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“Vampiric overconsumption” of water is “draining humanity’s lifeblood”, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres has warned. He made the remarks yesterday at the UN 2023 Water Conference, which is being held in New York City and co-hosted by the governments of the Netherlands and Tajikistan. The event, which is running through to tomorrow, is involving some 6,500 participants from around the world — including a hundred ministers and dozens of heads of state.
Mr Guterres said: “Water is humanity’s lifeblood — from the food we eat to the ecosystems and biodiversity that enrich our world, to the economic engines of agriculture, manufacturing and energy generation to our health, hygiene and survival itself.
“Water is a human right — and a common development denominator to shape a better future. But water is in deep trouble.
“We are draining humanity’s lifeblood through vampiric overconsumption and unsustainable use, and evaporating it through global heating.
“We’ve broken the water cycle, destroyed ecosystems and contaminated groundwater.”
According to Mr Guterres, nearly three-quarters of all natural disasters are linked to water in some manner.
He added that one in four people live without “safely managed” water services or clean drinking water.
Furthermore, Mr Guterres noted, and more than 1.7 billion people worldwide lack basic sanitation.
The UN Secretary-General continued: “Half a billion practice open defecation. And millions of women and girls spend hours every day fetching water.”
During his speech, Mr Guterres proposed four key areas on which to focus efforts to change the present global water situation.
The first, he noted, is closing the water management gap — towards which he encouraged countries to collaborate across borders to jointly manage services.
He said: “Governments must develop and implement plans that ensure equitable water access for all people while conserving this precious resource.”
Secondly, Mr Guterres said that massive investment is needed in water and sanitation systems around the world.
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Next, the Secretary-General called for greater resilience in the world’s water systems.
He said: “We cannot manage this twenty-first century emergency with infrastructure from another age.
“This means investing in disaster-resilient pipelines, water-delivery infrastructure, and wastewater treatment plants. It means new ways to recycle and conserve water.
“It means climate and biodiversity-smart food systems that reduce methane emissions and water use. It means investing in a new global information system to forecast water needs in real time.
“It means covering every person in the world with early warning systems against hazardous climate or weather events.”
Finally, Mr Guterres said, climate change must be addressed. He explained: “Climate action and a sustainable water future are two sides of the same coin.
“We must spare no effort to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius [2.7F] and deliver climate justice to developing countries.
“I have proposed to the G20 [Group of 20] a Climate Solidarity Pact in which all big emitters make extra efforts to cut emissions, and wealthier countries mobilise financial and technical resources to support emerging economies.
“Earlier this week, I presented a plan to supercharge efforts to achieve this Climate Solidarity Pact through an all-hands-on-deck Acceleration Agenda towards reducing emissions.
“We don’t have a moment to lose.”
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