Water & Jobs
recent decades , the number of people employed in water supply and wastewater treatment facilities has consistently decreased . The reasons : a lack of interest from new graduates in jobs in the water sector , lack of resources to hire and retain skilled staff , especially in the public sector , and an ageing workforce . In the United States alone , between 30 % and 50 % of the water utilities workforce will reach retirement age by 2020 . Added to these challenges is the difficulty in attracting skilled workers to live and work in rural areas and the stigma associated with the sanitation sector as a whole . In some regions , such as West Africa , it is particularly difficult to attract workers to what is considered a degrading occupation .
Despite these challenges , the market for jobs in water supply and sanitation is promising and there is significant potential for growth . For example , in Bangladesh , Benin and Cambodia alone , nearly 20 million people living in rural areas should gain access to running water by 2025 , which is six times the current number , and represents a potential economic impact worth as much US $ 90 million . Further , a study in Bangladesh , Indonesia , Peru and Tanzania reveals a potential for sanitation services worth US $ 700 million annually . The need for investment into aging and inefficient infrastructure is also a potential driver for employment in the sector . An estimated 30 % of global water withdrawals are lost through leakage . In
London the rate of loss is 25 % and in Norway 32 %. In some countries , irrigation practices are either non-existent or outdated and result in poor agricultural productivity . In Africa for example , agriculture is mainly rain-fed and less than 10 % of its cultivated land is currently under irrigation , holding back job creation .
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Achieving the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development will require a keen understanding of key role of water in the world of work . Decent jobs are directly linked to water management , in areas such as providing water supply , infrastructure and waste management ; and waterdependent sectors , such as agriculture , fishing , energy , industry and health . Moreover , access to improved drinking water and sanitation facilitates job creation and a healthy , educated and productive workforce which is the foundation for growth . Creating conditions that improve water productivity and favour the transition to a green economy , training more skilled workers in order to respond to increasing demands for labour in the water sectors are some of the points that the Report brings to the attention of the Governments to appropriately respond to the requirements of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – notably number 6 , specifically dedicated to water and sanitation .
Sustainable Water Management – Local to Global
Water is life . Growing pressure on water resources – from population and economic growth , climate change , pollution , and other challenges – has major impacts on our social , economic , and environmental wellbeing . Many of our most important aquifers are being over-pumped , causing widespread declines in groundwater levels . Major rivers – including the Colorado River in the western United States and the Yellow River in China – no longer reach the sea in most years . The California drought is exacerbating the large and growing gap between the state ’ s water use and the available water supply . Half of the world ’ s wetlands have been lost to development . The world ’ s water is increasingly becoming degraded in quality , threatening the health of people and ecosystems and increasing the cost of treatment . Some 780 million people around the globe still lack access to clean water and thousands perish daily for lack of it .
The world ’ s water problems stem from our failure to meet basic human needs , ineffective or inappropriate institutions and management , and our inability to balance human needs with the needs of the natural world . These maladies are rooted in a wasteful use of water , characterized by poor management systems , improper economic incentives , underinvestment , failure to apply existing technologies , and an antiquated mindset focused almost exclusively on developing new supplies – to the exclusion of “ soft path ” conservation and efficiency measures .
26 Africa Water , Sanitation & Hygiene • May - June 2016