Post by: Inger Andersen, IUCN Director General
From Cape Town to Bangalore, water shortages are a growing global menace, driven by rising demand worldwide and a warming climate. As the search for practical, cost-effective solutions intensifies, we cannot afford to ignore the important contribution nature offers to addressing the global water crisis. This is why the critical role of nature-based solutions is highlighted as the theme of this year’s World Water Day.
Climate change is pushing already overstretched water supplies to the limit. Cape Town’s residents are currently enduring a devastating drought; the 2015 drought in São Paolo forced 9 million Brazilians to ration water. Around the world, one in four of the biggest cities is suffering from water stress.
In fact, water scarcity already affects more than 40% of the global population. According to the UN, our dwindling water resources are increasingly contaminated by pollutants from intensive agriculture, industrial production, mining, urban runoff and wastewater. Meanwhile, our water needs continue to grow, projected to rise by 30% by 2030.
Given the bleak and urgent context, it is not surprising that the global