Introduction
In a world where water is readily available, it is hard to realize that without quality water, a country’s prosperity is at risk. In this article, I raise matters that speaks to two main audiences.
Firstly, to the citizens of the world as I suggest some changes that should take effect if our planet is to stay prosperous. I give a strong example about Belgium and secondly, I urge the strong need for political bodies to focus on the different challenges that are at our doorstep. Additionally, I will make recommendations in the hope that the world understands and adapts to a new way of behaving towards our future blue gold.
To that end, I encourage you to start reading this article and to react upon it. I encourage you to read it fully in order to understand the current challenges at-hand and to sense the suitable solutions to the current global water crisis we are facing.
The challenges
The World’s Situation
The entire world is undergoing major changes. With many countries and cities suffering from water scarcity, water inequalities and at times poor sanitation, the situation is quickly escalating to a global water crisis.
While threatening each individual on the planet, the crisis also affects industries. I will mention here an article published by The telegraph, which reported that Vittel, the French village where the famous water brand is bottled, could no longer pump enough water out for production because of its limited availability.
Looking at the bigger picture, all factors are being inter-connected to the way we use and drink freshwater. For example: using freshwater for taking showers, flushing toilets, washing our cars but also the single-use plastic bottles. It should be no surprise that we suffer from an increasing environmental pollution progressively making freshwater unclean and becoming scarcer.
Consequently, it should be mandatory for the whole (bottled) water industry to focus on a sustainable approach focusing on adapted systems that are already in place to reduce environmental pollution but also for political bodies to implement sustainable water policies.
A deeper look into freshwater
Almost 72% of our planet is covered by water. If we take into consideration that only 2.5% of this is freshwater, of which 70% is unprocurable for exploitation, we reach a water availability of barely 0.8% available water for human-use. It still is, however, a very huge amount of water availability in absolute numbers, but when considering the process of obtaining a 1kg steak (requiring 15,000L of water) it is not difficult to realize that water is to become the newest blue gold and that we need to find solutions to preserve it.
If we are to maintain a country’s prosperity, it will require everyone to get on board – emphasizing on decision-makers whom should give prompt attention to the water challenges facing agriculture, the industries and households.