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What will it take for the world to get serious about water?
Why did it take over twenty years for the UN's marquee climate conference to start talking about water? "It's undervalued and therefore, it's not getting the attention it deserves because people don't see the actual value addition of engaging with it," says James Dalton of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
"Roundabout 90% of global water policy is out of date," says James Dalton of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. "We're effectively 40 years behind where we need to be on the policy calendar when it comes to being able to better manage our water resources."
He says that lack of attention has led humanity to "abuse the resource," overtaxing existing freshwater resources and exposing them to pollution. And as climate change threatens to create an even more dangerous and volatile water cycle, he asks, "can we get the direct action happening quickly enough before we really start to feel the pain of this?"
Dalton spoke at a GZERO Live event organized by the Sustainability Leaders Council, a partnership between Eurasia Group, GZERO Media, and Suntory.
Watch the full livestream conversation: The global water crisis and the path to a sustainable future
The urgent global water crisis
Water is something none of us can live without, but billions of people take for granted. On GZERO World, UN-Water Chair Gilbert Houngbo and Ian Bremmer discuss the global water crisis, the impact of climate change, and solutions for providing future genereations with better access to clean, drinkable water.
Four billion people around the world experience at least a month of water scarcity each year, which is a problem Houngbo attributes to lack of resources, a rapidly changing climate, and bad government policy. To ensure that those most vulnerable to water stress don't get left behind, Houngbo emphasizes the need for investment in water-related infrastructure and technology, particularly in agriculture, which uses up to 75% of the world's fresh water supply.
"We as a global society have taken water for granted," Houngbo says, and water management must become "everyone's business." Houngbo also highlights the need to develop reliable metrics to measure progress in addressing water scarcity, especially in rural areas, which have some of the biggest problems.
Despite the severity of the problem, Houngbo remains optimistic that society can meet the global water challenge with policies that ensure access to basic water services, encourage water reuse, and minimize pollution risks.
Note: This interview appeared in a GZERO World episode, "The uncomfortable truth about water scarcity," on March 27, 2023.
Water isn’t “free” - but it shouldn’t be private
UN-Water Chair Gilbert Houngbo remembers being a college student in the late 70s, when people first started saying water should be treated as a public good. Today, we're still having that same conversation, but now, groups like UN-Water are working to make it a reality.
On GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, Houngbo emphasizes the importance of policies that ensure access to basic water services, encourage water reuse, and minimize the risk of pollution. It's easy to think water is free and we don't need to take care of it, says Houngbo, "but this has to stop."
The former Prime Minister of Togo also touches on "the sensitive issue of privatization of water services" and the potential impact it can have on "inequality and efficiency." Well-managed water services are a good thing, Houngbo notes, but privatization shouldn't mean the price of water automatically goes up.
Despite the double-edged sword of privatization, he suggests that it "can be effective if accompanied by government regulations" to ensure that vulnerable populations have access to water and that private companies adhere to quality and safety standards.
Watch the GZERO World episode: The uncomfortable truth about water scarcity
Ian Explains: The problem of our diminishing water supply
Water is a vital resource the world can't live without, yet it's something we often overlook. Did you know that there is only one ocean on Earth? It's true. It might have a different name depending on where you are in the world––Atlantic, Pacific, Indian––but they're all connected. And they cover a staggering 71% of our planet's surface, representing 96% of all water on earth.
Freshwater, the kind we need to survive, is becoming scarcer every day, Ian Bremmer explains on GZERO World. Climate change and increasing demand for water are putting pressure on one of the world's most precious resources. As a result, droughts and severe water scarcity are becoming more common.
Four billion people, half of the world's population, experience at least a month of water scarcity each year, which could displace as many as 700 million people by 2030. Water scarcity leads to hunger, displacement, and conflict, which makes protecting the world's water supply one of our most urgent problems.
While we've made efforts to protect our oceans, scientists say we need to do more to ensure we have access to the freshwater we need.Watch the GZERO World episode: The uncomfortable truth about water scarcity
The challenge of measuring the global water crisis
How do you measure the global water crisis? When it comes to climate change, many people are familiar with the 1.5°C metric from the Paris Climate Accords, but is there an equivalent for water? In a discussion with Ian Bremmer on GZERO World, UN-Water Chair Gilbert Houngbo delves into the complexity of measuring the global water challenge and evaluating solutions for the future.
UN-Water is a consortium of dozens of UN agencies working together to address the water crisis and figure out the best way to meaure progress. Houngbo notes that metrics like access to drinkable water, sanitation, and water reuse are a good start. But the worst water scarcity problems are in rural areas, where the data quality is challenging.
Developing strong metrics, Houngbo says, will help us better understand the “nexus between water and climate change," because water is so closely linked to the health of our planet. For example, some of the world's rivers are losing 10-20% of their reserves each year, and precisely tracking that loss with tools like artificial intelligence will help us better address the problem.
But it's not all bad news. Houngbo is positive our society can meet the global water challenge. In the medium to long term, he says, our habits and way of life will adjust, and “the Internet of Things” will help change our consumption patterns.
