The report, released Wednesday by the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, an international initiative to improve water management, said almost 3 billion people and more than half of the world’s food production are in areas experiencing increasing water scarcity – reports Bloomberg.
Regions with high population density, including southern Europe, north-eastern China and north-west India, are particularly vulnerable to water shortages – indicate the authors of the report.
Inappropriate investment subsidy policy deepens the crisis
Deforestation and other changes in land use can disrupt rainfall patternswhich may potentially deepen water shortages.
Typical factors suspected of causing the world’s water crisis include: deforestation and climate changethe authors of the report add an even lesser-known problem: excessive water consumption resulting from poor government policies.
“Water is often poorly managed due to inappropriate investment subsidy policies,” the report notes. Subsidies for water-intensive cropssuch as cotton and sugar cane, encouraged their cultivation in South Asia and the Middle East. Meanwhile, these areas are among the driest in the world.
Gigantic loss of groundwater
The report shows that every year around the world at least $550 billion in environmentally harmful subsidies for agriculturewhich exposes you to loss of up to 13.2 cubic kilometers of groundwater.
According to the report, massive subsidies that contribute to excessive water use and environmental degradation should be redirected to solutions that save water, protect and restore freshwater ecosystems, and ensure access to clean water for vulnerable communities.
Agriculture in The United States uses approximately 1 cubic kilometer of water annually due to distorting subsidiesnote the authors of the report.
The UN wants to protect wildlife
The report by the Global Commission on the Economics of Water comes ahead of the 2024 UN Biodiversity Summit. At the summit in Colombia, world leaders will discuss how to protect wildlife and natural habitats.
Last year’s meeting prompted 195 countries to agree to protect and restore at least 30 percent. Earth’s land and water by 2030. The findings of the new report highlight the urgent need to protect forests.