Introduction
Water plays a major role in our day to day lifestyle and is an essential element to every human on this Earth. With nearly 71% of the planet being covered in water, one would think that would be sufficient for the growth and sustainment of every human, but unfortunately, this is not the case. Millions of people die every year, with the vast majority being children, due to disease caused by insufficient water supply and poor sanitation. Access to safe water sources and sanitation is not something that is traditionally viewed as a luxury by those who have it. But to the 2.2 billion people who use a source of drinking water that is fecally contaminated, or the 4.2 billion people who do not have access to basic sanitation services such as toilets, these services are held in the highest regard. Shortcomings in clean water effect nearly every part of daily life in a society, from disease, to food security, to livelihood choices. The lack of access to water and sanitation mostly affects people living in extreme poverty who are vulnerable and marginalized, but still account for 40% of the global population.
\[ 7.7 \text{ billion people} \times .40 = 3,080,000,000 \text{ people} \]
The above equation describes the number of people globally who experience water scarcity. These are particularly slum dwellers living in hazardous settlements in deprived urban areas and those in rural areas or underprivileged urban outskirts. Some of the most prominently effected regions of water inequality include the Arab region, Asia and the Pacific, Latin American and the Caribbean, and Sub-Saharan Africa. It is absolutely essential that steps be taken to alleviate some of these pressures placed on developing countries. In order to achieve one of the UN’s Global Goals of clean water and sanitation, I advocate for investing in adequate infrastructure, providing enhanced research and education of hygiene practices, and maintaining well-managed water-related ecosystems.
Increased funding
Increased funding for infrastructure is a vital part of alleviating serious water stress around the world. Majority of the people with access to safe drinking water get it through pipes. Many low-income people, however, lack piped water and instead must rely on wells or water they purchase, which is typically up charged at several times the cost of water in piped systems. The most recent UN report suggests this can begin to be remedied by governments greatly increasing the amount of money they spend in expansion efforts of water, sanitation, and hygiene services. The United States has recently set a great example on the world stage by appropriating $435 million for International Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene in the February, 2019. Hopefully other governments who have the means to allocate significant funds will follow suit and put some of their resources towards the cause. In addition to overall greater funding, the UN also stresses transparent, targeted subsidies to vulnerable groups. Allowing community member involvement in the planning process for water infrastructure has been one proposed tactic to increase accountability.
Infrastructure, such as dams, are proven to provide a compelling difference in the local communities they touch. In smaller villages and communities sand damns have greatly increased access to water supplies, and have sparked the rehabilitation of large-scale dams into more fit-to-purpose damns and reservoirs.
Research and Education
Better data on how water and sanitation access varies along lines of gender, age, income, ethnicity, geography, etc. can inform efforts to reduce disparities. Through the conducting of social analyses, we are able to collect information that allows us to see who is being ‘left behind’, keeping with the UN’s 2019 theme of “Leaving No One Behind”. The UN has illustrated some of the groups that are potentially being discriminated against in terms of inequalities of water rights to include women, indigenous peoples/migrants/other minorities, persons with disabilities, older adults and more. Greater knowledge and information about the poorest and most disadvantaged groups are required in order to develop effective policies and proportionally give access to resources. Economic research is also important in terms of designing equable tariff structures that will benefit all social groups rather than just the wealthy few.
Another area of importance with regard to research is the task of monitoring progress. Monitoring progress for all areas of water scarcity, cleanliness, sanitation, is important knowledge to assess what is working and what is not. For example, the long-term benefits of WASH services (water, sanitation, hygiene) that have been implemented for a number of years are very well documented; reduction of childhood disease, improved education and workforce production, and benefits in the workplace and schools. With more research, scientists will be able to assess benefits across the local level.
Although research is incredibly important for developing future policies and services, education is incredibly important for keeping people safe in the present. Educating women and children on best hygiene practices in countries that are currently struggling is a critical component in continuing to move the world toward the clean water and sanitation goal. By taking small steps to show people how to take care of themselves with what they currently have can greatly decrease risk of disease and infection in communities. Each day, nearly 1,000 children die due to preventable water and sanitation-related diarrheal diseases. If schools teach practices such as hand washing with soap, safely disposing of excreta, identifying safe drinking water, and personal hygiene procedures, the disease threat to young lives in water stressed communities will decreased.
Water-Related Ecosystems
The water-related ecosystems involved with the clean water and sustainability goal include wetlands, river, aquifers, and lakes, which all sustain a high level of biodiversity. These ecosystems are crucial because they provide benefits such as hydropower, irrigation, humidity/precipitation, habitats for aquatic life, and water purification among other things. When these water-related ecosystems are well maintained they are able to address a number of issues including the competing demands for water, diminishing climate change risks, and helping to boost community welfare. The UN has thus supported countries in their efforts to protect and restore freshwater ecosystems in order to sustain their ecosystem services. Some of the efforts made by countries include monitoring freshwater ecosystem health and facilitating integrated water resources management processes.
Improving efficiency of water resources and reducing water pollution are two very important steps in relation to maintaining water-related ecosystems. Certain sectors, with the main one being agriculture, use more water than other. Since the agriculture sector accounts for just around 70% of global freshwater withdrawals, decreasing this percentage by even a small amount would have a very positive affect on the water supply. In terms of water pollution, it is estimated that an overwhelming percentage of global GDP will be at risk by 2050 unless changes are made related to human pollution, including treatment of wastewater.
Conclusion
Water use has been increasing worldwide by about 1% per year since the 1980s, driven by a combination factors including population growth, socio-economic development and changing utilization patterns. The trend of global water demand is expected to continue increasing at a similar rate until 2050, accounting for an increase of 20 to 30% above the current level of water use. This tremendous water demand translates to over 2 billion people living in countries which experience high water stress, and about 4 billion people experiencing severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year. Stress levels will continue to increase as demand for water grows and the effects of climate change intensify. unless effective changes are made. In an attempt to combat the lack of clean water and sanitation, we must invest more in water-related facilities and processes, increase research and education to raise awareness, and better manage existing freshwater ecosystems of countries in need. Although these steps may not completely fix the problem, they are certainly on the right track to providing every human with access to the rights they deserve; clean water and proper sanitation.
“Sustainable Development Goals” – (UN) https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg6
“Ensuring Availability and Sustainable Management of Water and Sanitation For All” – (UN Environment) https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/25761/SDG6_Brief.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
“Goal 6: clean water and sanitation” – (UNDP) https://www.sdfinance.undp.org/content/sdfinance/en/home/sdg/goal-6–clean-water-and-sanitation.html
UN World Water Development Report 2019 “Leaving no one behind” – (UN) https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000367303/PDF/367303eng.pdf.multi
“U.S. Government Approves $435 million for International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene” – (WaterAid) https://www.wateraid.org/us/media/us-government-approves-435-million-for-international-water-sanitation-and-hygiene
“Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene for Schoolchildren in Emergencies” – (Unicef) https://www.unicef.org/disabilities/files/WASH_in__Schools_in_Emergencies_Guidebook_for_teachers_.pdf