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New York [US]March 23 (ANI): More than a quarter of the world’s population, or 26 percent, or around 2 billion people, do not have access to safe drinking water and 3.6 billion people, or 46 percent, do not have access to safely managed sanitation, report says , launched by UNESCO on behalf of UN-Water at the UN-Water 2023 Conference in New York.
Between 2 and 3 billion people suffer from water scarcity for at least one month each year, posing a serious threat to livelihoods, especially in terms of food security and access to electricity.
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The global urban population facing water scarcity is projected to increase from 930 million in 2016 to 170-240 million in 2050. Increasing incidences of extreme and prolonged droughts are also stressing ecosystems, with dire consequences for plant and animal species, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) report said.
“Strong international mechanisms are urgently needed to prevent the global water crisis from spiraling out of control. Water is our common future and it must be acted together, shared equitably and managed sustainably,” said Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO (Audrey Azoulay) – The general said in a tweet.
“There is still a lot to do and time is running out. This report shows our ambition and we must now act together and act faster. Now is our time to make a difference,” said UN-Water Chair Gill Gilbert F. Houngbo, director-general of international cooperation at the International Labor Organization, said in a tweet.
Almost every water-related intervention involves some kind of collaboration. Growing crops requires farmers to share irrigation systems. The provision of safe and affordable water to urban and rural areas is only possible through the joint management of water supply and sanitation systems. Collaboration between these urban and rural communities is critical to maintaining food security and farmers’ incomes, the report said.
Managing rivers and aquifers that straddle international borders complicates things further. While cooperation in transboundary basins and aquifers has been shown to lead to many benefits beyond water security, including opening up more diplomatic channels, only six of the world’s 468 internationally shared aquifers are officially Bound by the cooperation agreement.
On World Water Day, the United Nations is calling for greater international cooperation on how to use and manage water resources. This is the only way to prevent a global water crisis in the coming decades, the report added.
Shared benefits most frequently highlighted in reports include environmental services such as pollution control and biodiversity, as well as data/information sharing and co-financing opportunities. For example, the Water Fund is a financing scheme that brings together downstream users such as cities, businesses, and utilities to jointly invest in upstream habitat conservation and agricultural land management to improve overall water quality and/or quantity.
Mexico’s Monterrey Water Fund, launched in 2013, maintains water quality, reduces flooding, improves infiltration and restores natural habitats through co-financing. The success of similar approaches in sub-Saharan Africa, including the Tana-Nairobi river basin, which supplies 95 percent of Nairobi’s fresh water and 50 percent of Kenya’s electricity, illustrates the global potential of this partnership.
Inclusive stakeholder engagement also fosters buy-in and ownership. Involving end users in planning and implementing water systems can create services that are more aligned with the needs and resources of poor communities and increase public acceptance and ownership. It also promotes accountability and transparency.
In a displaced persons camp in the Gedo region of Somalia, residents elect a water board to operate and maintain water points that supply tens of thousands of people. Committee members work with local water authorities in host communities to share and manage water resources.
The UN World Water Development Report is published by UNESCO on behalf of UN-Water, and its production is coordinated by the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme. Building on the work of UN-Water members and partners, the report provides insight into key trends in the status, use and management of freshwater and sanitation. (Arnie)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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