Published: Wednesday October 5 2011, 18:46:10
An international panel of scientists has issued a series of recommendations on what needs to be done to secure the world’s water supply.
The Global Water System Project (GWSP) says that finding sustainable solutions for the world’s water problems is a joint obligation for scientists and policy makers – and there is no simple solution.
It says it is a “fair guess” that about a third of humanity does not live in dignity and the inherent humanitarian, social and political challenges are also water challenges.
It wants politicians to view the future through a “water lens”.
The GWSP says that water security in the future will depend on, among other things, a functioning water cycle, reliable engineering, awareness of threats and the willingness to face them, as well as legal interventions, sensible policies and effective governance.
It says that the world is facing the possibility of “pushing the planet beyond its carrying capacity” unless there are major changes in development and use of resources.
The future of the “water world” is described as being full of uncertainties, with human beings as the intrinsic source of most of them.
The GWSP believes that solutions for a sustainable “water world” are to be found in interdisciplinary science – but they need the involvement of all stakeholders. Without that, there is no viable way ahead.
Background on the Global Water System Project can be found here.
