Thinking about world water
Photo by eisenrah
In recognition of World Water Day, March 22, we bring you the words of internationally recognized water expert Peter Gleick.
Global fresh water is a huge issue. Water touches on everything we care about, from our production of food, to international politics, to human and environmental health. All of the things we really care about are connected to our water system.
I think the biggest concern we have is the continued failure to meet basic human needs for water for everyone worldwide. There are billions of people who don’t have access to clean and safe drinking water or adequate sanitation services. In the 21st century, I just think that’s unacceptable.
Of course the amount of water on the planet is fixed. We have no more water today than we had a million years ago. The real challenge is how we’re going to use it and how we’re going to divvy it up. And as the population of the planet continues to grow – past 6 or 7 billion, to 8 or 9 or 10 billion – the challenges are going to get even harder and harder.
We need to figure out how to grow the food we need and produce the things we want to produce, with the fixed, limited amount of water that we have. And on top of it, we now have global climate change, a reality that we’re only beginning to understand how to deal with that’s going to directly affect our water resources.
Water crosses borders, and we’re finding politics often intrudes upon decisions about water policy and water management. I’m afraid that we’re going to see increasing conflicts over water, as populations grow, as our economies grow and demand more and more water. And even if the risks over water conflicts are growing, and I do believe they are, I think there’s a serious opportunity to reduce those risks by improving our ability to cooperate over water, by insisting that we go to the table rather than the gun when we have water–related conflicts.
Peter Gleick is an internationally recognized water expert and co–founder and President of the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security. Gleick spoke with Earth & Sky in 2005.
