We use water for lots of reasons, from bathing and drinking to industrial needs, but above all to produce food. The vast majority of these are in Asia, even in Northern Africa, where one in five people confront very high water shortages and scarcity, representing the most urgent situation. Meanwhile, the world’s 51 low-income food deficit countries include swathes of Central Asia and Africa’s Sahel region, both of which face high water stress. Any sustainable approach requires a solid grasp of existing conditions and needs -- including access to safe drinking water, water for industrial development, and the water requirements of eco-systems on a territorial scale, which are inadequately supplied by almost half of the irrigation systems in use today. Water accounting and auditing, which are rarely done, should therefore be the starting point of any effective strategy for addressing water shortages and scarcity.

Source: Dhaka Tribune November 28, 2020 23:15 UTC