Why
preserving and saving water matters to the life on planet
The
scarcity of high quality fresh water for consumption
Seventy percent of the planets surface is covered by water.
Almost all the Earths water is salt water and is in the oceans, improper for
agricultural and industrial use.
Only 3 percent of the planets water is fresh water and most of it is in glaciers.
Less than 1 percent of the water is suitable for human consumption and is in rivers, lakes
and water tables (difficult to reach).
According
to the HDR Human Development Report
(UNDP - UN, Nov. 2006) :
- around 1.1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water;
- around 2.6 billion people do not have basic sanitation facilities (most of them living
in Africa and Asia);
- half of the hospital beds are occupied by patients with waterborne diseases;
- diarrhea claims the lives of as much as 4,900 under-5 children every day.
While a
Mozambican uses an average of less than 10 liters of water a day, a European uses between
200 and 300, and a North-American uses 575 (50 liters only for flushing). Every person
should have at least 20 liters of water for consumption available per day.
Water is
unequally distributed around the planet.
Some countries in Africa and in the Middle East do not have water anymore.
From all fresh water available in the planet, approximately 13.7 percent are in Brazil.
The Amazon Basin holds 73 percent of the countrys fresh water.
The remaining 23 percent are unequally distributed around Brazil, to serve 93 percent of
the population.
Northeastern has 28 percent of the population and 5 percent of the water reserves.
Some 90
percent of the Brazilian population has access to water. Many of the
Brazilian cities with water distribution network usually suffer from rationing.
Regarding basic sanitation, 75 percent of the Brazilian population is served by sewage
network, meaning that 43 million people are not.
Only 32 percent of the waste water and sewage produced in Brazil receive adequate
treatment according to the Ministry of the Cities (2006).
Dumping untreated sewage in rivers, creeks and oceans is a threat to public health.
The consumption
demand of water by the modern human being is increasing. The use of water
increased three-fold ever since 1950.
The world population in 1820 was 1 billion inhabitants, 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in
1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, 6 billion in 2000 and 6.5 billion in 2006.
In view of
the scarcity, there is an increased risk of disputes and conflicts among nations for the control of water
springs.
The environmental pollution is a leading factor in the degradation of the
countrys hydro-resources.
Rivers are polluted by pesticides, industrial residues, waste deposit leakage and the
discharge of untreated domestic sewage.
Deforestation of riparian forests in river banks leaves the soil unprotected and causes
the fast flow of rain waters resulting in floods and sedimentation of river beds with
debris.
Slums and illegal lots grow along rivers and dams, polluting the reservoirs and
threatening the populations health (video).
The
irrigation for agriculture is responsible for over two-thirds of all water drained from
lakes, rivers and water tables, according to UN-FAO.
When wasting food, we also waste the water used to produce it.
The irrigation methods in farming are usually inefficient, wasting a lot of water.
Pesticides used in agriculture are poisonous chemical compounds, whose residues can cause
a number of diseases. Some do not degrade causing a long-time contamination in the soil,
underground and air.
Cattle
raising requires a large amount of water, for the living animals, in the slaughter, in the
agro-industrial meat processing, and with the preparation of dairy products, according to
CNRH National Council of Hydro-resources.
Industrial
activity is the second largest consumer of the available fresh water. In addition to
wasting and the lack of modern techniques for water reuse, the discharge of non-treated
industrial effluents in rivers endangers the life of fish and other living creatures.
Pricing of water : charging for the water consumed, not only for the
distribution service as it used to be, makes agricultural and industrial producers more
aware about not wasting it.
The high home
consumption of water also produces more sewage which, in turn, when non-treated,
pollutes rivers.
Brazil has
the worlds largest reserve of fresh water but is a great waster of
drinking water. Part of the treated water that leaves distributors does
not reach the end user either due to leakage in the network or for unauthorized
connections. The water is wasted through poorly maintained pipelines that are broken or
diverted.
In some
sections of the Sao Francisco River, the deforestation of riparian
forests caused the silting of the river bed, with an abnormal formation of sand banks that
prevents navigation and spoils fish habitats. In other places, the non-treated sewage of
nearby cities polluted the waters. The Ministry of Environment coordinates a program to
revitalize the San Francisco basin.
Global
Action
The water
and sanitation crises is, above all, a problem of the poor people. According to the UN,
most countries have enough water to satisfy their home, industrial, agricultural and
environmental needs. The problem is in its management.
The report (RDH, 2006) advocates a Global Action Plan, to be coordinated by the G8
countries, to focus efforts for the mobilization of resources and place water and
sanitation issues in the core of the development agenda.
A crucial point for such action would be the affirmation of water as a basic human right.
Governments should have as minimum target the spending of at least 1 percent of GDP with
water and sanitation.
Developed countries should increase their contribution to help solve this emergency
crisis.
Clean water and sanitation are among the most efficient preventive remedies to reduce
child mortality.
Did you
know ?
March 22
is the World Water Day.
Algae produce most of the Earth's oxygen.
The human body consists of 3/4 of water.
A human being can survive 28 days without food, but only 3 days without water.
The first living organisms on Earth appeared in the water more than 3 billion years ago.
Examples of waterborne diseases : fever, diarrhea, cholera, hepatitis, poliomyelitis,
malaria, dengue, etc.
A dripping
faucet wastes 46 liters of water a day. That is 1,380 liters per month.
A thread of water of only 2 millimeters accounts for 4,140 liters in a month. And a thread
of 4 millimeters represents 13,260 liters of wasted water in a month.
A 2-millimeter leak in a pipeline can cause a waste of 3,200 liters a day, that is, over
three water tanks.
Water is a vital resource. Everyone can cooperate by doing a part : agriculturists,
governments, companies, institutions and society.
Learn more : Agência
Nacional de Águas, MMA, SABESP, CETESB, IBGE, PNUD-ONU, Universidade da Água, Lei do Saneamento Básico and Planeta
COPPE.
Tips to avoid water
waste and to require the preservation of hydro-resources
www.natureba.com.br On-line Environmental Education for All