The expenditure of water resources grows two times faster than the population of the planet
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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The role that oil played in the 20th century, in the 21st century, will go to water.
Kirsty Jenkinson and her colleagues from the World Resources Institute (USA) estimated that in the twentieth century, water use grew twice as fast as the world's population.
According to the scientists' forecasts, in 2007-2025, water consumption will increase by 50% in developing countries and by 18% in rich countries, as residents of rural areas of developing countries are increasingly moving to cities.
Will there be enough water for everyone when the world's population reaches nine billion? "There is a lot of water on Earth," says Rob Rennet, executive director of the US Water Research Foundation. "The problem is that 97.5% is salted water, and two-thirds of fresh water is frozen."
Today, about one billion people do not have access to clean drinking water, and two billion live in unsatisfactory sanitary conditions, resulting in about 5 million deaths from water-related diseases each year, and mostly children. Only 8% of the fresh water reserves on the Earth are consumed inside. About 70% is used for irrigation of land and 22% for industrial purposes.
Catastrophic decrease in the amount of precipitation and water pollution will lead to the fact that the rivers will lose their current significance. According to the World Resources Institute, the following river basins will suffer the most: Murray - Darling (Australia), Colorado (USA), Orange (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho), Yangtze - Huanghe (China).
Frequent interruptions with water supply are already affecting the economy. For example, Gap, which produces clothing, lowered its profit forecast by 22% following a drought in the cotton fields of Texas. Shares of Toreador Resources, which supplies gas fell 20% after France stopped producing shale gas due to the likely impact of this process on water quality. The giants Kraft Foods, Sara Lee and Nestle intend to raise prices to compensate for the increase in raw material costs due to frequent droughts.
There is only one way out of the situation: more efficient use of water. For example, one of the large-scale studies showed that agriculture in large basins of Africa, Asia and South America could double its productivity if it learned how to effectively use existing water.