Water for all

(March 12, 2012) A global meeting on water opened in France on Monday with demands to bring clean water and sanitation to billions in need and to address worsening scarcity and waste. “The challenges are huge and the problems are deep-rooted,” French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said as he opened the The sixth World Water Forum in the southern city of Marseille. “The number of human beings who have no access to clean water is in the billions. Each year, we mourn millions of dead from the health risks that this causes. This situation is not acceptable - the world community must rise and tackle it.” The World Water Forum, held every three years, gathers policymakers, corporations and NGOs. As many as 20,000 participants from 140 countries are said to be participating in the six-day event, including scores of ministers for the environment and water from developing countries and several heads of state from francophone Africa. Separately, a United Nations report said water problems in many parts of the world were chronic and without a crackdown on waste would worsen as demand for food rises and climate change intensifies. Demand from agriculture, which already sucks up around 70 percent of freshwater used globally, is likely to rise by at least 19 percent by 2050 as the world's population swells by an estimated 2 billion people to 9 billion, the UN’s Fourth World Water Development Report said. Farmers will need to grow 70 percent more food by that time as rising living standards mean individuals demand more food, and meat in particular.