UN Releases Report on Global Water Supply
On World Water Day, which was observed on March 22, the United Nations released a 2022 report on World Water Development to empower policymakers with the tools to implement sustainable uses of water resources.
In the 300-page report, researchers find that nearly 50% of the world’s urban populations depend on underground water sources, but aquifers are being polluted, overexploited and dried up by humans with sometimes irreversible consequences.
According to the report, groundwater also provides around 25% of all water withdrawn for irrigation, and although located underground, groundwater is not excluded from being affected by climate change.
“This natural resource is often poorly understood and, consequently, undervalued, mismanaged and even abused,” the U.N. writes in the report.
As part of the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, the report urges governments to develop better groundwater management through methods like establishing groundwater policy and planning road maps for concerted action. Such policy could include groundwater as part of the distributed water supply infrastructure through a water tariff to provide financing for groundwater management.
There is also a scarcity of qualified personnel with hydrogeological and geophysical studies. The report recommends strengthening institutions through methods like long-term bilateral cooperation projects and academic exchange programs that will be key in improving groundwater management, especially in countries that lack adequate staffing.
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