WATER FOR DEVELOPMENT: WORLD WATER 2002 POINTS TO MOUNTING CHALLENGES

摘要

Alooming crisisthat over-shadows nearly two-thirds of the Earths population is drawing closer because of continued human mismanagement of water, population growth and changing weather patterns. In a joint statement, United Nations organizations drew attention to problems on the occasion of World Water Day 22 March 2002, for which the IAEA was the lead coordinating agency. By 2025, if present consumption patterns continue, about five billion people will be living in areas where it will be difficult or impossible to meet all their needs for fresh water. Half of them will face severe shortages. The UN organizations said that the implications will be extreme for the people most affected, who are among the world's poorest, limiting their ability to grow crops, which they need to survive, heightening disease and threatening States' national security.