World facing severe water shortage: FAO
15/2/2007 16:55
In less than 20 years, close to two billion people will be without water
and two thirds of the world will not have enough water, the United Nations Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned in Rome yesterday. According to the
head of FAO's Water, Development and Management Unit, Pasquale Steduto, water
use has expanded at twice the rate of population growth over the past 100 years
creating conditions of water scarcity. Water shortages are obviously most
acute in the driest areas of the world, which are home to more than 2 billion
people and to half of all poor people. Agriculture is the number-one user of
water worldwide, accounting for about 70 percent of all freshwater withdrawn
from lakes, waterways and aquifers around the world. "Water has a major
impact on the capacity of people everywhere to improve their lives. In many
regions, farmers trying to produce enough food and income face the added
challenges of repeated droughts and competition for water," Steduto said. One
way to deal with water scarcity is through farming-related techniques that
harvest more rainfall, reduce waste in irrigation and increase productivity, and
in changes in crop and dietary choices, Steduto added. Steduto is currently
chairman of the UN's coordinating agency UN-Water, which includes UN departments
that have a significant role in tackling global water concerns as well as non-UN
partners. This year Rome-based FAO is coordinating World Water Day, on March
22, which will be dedicated to the theme of "Coping With Water Scarcity" and
focus on the need for increased cooperation at international and local levels to
protect global water resources.
Xinhua
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