As World Water Week ended last week in Stockholm, numerous reports and innovations were revealed, including one study finding that 93 percent of people surveyed in 15 countries view water issues as the priority global environmental problem ahead of air pollution, climate change and damage to natural resources and habitats.
The survey was released Aug. 18 at the conference and was commissioned by Circle of Blue, a Michigan-based international group of journalists, scientists and communicators focusing on water issues. The survey asked questions of 1,000 people and delved further with 500 people in Canada, China, India, Mexico, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Governments, Companies, Individuals
Worldwide people are concerned more with water pollution, the shows, with concerns about shortages of fresh water second. The government bears the burden of protecting and ensuring clean water, people in seven focus countries said. A large majority of those people also said companies must contribute to solutions to drinking water issues, but admitted that as individuals they need more information to take steps to protect water.
Differences in answers highlight the need for customized actions in certain regions, the survey indicates. For example, in Mexico, lack of water for agriculture is high priority as is concern about water pollution, while people in India are most worried about the “high cost of water.”
One interesting point is that most people in all countries surveyed agree that government plays the biggest role in providing clean water to people, but the individual responsibility varies by country. For example, 76 percent of Mexicans surveyed believe individuals are responsible while only 30 percent of Chinese surveyed feel an individual duty to be active in protecting water.
Pivotal Issue
Circle of Blue’s co-founder and director J. Carl Ganter remarked that the study reveals how much the world is aware and concerned about water issues. He said water is “the axis issue that intersects the world's greatest challenges, from health, poverty and security to climate, immigration and environment, even financial and commodities markets."
More than five million people die each year due to a lack of safe drinking water, Circle of Blue notes. The United Nations estimates that 5.5 billion people will lack adequate access to fresh water in the next 20 years, it says.
More than 2,400 attendees participated in World Water Week, which focused largely on issues surrounding financing, climate change, the water and food nexus and transboundary waters.
As to climate change, Anders Berntell, Executive Director of Stockholm International Water Institute commented that “Even with the best mitigation strategies, water related effects of climate change will come. The challenge for many nations is how to adapt.”
