Conserving fresh water is becoming increasingly important around the globe, a new report from the World Bank’s Internal Evaluation Group (IEG) says, so the World Bank should encourage countries to charge payment for water.
“Growing water scarcity is a reality, which the Bank and its partners need to confront by putting more emphasis on the challenging areas of groundwater conservation, pollution reduction, and effective demand management, writes IEG Director-General Vinod Thomas.
The IEG report, “Water and Development: An Evaluation of World Bank Support, 1997-2007”, said water scarcity had become more of a threat in arid regions, and that about 700 million people in 43 countries were facing stress on water supplies.
The report recommended that the World Bank find ways to support countries facing the greatest water problems, and to find a way to attract other donors to ensure water issues are properly addressed.
It suggested the World Bank use data on water to promote better understanding of ties between water and economic development.
World Bank Energy, Transport and Water Director Jamal Saghir said the report overloo-ked what he descri-bed as a rapid shift in the Banks priori-ties toward water projects overall and particularly in funding for the nations facing the worst problems.
He said that World Bank funding for water projects has tripled since 2003 and that about 60 percent of the funding for active projects was going to water-poor nations.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
