![]() UN FAO Aquastat fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/irrigationdrainage/index.stm UN Food and Agriculture Organization AQUASTAT /data-catalog/world-development-indicatorsĪmount of Irrigated Agricultural Land in the World Chart: The United Nations World Water Development Report 2019, "Leaving No One Behind" UNEP Global Environment Outlook 3 "Freshwater"Ĭhart: Global International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGB) cited at: /grapher/global-freshwater-use-over-the-long-runġ. ![]() "Diseases due to poor drinking-water access, unimproved sanitation, and poor hygiene practices cause 4.0% of all deaths and 5.7% of all disability or ill health in the world." "About 90% of all natural disasters are water related.However, in terms of both the number of people affected and (especially) the number of people killed, the impacts of floods, droughts and conflicts are grossly outweighed by the number of those affected or killed by inadequate drinking water and sanitation services." "Globally, over 80% of all wastewater returns to the environment without being treated." "In 2015, an estimated 2.1 billion people lacked access to safely managed drinking water services and 4.5 billion lacked access to safely managed sanitation services." "90% of the developing world's waste water is still discharged untreated into local rivers and streams." Per capita water use in most of these countries remains far below developed countries-they are merely catching up.Īs the climate changes, dry areas will tend to become drier and wet areas wetter-exacerbating water stress in areas already the most affected. The increase is mainly occurring in developing countries and emerging economies. Water use has been increasing worldwide by about 1% per year since the 1980s and is expected to increase by 20% to 30% until 2050. Growing use of water resources impacts sustainability, and creates a rising potential for conflicts among users. Over 2 billion people live in countries experiencing high water stress.Īn estimated 4 billion people, nearly two-thirds of the world population, experience severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year. ![]() How much is being used for what, and who has access to it? Around 70% of this fresh water is frozen in ice or permafrost. Systems and that treats those systems as equal in importance.Fresh WaterOnly 2.5% of the world's water is fresh-the water on which the world's terrestrial life depends. “This will require strong policy that recognizes the connections between terrestrial and freshwater “Freshwater and terrestrial conservation need to go hand-in-hand to receive the full suite of benefits that nature can provide,” she said. ![]() “However, they have historically been ignored during the development of conservation initiatives suchĪs protected areas and other management interventions.” “Freshwater ecosystems connect headwaters with oceans, land with water and people with the resources they need to thrive,” Abell said. The planet’s freshwater ecosystems are in crisis: Research found that populations of monitored freshwater species have fallen by 84 percent and nearly one-third of wetlandĮcosystems have been lost since 1970 due to human activities that degrade habitats and decrease water quality.īut despite their vital contributions to humans and biodiversity, freshwater ecosystems receive only a small percentage of the funding dedicated to nature conservation, explained Robin Abell, a co-author of a recent review of these findings published in the journal Science, who leads Conservation International’s freshwater work. The species on which millions of people depend - is threatened. But when rivers, lakes and wetlands are degraded, their ability to provide reliable supplies of clean water - and to support Fresh water is the lifeblood of our planet, and freshwater ecosystems connect people with the resources they need to thrive.
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