FOOD, AGRICULTURE & WATER
GLOBAL
WATER
SECURITY FOR
PEACE AND
PROSPERITY
BENEDITO BRAGA
President
World Water Council
88
Water is a vital element for human life
but it is also a limited resource, under
pressure from rapidly growing and
wealthier populations that are driving
ever-increasing demand. Meanwhile,
even now, millions of people across the
world are faced with water shortages
that impact their ability to have a
healthy life and to produce food for
their subsistence.
Lack of water affects economic growth,
food and energy security, and human
health. The business community reports
in the latest Global Risk Report of the
World Economic Forum that water is
the highest global concern for the next
10 years. These views are followed by
governments as a recent report issued
by the U.S. National Security Council
claims that “water may become a more
significant source of contention than
energy or minerals out to 2030 at both
the intrastate and interstate levels”. Many
of the largest river systems in the world
run across a number of countries, each
with their own political agenda, among
them the Nile, Congo, Mekong, Tigris,
and the Danube. All are overtaxed and
future competition for water rights could
ultimately lead to conflicts. Groundwater
resources supply irrigation waters for