16 Aug
2006 - Water crises, long seen as a problem of
only the poorest, are increasingly affecting some
of the world’s wealthiest nations, warns WWF ahead
of World Water Week. The global conservation organization’s
report, Rich countries, poor water, is one of
the first comprehensive overviews of water issues
in the developed world.
The report shows that a combination
of climate change and drought and loss of wetlands
that store water, along with poorly thought out
water infrastructure and resource mismanagement,
is making this crisis truly global. The report
highlights impacts of water problems in countries
such as Australia, Spain, Japan, and the UK, and
the US.
“Economic riches don’t translate
to plentiful water,” says Jamie Pittock, Director
of WWF’s Global Freshwater Programme. “Water must
be used more efficiently throughout the world.
Scarcity and pollution are becoming more common
and responsibility for finding solutions rests
with both rich and poor nations.”
In Europe, countries on the
Atlantic are suffering recurring droughts, while
water-intensive tourism and irrigated agriculture
are endangering water resources in the Mediterranean.
In Australia, the world’s driest continent, salinity
is a major threat to a large proportion of its
key agricultural areas.
Despite high rainfall in Japan,
contamination of water supplies is an extremely
serious issue in many areas. In the United States,
large areas are already using substantially more
water than can be naturally replenished. This
situation will only be exacerbated as global warming
brings lower rainfall, increased evaporation and
changed snowmelt patterns.
Some of the world’s thirstiest
cities, such as Houston and Sydney, are using
more water than can be replenished. In London,
leakage and loss is estimated at 300 Olympic-size
swimming pools daily due to ageing water mains.
It is however notable that cities with less severe
water issues such as New York tend to have a longer
tradition of conserving catchment areas and expansive
green areas within their boundaries.
“The next group of rapidly developing
economies has the opportunity not to repeat the
errors of the past and to avoid the costs of saving
damaged freshwater ecosystems,” says Pittock.
“Regrettably, it appears that
the bulk of these nations have already been seduced
by major infrastructure plans, such as large dams,
with inadequate consideration of whether such
projects will meet water needs or inflict human
and natural costs.”
In Brazil, despite leading the
world with its national water resources plan,
concerns remain over some existing dam proposals.
In India, much of its agriculture is under threat
from rampant overexploitation of water resources.
Elsewhere, China has raised international concerns
over the scale and possible ecological and human
costs of some of its massive water infrastructure
plans.
“The crisis in rich nations
is proof that wealth and infrastructure are no
insurance against scarcity, pollution, climate
change and drought," adds Pittock. "They
are clearly no substitute for protecting rivers
and wetlands, and restoring floodplain areas."
The water problems affecting
rich and poor countries alike are a wake-up call
to return to protecting nature as the source of
water. As we approach World Water Week (being
held in Stockholm, Sweden, from 20–26 August),
governments must find solutions for both rich
and poor, which include repairing ageing infrastructure,
reducing contaminants, and changing irrigation
practices in the way we grow crops.
Lisa Hadeed, Communications Manager
Brian Thomson, Press Officer
