Despite the international community’s commitments many people still do not enjoy the right of access to clean water and half the world’s population is in danger of running short of this vital commodity in 30 years.

More than 1.1 billion human beings do not have access to drinking water and 2.4 billion lack proper sanitary facilities. For some people water may seem abundant, but reserves are very unevenly spread. Whereas a few countries hold 60% of the planet’s fresh water reserves, Asia, home to 60% of the world’s population, only has 30% of the total. Water shortages are a permanent state of affairs in a triangle stretching from Tunisia down to Sudan and across to Pakistan. Each person has an average of less than 1,000 cubic metres of fresh water a year, a situation described as a “chron­ic shortage”.

Water quality is also a problem. The larger the amount consumed, the more waste water is produced. In developing countries 90% of waste water and 70% of industrial waste runs straight into the surface water without any form of treatment.

As a result more than 5 million people die every year of water-related diseases, 10 times more than the number of victims of armed conflicts. The world’s population is set to rise from 6 billion people in 2000 to 8 billion in 2025. The average amount of fresh water available per person per year will consequently decrease by almost a third. If water use goes on increasing at the present rate the UN estimates that in 20 years’ time 1.8 billion people will be living in areas affected by a constant water shortage, with 5 billion others located in places where it will be difficult fully to satisfy their needs.

As the population drift from the countryside to the towns continues the situation will deteriorate further, with increasing numbers packing into the planet’s giant metropoles. By 2020 27 of the world’s 33 largest cities (population exceeding 8 million people) will be located in the South. The corresponding influx of people will lead to a 40% increase in domestic water consumption.

But wastage increases as the standard of living improves. The many amenities appearing in well-off homes encourage extravagant use of water, regardless of its relative scarcity and its rising cost (which, driven upwards by private utilities, may be prohibitive for the poor). Europeans currently use eight times more fresh water on a daily basis than their grandparents. The aver­age inhabitant of Sydney, Australia, uses more than 1,000 litres of drinking water a day, compared with 300 to 400 litres for an American and 100 to 200 litres for a European. In some developing countries the average daily consumption per capita barely exceeds a few litres.

Vast amounts of water are simply wasted. Only 55% of all water pro­duced is actually used. The rest is lost, either because it drains away or evaporates during irrigation, or because it leaks from the mains. To feed the world’s population the productivity of farming must substantially improve. Irrigation, which already accounts for 70% of all the water produced, will need to increase by 17% over the next 20 years.

Attempts to solve the water short­age based exclusively on technology, such as desalination of sea water, will only have a limited impact due to their cost. We must improve the efficiency of our water usage, particularly for irrigation, refurbish drinking water production and distribution resources, protect reserves and combat pollution. According to various funding agencies this will require an annual investment of $180bn over the next 25 years, compared with $75bn at present.

Unfortunately there is disagreement as to which remedies should be promoted. Privatisation of water, recommended by international donors and some governments, still only concerns 5% of global resources. Many non-governmental organisations condemn this mercantile approach, maintaining that access to water is a “basic human right”, that should either be free or charged at its real cost. But even then the poorest people will not unable to pay for their water. We consequently face a dual challenge: we must manage water wisely and protect the right of access of the poorest people to this vital resource.

On the web

?International Rivers Network (IRN): www.irn.org
>?United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO): www.unesco.org/water/
>?The Water Barons: www.icij.org/water
>?Planète bleue:www.planetebleue.info
>?The World Conservation Union (IUCN): www.iucn.org/themes/wani
>?H2O: www.h2o.net