World Water Day 2024: a Global Perspective on Challenges and Solutions
March 22nd, 2024 / Dr. Christian Schauer
22 March is World Water Day. It was established by the United Nations to raise awareness for the importance of water and to promote action to address the global water crisis. The theme of this year's World Water Day is "Water for Peace". An important aspect of this is working together to find solutions to meet the needs of all people for safe potable water. From the global distribution of clean water to the roles of business, politics, and society, the challenges of water supply are enormous and can only be solved by working across countries and continents.
Taking stock of the global water crisis
Our planet is rich in water: about 70 percent of it is covered by it. This equates to about 1.4 billion cubic kilometres of water, or 1.4 trillion litres. In figures: 1,400,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. But only a tiny fraction of this is safe to drink: just under 2.5 per cent of the world's water is drinkable fresh water. In fact, this small proportion of the total would still be enough for everyone – if it were evenly distributed. It is estimated that the available potable water could even supply a global population of around 20 billion people, so in theory there is no global water shortage.
And yet, according to Unicef, around two billion people around the world do not have regular access to clean water. This is a basic human right, according to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6). The consequences of this shortage are devastating: famine and internal migration are just two of many. Climate change exacerbates existing inequalities. Extreme weather events such as droughts and floods are becoming more frequent, affecting the availability of clean water in many regions. Rising temperatures are also leading to increased evaporation and faster melting of glaciers, resulting in a long-term decline in available freshwater supplies.
Against the backdrop of rapid population growth, the urgency of ensuring an equitable distribution of potable water becomes even more apparent. With around 8 billion people on the planet today and a projected world population of 10 billion by 2080, the available water will have to be shared among even more people, exacerbating the challenges that already exist.
In the face of these challenges, it is clear that a new way of thinking and collective action is needed to equitably distribute and protect the precious resource of clean water.
The role of business: taking responsibility for the water footprint
The economy accounts for a significant proportion of the global water footprint. In particular, sectors such as energy, agriculture and industry continue to use large amounts of water for their production and operational processes, placing a significant strain on water resources.
However, this also means that companies have a great deal of leverage to reduce the potable water footprint through innovative processes. In addition to the direct extraction of fresh water, companies are also responsible for what is known as virtual water. This is the water used throughout a supply chain, for example in the production of food, clothing or industrial goods. Virtual water is included in the water footprint that each product leaves behind.
For example, according to a report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), agriculture accounts for about 70 percent of global water use. At the same time, it is crucial to global food production.
There is therefore considerable scope for reducing the water footprint, which is already being vigorously pursued. The introduction of resource-efficient irrigation systems, such as drip irrigation, is just one of many innovations aimed at reducing water use in agriculture while increasing yields. Drip irrigation delivers water directly to the roots of plants, minimising evaporation losses. Compared with conventional irrigation methods, which spread large volumes of water over fields or plantations, drip irrigation can reduce water use by up to 50 percent. It also helps to improve soil quality and prevent soil erosion.
In addition to drip irrigation, other innovative methods and technologies are already being used in agriculture to minimise water use. These include water recycling systems, rainwater harvesting and storage, and the use of soil-conserving farming practices such as mulching and agroforestry. Recent research also shows promising developments in precision farming and the use of drones to monitor and optimise irrigation systems.
Through the targeted promotion and implementation of innovative irrigation technologies, agriculture can make an important contribution to sustainable water management. Particularly in light of projected population growth, it will be increasingly important for the agricultural sector to adopt resource-efficient practices wherever possible to meet the growing demand for water while ensuring global food security.
Water Use in Manufacturing
Industry is another major water user. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), about 19 percent of the world's clean water is used for industrial purposes.
Many companies are already investing in modern technologies and processes to reduce industrial water consumption. Industrial companies are increasingly focusing on economical process technology or recirculation systems. These are an effective way of recycling water that has already been used and returning it to the production process. By reusing water, industrial companies can not only significantly reduce their consumption of clean water, but also minimise the environmental impact of wastewater.
