Blue gold at risk
On March 22, World Water Day will be celebrated, for the second time, during a pandemic emergency. From a systemic perspective, which is the only one possible when dealing with certain issues, it is unthinkable to prioritize the emergencies that humanity is experiencing, because they are all hyperconnected. All of them reflect the collapse of hyper-consumerist models based on the overexploitation of scarce natural resources.
Blue gold is at risk. We are talking about one of the natural resources essential for life on the Planet. We are composed of water. We need water. Our fields need water yet climate change is acidifying the seas and compromising the natural life cycle of this precious commodity.
In this scenario, it continues to be fundamental to deal with the water emergency, especially in a country at high hydrogeological risk and with many territories, especially in the South, classified as drought-prone.
For Example, a few days ago, the Italian Minister of the Ecological Transition, Roberto Cingolani, underlined the current existence of irreversible climate changes and how Italy risks even more than other countries. He explained that the average temperature on Earth has increased by about 1.1 degrees since 1880, making extreme phenomena increasingly frequent and acute. Further increases in climate warming are now inevitable, even in ambitious scenarios of progressive decarbonization.
Decarbonization is necessary and will certainly affect future scenarios that, otherwise, could be disastrous, as we read in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Yet some effects, despite decarbonization, will happen regardless. And again water is at the center of the risks, those that can cause and those that can suffer. Think of the rise in sea levels: with just two degrees increase in temperature, the average sea-level is expected to rise 19 centimeters, involving very high risks. It is not a coincidence that Future Food Institute and FAO have chosen Marettimo, in the Egadi Islands, the heart of the Mediterranean, as the destination for a new Boot Camp training of “Climate Shapers.” It is there that we focus our investments and efforts, where the most urgent challenges lurk, and it is there that “dormant resources” are hidden. As Gianni Lorenzoni, Professor Emeritus of the University of Bologna would say, resources capable of finding resilient solutions able to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis.
Marettimo and Pollica for the Future Food Institute represent two iconic destinations of the commitment we must make with concrete projects. In Pollica itself, we have carried out a project, “Water in our hands,” with Finish by Reckitt Benckiser which has helped to improve the water infrastructure of Cilento, saving 64 million liters of water. The planet needs it and every drop is essential to take concrete action in what the UN has called the “decade of action,” which separates us from 2030. As Nature reminds us, we have already accumulated five years of delay by compromising on our objectives of sustainable development.
All this happens in our blue marble, the celestial sphere in which we are suspended, inhabited by a quarter of people affected by extreme water stress, where agriculture, industry, and domestic use absorb more than 80% of water resources (primarily agriculture), while 2.2 billion people still do not have access to good quality drinking water.
Italy, whose risk is emphasized by Roberto Cingolani, is positioned between Egypt and Thailand in the water stress ranking. The new Ipsos research shows that water scarcity is a problem for two Italians out of 10, only 3% have the correct perception of consumption per family, and 48% underestimate personal consumption. The official statistics reveal that almost 36% of Italian families experience irregularities in water supply during the year. We are at the mercy of many emergencies. Water, however, must be addressed quickly, in a systemic but also individually responsible way, without wasting it on itself or on the food we continue to waste, despite the ongoing emergencies.
The Future Food Institute is an international social enterprise and the cornerstone of the Future Food Ecosystem, a collection of research labs, partnerships, initiatives, platforms, networks, entrepreneurial projects and academic programs, aiming to build a more equitable world through enlightening a world-class breed of innovators, boosting entrepreneurial potential, and improving agri-food expertise and tradition.
Future food advocates for positive change through initiatives in Waste & Circular Systems, Water Safety & Security, Climate, Earth Regeneration, Mediterranean Foodscape, Nutrition for All, Humana Communitas, and Cities of the Future as we catalyze progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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