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78% of the world's population suffers from a shortage of water resources

 

78% of the world's population suffers from a shortage of water resources


Nika Chitadze

Director of the Center for International Studies 

Professor of the International Black Sea University 

 


Clean and drinkable water is not available in many countries. While 3/4 of the Earth's surface is covered by water, only 3% of it is drinkable. Moreover, only 0.3% of this falls on rivers, lakes and groundwater, and the rest is localized in the form of glaciers.

Taking into account the mentioned factor, it should be mentioned that 3 out of 4 people in the world live in water-scarce countries, and statistically more people die from a lack of safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene services than from water-related natural disasters - according to the latest assessment of global water security.

According to the international definition, the availability of drinking water is not less than 20 liters of water per capita, which is available within a radius of 1 kilometer from the place of residence. Otherwise, we face a shortage of drinking water.




A global assessment of water security conducted under the leadership of United Nations water experts found that the majority of the world's population currently lives in water-insecure countries, which is an alarming trend.

To provide a more realistic understanding of the status of water security worldwide, this UN report assessed water security on 10 components:

•           drinking water,

• sanitary conditions,

• good health,

• water quality,

• availability of water,

• cost of water,

• water management,

• human safety,

• Economic Security

• Stability of water resources.

The results are alarming: 78% of the world's population currently suffers from a shortage of water resources.

According to the main findings of the global assessment, although all regions have countries with low levels of water security, the least developed countries and small island states are particularly affected by critical levels of water security due to several factors. 23 countries are critically water vulnerable and are Solomon Islands, Eritrea, Sudan, Ethiopia, Vanuatu, Afghanistan, Djibouti, Haiti, Papua New Guinea, Somalia, Liberia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Libya, Madagascar, Pakistan, South Sudan, Micronesia, Niger, Sierra Leone, Yemen, Chad, Comoros and Sri Lanka.




 

It should also be noted that the abundant availability of natural water does not necessarily ensure water safety. Many countries with abundant freshwater resources in Africa, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas have high rates of hygiene and sanitation (WASH) )-related deaths.

 

Access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation is still a dream for more than half of the global population. More than 70% (about 5.5 billion) do not have access to safe water, with African countries performing the worst, with only 15% of the region having access to clean water.

 

Consequently, more people worldwide die from lack of safe WASH services than from water-related disasters, and most worryingly, the situation is not improving.

 

Therefore, the world is facing a big challenge. How to fight this problem? There is no single answer to the question because the problem is quite complex and it demands the same approach from us.

 


Scientists and specialists in the field believe that, first of all, it is necessary to reduce the rate of global warming, as well as the rate of desertification. Resources should be used more efficiently and not wasted. The International Organization for Standardization, which is the author of several standards in the fight against climate change, is actively working on this problem. ISO 14080 stands out among them, the main goal of which is to fight against global warming. The latter is the main cause of drinking water shortage. Also, among such standards are ISO 14064-2 and ISO 14064-3, the main purpose of which is both the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and their control.

 

If radical measures are not taken, this estimate indicates that 2/3 of the world's population will have to live with water scarcity even after 2030.

 

 

 

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