Water Usage in 2010 Calendar - Foreword

Every species, whether animal or plant, uses water every day. This includes each and every one of us. Water connects all people and all life.

Most of the water we use, some 70% globally, we use to grow food. Water also keeps business and industry sectors productive and profitable. The idea we need water to keep us healthy and clean is familiar. However, we easily forget that it is also fundamental to keeping us nourished, to the economy, to jobs, to wealth and security. We need water flowing in rivers for energy, for trade and for enjoyment. Yet, of all the water on Earth, only 1% is liquid freshwater that we can use. Without doubt, water is precious.

With water’s gifts comes responsibility. It must be shared – among ourselves and with the rest of the web of life. Meeting our responsibilities is economically, socially and politically demanding. Water is at once both chemically simple and vastly complex. For close to one billion people, basic needs for clean, safe water go unmet every day. Growing populations, expanding economies, and increasing pollution, mean there is less water to share among more people and more uses. Climate change is intensifying these challenges, especially in parts of the world where they are already acute. A water crisis is looming. Everyone stands to lose. And so too nature – including its benefits for people and its beauty.

We should ask ourselves what it will take, locally or globally, to find solutions to a water crisis. How can we lower water risks for people and business, for nations and nature, to build a resilient water future? We all depend on getting these answers right. IUCN is working in more than 30 countries worldwide to find practical solutions. Under the IUCN Water and Nature Initiative, we work with partners in communities, governments and business to drive innovation in water management and build consensus on coordinated action that meets the needs of both people and nature.

For everyone, a first step is to start to really see water. To recognise the wealth it holds and to start to value it like we depend on it. Every day.

Mark Smith
Head of the IUCN Water Programme
http://www.iucn.org/water

As the international community mobilises in 2010 to address the world’s dwindling water resources, it is important that we treat this problem in tandem with energy and climate challenges. Water and energy consumption are projected to rise markedly during the next generation. Not only are freshwater withdrawals expected to increase 50% by 2025, but in the fast-growing developing world energy demand is expected to accelerate by the same amount over the next two decades. Making matters worse, climate change will be an added burden on water resources, with melting glaciers and shrinking snow cover getting worse, and patterns of precipitation changing in the 21st century.

In our quest to create a sustainable society, we must treat these three factors of water, energy and climate change as a whole. Consider that water is used to generate energy, and energy is needed to provide water. Water is needed to produce almost all types of electricity, and renewable energy sources are not always light consumers of water. This means that low-carbon energy is not necessarily low-water, and trade-offs have to be made at a local level depending on resource availability. Water management, therefore, should be high up on the global agenda, alongside energy efficiency and the efficiency of buildings.

Taking a coordinated approach to water, energy, and climate change is a major undertaking, given that each issue by itself is complex. To get more energy out of each drop of water, and more water from each unit of energy, will require more technology, more innovation, and more leadership from every part of society, not just from the business community. In parallel, experts in universities, nongovernmental organisations, government, and industry in all three fields need to share knowledge and research more widely and frequently. Some leading companies have been dealing with the intertwined challenges of water, energy and climate change for some time, such as how to meet rising energy demand amid declining water availability. But to ensure this triple threat is squarely met by society at large, policymakers must turn their attention to the need for reliable climate change data and tools, policies and measurements that integrate water and energy efficiency, and institutions that raise awareness of water-energy links. They must also incorporate the social and economic value of ecosystems into trans-boundary decisions, and encourage best practices in reducing water and energy consumption.

Through more global cooperation, and greater efficiency in how we use energy and water, scarcity does not have to be the watchword of our times.

Bjorn Stigson | President
World Business Council for Sustainable Development
http://www.wbcsd.org