The burgeoning global population is set to hit the nine million mark by 2050, which poses many problems as there are already water shortages in so many areas that the projected problems of providing water for all are astronomical.
We are already experiencing problems and are attempting to get everyone access to potable water and hygienic sanitation, especially in developing countries, so how are we going to ensure that an additional 2 billion people have access?
How to Provide Water and Sanitation for Nine Billion People
It is vital that we secure sufficient finances to ensure that systems are built and adequately maintained over the years in order to guarantee future populations have reliable access to water and sanitation.
One way to beat the problem is to invest in simple, efficient irrigation technology; around 70% of water usage comes from agriculture. By ensuring that simple but efficient technologies for irrigation are made available so that unsustainable farming close to rivers becomes a thing of the past, the ability of the river system to replenish its water resources is not undermined.
Working with communities by assisting community leaders to take ownership of their water solutions and transfer that to their neighbours, they will have better opportunities for development in the future and will ensure they are sustainable.
Investing in staff skills and capacity will ensure that the major challenges for managing water resources will be met by skilled hydrometric staff that will be able to accurately measure water resources and thereby manage water resources better.
Appling smart strategies that have already been proven to work in in the urban, rural and agricultural contexts, future conflict can be reduced and more water can be secured for equitable development and growth.
While water stress is driven far more by demand than supply, unmanaged demand will be a bigger impact than impacts from climate change, so it behoves us to ensure that water management is a top priority to ensure that there will be sufficient water for future generations.
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