According to a sobering new report from the United Nations released to coincide with World Water Day a continuing shortfall in global water infrastructure risks exacerbating both the climate crisis and the escalating coronavirus pandemic.
The annual World Water Development Report primarily focuses on how billions of people continue to lack access to reliable and safe water supplies and services, while warning that climate impacts threaten to further undermine water security.
However, the UN also acknowledged that “the critical need to substantially improve access to clean water for drinking and hygiene for billions of the world’s people has been further thrown into stark relief by the current deadly outbreak of COVID19”.
The report notes that four billion people live in areas facing water scarcity, 2.2 billion people currently do not have access to safely managed drinking water, and 4.2 billion, or 55 per cent of the world’s population, are without safely managed sanitation.
With hand washing one of the top methods of trying to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the report will further fuel fears that the pandemic could spread even more rapidly once it reaches developing nations with limited water and health systems.
The report also highlights that insufficient investment in water infrastructure and water management is fuelling a raft of longer-term risks, which are likely to be further exacerbated by climate change.
Developed by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), in collaboration with UN-Water, the report sets out a raft of recommendations for policymakers and business leaders.
Specifically, it calls for governments to adopt a range of adaptation and mitigation measures, including natural, technical, and technological measures to curb enhance water security, limit greenhouse gas emissions, and protect the environment.
It also argues that there are “increasing opportunities to systematically integrate adaptation and mitigation planning into water-related investments, in order to make them more attractive to donors”.
UNESCO Director-General, Audrey Azoulay warned that without urgent action the world risked missing a number of key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Without sustainable access to water, we will be unable to achieve goals such as quality education or the development of more prosperous, fairer societies,” she said.
Her comments were echoed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres who warned efforts to curb emissions and enhance water infrastructure had to go hand-in-hand.
“Water is the primary medium through which we perceive the effects of climate disruption, from extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods, to glacial melting, saltwater intrusion and sea level rise,” he said.
He also advised that governments should anticipate and respond to climate risks at every level of water management.
“We must use this year and COP26 in Glasgow to bend the emissions curve and create a secure foundation for water sustainability,” Mr Guterres said.
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