This year the celebration world water day coincides with the beginning of the UN Water Conference 2023 In New York. A new opportunity to put on the table the importance of a sustainable agriculture and the integrated water management to face the climate change.
We cannot lower our guard with the disaster that hangs over the most important element for the life on our planet. Suffice as an alarm signal the treatment as one more product to market and speculate on futures on wall streetthe illegal irrigation that overexploit aquifers and that unscrupulous politicians allow its continuity, even if this means the collapse of the entire system or the pollution of these water resources.
Rewa Assi
Our water resources become scarce, and our agricultural production is reduced, thus affecting the economy, which also affects farmers. When we talk about sustainable agriculturewe focus on trying to find ways of adapting to the changing environment in which we are immersed, [y] to the variable population growth we have to deal with.
With the increase in population, the demand for food is growing. In this way, the demand for our own resources also grows. And when it comes to sustainable agriculture or sustainable practices, it’s not just important today, but it’s highly vital because of population growth; we need to ensure the adequate amount of food that will provide the planet.
We will make use of all the tools at our disposal, every resource we have and everything possible that serves to move towards a water safety and one climate justice. Now, I can also foresee that we will focus even more on the water sector because if you look at the different aspects of climate change, we are considering the issue of water as something common to all of them, so in order to act against this I think we need to take a realistic perspective and a systems-aware approach.
Rewa Assiagronomist engineer and youth representative, UNICEF MENA.
Water is the lifeblood of our world. From health and nutrition to education and infrastructure, water is vital to all aspects of life. survival and human well-being and for the economic development and prosperity of each country.
But drop by drop, this precious vital resource is being poisoned by pollution and sucked into a insatiable overexploitationand the demand for water is expected to exceed the supply by 40% by the end of the decade.
Meanwhile, climate change is wreaking havoc on the natural water cycle. Greenhouse gas pollution continues to rise to unprecedented levels, dangerously heating up the global climate. This warming exacerbates water-related disasters, disease outbreaks, water scarcity and droughts, while causing damage to infrastructure, food production and supply chains.
The theme of world water day this year reminds us of the cost of these failures for the billions of people who lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
Of every 100 inhabitants of the planet, 25 obtain all their water from streams and open ponds, or pay high prices to buy water of dubious health. Another 22 relieve themselves in the open or use dirty, dangerous or dilapidated latrines. And 44 see how their wastewater returns to nature without having been treated, with the consequent disastrous effects on health and the environment.
In short, the world is dramatically and dangerously far from achieving our goal of safely managed water and sanitation for all by now. 2030.
This year’s World Water Day reminds us of our individual and collective role in the protection and sustainable use and management of this vital resource for humanity for present and future generations.
The United Nations Conference on Waterwhich kicks off coinciding with its world day, is a crucial moment for national governments, local and regional authorities, businesses, scientists, youth, civil society organizations and communities to join forces and design together and invest in solutions for clean water and sanitation for all.
Meanwhile, governments, businesses and investors, led by the G20, must take much bolder steps to limit temperature rise to 1.5ºC. We must break our addiction to fossil fuels and embrace renewable energy, supporting developing countries every step of the way.
We cannot lose even a moment.
Let’s make 2023 a year of transformation and investment in the lifeblood of humanity.
Let us act to protect, sustainably manage and ensure equitable access to water for all.
Antonio GuterresUN Secretary General
