Why should policymakers adjust the current approach to solving this crisis?

Population trends, economic development, urbanization, industrialization, technological development, and increased flows of information and understanding will both improve and cause further deterioration of water access, water quality, and sanitation services. Shortfalls in these areas already significantly impact economic development, environmental security, and geopolitical stability across the world.

Consider this:
The Middle East and the entire African continent will continue to experience the highest levels of population growth for the next two decades and beyond. Almost all of the 39 countries expected to be experiencing physical water scarcity (<1000 m3/year per capita) in 2025 will be located in the Middle East and Africa.



An estimated 40 billion working hours are lost each year in Africa to the gathering of water, implying huge costs of forgone productivity. The burden of disease caused by unsafe drinking water is yet another barrier to economic growth. Diarrheal diseases alone are estimated to cost $40 billion annually in disability-adjusted life years. The deteriorating water quality of China and India's countryside are poisoning nearby inhabitants, increasing the risks of social upheavals or stunted economic growth. Wang Shucheng, minister of water resources in China, was recently quoted as saying, "Hundreds of thousands Chinese are afflicted with various diseases from drinking water that contains too much fluorine, arsenic, sodium sulfate, or bitter salt."

Beyond internal strife, cross-border conflicts over shared water supplies are not far-fetched. In the last five years alone, according to the Pacific Institute's Water Conflict Chronology, water supplies have been at the heart of at least 31 conflicts ranging from attempted terrorist attacks to development disputes. Across the planet, 261 river basins are shared by two or more countries and 13 are shared by five or more countries. Many of those shared water resources are situated in regions, namely the Middle East and Africa, also facing the challenges of high population growth, stagnant economic growth, and political instability.

Next

Why is it widely believed there is a looming global water crisis?

Why should policymakers adjust the current approach to solving this crisis?

Why should the United States engage on global water issues?