A report from the Global Commission on the Economics of Water says urgent action is needed to conserve rapidly depleting fresh water resources and save ecosystems that connect the planet.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00So this report has been several years in the making, combines studies from scientists all over the world,
00:06and is considered one of the biggest studies on the global water crisis.
00:10What are some of the key findings?
00:12So the Global Commission on the Economics of Water was set up two and a half years ago
00:17to really look at the economy through a water lens.
00:20Now, that understanding really came by looking at the hydrological cycle,
00:26as we call it, the water cycle.
00:28And this is how water runs around the world.
00:31It's important for our environment, our economy, food, energy, healthy and sustainable cities.
00:38Also connects us across the world.
00:41Then second, we said, OK, knowing this, what are we then going to do about it?
00:46But because, one, this is not only how it works and how it relates to our economy,
00:52we also see that fresh water is in decline.
00:56And that is in decline because of bad management and pollution over abstraction.
01:02So we literally have less.
01:04And at the same time, demand is growing up.
01:07And if demand is going up and fresh water availability is going down, we have a problem.
01:11So you've mentioned demand for water is growing.
01:14According to the report, demand for fresh water is expected to outstrip its supply by 40% within this decade.
01:22We're already halfway through the decade.
01:24Can you tell us more about that? What does that mean?
01:26Right now, half of the world already lives in water-stressed areas.
01:32And this is not something the Global South would experience more than the Global North.
01:38And we have frontline communities everywhere that face water scarcity.
01:43At the same time, those extremes of too much and too little water only become more extreme and hamper our economy.
01:51And so that is not a future fairy tale.
01:54That is a reality of today that the challenging aspect of that, you know, before, you know, it's only doom and gloom.
02:01Because water is such a solution space.
02:04The moment you invest in water, it literally trickles down across everything in society
02:09because it is connected to every sustainable development goal.
02:12It's also connected to every partner and person behind these goals that you want to reach.
02:19The Commission has identified five key missions, which, as you stressed, are long term.
02:24Can you tell us about those?
02:26One is on food and food security and changing close to everything from diets to subsidies.
02:33One is on land use and biodiversity, so critically important in stabilizing the hydrological cycle,
02:39but also with a clear link to equity and justice in the way land use, land management and property rights work.
02:47The third is about our circular economy.
02:49And of course, this is about better use of our natural resources.
02:53Fourth is about climate, emissions, energy and AI, making sure that our intense water economies become less water intense.
03:03And the fifth one is, of course, about health.
03:05Water plays a key role in health.
03:08Healthy waters are critically important for health and equity around this planet.