Saturday, July 5, 2025
  • Login
Euro Times
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Finance
  • Business
  • World
  • Politics
  • Markets
  • Stock Market
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Investing
  • Health
  • Technology
  • Home
  • Finance
  • Business
  • World
  • Politics
  • Markets
  • Stock Market
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Investing
  • Health
  • Technology
Euro Times
No Result
View All Result

U.N. report finds 1 in 4 people don’t have access to clean drinking water : NPR

by Seyma Bayram
March 23, 2023
in Health
Reading Time: 13 mins read
A A
0
Home Health
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


A man fills cans with water in order to bring water to homes in Xochimilco, Mexico.

Silvana Flores/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images


hide caption

toggle caption

Silvana Flores/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images


A man fills cans with water in order to bring water to homes in Xochimilco, Mexico.

Silvana Flores/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Millions of people in Mexico don’t have access to clean water. Extreme heat and drought brought on by climate change are partly to blame, but so is the aging infrastructure and years of mismanaging water.

Mexico is not the only place struggling with wide-scale water insecurity. Around 2 billion people around the world do not have access to clean and safe drinking water, and approximately 3.6 billion people – 46% of the world’s population – lack adequate sanitation services, according to a new United Nations World Water Development Report released Wednesday.

“Water insecurity leads to a number of other insecurities,” said Richard Connor, editor-in-chief of the report. “If you don’t have enough water to grow food, you will end up with food insecurity.”

The new report was released Wednesday at the U.N. water conference in New York – the first major U.N. conference devoted to water since 1977. It lays out the challenges facing the U.N.’s sustainability goals to secure clean water and sanitation for all people by 2030. The U.N. estimates such efforts could exceed $1 trillion each year.

The report also warns the world is headed toward an imminent water crisis if efforts aren’t made to mitigate and adapt to human-caused climate change and population growth.

“Seasonal water scarcity will increase in regions where it is currently abundant — such as Central Africa, East Asia and parts of South America — and worsen in regions where water is already in short supply, such as the Middle East and the Sahara in Africa,” the report states.

Water scarcity is further complicated by the massive amounts of water needed to grow crops. Around 70% of freshwater globally goes to agriculture, and about one third of the world’s cities already compete with agriculture for water, according to the U.N. report. Competition will only increase as the urban demand for water is predicted to grow by 80% within the next three decades.

Without efforts to adapt to these demographic changes and the effects of climate change, the number of people facing water scarcity in cities is expected to double to somewhere between 1.7 billion and 2.4 billion, the report finds.

“Ironically, we’re talking about the same water that is needed to grow the crops to feed the cities. So there has to be a greater cooperation agreement, (an) approach, to meet both the needs of cities that are rapidly expanding in many parts of the world and the farmers,” Connor said.

Residents of the El Cardon community, who do not receive drinking water at home, carry buckets and drums with water collected from a natural pond formed in a tunnel in Caracas, Venezuela.

Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images


hide caption

toggle caption

Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images


Residents of the El Cardon community, who do not receive drinking water at home, carry buckets and drums with water collected from a natural pond formed in a tunnel in Caracas, Venezuela.

Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images

Responding to water insecurity

In Mexico, part of the response to water insecurity has come from the nonprofit organization Isla Urbana. The group works to help local communities that are experiencing water insecurity by installing systems in homes to capture rain that’s used primarily for non-drinking water purposes.

“We started realizing what to us felt like an obvious thing, which is, you know, this city [Mexico City] that’s running out of water, but that has so many millions upon millions of gallons of water falling on it every year from the sky, everywhere, should really start harvesting that water,” said Enrique Lomnitz, general director and cofounder of Isla Urbana.

Since launching in 2009, Isla Urbana has installed about 33,000 rainwater harvesting systems in homes and 500 schools throughout Mexico, Lomnitz said. The group’s work spans from water-insecure neighborhoods in Mexico City, like Iztapalapa in the east, to rural and Indigenous communities in the southern part of the country, where fewer people have water hook-ups.