Watch the GZERO World episode: The uncomfortable truth about water scarcity
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Untangling the global water crisis
Access to clean and drinkable water is a significant challenge all over the world. UN-Water Chair Gilbert Houngbo joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World to shed light on the complexity of the issue, which he says is “a combination of bad governance and lack of resources.”
He stresses that water needs to become "everyone's business," and investment in water-related infrastructure is key. Houngbo points out that agriculture is responsible for “75% of water use,” so making it “climate-friendly” is a necessary step.
The situation in Yemen, where there is virtually no water access, highlights the challenges faced in addressing the problem. Houngbo notes that a multi-pronged approach that involves investment in infrastructure and technology is key – especially in areas like desalination. He acknowledges that desalination is expensive, and official development cooperation can play a role in addressing the issue.
Watch the GZERO World episode: The uncomfortable truth about water scarcity
A map showing global water stress.
Will the world come to grips with its water crisis in 2023?
This might be the year that the world finally acknowledges its mounting water crisis. From France to Zimbabwe and from the US to Chile, water shortages will drive new social and political conflicts. Rich developed countries will no longer be able to ignore the problem as one solely afflicting poor countries of the Global South. Against this backdrop, the UN is holding its first water conference in nearly 50 years from March 22-24 in New York.
We asked Eurasia Group expert Franck Gbaguidi what to expect from the UN conference and from efforts to address water scarcity in the year ahead.
Who will be at the UN conference and what will they discuss?
Over 6,500 participants are expected – mostly policymakers, NGO representatives, and water experts. Unlike the previous UN water conference in 1977, private sector actors will show up en masse, as they have at other recent environmental summits. The three-day event is meant to be both a wake-up call and a call to action. A wake-up call because the gap between water supply and demand is expected to reach 40% in just eight years, making life as we know it virtually impossible for millions, if not billions, of people. A call to action because governments and companies are asked to make voluntary yet ambitious commitments that will form a “Water Action Agenda” at the conference. It is a bottom-up approach, which means that these commitments must be bold, targeted, and measurable to make a real difference. Progress on pledges and targets will then be monitored over time, with the hope of significantly reducing the supply-demand gap by 2030.
What is driving water scarcity?
A couple of things. On the one hand, climate change is causing what we call “physical water scarcity” by squeezing water supply as the planet gets hotter. Warmer temperatures lead to more evaporation and less rainfall. On the other hand, poor infrastructure and a lack of proper water management fuel what we call “economic water scarcity.” Compounding both issues is the fact that the global population just reached 8 billion people, placing significant pressure on already strained resources.
What are some key geographic areas of stress you would highlight?
Water stress does not discriminate, but the impacts vary in severity. Shortages are particularly acute in the Middle East, home to nine of the ten most water-scarce countries in the world. In Africa, one in three people will face water scarcity this year, with the eastern part of the continent being the main hotspot. The western US will continue to suffer from its worst megadrought in over 1,200 years, despite recent heavy snow and rain. Elsewhere, countries including France and Spain in Europe, Mexico and Chile in Latin America, and China and India in Asia are bracing themselves for water shortages later in the year.
What will be the social and political consequences?
We expect to see a record number of water-related conflicts this year. In France, plans to build mega reservoirs are increasingly viewed as an attempt to privatize a public good and as counterproductive given the high risk of evaporation. As a result, protests are multiplying across the country, with activists committing acts of sabotage, leading the government to deploy police officers near reservoir sites. In Zambia and Zimbabwe, depleting water resources are heightening tensions between the two countries. That’s because Zimbabwe used up its water quota from their shared dam despite warnings from the Zambezi River Authority, which manages the dam and is jointly owned by both countries. Water scarcity will also be a catalyst for social instability, displacing populations in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, threatening economic prospects in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, and heightening food insecurity in Kenya, Somalia, and Sudan.
How have governments been responding to this challenge?
They continue to treat water stress as a temporary issue. It’s a case of managerial myopia – they focus on emergency measures that abruptly disrupt, restrict, and redistribute resources. There are many such examples from the past couple of months. Western Australian authorities announced they will cut the water allotment of a mining company by one-third to save supply in the region. In Arizona, dwindling water availability is leading officials to deny permits for new real estate projects relying exclusively on groundwater resources. In February, Spain raised the level below which no extraction is allowed from rivers in the south of the country. As a result, agricultural output in the region is set to decline considerably, potentially jeopardizing the livelihoods of 25,000 workers. Meanwhile, the country’s northeastern Catalonia region has also put in place new restrictions, including a 40% cut in the water available for agriculture. In sum, disruptive and uncoordinated water-related measures in both rich and poor countries will likely be a fixture this year.
What types of new approaches are needed?
Water stress requires a shift from crisis measures to long-term solutions. Governments should focus on longstanding water management deficiencies by upgrading aging infrastructure, fixing system leaks, and improving tracking and billing capacities. They should provide incentives to ramp up research on water stress modeling, finance wastewater treatment solutions, and develop new technologies at scale. Currently, technologies such as those used in desalination plants are too expensive to be used in agriculture, which accounts for 70% of global water use. Overall, greater coordination is needed among all stakeholders involved, from local policymakers and large investors to water-intensive industries and rural households. The UN water conference will hopefully be a step in the right direction.
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