Footprint Network and promote other international initiatives with the United Nations’ CEO Water Mandate and the World Economic Forum. At the local level, WWF conducts projects that measure water use and river basin impacts and demonstrate solutions for reducing these impacts. WWF partners with businesses and industries to identify water risks and take advantage of opportunities to enhance water stewardship56

Key Actors on The Global Water Crisis: Think tanks

Think Tanks or public policy research, analysis, and engagement institutions are organizations that generate policy-oriented research, analysis and advice on domestic and international issues in an effort to enable policymakers and the public to make informed decisions about public-policy issues. These institutions often act as a bridge between the academic and policymaking communities, serving the public interest in independent voice that translates applied and focus based research into a language and form that is understandable reliable and accessible for policymakers and the public.57

Pacific Institute• The Pacific Institute is a non-profit policy

analysis institution that researches and works to create a healthier planet and sustainable communities. They conduct interdisciplinary research and partner with stakeholders to produce solutions that advance environmental protection, economic development, and social equity— nationally, and internationally.58

• The Institute recognizes that “There is no single practice or policy that will ‘solve’ all of our water challenges,. “But that we need to take critical steps forward toward more efficient and effective structures and policies that promote a sustainable approach to global water governance.”59

• Current recommendations include Securing a sustainable funding source and a stronger mandate for intergovernmental organizations to promote greater collaboration among organizations engaged in water governance. Adopting new standards, codes, and best practices for water resource development and management to promote greater transparency, participation, and accountability. -Promoting capacity building and increasing participation in water management for local, regional, and national government entities and civil society groups. 60

IGO’s

An Intergovernmental Organization (IGO) is an organization, established by a treaty between nations which acts as a charter, which is comprised of sovereign member states or other IGOs who work together in good faith on issues of common interest. Such organizations work on an international scale and are funded by the contributions of national governments61

The United NationsThe United Nations has long been addressing the global crisis caused by insufficient water supply to satisfy basic human needs and growing demands on the world’s water resources to meet human, commercial and agricultural needs62.

In 2000 the U.N declared water as one of eight “Millennium Development Goals” which sated that by 2015 they hoped that by 2015, halve the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. This goal was achieved in 2010 five years prior to the target date.63

But probably the most important thing the United Nations has done towards the global water crisis was recognizing the human right to water and sanitation and acknowledged that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the of all human rights. The Resolution calls upon States and international organizations to provide financial resources, help capacity-building and technology transfer to help countries, in particular developing countries, to provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all.64

The United Nations and Recent involvement in the Water Crisis

Although there are still over 780 million people without access to clean drinking water, the fight against the water crisis has seen significant steps towards a water secure world.

This progress forward is a result of the hard-work of NGO’s, IGO’s and Policy Based Institutions around the world. It’s because of these foundations that we have been able to achieve so much progress .

That being said, we still have a lot to accomplish and in order to achieve a sustainable water planet it’s going to require, everyone’s cooperation.

Where is the Global Water Crisis Going

That Difference saves 1,656 Children everyday

Global Governance in Defeating the Global Water Crisis

• Simply put “Global governance or world governance is the political interaction of transnational actors aimed at solving problems that affect more than one state or region”67

• With Global Governance and current International efforts along with the cooperation and investment of transnational actors I believe that achieving a water secure world is definitely attainable and should be one of our highest priorities.

Conclusions: Taking a Realist View on the Situation

• “Can we end the global water crisis?… No, we can’t end it. It’s too big for humanity to beat down and conquer. We’ve passed too many tipping points –with climate change and with population growth and with human behavior – to be able to turn an extremely critical situation around.” However we can manage our way through to ensure a sustainable water future, with leadership and commitment from governments around the world, and with the help of public and private partnerships66

The End