On World Water Day 22 March): World Bank Calls for Investments in Water Infrastructure and Better Governance
WASHINGTON, 22 March: The World Bank Thursday called for increased investments from private and public sources in order to enhance (forøge) water security in developing countries which are projected to suffer the most because of water scarcity.
It is estimated that 4 billion people – one half of the worlds population – will live under conditions of severe water stress in 2025, with conditions particularly severe in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. (Source: World Commission on Water)
Current investment in new water infrastructure in developing and emerging economies is roughly 80 billion US dollar per year. In order to spur economic growth and create water security, investment will have to more than double over the next 20 – 25 years, to around 180 billion dollar per year.
Much of the increase will be for household sanitation, wastewater treatment, treatment of industrial effluents, irrigation and multipurpose schemes. (Source: Financing Water for All, Chaired by Michel Camdessus, March 2003)
– We need the right combination of infrastructure investments, sound institutional governance, and management, said Jamal Saghir, World Bank Director for Energy, Transport and Water, adding:
– That is essential if the poorest countries are to use water resources effectively and achieve rapid economic growth to benefit vast numbers of their populations. When countries reach this “minimum platform”, water becomes a driver of economic growth rather than a negative force associated with floods and natural disasters.
Achieving this level of water security requires new investments, but of the right kind – there is no “one size fits all” solution.
Different levels of investment are needed depending upon local circumstances, including rainfall variation and flood risk, exposure to disputes between countries over rivers flowing across borders, and the structure of economies in which water has to be allocated between agriculture and industry. It also requires sound institutions and good governance.
The rich world is fortunate that its largely temperate climate usually ensures predictable rainfall and relatively low risk of serious flooding.
But many of the least developed economies deal with far greater variations in rainfall and higher flood risks, which is aggravated by the impacts of climate change. Basic water security will, therefore, be much harder to achieve than it was for the industrialized world.
Coping with Water Scarcity
Some 70 percent of the Earths surface is water, but most of that is ocean. Only three percent of the world’s water is considered “fresh” (ferskvand), and of that amount, 75 percent is locked away in ice caps and glaciers, thus unavailable.
Most of the remainder is stored as groundwater, too deep to be readily available. Only about one percent is easily accessible surface water. Aside from some very modest and expensive gains in overall supply (e.g., through desalination – afsaltning), the worlds freshwater supply is a finite (fast/afgrænset) resource.
During the past century, while world population tripled, the aggregate (tilsvarende) use of water increased six fold. Irrigation, industry, and municipal use account for respectively, 70 percent, 20 percent, and 10 percent of global water withdrawals.
These increases have come at high environmental costs – some rivers no longer reach the sea, 50 percent of the worlds wetlands (vådområder) have disappeared in the past century, 20 percent of freshwater fish are endangered or extinct, and many of the most important groundwater aquifers (reservoirer) are being mined, with water tables already deep and dropping by meters every year, and some damaged permanently by salinization.
For example, in the Middle East and North Africa region, 85 percent of water is used for agriculture. The region has as much irrigated land as the United States, and a lot of it is used for crops that are more easily grown in other places and imported. In this region, nearly 80 percent of all the water that falls is used.
That is in stark contrast to other areas of the world, such as Latin America, the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa, which use only about 2 percent of available water in their regions.
– Many developing countries face daunting water resources challenges as the needs for water supply, irrigation, and hydroelectricity grow, explained Saghir, adding:
– As water becomes more scarce, quality declines and environmental and social concerns increase. Floods and droughts are exacerbated (forværres) by a changing climate and, therefore, it is imperative to support developing countries in adapting to this new situation.
The World Commission on Water estimates that water use will increase by about 50 percent in the next 30 years. Compounding (hvad der forøger) the relative scarcity of water is the continuous deterioration in water quality in most developing countries. Again, it is the poorest countries and poorest people who are most directly affected.
World Bank Financing in the Water Sector
The World Bank accounts for about 50 percent of external financing for water resources – totaling about 3,3 billion dollar a year, or some 16 percent of all World Bank lending.
The water investment portfolio includes water resources management investments for the environment, water supply and sanitation services, irrigation and hydropower (vandkraft), and development of other related institutions and infrastructure.
The World Bank is the largest external financier in the water supply and sanitation (WSS) sector in developing countries. Its current WSS project portfolio is nearly 7 billion dollar.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
