World Water Day 2020
The annual United Nations (UN) World Water Day shines a light on global issues relating to water and the water supply; on March 22, 2020, the UN spotlighted the interconnections between water and climate change.
As of today, 2.2 billion people worldwide live without access to a safely managed source of drinking water, whilst 4.2 billion live without a safe source of sanitation; that means that 55% of the world’s population are unable to regularly and safely access a source of sanitation.
The damage wreaked by this scale of water scarcity is manifold — not only does it negatively impact physical health and mental wellbeing, but it also stunts an individual’s capacity to achieve a quality education and, in turn, aid the development of their society and economy into one that is prosperous, fair, and equitable. As such, water scarcity and the related risks only further drives the wedge between those countries that are wealthy and those that aren’t, thereby furthering global inequalities.
And the impacts of climate change risks further jeopardising their health and wellbeing, as well as dragging many others around the globe into a similar position of suffering.
Water reflects the primary way through which many of us perceive the impacts of climate change. We learn about glaciers melting and the subsequent rise in sea levels from a young age, and we are bombarded by stories of increasingly regular extreme weather events such as droughts and floods online and in the news. These all pose risks to people’s lives.
The issue presented by glacial melt and the subsequent rise in sea levels is incredibly significant. As sea levels rise, ever more sources of fresh water sources are salinated and, in tandem with higher temperatures, develop into breeding grounds for deadly bacteria and pathogens. As such, many formerly fresh and safe sources of water are now dangerous to drink. The threat of contaminated water to the lives of children across the globe are undoubtable; issues related to water and sanitation are one of the leading causes of deaths in children under 5 years old. For example, every day, over 700 children under the age of 5 die from diarrhoea due to inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene.
Over the past 25 years, over 90% of all major weather-related disasters have been tied to droughts and floods. Whilst the frequency and intensity of such disasters will climb in tandem with the acceleration of climate change and its impacts, 500 million children already live in areas that are at an extremely high risk of flooding due to extreme weather events and rising sea levels. Disasters, both weather-related and otherwise, have the potential to contaminate or destroy entire water supplies, meaning that the risk of contracting water-borne diseases like cholera and typhoid increased dramatically as people turn to unsafe sources of water for their daily needs.
Taken in sum, the impacts of climate change are likely to increase the level of water stress, a situation whereby “the demand for water exceeds the available amount”. As the availability of clean, readily-accessible, and efficient water systems increasingly dwindles, the potential for water to function as a threat multiplier for regional instability, geopolitical tensions, and global conflict rises. A quarter of the world’s population currently live in countries facing extreme water stress imminently, so the risk of a real global crisis is tangible and lurks around the corner.
The effects of climate disruption don’t only relate to the health of individuals and their society, but also to economies writ large. Further water scarcity and water stress is predicted to cost economies across the globe as much as 6% of their potential annual GDP growth, meaning that, with less financial capital to mitigate and defend against the consequences, the dangerous impacts of climate change as they relate to water, sanitation, and health will multiply.
The UN, in using this year’s World Water Day to stress the importance of the relationship between water and climate change, are aware of the immediacy of the threats. Indeed, the UNESCO Director-General, Audrey Azoulay, stressed that, “[g]iven the urgency of the situation, the coming decade needs to be one of action”. Any further deterioration in the situation risks violating Goal 6 of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, an explicit commitment to guaranteeing access for all to safe drinking water and sanitation.
In a report released on World Water Day 2020, the UN laid out ways by which, through major changes to the use and reuse of the planet’s limited water resources, the drivers and impacts of climate change can be combated.
The report details three primary problem areas for action: (1) enabling people to adapt to the impacts of climate change; (2) improving the resilience of livelihoods in the face of the impacts of climate change and; (3) reducing the drivers of climate change and its impacts.
A range of solutions have been offered to combat these problem areas.
Investments in healthy, safe, and sanitary water infrastructure and watersheds are necessary — such as, for example, through improvements to irrigations systems in rural arable communities.
Improvements in the efficiency of the water system at every level of water management are also required to ensure that the limited resources of water are used to their full — for example, once treated, water can be reused in agriculture and industry, thereby minimising water waste.
Developments in sanitation, and the extent to which sanitation is readily accessible to all, is crucial in mitigating the hazards of water-related disasters, as well as simply improving the health and well-being of billions across the globe today.
One such pioneer working in these problem areas and striving to implement solutions is the Green Climate Fund. Based in Sri Lanka, this organisation works with water management systems and irrigation networks in rural villages that are both more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and have already been hit by extreme weather events. As such, the Green Climate Fund works to improve irrigation infrastructure to provide both economic and health-related benefits, as well as protecting access to safe drinking water, and putting in place systems that mitigate the negative consequences of a future climate-change related hazard.
The UN sees future generations as having a pivotal role to play in the minimising and mitigation of the impacts stemming from the interconnections between water and climate change. The UN has moved to ensure that issues related to environmental education, climate change, and the increasingly important role of water are incorporated into curriculums across the globe.
The Chair of UN-Water, and President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Gilbert Huongbo, effectively lay the onus on society to act urgently on a global scale to combat the risks of the interconnections between water and climate change: “There are solutions for managing water and climate in a more coordinated manner and every sector of society has a role to play. We simply cannot afford to wait”.
