How can we raise the value of the "water industry" all over the world in the wake of the late water crisis and its high risk?
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In 2050, Earth could be home to 10 billion people, but we will not have more freshwater than today. To avert a global crisis, we must immediately change how we use and manage water.
Already today, close to 4 billion people lack sufficient water for at least one month per year, and the situation is rapidly deteriorating. The combination of climate change, growing demand, and a rising global population is putting increasing pressure on the world’s freshwater resources. Human activities have broken the water cycle—the system that produces and recycles water—and mending it must now be a top priority.
Some suggestions could be the following: Here are nine ways to get started; please feel free to add to the list.
1. Value water:
The situation will only improve when we begin to understand the true value of water. All life requires water; it is a finite resource, and it has no substitute. Given these three characteristics, it seems absurd that water has often not been attributed any value at all, though this is luckily starting to change.
When societies place a higher value on water, we can expect improved efficiency and reuse instead of waste and pollution. Both the public and private sectors will want to invest in crumbling water infrastructure to limit waste and prepare for future weather extremes. It makes sense to apply more nature-based solutions to clean water and recharge the supply. As we start to understand the true cost of pollution, we can expect improved wastewater treatment and more recycling. All sectors of society must learn to manage water in a way that strengthens the water cycle.
2. Educate the public:
The wider public must come to terms with the fact that water can no longer be considered an endless resource. For this, we need data transparency and actionable information.
3. Learn from other sectors:
The transition in the energy sector provides lessons learned and a roadmap. The sector's adoption of digital technologies and renewables has provided consumers with greater choice in how their energy is delivered and consumed. It has also increased resilience to extreme weather events through the adoption of off-grid technologies.
4. Share water:
Competition over water is likely to increase, and good water governance will be critical. Though having access to clean water and safe sanitation is a human right, the fact remains that one person in four still does not have access to clean water at home. Similarly, around half of the global population lacks access to safely managed toilets, which is a major driver of disease and deaths, especially among children. At a time of growing climate threats, a lack of water and sanitation exacerbates the vulnerability of the world’s poorest.
Sharing water is an efficient way to increase justice and resilience. This is equally true for relationships between countries that share a river, lake, or groundwater aquifer. By managing it together, they are much better prepared for the increasingly erratic rainfall patterns and the growing number of droughts and floods that must be expected as the global temperature rises.
5. Increase transparency:
To most people, the water sector is "invisible," as was the energy sector decades ago. There is a lack of transparency on the cost of water infrastructure, the full cost of water, and the value of water. The sector needs to abandon the myth of low prices for water and the resultant underfunding of infrastructure. While investment is certainly required for our over-aged infrastructure, proper recognition of pricing drives innovation and allows new, more affordable technology to arise.
6. Transform agriculture:
For several reasons, agriculture all over the world must undergo massive transformations. First, to avoid mass hunger since climate change and degraded lands are making farming much more difficult in many parts of the world, Second, to make freshwater available for alternative uses; currently, food production accounts for 70 percent of freshwater withdrawals. A third reason is because agriculture is a main driver of water pollution and global warming.
We need more research and innovation to improve the sustainability, climate resilience, and water efficiency of agriculture. But many alternative methods already exist that recharge water, restore soil health, and improve food security. Often, a combination of traditional knowledge and new inventions gives the best results. Changing food habits and reducing waste are other key factors in the overhaul of the global food system that has started and now needs to rapidly pick up speed.
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7. Democratize access to data and information:
Water data and actionable information need to be available to end-users. This means aggregating publicly available data and translating it into readily understandable information about water quality and quantity in real time.
8. Restore ecosystems:
The?Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services?(IPBES) warns of an era of mass extinction of species that could threaten human existence. We depend on healthy ecosystems for food, water, and livelihoods. But by protecting and restoring ecosystems we can limit climate change, stop the loss of biodiversity, and improve water security.
Since all living organisms depend on water, we must pay more attention to the role of water in ecosystems. And this is starting to happen. A growing number of governments and companies understand their responsibility to protect and restore forests, rivers, wetlands, and oceans. This is in turn should mean that we stop over-abstracting and polluting the world’s groundwater, which poses an enormous risk to global food and water security.
9. Build resilience:
More and more signs are indicating that Earth’s life-support systems are seriously weakened – across the world people experience droughts, heat waves, floods, and rainstorms at an unprecedented scale. Such extremes are expected to only become more frequent and more severe, making it necessary for all sectors of society to redesign for resilience.
Luckily there are already many good examples from across the world of how this can be done. Cities are integrating trees, wetlands, and farmland to recharge and clean water, boost carbon storage, and reduce the risk of flooding. Farmers shift to agroforestry and methods that improve soil health. Communities protect their local watersheds and manage forests in a way that improves groundwater recharge.
There’s nothing more essential to life on earth than water, and by innovating and working with nature, we can improve the lives of the poorest, restore the water cycle, mitigate climate change, and improve biodiversity. So, what are we waiting for?
Read more about Water challenge in The MENA region for the last 2 decades threatens the future of human
Sources: Christos Charisiadis (LinkedIn) - SIWI.com
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