Threat of increasing water scarcity: global action plan in place
Water supply has long been an underestimated topic - especially in Europe. But now the first major UN Water Conference in 46 years has taken place in New York. And marked a milestone for a rethink.
Sufficient drinking water, long droughts and dried-up lakes? Scenarios you've probably only seen on TV. However, what seems far away for us is already a reality of life in many countries around the world. Added to this is climate change: it will further exacerbate the situation in the arid regions of the earth - and in future will also bring the problem to areas that do not yet suffer from water shortages.
UN Water Conference 2023
The need for action is therefore no longer up for debate. And so the first major international water summit since 1977 took place from 22 to 24 March with over 10,000 representatives. The result: an agenda with almost 700 voluntary commitments.
A follow-up conference in two years' time will examine whether the objectives of the Water Action Plan are being implemented.
Time to rethink
In the end, a unanimous decision emerges from many different projects: take action. Lively participation and solution-oriented discussions showed that there is a turning point in dealing with the global topic of water. Even the countries that were previously spared are realising the increasing scarcity of supplies. The action plan is therefore an important step - even if there was a firm financial commitment for less than a third of the initiatives.
Cover photo: Gallery ds/Unsplash
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