Freshwater Shortages, Engineering of River Flows, Pollution and Overfishing Highlighted in Final Global International Waters Assessment
Freshwater shortages are likely to trigger increased environmental damage over the next 15 years, according to an international report of the world’s waters.
Falls in river flows, rising saltiness of estuaries, loss of fish and aquatic plant species and reductions in sediments to the coast are expected to rise in many areas of the globe by 2020.
These in turn will intensify farmland losses, food insecurity and damage to fisheries along with rises in malnutrition and disease.
Overall agriculture ranks highest as the key concern on the freshwater front among the 1,500 experts involved in the final report of the Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA).
“Globally, there has been an increased demand for agricultural products and a trend towards more water-intensive food such as meat rather than vegetables and fruits rather than cereals”.
Knowledge gaps are also to blame, with many developing countries operating in the dark on the size of their water resource, and the precise patterns of supply and demand.
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=471&ArticleID=5234&l=en
Freshwater shortages are likely to trigger increased environmental damage over the next 15 years, according to an international report of the world’s waters.
Falls in river flows, rising saltiness of estuaries, loss of fish and aquatic plant species and reductions in sediments to the coast are expected to rise in many areas of the globe by 2020.
These in turn will intensify farmland losses, food insecurity and damage to fisheries along with rises in malnutrition and disease.
Overall agriculture ranks highest as the key concern on the freshwater front among the 1,500 experts involved in the final report of the Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA).
“Globally, there has been an increased demand for agricultural products and a trend towards more water-intensive food such as meat rather than vegetables and fruits rather than cereals”.
Knowledge gaps are also to blame, with many developing countries operating in the dark on the size of their water resource, and the precise patterns of supply and demand.
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=471&ArticleID=5234&l=en