“Of all the social and natural crises we humans face, the water crisis is the one that lies at the heart of our survival and that of our planet Earth”, says UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura.
“No region will be spared from the impact of this crisis which touches every facet of life, from the health of children to the ability of nations to secure food for their citizens”, says Mr. Matsuura. “Water supplies are falling while the demand is dramatically growing at an unsustainable rate. Over the next 20 years, the average supply of water worldwide per person is expected to drop by a third”.
Despite widely available evidence of the crisis, political commitment to reverse these trends has been lacking. A string of international conferences over the past 25 years has focused on the great variety of water issues, including ways to provide the basic water supply and sanitation services required in the years to come. Several targets have been set to improve water management, but “hardly any have been met”, the report finds.
“Attitude and behaviour problems lie at the heart of the crisis”, says the report. “Inertia at leadership level, and a world population not fully aware of the scale of the problem means we fail to take the needed timely corrective actions”, it states.
“No region will be spared from the impact of this crisis which touches every facet of life, from the health of children to the ability of nations to secure food for their citizens”, says Mr. Matsuura. “Water supplies are falling while the demand is dramatically growing at an unsustainable rate. Over the next 20 years, the average supply of water worldwide per person is expected to drop by a third”.
Despite widely available evidence of the crisis, political commitment to reverse these trends has been lacking. A string of international conferences over the past 25 years has focused on the great variety of water issues, including ways to provide the basic water supply and sanitation services required in the years to come. Several targets have been set to improve water management, but “hardly any have been met”, the report finds.
“Attitude and behaviour problems lie at the heart of the crisis”, says the report. “Inertia at leadership level, and a world population not fully aware of the scale of the problem means we fail to take the needed timely corrective actions”, it states.