Investmentfonds - News

Investmentfonds.de 23.03.2012:
Where water flows into SRI analysis

Köln, den 23.03.2012 (Investmentfonds.de) - Initiated by the World Water Council1, 
the sixth World Water Forum held from 12th March to 17th March 2012 in the city of
Marseilles, reminds us of the challenges surrounding water access in all regions 
of the world. Following this event, Marseilles will host the World Water Days, a 
campaign coordinated by the Food and Agriculture Organization.

25% of the world is facing water issues

Improving access to water is more than a priority when considering that globally, 
17 ountries are facing water stress, 10 countries are under water scarcity levels 
and 19 countries deal with absolute water scarcity situations.
This situation has been recognized in the early 2000, when the United Nations 
signed the Millennium Declaration. It included the objective to halve, by 2015, 
the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking 
water and basic sanitation, as well as a significant reduction, already by 2010, 
of water resources loss.
Despite all the efforts deployed under the United Nations, sustainable access to 
water will need to be improved further and 2.5 billion people are still lacking 
basic sanitation. Water is a basic human right lagging in too many places of the 
world.

Today, 70% of water supply is directed towards agriculture use, with industry 
and energy being the second largest users, domestic users making up the rest. 
Water and food, together with energy, consumption are therefore inherently 
dependant. Unfortunately, there is no substitution to water. Water is multi 
dimensional and its management presents Environmental Social and Governance 
challenges related to different topics such as food security, climate change 
and demographic,.

When food needs water…
Water and access to water are crucial to ensure food security and supply. Growing 
world population and changing dietary patterns, such as the increasing consumption 
of meat products, lead to a higher demand for animal feed and, consequently, water. 
Bovine meat production, for example, requires 8-10 times more water input than 
cereal production. Feeding the world population is therefore putting pressure on 
water resources. Safe and sufficient water supplies also help reduce the global 
disease burden. According to the World Health Organization4, safer water could 
prevent annually more than 3 millions deaths (from diarrhea, malaria, and 
malnutrition).

Climate change: an important impact on water resources
Although human activity (settlement, industry, agriculture) is having the most profound impact on water resources availability, climate change has been acknowledged as of 2007 by the IPCC5, as a major risk to existing water stress situations, and as a potential source of future water stresses6. Changes in the frequency and disparity of precipitations will impact average river run off and water availability, the resilience of ecosystems, leading to lower
crop yield in some regions, deteriorating soil conditions, and changes in the distribution of fish patterns.

Conflicts over water
Difficult access to water can also lead to conflicts and regional instability. It is stimated that up to 50 countries worldwide experience conflicts over water access and that over 260 river basins are shared by two or more countries.

Increasing population, increasing water demand
Global population has tripled over the past 70 years and water use has grown six-fold 
as the result of industrial development and increased use of irrigation.8 Global 
population is increasing by about 80 million a year and an estimated 3 billion people 
will be added to the world’s population by 2050 (mostly in developing countries where 
access to water is problematic). This population growth, coupled with industrialization 
and urbanization, will result in an increasing demand for water. In the next 20 years, 
under an average growth scenario and without efficiency improvement, water demand will 
grow at 2% CAGR. Population growth and higher living standards will result in water 
demand exceeding supply by 40%.treatment…) will pave the way for the future. Water 
governance will be a major driver of changes, as water business model needs to be 
realigned through enhanced regulation and public private partnerships.