WATER: A BASIC RIGHT
Two thirds of the Earth's surface is covered by water, but only 2,5% of this is fresh water. In many countries in the world there isn't enough water and the situation is going to get worse. It is believed that climate change will lead to more droughts and cause a 20% increase in water scarcity, especially in the Middle East, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and at the same time the world's population will increase. Some people think that, in the future, water will be so precious that there will be water wars. Yet today there is enough water in the world for home, farms and factories.
The basic problem is the unequal distribution and bad management of water: basically the rich have enough, while the poor do not. According to the World Health Organisation, all people should have a minimum of 20 litres of water a day; in Europe people use 200 litres and in the USA 400 litres. But at present 1,1 billion people in the developing countries do not have enough water. What is really shocking is that water is sometimes more expensive for poor people: for example, those living in slums in Indonesia or Kenya pay more for water than people in London or New York. This is because their house are not connected to water networks, so they have to buy water from vendors.
Yet there are ways of solving the problem: creating more effective irrigation systems; reducing water pollution; promoting international collaboration to distribute water more fairly. Some countries such as Colombia, Morocco and Uganda have adopted innovative strategies and have achieved improvement in access to water. But not enough is being done. To quote the UNESCO Human Development Report 2006: “Like hunger, deprivation in access to water is a silent crisis experienced by the poor and tolerated by those with resources, the technology and the political power to end it.”
Answer the following question with your own words as far as possible.
1. Why could there be water wars in the future? (Max 8 lines)
2. Why do poor people sometimes pay a lot for water? ( Max 6 lines)
3. How could the situation be improved? (Max 8 lines)
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