The Sixth World Water Forum was held recently in Marseilles. A number of experts reinforced the commonly held view that water could be the source of armed conflict across the world.

Ben Braga, VP of the World Water Council stated, ‘Governments need to wake up and adopt policies towards efficient water use.’ He also pointed out that the water wars are likely where more than one country shares rivers and lakes.


(Image via KittWalker photostream under Creative Commons)

There were news reports (5th September 2010) that the Amazon river is at its lowest levels since records began – is it some 4m below its normal level. The reason is lack of rain.

I also think this water problem is being worsened by countries building dams for hydroelectric purposes which have a profound impact on the downstream ecosystems. We are already seeing dams causing problems in several counties where water resources are already scarce.

As we continue to find increasing oil and gas resources it does not look like we are going to run out sometime soon. However, with increasing droughts and floods our fresh water is coming under increasing stress. Unfortunately we can survive a lot longer without oil and gas than we can without water.

How soon will it be before the biggest problem we face is a water shortage.

Some interesting water facts:
• 70% of the world’s water consumption is in agriculture.
• 1,000 litres of water is needed to produce 1kg of wheat
• 13,000 litres of water is needed to produce 1kg of beef
• More than 1 billion people lack access to reliable, safe drinking water
• Over 2.5 billion people do not have lavatories or other forms of sanitation
• ‘Experts’ are predicting that by 2015 two-thirds of the worlds people will live in water stressed countries.

Note: Source UNEP so these ‘facts’ have a low Greenwash rating.