Privatization of water resources has led to reduced access for the poor as water prices have risen. Over 2.6 billion people lack basic sanitation and access to piped water averages 85% for the wealthiest 20% versus 25% for the poorest. A small percentage of the global population uses most of the world's water resources while many in developing countries struggle with shortages. Water management involves activities that alter ecosystems like diversion, contamination, and dam building.
Privatization of water resources has led to reduced access for the poor as water prices have risen. Over 2.6 billion people lack basic sanitation and access to piped water averages 85% for the wealthiest 20% versus 25% for the poorest. A small percentage of the global population uses most of the world's water resources while many in developing countries struggle with shortages. Water management involves activities that alter ecosystems like diversion, contamination, and dam building.
Privatization of water resources has led to reduced access for the poor as water prices have risen. Over 2.6 billion people lack basic sanitation and access to piped water averages 85% for the wealthiest 20% versus 25% for the poorest. A small percentage of the global population uses most of the world's water resources while many in developing countries struggle with shortages. Water management involves activities that alter ecosystems like diversion, contamination, and dam building.
Privatization of water resources has led to reduced access for the poor as water prices have risen. Over 2.6 billion people lack basic sanitation and access to piped water averages 85% for the wealthiest 20% versus 25% for the poorest. A small percentage of the global population uses most of the world's water resources while many in developing countries struggle with shortages. Water management involves activities that alter ecosystems like diversion, contamination, and dam building.
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Water and development
Privatization of water resources, promoted as a means to bring business
efficiency into water service management, has instead led to reduced access for the poor around the world as prices for these essential services have risen.
The 2006 United Nations Human Development Report, notes the following:
2.6 billion people lack basic sanitation
Lack of water is closely related to poverty Access to piped water into the household averages about 85% for the wealthiest 20% of the population, compared with 25% for the poorest 20%. 1.8 billion people who have access to a water source within 1 kilometer, but not in their house or yard, consume around 20 liters per day. In the United Kingdom the average person uses more than 50 liters of water a day flushing toilets (where average daily water usage is about 150 liters a day. The highest average water use in the world is in the US, at 600 liters day.) these human costs can be added the massive economic waste associated with the water and sanitation deficit.… The costs associated with health spending, productivity losses and labour diversions … are greatest in some of the poorest countries. Sub-Saharan Africa loses about 5% of GDP, or some $28.4 billion annually, a figure that exceeds total aid flows and debt relief to the region in 2003. A mere 12 percent of the world’s population uses 85 percent of its water, and these 12 percent do not live in the Third World. Some one third of the world’s population is living in either water-scarce, or water-short areas. It is predicted that climate change and population growth will take this number to one half of humanity. Yet, as Maude Barlow has commented, it is not necessarily over-population causing water shortages: 12 percent of the world’s population uses 85 percent of its water, and these 12 percent do not live in the Third World.
We use water for a variety of purposes from agricultural, domestic and
industrial uses. This has involved activities that alter surrounding ecosystems, such as drainage, diversion of water for irrigation, industrial and domestic use, contaminating water with excess nutrient run-off (e.g. from fertilizers) and industrial waste, building damns, etc.
The report also notes that The number of observed dead zones, coastal
sea areas where water oxygen levels have dropped too low to support most marine life, has roughly doubled each decade since the 1960s. Many are concentrated near the estuaries of major rivers, and result from the buildup of nutrients, largely carried from inland agricultural areas where fertilizers are washed into watercourses. The nutrients promote the growth of algae that die and decompose on the seabed, depleting the water of oxygen and threatening fisheries, livelihoods and tourism.
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