Access to safe water for all is key to sustainable development

With climate change and population growth putting increasing pressure on finite water resources, FAO is urging countries to step up efforts to increase water efficiency and provide access to safe water for all.

Ensuring global water security is fundamental to achieve Zero Hunger and the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN agency said on the occasion of World Water Day.

“Water is universal, it crosses borders and nourishes all life-water is a human right,” said FAO Deputy Director-General for Climate and Natural Resources Maria Helena Semedo, speaking at the closing ceremony of the first International Forum on Water Scarcity in Agriculture (WASAG), co-organized by FAO in Praia, Cabo Verde (19-22 March). “Just like water, we need to flow forward-to leave no one behind, like this year’s theme, which reflects the aspiration of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda”

In her remarks, Semedo warned about numerous water-related challenges that are hampering global development efforts especially in water-scarce countries where “billions of people are still living without safe water, struggling to survive”.

According to the recently published World Water Development Report, a joint effort by UN agencies and partners under UN-Water, there are more than two billion people living in countries with high water stress.

Semedo pointed to the need to find innovative sources of water, including recycling wastewater and rainwater harvesting and increasing water efficiency, especially in agricultural sectors.

“In FAO, we promote measures like selection of drought and salinity resistant species, sustainable soil management and water harvesting. These innovations can go a long way to support farmers, especially smallholders, to guarantee food production in periods of water scarcity,” Semedo said.

Agriculture accounts for 69 percent of global water withdrawals, she said, noting that about 80 percent of the world’s cropland is rain-fed, producing 60 percent of food.

Original source: FAO
Published on 22 March 2019