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The urgent global water crisis
The urgent global water crisis | GZERO World

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.

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Water isn’t “free” - but it shouldn’t be private
Water isn’t “free” - but it shouldn’t be private | GZERO World

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."

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The uncomfortable truth about water scarcity
The uncomfortable truth about water scarcity | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

The uncomfortable truth about water scarcity

Water is critical to life, yet billions of people worldwide lack access to it. Gilbert Houngbo, Chair of UN-Water, sheds light on this critical issue on GZERO World. Houngbo attributes the water crisis to both "lack of resources and bad governance," and stresses the need for investment in water-related infrastructure to help solve the problem.

"We as a global society have taken water for granted," Houngbo says, "Water must become everyone's business." Agriculture alone accounts for up to 75% of global fresh water use, so investing in technology to reduce waste and also plan for climate change is key. Houngbo also highlights the importance of developing metrics to measure progress in addressing water scarcity, particularly in rural areas, and cautions against private companies leaving the most vulnerable populations behind.

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Jessica Frampton

“Crimea river”: Russia & Ukraine’s water conflict

Russia and Ukraine have been at odds over lots of things in recent years, but the latest spat is over something particularly fluid and intractable: water.

While much of the attention on Ukraine's conflict with Russia tends to focus on eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists control two Ukrainian provinces amid an ongoing civil war that's already killed 14,000 people, there's also Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014 and continues to govern directly.

Since that time, Crimea has been running out of drinking water, and Moscow isn't happy about it.

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