Water shortages are a growing problem


According to the Economist magazine, the world is facing a growing water shortage. IFSW President David N Jones has already identified pressure on the supply of the basics of life - food, water and power - as a major crisis which will have significant social consequences in rich and poor countries, which is confirmed in this article. 'Social workers need to highlight the growing shortages of the basics of life', David Jones said. 'We must work with other professionals to minimise the dangerous social consequences of these shortages and to ensure that poorest do not pay the highest price.'

According to The Economist, 'there is some admittedly patchy evidence that, given current patterns of use and abuse, the amount of water now being withdrawn is moving dangerously close to the limit of safety—and in some places beyond it. An alarming number of the world’s great rivers no longer reach the sea. They include the Indus, Rio Grande, Colorado, Murray-Darling and Yellow rivers. These are the arteries of the world’s main grain-growing areas.

'Two global trends have added to the pressure on water. Both are likely to accelerate over coming decades.

'The first is demography. Over the past 50 years, as the world’s population rose from 3 billion to 6.5 billion, water use roughly trebled. On current estimates, the population is likely to rise by a further 2 billion by 2025 and by 3 billion by 2050. Demand for water will rise accordingly.


'The other long-term trend affecting water is climate change. There is growing evidence that global warming is speeding up the hydrologic cycle—that is, the rate at which water evaporates and falls again as rain or snow. This higher rate seems to make wet regions more sodden, and arid ones drier. It brings longer droughts between more intense periods of rain.'


'In short, more water will be needed to feed and heat a world that is already showing signs of using too much', says the Economist. How to square that circle? The answer is by improving the efficiency with which water is used. The good news is that this is possible: vast inefficiencies exist which can be wrung out. The bad news is it will be difficult both because it will require people to change their habits and because governments, which might cajole them to make the changes, are peculiarly bad at water policy.'

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page last updated on 14.04.2009