4 Billion People to Face Severe Water Stress in Latter 21st Century

A review of global hydrological cycles and world water resources, co-authored by Prof. Taikan Oki of the University of Tokyo, and Associate Prof. Shinjiro Kanae of the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Japan, appeared in the August 25, 2006, issue of Science, a leading US scientific journal. The paper summarized the latest assessments of water supply and demand at present, as well as future projections, and pointed out that the accumulated findings in this field should be translated into action to address water problems. It is hoped that the paper's conclusion will be reflected in the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to be announced in 2007.

The article offers the most recent projections for global water demand and supply in this century, based on the latest estimates of terrestrial water flux, which incorporates human impact. There are about 2.4 billion people who live in highly water-stressed environments where water use surpasses 40 percent of renewable freshwater resources and available water is in short supply. The number is estimated to grow to more than 4 billion in the latter half of the century, although it may vary depending on future scenarios.

The article stated that the water demand-supply imbalance is not a future problem but a "clear and present danger," and it is necessary to improve communication and cooperation between scientists and policy makers to deal with the problem.

http://hydro.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp/index.shtml

Posted: 2007/02/13 09:22:14 AM
Japanese version