Water Crises Are Everyone’s Problem

Not their, them; it’s our and us!

Imagine waking up a day and not being able to brush or take bathe. The mere thought disgusts us, and we do not realize the luxury. Yet, for almost half of the global population- 4 billion people- being able to bathe daily is, in fact, a luxury. 

The stale water you throw away when you refill your bottle or the half-full glass of water you toss away in the sink after finishing your meal is enough to save the life of one in every 800 kids dying of unsafe water consumption.

Yearly an estimated 55 million people are impacted by droughts. And more than 40% of the global population battles against water scarcity each year. With a heating climate and rising population, water shortage crises are worse than ever. And poor Africa stands at the front of all the continents facing droughts, accounting for 44% of the global numbers, World Economic Forum outlined. 

Despite such a serious threat to human survival, many deem water crises saying “not my problem”. 

So, today we write this article to explain why exactly water crises are everyone’s problem. 

The extent of crises:

Water crises are severe. North Africa faces water shortage, with frequency increasing by a third since 2000. 

Take Tunisia, for example. Water has become a luxury here. Women are struggling to quench the thirst of their kids, and crops are drying. Families are reluctantly getting rid of their pets to save them from dying of dehydration.

Amid the severe water shortage, Tunisian government has resorted to cutting the water supply at night. The capital city, Hammamet, Sousse, Monastir and Sfax, are some of the cities impacted by the sudden water cut. The government aims to stretch every last drop of an already scarce resource. 

The water levels in most of the Tunisian dams have shrunk to a mere 16% of their maximum holding limits.

However, amid rising tensions in the country over protests, racial controversies, and economic and political instability, the sudden water cut might catalyse countrywide uprising. 

Algeria face the same fate

Apart from boundaries, Tunisia and Algeria share the same fate. Algeria is also battling the same demon- lack of water. 

Just as Algeria ended its diplomatic tensions with France, the ever-stretching issue of water crises does not seem to end any time soon, European Union warned. 

Global issue:

 However, the issue is not just limited to Africa but is a global crisis. Pakistan, an Asian country, faces the threat of droughts after just emerging from nationwide floods. Northern Italy faced its worst droughts in seven decades-last years.

Whether in Afghanistan, Morocco, Egypt or even the United States, most countries face severe water problems. And the remaining nations that are not yet on the brink of droughts are facing water management issues in the form of lack of safe drinking water, water pollution, or wastewater recycling. 

The bottom line is- the world faces water crises. 

And it is not a budding issue. On the contrary, the dark clouds of drought threat have encircled humans for centuries. 

But what have we done?

We dedicated a special federal department for water management, which majorly whined about how serious the crises are. We poured billions of dollars into water recycling (global wastewater recycling market size in 2021 was 21.3 Billion dollars), only to create a new type of pathogen infection. 

That is not it. We also launched vast river-cleaning initiatives, which only mocked the misery of dying rivers. 

And when all of this could not quench the thirst of more than 8 billion throats, we rushed towards the largest water body on the planet- Oceans. But, the high salinity of oceanic water makes it unfit for human consumption. But after contaminating almost all of the freshwater supply, desperate humans even looked for ways to desalinate the oceanic water.

The Red Sea-Dead Sea Project:

The idea was to filter salt from saline ocean water and utilize salt and water. The abandoned red sea, the Dead Sea project between Jordan, Palestine, and Israel, is the offspring of the same thought. 

But the world saw how that project turned out. After being in talks for over two decades, the project was abandoned in 2021 due to a never-ending political debacle between Israel and Jordan. The two nations only blabbered about the project's complexity and territorial dispute. After all, pouring water from one sea to another was not easy.

But, the political debacle deprived Jordanians of the most crucial natural resource- water. As a result, today, Jordan is among one of the most water scare nations in the world. 

And the “war over water” did not only impact the water availability but also created 7,000 active sinkholes, receded the waterline of the dead sea by a meter each year, and left behind humongous piles of brine. 

The satellite image shows the extent of the shrinking dead sea over the years.  

We have failed to address the real issue:

Over the years, most of us have failed to understand the depth of the issue. We are barely scratching the surface to make matters even worse. And if we turn to historical data, our archives are filled with instances where shortsighted or narcissistic vision turned disastrous. 

“Not-my-problem” mindset:

Building Uncommissioned dams, Illegal mineral mining at/ near water bodies, excessive fishing and discharging all kinds of wastes into water bodies with a “not-my-problem” mindset have robbed us of more than we could ever save.

It is high time we pop the bubble of narrow thinking and broaden our vision. We need to understand what kind of world we are bringing our kids into and the kind of legacy we are leaving behind for our kids.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the water crisis is not just someone else's problem. It's everyone. Whether rich or poor, young or old, it affects us all.

We can make a difference by conserving water and supporting organizations that provide clean water. Let's work together to ensure a water-secure future for ourselves and future generations.

The good news is that we can all contribute to solving this global issue. We can start by making small changes in our daily lives, such as taking shorter showers, fixing leaky taps, and using water-efficient appliances. We can also support local and international organizations working towards providing clean water to those who lack it.

Collective effort:

As evident from history, great things have only been achieved with togetherness. 

Ultimately, the solution to the water crisis requires collective action and shared responsibility. We must work together to ensure everyone has access to safe and clean water, now and in the future. By doing so, we improve the quality of life for millions of people, protect the environment, and promote sustainable development.

As individuals, communities, and nations, we must recognize that the water crisis is everyone's problem and take action accordingly. Let us commit ourselves to ensure a water-secure future for ourselves, our children, and future generations.

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