MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti commentator Andrei Kislyakov)
According to a UN estimate, by 2025 more than half of the world's nations may be seriously short of fresh water. By the middle of this century, this figure may rise to three-quarters
Even today, one of six people, or more than a billion people worldwide, are short of fresh water to some extent.
This sad forecast rests on several factors. First of all, the world population is rapidly growing, creating more blessings of civilization that, in turn, require enormous amounts of water. The current global climate change is turning fertile lands into deserts and making agricultural production increasingly water-intensive.
In the most recent estimate, every man on Earth needs 1,000 cubic meters of water on the average for drinking, washing, and producing food. Provision with water depends on the region, since the distribution of water resources is very uneven.
It is especially difficult to provide enough water in the arid regions of the Third World, which has a highly dense and rapidly growing population. However, such dynamically developing countries with huge populations, like India and China, are already suffering from a tangible fresh water shortage. Their powerful rivers, the Gang and the Yangtze, stay shallow for quite long periods every year. The fast growth of such cities as Delhi and Beijing is causing ground waters to drop.
The United States is not fully water sufficient, either. Recent draughts have caused a water shortage in many cities in northern Georgia and large areas in the Southwest.
Experts from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) believe that if the current dynamics of economic and population growth persist, the demand for water will more than triple by the middle of the century, and the world will be short of drinking water in 20 years.
What is the way out? It is possible to deliver food products to desert or semi-desert areas to help local people do without water-intensive agriculture. Advanced European countries and the United States have large natural water resources but should focus on modernizing their water supply infrastructure. Lack of proper repairs is causing considerable and irretrievable water losses.
The United States and Canada, for instance, will have to spend a total of $36 trillion in the next 25 years on the modernization of their water supply systems, but life is worth it.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
