CONCLUSION
2. Be more efficient. Agriculture accounts for some 70 percent of all fresh water used globally. Adopting water-saving food production methods, such as hydroponics, drip irrigation and agroforestry, can help water reserves stretch further. Also helpful: encouraging people to switch to plant-based diets, which generally require less water than those based around meat. Beef, for example, is thought to have one of the biggest water footprints, requiring as much as 15,000 liters of water to produce a kilo of meat.
3. Deal with water leaks. Being efficient also means reducing the amount of water lost through leaky municipal infrastructure and building piping. There are no global data for the amount of water lost this way but national numbers suggest the total is massive. In the United States of America alone, household leaks waste nearly 1 trillion gallons of water per year.
“Solutions are within reach. But we need innovative thinking, greater political commitment and collaboration and increased financing so that when it comes to water, no one is left behind.”
4. Unconventional sources. As supplies of lake, river and aquifer water dwindle, countries will need to get creative. This means taking advantage of undervalued water resources, such as by treating and reusing wastewater. Countries and communities can also implement rainwater harvesting, which involves collecting and storing water for use in dry spells. Desalinating saltwater is also an option in some places if done sustainably. The problem: the process often leads to the discharge of toxic brine into the ocean and increased greenhouse gas emissions from the energy required to fuel the process.
5. Track quality. Often, water is plentiful but is too polluted to be useful for drinking, manufacturing or recreation. Measuring water quality can help policymakers prioritize actions to clean up water sources. This evaluation can be complemented by satellite data, artificial intelligence and even citizen science. UNEP’s Freshwater Ecosystems Explorer provides decision-makers with water quality data, helping to spur action to protect and restore freshwater ecosystems.
6. Smart management. Climate change is affecting rainfall patterns, aquatic habitats and the availability of good quality water. At the same time, peatlands and other watery carbon warehouses are being degraded, causing planet-warming emissions to spike and compounding climate change. To manage this destructive feedback loop, countries must emphasize the protection and restoration of carbon sinks. They should also harmonize their strategies for managing water with their policies for limiting and adapting to climate change.
7. Integrated approaches. Decisions about water cannot be made in a vacuum. Water is a key component in everything from power generation to industrial manufacturing to farming. So, countries must develop action plans that address water use and pollution across multiple sectors, tackling what experts call the water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus. This approach can help countries adopt coherent responses to water-related challenges while maximizing things like food production and energy generation.