Water Shortages: an undervalued (economic) Trouble Spot

-- an SWMTHiNKTANK article

Though rarely addressed in prominent (mass)media, water - its availability, its processing and its cleaning - attracts steadily growing interest. Browsing through the past months reports and statements seems to reveal that the awareness for potential conflicts with regard to water has notably increased [1], [2]. Key sensitive regions seem to be the near and the middle East [3]-[5] as well as the south-east Asian region [6]-[8]. As a consequence, the economic growth of concerned regions is projected to be negative [9]-[11] and solutions are requested.
Another issue that slightly appears on the table - and that has been addressed in the recent statements as well - is the question for which purpose water is to be used and in which priority? Does the supply of humen with drinking water posses a higher priority than the generation of electric power (hydro energy)? Is the use of water (bodies) as resource for industrial purposes more important than its use in agriculture? So far the impression appears that a sustainable and well-balanced use of the unique 'service portfolio' water is still in its infancy and fundamental efforts in terms of research, engineering but also at a social (political) level have to be undertaken to solve this vital issue in time.

Further readings: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11]

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