Without water, no life could exist. Water is essential not only for human survival but also underpins all human activities and systems like food production, energy, industry, and more. However, water resources are under increasing stress due to growing demand from population growth, agriculture, and industry coupled with issues like pollution, waste, and climate change. This has led to water scarcity in many regions and increased risks of water conflicts between communities and nations competing for limited water supplies. Better management of water resources through reduced waste, pollution, reuse, and more efficient use could help over 1 billion people escape severe water scarcity.

2. How important is water?
Without water no life could exist on
Earth - Our bodies are made up of up to
60% water. Not only do we need it to
survive and function, it also underpins
all human activity; food and energy
production, travel, industrial processes,
construction – we rely on all of these
things to sustain our society and way of
life and all of these things rely on H₂o.
Flushing toilets and hot showers are

4. This is called the water/energy nexus
Water for Energy
All energy production needs
water at some stage in the
process. It is used in energy
production and conversion, as
well as in other processes, such
as the refining of coal, gas and
crude oil.
Energy for Water
A massive amount of energy is
used in the collection, refining
and distribution of water as well
as the disposal of waste water.
Think of the amount of gas and
electricity homes and business use
to heat water everyday…

6. What’s Water Stress?
Water Stress occurs in areas where
water is scarce or where it is not clean
enough to be used for drinking or
farming.

7. Because of the massive scale
of water usage use in farming,
modern energy production
and industry, water use has
been growing at more than
twice the rate of population
increase during the last
century.

8. While there is not yet a
global water shortage,
an increasing number of
regions are becoming
worryingly short of
water.
And remember, without water,
everything stops…

9. “Water scarcity is both a natural and a human-made
phenomenon. There is enough freshwater on the planet
for seven billion people but it is distributed unevenly
and too much of it is wasted, polluted and unsustainably
managed.”
Human Development Report 2006. UNDP, 2006

10. Fresh running water
and sanitation are basic
necessities in a
modern, industrialised
society but for
hundreds of millions
these things are a
luxury they may well
never experience.

11. Around the world, in third
world and developing
nations millions of deaths
still occur as a result of
water borne diseases and a
lack of proper sanitation.
For many people – mainly
women - collecting enough
water for themselves and
their families is an
everyday struggle.

12. The good news
Over two billion people have gained access to
safer drinking water since 1990, according to a
report by UNICEF and the World Health
Organization.
2010 89% of the world’s population or 6.1 billion
had access to clean drinking water five years
ahead of the World Health Organisation’s 2015
target.

13. 780 million people still lack
access to clean water – more than
12 times the entire population of
the UK
The Bad news

14. Water Conflicts occur
when communities or
nations fight for their fair
share of water.
Conflicts over water
rights and water quality
happen around the
globe, from international
conflicts in the Middle
East and North Africa to
local conflicts over rivers
and streams.

15. As the global population
increases and demand
for water becomes ever
more pressing water
conflicts will increase
unless solutions are
found to make water a
sustainable and fairly
distributed resource for
all.

16. Take the Renaissance
Dam Project in
Ethiopia:
It will build a dam
across the River Nile
to produce 6000
megawatts of clean,
renewable electricity
for Ethiopia boosting
its economy and the
living standards of
its’ citizens…

17. …However, Egypt
also uses the power of
the Nile for industry
and farming and says
that the dam will cost
it 20% of the countries
water. They have
vowed to stop its
completion “at any
cost”

18. ”…the risk of conflicts over water is
growing – not shrinking – because
of increased competition, because of
bad management and, ultimately,
because of the impacts of climate
change”
Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute.

19. "For us, water is [now] more important than
oil.“
Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab
Emirates

20. The future?

21. If our society chooses to ignore the reality of
limited water resources, the number of
people impacted by water stress will double
from 2.4 billion people to 4.8 billion, water
prices will rise dramatically and armed
conflicts over water may become a reality.

22. …But if we waste less, pollute less,
reuse more, manage more
effectively and become more
efficient in all uses of water –
individual, collective, agricultural
and industrial – more than 1 billion
people could escape exposure to
risks and challenges from severe
water scarcity.