The Silent Crisis of Water Scarcity
The many challenges facing humanity today—from climate change to geopolitical strife—are certainly daunting. But amid all this, one issue has been almost forgotten: water scarcity.
Today, more than 2 billion people live in countries where water stress is high and, by 2025 at the latest, it is forecast that two-thirds of the global population will be living in conditions of water stress. The crisis is very real and threatens food security, public health, and economic stability across continents.
A Human Rights Issue
“Water scarcity is first and foremost a human rights issue and a social justice issue,” argues Sara Patton, who heads up the Pacific Institute, one of the world’s leading research organizations focused on water issues. Life depends on water. It is crucial for drinking, sanitation, agriculture, and industry. Yet, by 2040, 33 countries will be under extremely high water stress, warns the World Resources Institute. The likely consequences: declining food production and skyrocketing prices; deteriorating public health due to insufficient sanitation; and a stagnating economy in water-scarce places. As Peter Gleick, co-founder of the Pacific Institute, puts it: “Water scarcity is a threat multiplier. It exacerbates existing tensions and can lead to conflict.” The implications are profound for societies all around the world, with vulnerable communities taking the biggest hit. Often it is women and children who spend hours each day finding and hauling water, time that could be better spent in school or earning a living.
The Roots of Water Shortages
The roots of water shortages are not simple or one-dimensional; they are deep and complex. The demands of a swelling population and a fast-urbanizing world are bearing down heavily on already stretched water resources, and that pressure is being intensified by changes in climate. Some places, including many in the U.S. West, are experiencing protracted drought; others have seen such a rapid increase in demand that water tables—especially the shallow ones in the kinds of places where aquifers are most easily found—are falling fast. Meanwhile, El Niño has kicked in, and floods are now part of the picture, with too much water in the wrong places. Poor management and pollution are siphoning off even more. That’s the situation inside several of the biggest potential trouble spots.
Inequality in Water Access
The United Nations recognizes that access to clean water is a basic human right. Nonetheless, millions of people around the world do not have access to this fundamental necessity. Water access inequality often corresponds to socioeconomic status. While wealthier countries and communities can afford advanced water management technologies, poorer regions often make do with dilapidated infrastructure. When water scarcity becomes a reality, and we have inadequate management or infrastructure in place, that directly affects our economy as certain sectors become increasingly vulnerable to the reality of water scarcity. The World Bank estimates that that could cost some regions up to 6% of their GDP by 2050. One of the most affected sectors is agriculture, which uses about 70% of the global supply of freshwater; another affected sector is the economy as a whole.
The Potential for Conflict
The historical evidence suggests that disputes over water resources can lead to conflict. For instance, the Syrian civil war has been linked to a protracted drought that decimated the country’s agricultural sector. As the intensity of water scarcity conditions increases, the potential for conflict will rise with them. Sustainable water management and cooperative diplomacy will be necessary to avert this crisis. The technologies that we look at in the next section hold promise for helping the countries of the region avert a water war and provide adequately for their people. However, even in Israel, where the promise of technology is being realized, effective management also depends on political will and sustainable practices.
The Role of Technology
Some critics might argue that the water crisis is exaggerated; their evidence? Technological advancements have historically resolved shortages of various natural resources. And yes, technology can help. But if we are to use water efficiently and equitably in a sustainable manner, we cannot substitute technological solutions for the necessary and often straightforward management of water supplies and demand. Relying solely on technological fixes likely leads to even greater inequity, as wealthier nations and communities can afford to monopolize the advances while the poorer places (often already experiencing water crises) are left behind. And the appearance of life-giving water in more than 100 places across the local desert is not much of a solution for places that can’t afford to do the same.
A Call to Action
The worldwide shortage of water is not a problem in and of itself. It is a sign of deeper, more systemic troubles: inequality, poor management, and climate change. With the poor management of water resources already behind some 3,000 deaths a day, according to a recent study, we need to take stock and find a better way. In confronting this silent crisis, we must act on the unwritten law of the clear problem: a crisis of inequality, bad management, and misappropriation of resources that affects the poor and marginalized first and most severely is a crisis for all of us.