Experts have called on the government to address the incessant water challenges and chart a new course for water at every scale globally. HELEN OJI reports.
A recent report by the global commission on the economics of water says by 2050, the water crisis would put more than half of the world’s food production at risk.
Unsafe water In the same vein, the report also threatens that there will be 8% loss of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in countries globally on average by 2050, with as much as 15% in lower income countries and with larger economic consequences to follow.
Significantly too, currently over 1,000 children reportedly die everyday from unsafe water in the rural communities. The reasons are attributed to among other things, lack of investment in decentralized water treatment and sanitation systems.
But according to experts submission at a recent global forum, emerging factors like weak economy, destructive land use and the persistent mismanagement of resources have combined with the worsening climate crisis to put the global water cycle under unprecedented stress.
Dryness and unstable trends Today, research has it that about three (3) billion people and over half of the world’s food production are in areas experiencing dryness and unstable trends in total water availability.
Aside from that, unconfirmed reports also indicate that several cities are currently sinking owing to water loss below ground. The research has it that existing approaches among other occurrences have led to the water crisis, a situation that has affected multiple values of water across the whole economy in terms of preservation of nature’s critical ecosystems.
Aside from that, some observers and stakeholders have also cited widespread under-pricing of water as dangerous for the system, saying it has encouraged its profligate use across the economy.
Meeting the global financing needs for water according to experts is particularly becoming a big challenge by the day.
Water infrastructure for instance, is estimated to require a staggering $6.7 trillion by 2030 and $22.6 trillion by 2050.
Yet the global water sector currently attracts less than 2% of public spending, with a similar level of private investment in low- and middle-income countries.
It is believed that more financing is needed, alongside more innovative approaches to maximize the impact of funds.
Apparently, the water challenge becomes more pressing when viewed from the perspective of how much water each person needs daily to live a dignified life.
While 50 to 100 liters per day is required to meet essential health and hygiene needs, a dignified life including adequate nutrition and consumption requires a minimum of about 4,000 liters per person per day. It has nevertheless been discovered that most regions cannot secure this much water locally.
Access to water Going forward, just recently, the global commission offers a new perspective on just access to water. They are beaming a searchlight on the trade aspect.
Although trade could help distribute water resources more equitably, It is however being hampered by misaligned policies and the incessant water crisis itself.
Among other solutions, it is believed that the crisis demands bolder, more integrated thinking and a recasting of policy frameworks in a new economics of the water such that the water cycle must now be governed as a global common good.
Another paradigm shift, where experts are tilting to is basically fundamental re-engineering of where water sits in economies as a way of enhancing a mission driven approach.
It would not be out of place to also point out how much impact that participation of all stakeholders, from local to global players would make in order to address the most important challenges of the global water crisis.By their estimations, such missions would encourage innovations, capacity building and investments in such a manner that evaluation would easily be done not in terms of short run cost and benefits but rather for how they can catalyse long run economy wide benefits.
Global standpoints While dwelling on the issue, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, and one of the commission’s co – chairs, Johan Rockstrom, corroborated that no doubt that half of the world’s population faces water scarcity, adding: “this vital resource becomes increasingly scarce food security and human development are at risk and we are allowing this to happen. “For the first time in human history, we are pushing the global water cycle out of balance. Precipitation, the source of all fresh waters, can no longer be relied upon due to human caused climate and land use change, undermining the basis for human well-being and the global economy.” For the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, Prof Mariana Mazzucto, emphasized that “we must move beyond a reactive market fixing approach toward a proactive market shaping one that catalyses mission oriented innovation and builds symbiotic partnerships around our biggest water challenges only with a new economic mindset can government value, govern and finance water in a way that drive the transformation we need.”
Also proffering a way forward, President of Singapore and Co chairs of the commission, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, said: “We can only solve this crisis if we think broadly about how we govern water.
“By recognizing water’s interactions with climate change and biodiversity, by mobilizing all our economic tools, both public and private to innovate and invest in water, by thinking and acting multilaterally, we will not only save countless children’s lives and improve communities livelihoods today but we will also secure a much better and safer future everywhere.
“Similarly, proper pricing, subsidies and other incentives must also be used to ensure water is used more efficiently in every sector, more equitable in every population and sustainably.
In the words of the Director General of the World Trade Organization and co-chair of the commission, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, there can only be an aspiration towards collective and concerted action in every country, collaboration across boundaries for the benefit to be felt everywhere.
Iweala added: “the global water crisis is a tragedy but is an opportunity to transform the economics of water and to start by valuing water properly to recognize its scarcity and the many benefits it delivers.
“Current approaches also deal predominantly with the water; we can see “blue water” in our rivers, lakes and aquifers. They typically overlook a critical fresh water resource, like green water, the moisture in our souls and plant life which ultimately returns and circulates through the atmosphere, generating around half the rainfall we receive on land.
“A stable supply of green water is hence linked inextricably to stable patterns of rainfall, itself critical to economics and livelihoods. It also provides crucial support for the natural storage of carbon dioxide in the soil and mitigation of climate change.
“We must redefine the way we value water properly to reflect its scarcity while also recognizing the multiple benefits of water and a stable global hydrological cycle across economies.”
Like the experts rightly said, will allocation and use of water properly from the start help avoid having to fix problems such as water pollution and externalities after the fact? The ensuing climate change, expertise actions and how best water economy is adopted will surely tell.
