Reducing Water & Waste Stress by 2050
The water and climate coalition leaders in a call for action, stresses "We lead the way in rethinking how our societies and economies best resist climate change. Improving how we use water is a pathway to develop food security, protect health and livelihoods, promote the just transition to clean energy, build water and climate smart cities, protect the environment, build resilient economies, help the world achieve the SDGs, and meet global climate commitments."
Safe drinking water, sanitation, wastewater management are fundamental to health, survival, growth, and development. The 36th UN-Water Meeting as held on 8th of April 2022 discussed about the purpose of discussing the role of water and sanitation in addressing the roadmap on human rights to water, sanitation, and waste. This led to a lively discussion about climate change, water management, and sanitation.
United Nations Environment Assembly 5.2 held on 28th February 2022 focused on the Support to enhanced waste management through capacity-building, financial funding, and technology transfer. Including Transitional economies given all the resources to better manage their solid waste, resulting in less stress on the environment, business, economies, and the overall construction of our future.
Presently, two billion people around the world are living in water-stressed areas, and the same will be true of more than half the world’s population by 2050 if no action is taken. Based on projected demand, the world will face a 40 per cent shortfall in freshwater supply within 10 years. Climate change is already greatly exacerbating the world water crisis – intensifying floods, prolonging droughts, and more. In many ways, the worst impacts of the climate crisis will be felt through water. Unless urgent action is taken, these impacts will only worsen in the coming years and decades.
Big Business Of Water And Waste Management
Water security isn't limited to access to drinking water. It's about sanitation - more people worldwide have mobile phones than toilets. According to the United Nations, by 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in water scarcity, and the demand for irrigation will jump by 15%. Though it's not a silver bullet, technology can help to change this course, and it's already started.
Each year, 829 000 people die because of poor water, sanitation, poor waste management and hygiene issues and middle-income countries, accounting for 60% of all diarrhoeal deaths due to improper waste management. Each year, 297 000 children under the age of five die because of poor water, sanitation, and hygiene. Through the WHO Guidelines on sanitation and health, safe use of wastewater, recreational water quality, and promotion of sanitation safety planning and sanitary inspections, WHO collaborates with partners to promote effective risk assessment and management practises for sanitation and waste in communities and health facilities.
Given the state of resource availability, use and competing demand, the critical challenge lies in foresight of the issues and preparedness to respond to them for sustainable business operations. The world requires solutions to new and growing existing problems in the availability and quality of water for 6personal, agricultural, industrial use and nature. At the same time, the focus must be on sustainable solutions for these problems requiring less energy, reuse of valuable minerals and metals and low or no production of greenhouse gases.
Water being an important and widely discussed goal within the SDG’s, we intent to schedule a full day virtual event on the subject. With the idea to provide a high profile and wide-ranging platform for businesses, knowledge institutions, investors, UN and governments to forge partnerships, boost innovation, investment, trade and learning, ET Water and Waste Management Conclave is introduced by The Economic Times as part of the bigger umbrella of ET SDGs Summit which will be an ideal platform for the water stakeholders to understand and deliberate on the need of clean, safe water and waste management for all, the growing elements of technology and their application in crisis, risk mitigation and business growth.