“If the government wants to help, that’s great,” Lomnitz said. “But you don’t need the government to catch rainwater and put it in a tank and use it… And I guess to us that just felt like a beautiful and empowering thing.” Isla Urbana now does most of its work through government contracts, he explained.

Governments and partnerships are critical, according to Connor, in addressing a world facing a water crisis.

Dawn at Bullfrog Marina on Lake Powell in Utah. Waterlines on the rocks in the background show how far the water has dropped in recent years.

Claire Harbage/NPR


hide caption

toggle caption

Claire Harbage/NPR


Dawn at Bullfrog Marina on Lake Powell in Utah. Waterlines on the rocks in the background show how far the water has dropped in recent years.

Claire Harbage/NPR

What drives water scarcity

Unprecedented population growth, development and changing consumption patterns are testing the world’s water supply. Wastewater – including agricultural runoff – also contributes and is the main cause of water pollution, according to the report.

Droughts, flooding and other extreme weather events fueled by climate change are also exacerbating water shortages and quality globally.

In Kenya and Somalia, for example, prolonged drought continues to devastate crops and livestock. In the U.S., some citizens of the Navajo Nation, which spans from northern Arizona into New Mexico, don’t have running water and must bring water to their homes. Meanwhile, the Colorado River, which supplies millions of people in the American West with water, is dwindling. Hurricanes and flooding are also wreaking havoc on water infrastructure and contaminating water supplies worldwide.

“How people experience climate change has a lot to do with water,” Lauren Herzer Risi, program director of the Environmental Change and Security Program at the Wilson Center, said.

“Water has to sort of come out of its silo,” Risi said. More than half of the global population lives in water basins that are shared with other countries, she said, and like the authors of the U.N. report, Risi stressed the importance of cooperation and management of water across country borders.

“What happens is as people sort of respond to climate pressures – whether it’s building dams or otherwise – that has downstream effects,” said Risi. “So if you don’t have institutions in place and sort of agreements in place to manage those sorts of big changes, then that’s where we see conflict.”

A woman balances a water can on her head while people collect water from a mobile water tanker in a residential area in New Delhi, India.

Altaf Qadri/AP


hide caption

toggle caption

Altaf Qadri/AP

Critical water partnerships

The U.N. report focuses on water partnerships that view water as a shared resource, such as water funds, which encourage good farming practices while also improving watersheds.

Here’s how this idea works: Downstream water users, such as a city or a utility company, invest money in farmers operating upstream so they can adopt irrigation methods that require less water. High-efficient irrigation, in turn, saves water that people downstream can use.

The water fund also can be used to rehabilitate ecosystems upstream through soil conservation and to protect wetlands, which act as natural sponges to absorb and release water and filter pollutants, helping bolster water quality and availability.

Water funds have been especially popular in Latin American countries, Connor said. African and Asian countries have also adopted this idea in recent years. The Upper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund in Kenya and the Monterrey Metropolitan Water Fund in Mexico are examples of water funds that have investments from the private and public sectors.

Water funds are just one approach to help reduce the global threat to water scarcity, said Connor. Ultimately, he said governments, financiers, and investors must work together with climate and water policymakers.

The global water crisis requires a shift from seeing water as an owned commodity to one that is shared and is vital for the planet’s future, Connor said.

“With increasing demand, with population growth and more vulnerable resources because of climate change, this cooperation is becoming – has always been essential – but now it’s even more essential if we’re going to solve any of these problems,” Connor said.



Source link

Tags: AccesscleanDontDrinkingfindsNPRpeopleReportWater
Previous Post

Top 20 Highest-Yielding Small Cap Dividend Stocks Now

Next Post

Are They Actually Trying To Crash The Economy On Purpose? – Investment Watch

Related Posts

What to Eat When You’re Sick to Support Healing and Ease Symptoms

What to Eat When You’re Sick to Support Healing and Ease Symptoms

by Dr. Mercola
July 5, 2025
0

Mercola proudly helps these charities and organizations. View All Charities & Organizations Extra About Mercola.com Disclaimer: The whole contents of...

