Inaction on the water crisis could put more than half of the world's food production at risk by 2050, experts warned in a major report published Thursday. "Nearly 3 billion people and more than half of the world's food production are now in areas where total water storage is projected to decline," said the report by the Global Commission on the Economics of Water (GCEW). The report also warned the water crisis could lead to an eight percent drop in GDP on average for high-income countries by 2050 and as much as 15 percent for lower-income countries.
Disruptions of the water cycle "have major global economic impacts," said the report. The economic declines would be a consequence of "the combined effects of changing precipitation patterns and rising temperatures due to climate change, together with declining total water storage and lack of access to clean water and sanitation". Facing this crisis, the report called for the water cycle to be viewed as a "global common good" and for a transformation of water governance at all levels.
Sign up to get our free daily email of the biggest stories! "The costs entailed in these actions are very small in comparison to the harm that continued inaction will inflict on economies and humanity," it said. While water is often perceived as "an abundant gift of nature", the report stressed it was scarce and costly to transport. It called for the elimination of "harmful subsidies in water-intensive sectors or redirecting them towards water-saving.
