Did you know that 2013 is the International Year of Water Cooperation? Every living thing on the Earth needs water to survive, even though we often take it for granted. The United Nations (UN) – Water has designated 2013 as International Year of Water Cooperation to encourage celebration, preservation, and sharing of this critical resource.
Most of us rarely think about how much we use water in our daily lives. Besides drinking it, we also use water to brush our teeth, bathe or flush the toilet. But gallons and gallons of water are also used every day for cooking, making cotton, manufacturing televisions and producing food.
You’ve probably heard that 70 percent of the planet’s surface is covered in water, but 97.5% of that is saltwater–so you can’t drink it. Only 2.5% of water on the Earth is drinkable, and almost 70% of that water is frozen in the Antarctic, the Arctic, and glaciers. All this means that less than 1% of the world’s fresh water is available for living things.
Over time, people have created lots of methods, from aqueducts and wells to electric pumps, to access this fresh water. And even this 1% of the water would be enough for all of us, but water is at risk because it’s often wasted or polluted. Some areas have more water than they need while others have too little.
Everyone around the world deserves healthy water. We have to plan well and share it equitably in order to have enough to go around. Approximately 57% of the world’s population has access to running water, according to a 2010 World Health Organization (WHO) report–so this means that the other 43% of people in the world don’t have access to clean water.
Every day, many people walk miles to get water. Often this water is contaminated with chemicals or germs that make them sick. And 2.5 billion people live in areas without good water treatment/sanitation. In these regions, people catch diseases including dysentery and cholera. Poor health prevents young people from going to school, earning a living and eventually can impact a whole country’s economy.
The good news is that water is a renewable resource and the world won’t run out of it entirely. The bad news is that 700 million people in 43 countries lack clean, safe and fresh water. Sometimes the problem is that water isn’t in available in the areas where they live while others don’t have the technology or money to access good water.
To learn more about what you can do to help preserve and share water, visit the UN-Water website.
