Alarming forecast on water security and climate change for 2030
Water security is an issue that is yet to be solved, despite efforts to deliver improved water security, access to drinking water and transboundary water management.
“The stakes are high,” Ambassador Matthew Rycroft, UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said in a statement. “Over three-quarters of UN Member States share river basins with another country and over 2 billion people live in shared river basins in the developing world. Sadly, we know what can happen when the water runs dry.”
The Ambassador emphasised the horrendous outcomes that lack of water could bring. “In north-eastern Nigeria, lack of water is exacerbating the man-made crisis, as we saw for ourselves when we visited in March. Thousands of displaced people, the majority of whom are women and children, have become sick from diseases spread by dirty water and poor hygiene as the conflict continues,” he added.
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The outlook for 2030 is fragile, according to Rycroft. By the time Global Goal 6 is achieved, the demand for water in developing countries will “outstrip supply by 40%”. Combined with weak governance, population growth, migration and climate change, the scarcity might lead to a possible “upsurge in global conflict in the future”, according to the Ambassador. He noted that these problems cannot be solved through one meeting a year.
“Across the world, climate change is undermining water security”, Rycroft also said. “In almost all climate change scenarios the world’s driest regions become drier and across the globe flooding will become more common. If we aren’t taking steps to address climate change, we are fighting with one hand tied behind our back.”
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