Another area where industry can reduce its water consumption is by using clean water as cooling water in industrial plants. In addition to rainwater harvesting, innovative solutions such as the treatment and reuse of process water as cooling water are increasingly being implemented. This not only reduces the need for fresh potable water, but also helps to increase the efficiency of industrial processes. In addition, industrial companies are increasingly focusing on the implementation of water management systems that enable precise monitoring and control of water requirements in various production processes.
Industry's increased efforts to reduce water consumption not only make environmental sense, they also make economic sense. By reducing operating costs and minimising environmental impact, companies can benefit from more sustainable practices in the long term. One challenge in implementing these measures, however, is international inflation and costs – especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. Investing in water saving or recycling technologies can often be costly upfront.
In the face of these challenges, cooperation between politics and business can help to guide, promote and support changes in the way we use water as a resource. Through targeted measures and incentives, policymakers can help companies reduce their water footprint and contribute to securing the global water supplies.
The role of policy: international cooperation and sustainable strategies
The urgency of the clean water issue is already being discussed at the highest political level, particularly in the context of the UN's SDGs. SDG 6 is explicitly dedicated to ensuring the sustainable availability of water and sanitation for all. In addition, many countries have developed their own strategies to address this challenge in the face of declining regional availability of potable water globally.
But despite these efforts, national strategies often reach their limits. Water is a resource that knows no national boundaries. International cooperation is therefore needed to share the available water. This cooperation is essential to ensure the protection of clean water as the basis of life, both in terms of the quantities that are (or can be) used and in terms of the introduction of pollutants into groundwater.
The European Commission provided an example of the urgency when it stated in its "Communication on addressing climate risks in Europe" in early March that the costs of inadequate or delayed implementation of integrated water management will be unaffordable. Yet the Commission itself has indefinitely postponed the presentation of its Water Resilience Initiative until February 2024. Announced by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in September 2023, the EU initiative aims to tackle the increasingly frequent droughts and floods that are having a devastating impact across Europe and are linked to climate change.
Another concern is the lack of attention given to water policy in some political programmes. In particular, in view of the upcoming European Parliament elections, it is noteworthy that some election manifestos do not address the issue of water. Water management should play an important role in the upcoming European elections in order to address the challenges of the water crisis.
At the same time, it is important to recognise that some southern European countries have already made progress in irrigation with treated water. To take a comprehensive view of potable water as a resource, it is advisable that the remaining European countries develop measures or follow existing solutions. In implementing the EU regulation on water reuse, Member States could consider going beyond the minimum requirements. The global water crisis demands decisive political action. If governments around the world come together and take concrete, international action to secure water supplies for all, water as a resource can be protected in a sustainable way.
The role of society: raising awareness and taking responsibility
Politicians and companies face enormous challenges in ensuring that everyone has access to safe and clean water, even when working together. But citizens should also be aware of international challenges and regional impacts when it comes to potable water.
A change of mindset is needed, especially in wealthy industrialised countries, where people have rarely or never had to worry about the availability of clean potable water, a shift in mindset is needed. Educational programmes and campaigns can help raise awareness of the importance of responsible water use. It is important to show the link between our own actions and the global impact.
Water is a finite resource and protecting its quality and availability is essential for the well-being of people, animals and the environment. By using water wisely, individuals also help to conserve water resources for future generations.
World Water Day 2024 is a good opportunity to highlight the urgent need for collective efforts to tackle the global water crisis. Coordinated cooperation between business, government and society can bring about positive change and ensure that everyone in the world has access to safe potable water.
Our author and his sources
Ph. D. Christian Schauer
He completed his doctorate in chemistry, joined Viega in 2016 and is now responsible for the competence area of potable water.- Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (2023): Final declaration
- Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (2019): Wasser - Die Quelle von Entwicklung
- FURTHER (amongst others): UN-Water │ water footprint network │ World Agriculture Report