The scene-setting keynote of Hans Rosling at the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition not only presented past demographic and health data in a new way, it also provided a glimpse of what is to come. The future we are shaping will take place in a world with increasingly fewer divisions between poor and rich nations. By 2050 the world will be more homogeneous, with the vast majority of people living in Asia in middle-income countries. They will have access to basic water and sanitation services. However, a tremendous effort will be required to ensure water efficiency and water quality is where it needs to be. To get there we need major investment in reducing water loss, wastewater treatment and reducing industrial pollution of surface and ground-waters. With roughly 60% of the urban infrastructure that will exist in 2050 still to be built, there is an enormous opportunity to get it right.
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