Hot Dog vs. Hamburger: Which Is Healthier?

Hot Dog vs. Hamburger: Which Is Healthier?

by Lauren Manaker MS, RDN, LD
July 4, 2025
0

Nothing says summer season just like the scent of sizzling canines and hamburgers scorching on the grill. However when you’re...

Don’t Know Which Pan To Grab When It’s Time To Cook? A Dietitian Explains

Don’t Know Which Pan To Grab When It’s Time To Cook? A Dietitian Explains

by Samantha Cassetty, MS, RD
July 5, 2025
0

Why the Proper Pan Issues In case your rooster sticks to the pan, your veggies steam as a substitute of...

It’s Been a Minute : NPR

It’s Been a Minute : NPR

by Brittany Luse
July 4, 2025
0

Is Medicaid healthcare or welfare? Chip Somodevilla/Getty Pictures cover caption toggle caption Chip Somodevilla/Getty Pictures Is Medicaid healthcare or welfare?...

The Budget Bill Could Make Your Local ER a Mess

The Budget Bill Could Make Your Local ER a Mess

by Ashish Jha
July 4, 2025
0

For many people, summer time means attending yard barbecues, laughing with neighbors and associates, watching children chase fireflies, and having...

Vanilla Latte Coffee Scrub Recipe

Vanilla Latte Coffee Scrub Recipe

by Katie Wells
July 4, 2025
0

I like the odor of espresso and I like ingesting espresso (with butter!). Nevertheless it seems that espresso grounds additionally...

Next Post
Are They Actually Trying To Crash The Economy On Purpose? – Investment Watch

Are They Actually Trying To Crash The Economy On Purpose? – Investment Watch

Dow Jones Falls 530 Points As Banks Lead Fed Sell-Off; Apple, 5 Titans Mask Market Weakness

Dow Jones Falls 530 Points As Banks Lead Fed Sell-Off; Apple, 5 Titans Mask Market Weakness

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Will UAE residency be affected if you apply for citizenship in other countries? GDRFA chief clarifies rules | World News

Will UAE residency be affected if you apply for citizenship in other countries? GDRFA chief clarifies rules | World News

July 5, 2025
BNB Gets Big Backer as Nano Labs Begins Billion-Dollar Accumulation

BNB Gets Big Backer as Nano Labs Begins Billion-Dollar Accumulation

July 5, 2025
Cathie Wood Suggests Government Settlement in Bitcoin Shift

Cathie Wood Suggests Government Settlement in Bitcoin Shift

July 5, 2025
Kenyan president plans to build huge church at his official residence

Kenyan president plans to build huge church at his official residence

July 5, 2025
Things Are About To Get Very Ugly For Republicans Who Voted To Cut Medicaid And SNAP

Things Are About To Get Very Ugly For Republicans Who Voted To Cut Medicaid And SNAP

July 5, 2025
MDLZ Quantitative Stock Analysis | Nasdaq

MDLZ Quantitative Stock Analysis | Nasdaq

July 5, 2025
Euro Times

Get the latest news and follow the coverage of Business & Financial News, Stock Market Updates, Analysis, and more from the trusted sources.

CATEGORIES

  • Business
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Finance
  • Health
  • Investing
  • Markets
  • Politics
  • Stock Market
  • Technology
  • Uncategorized
  • World

LATEST UPDATES

Will UAE residency be affected if you apply for citizenship in other countries? GDRFA chief clarifies rules | World News

BNB Gets Big Backer as Nano Labs Begins Billion-Dollar Accumulation

  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA
  • Cookie Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact us

Copyright © 2022 - Euro Times.
Euro Times is not responsible for the content of external sites.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Finance
  • Business
  • World
  • Politics
  • Markets
  • Stock Market
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Investing
  • Health
  • Technology

Copyright © 2022 - Euro Times.
Euro Times is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In