With water scarce in some places, in excess elsewhere, polluted or otherwise problematic, the United Nations addresses this week a global crisis that has been long overlooked even as the welfare of billions of people is at stake.
"It's the first time in 46 years that the world comes together on the issue of water," said Henk Ovink, water issues special envoy for the Netherlands, which is co-organizing the UN Water Summit Wednesday through Friday along with Tajikistan.The last conference at this high level on the issue, which lacks a global treaty or a dedicated UN agency, was held in 1997 in Mar del Plata, Argentina.
This means there is drought in some places and flooding in others, in a cycle that is worsening around the world because of global warming triggered by human activity.In 2020, two billion people did not have access to drinking water, 3.6 billion had no toilets at home and 2.3 billion had no way to wash their hands at home -- poor sanitary conditions that lead to disease.
At the UN conference this week, governments and actors in the public and private sectors are invited to present proposals for a so-called water action agenda. Some 6,500 people are expected to attend the conference with its more than 500 related events. They include 20 heads of state or government, dozens of ministers and hundreds of representatives of civil society and the business world.The ideas range from building cheap toilets for millions of people around the world to improving farm irrigation techniques in Australia and enhancing access to drinking water in Fiji."Every commitment is of significant importance as it may bring...
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