The World Organization for Nature Protection (WWF) announced today, on the eve of the meeting of world leaders at the first UN Conference on Water in the last 46 years, that almost 60 percent of the world's population is worried about water shortages.
As stated, a new survey showed that 58 percent of people worldwide are concerned about water shortages, while 30 percent indicated that they are personally "extremely" affected by water shortages.
Disappearing and unreliable access to fresh and potable water is disrupting societies, economies, the environment and every aspect of life as we know it, WWF said.
It is also added that climate change is extremely related to water shortages, so 38 percent of those questioned in the survey declared that they were "largely" affected by climate change, while as many as 75 percent were at least "moderately" affected.
Drought is often cited as one of the most sensitive consequences of climate change, so 37 percent of those who have personally experienced the consequences of climate change cite drought as an example.
"The hydrological situation on almost all important rivers in Europe in 2022 showed alarming values with unprecedented droughts and a decrease in surface and underground water levels," said WWF freshwater program manager Adrije Ljubiša Mijačić.
He pointed out that the region where Serbia is located is very rich in water courses, including the European Amazon, as the first five-state UNESCO "Mura-Drava-Danube Biosphere Reserve".
"More than a million people live and depend on these rivers, while this area also plays a very significant role in the fight against the climate crisis. That is precisely why the factors that affect the disappearance of water, from droughts and climate changes, to other human activities such as the damming of river courses and inadequate management of the area, a big risk for our region as well," said Mijačić.
According to him, the hydrological cycles in the Balkans in modern history generally had a predictable character, and systems of management and use of water resources were defined on the basis of such information.
"Such sudden changes represent a call for alarm unprecedented in modern history and a serious threat to vital ecological and economic interests in the region. More than ever, comprehensive cooperation in the field of protection and management of water resources with a special focus on raising the quality of the health of water ecosystems is necessary." Mijačić concluded.
WWF reminds that the UN Conference on Water is being held from March 22 to 24 in New York.
They also believe that, at a time when 30 percent of people around the world claim to be "extremely" personally affected by fresh water scarcity, while the global majority feel at least moderately personally affected (56 percent), governments and companies must commit to urgent action to solve that world crisis.
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