Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) – The planet's water sources are drying up. There is an urgent need for intervention, in order to protect them and administer their resources. This is the focus of attention for the international community, as they begin preparing for the 5th World Water Forum, scheduled to take place in Istanbul, Turkey, March 22-26, 2009. It is the most important international event organized by the United Nations and is an alert that has existed for some time now. The main threat to the diminishing of sweet water is man himself, who in fact depends upon it for his survival. The present resources do not give positive signs for the future: demographic growth and the consequential urban growth contributes to an increase in demand for water, which will also make the situation increasingly more critical.
In the diminishing of water resources, other factors play a role: the increased use of water for hydro-electric power in industrial development and a greater energy conservation among the countries; the contamination of lakes and rivers, and climate changes. Without a doubt, food production consitutes the greatest consummation of water. The agricultural sector uses 90% of sweet water. According to the FAO's statistics, between 2000 and 5000 liters of water are needed each day to produce the food needed to nourish one person, for one day.
The challenge consists in producing food for an increasingly larger population. The United Nations estimates that in 2050, the world population will surpass 9 billion, in comparison to today's 6.5 billion, with even lesser water sources. Feeding the growing world population, facing the demand for water from families and industries, and trying to detain the threat of climate changes – in other words, face the growing demands for water in an efficient and lasting manner – is the objective that the governments should seek with will and determination at the World Forum in Istanbul. Among the necessary measures to be taken to reach a goal of this kind, for example, is a 1% decrease in the use of water in agriculture, maintaining the same level of production – given the great level of water consummation in this area – which would save a considerable sum of water that could be channeled to other uses. The relationship among food, water, and the environment – this is an opinion shared by the most renowned experts in the area – should be completely restructured.
This is what the upcoming World Forum should address. It will certainly be an opportunity for governments, civil society, consumer organizations, etc. to reflect, meet, and discuss. Global strategies are needed and the upcoming meeting will have the task of determining them and seeing if they are realistic.
The recent crisis of food prices, due to the reduced supply of food products, has been an issue for world leaders in the problem of hunger and the world food system. Areas of the world marked by a lack of water will have to face increasingly worse and more frequent droughts, with their consequences on food production. Several of the main water basins – in the United States, southeast Asia, China, the Middle East, Africa, and Australia – have reached their capacity limit. It is impossible to obtain more water sources without altering the balance.
The Holy See has also intervened in this issue, more than on one occasion, in an effort to create public awareness on a global level on a central theme for the future of humanity: protecting Creation. In a letter dated last July 10, on the occasion of the opening of the Holy See's Pavilion at the Expo in Saragossa, Spain, Benedict XVI affirmed: “Indeed, we must be aware that water - an essential and indispensable good that the Lord has given mankind in order to maintain and develop life - is considered today, because of the pursuit and pressure of multiple social and economic factors, as a good that must be especially protected by means of clear national and international policies, and used in accordance with sensible criteria of solidarity and responsibility.”
He also mentioned: “The use of water - that is valued as a universal and inalienable right - is connected with the growing and peremptory needs of people who live in poverty, taking into account that 'inadequate access to safe drinking water affects the well-being of a huge number of people and is often the cause of disease, suffering, conflicts, poverty and even death'. With regard to the right to water, moreover, it should be stressed that this right is founded on the dignity of the human person; it is necessary in this perspective to examine attentively the approach of those who consider and treat water merely as an economic commodity. Its use must be rational and supportive, the result of a balanced synergy between the public and private sectors. The fact that water today is considered principally as a material commodity must not make us forget the religious meanings that believing humanity, and especially Christianity, has developed on the basis of water, giving it great value as a precious immaterial good which never fails to enrich human life on this earth.” (Mtp) (Agenzia Fides 30/1/2009)
