The Human Development Report 2006 rejects the view that the global water crisis is about absolute shortages of physical supply. It argues that the roots of the crisis in water can be traced to poverty, inequality and unequal power relationships, as well as flawed water management policies that exacerbate scarcity.
Access to water for life is a basic human need and a fundamental human right. Yet in our increasingly prosperous world, more than 1 billion people are denied the right to clean water and 2.6 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation. Meanwhile, the ill health associated with deficits in water and sanitation undermines productivity and economic growth, reinforcing the deep inequalities that characterize current patterns of globalization and trapping vulnerable households in cycles of poverty.
As this report shows, the sources of the problem vary by country, but several themes emerge. Underlying each of the problems is the fact that the people suffering the most from the water and sanitation crisis—poor people in general and poor women in particular—often lack the political voice needed to assert their claims to water. These and other issues are carefully examined in the report. The challenges it sets out are daunting.
Far more also needs to be done in the face of the threats to human development posed by climate change. As the report stresses, this is not a future threat. Global warming is already happening— and it has the potential in many countries to roll back human development gains achieved over generations.
Reduced water supplies in areas already marked by chronic water stress, more extreme weather patterns and the melting of glaciers are part of the looming challenge. Multilateral action to mitigate climate change by reducing carbon emissions is one leg of the public policy response for meeting that challenge. The other is a far stronger focus on supporting adaptation strategies. It is already clear that competition for water will intensify in the decades ahead.
Population growth, urbanization, industrial development and the needs of agriculture are driving up demand for a finite resource. Meanwhile, the recognition is growing that the needs of the environment must also be factored in to future water use patterns.
Two obvious dangers emerge. First, as national competition for water intensifies, people with the weakest rights—small farmers and women among them—will see their entitlements to water eroded by more powerful constituencies. Second, water is the ultimate fugitive resource, traversing borders through rivers, lakes and aquifers—a fact that points to the potential for cross-border tensions in water-stressed regions.
Both dangers can be addressed and averted through public policies and international cooperation—but the warning signs are clearly visible on both fronts. This report, a product of research and analysis is intended to stimulate debate and dialogue around a set of issues that will have a profound bearing on progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals and human development.