A new U.N. water report warns the world is headed toward a global water crisis if human-caused climate change and population growth aren't addressed.
in New York – the first major U.N. conference devoted to water since 1977. It lays out the challenges facing the U.N.'s sustainability goals to secure clean water and sanitation for all people by 2030. The U.N. estimates such efforts could exceed $1 trillion each year.
Water scarcity is further complicated by the massive amounts of water needed to grow crops. Around 70% of freshwater globally goes to agriculture, and about one third of the world's cities already compete with agriculture for water, according to the U.N. report. Competition will only increase as the urban demand for water is predicted to grow by 80% within the next three decades.
Since launching in 2009, Isla Urbana has installed about 33,000 rainwater harvesting systems in homes and 500 schools throughout Mexico, Lomnitz said. The group's work spans from water-insecure neighborhoods in Mexico City, like Iztapalapa in the east, to rural and Indigenous communities in the southern part of the country, where fewer people have water hook-ups.
Droughts, flooding and other extreme weather events fueled by climate change are also exacerbating water shortages and quality globally. "What happens is as people sort of respond to climate pressures – whether it's building dams or otherwise – that has downstream effects," said Risi."So if you don't have institutions in place and sort of agreements in place to manage those sorts of big changes, then that's where we see conflict."A woman balances a water can on her head while people collect water from a mobile water tanker on World Water Day in a residential area in New Delhi, India.The U.N.
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