Oil is not our most valuable resource.
‘Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink’, is how the poem goes.
Coming from Glasgow and having lived through many a Scottish summer where the drip, drop, drip of rain is a constant accompaniment, it’s hard to imagine ever being without water.
Ok, so Coleridge was telling the fictitious tale of the ancient mariner whose luck took a turn for the worse after killing an albatross, but he had a point, water – either in terms of its quantity or quality – is a huge problem.
The May 2008 edition of the Geneva Association’s newsletter on risk management brought that message home to me. One of its articles focused on the role of the chief risk officer in balancing risks and opportunities. It also discussed loss icebergs of risk, insurability and sustainability plus water as another potential world crisis.
The publication is packed with statistics. It tells me that two thirds of the earth is covered in water, but only one per cent of it is drinkable. Around 3,800 cubic kilometres of fresh water are withdrawn from the world’s rivers, lakes and acquifers annually; twice the volume extracted 50 years ago.
Ground water is being used up at a faster rate than it can be replenished in most cities with a population of more than 100,000. I am also introduced to the concept of ‘virtual water’, which allows me visualise how much water is used to produce a good or a service, e.g. bottling a litre of Coca-Cola requires four litres of water.
“Ok, so Coleridge was telling the fictitious tale of the ancient mariner whose luck took a turn for the worse after killing an albatross, but he had a point.
Meanwhile, a staggering 5,000 children are dying of cholera, hepatitis A and bilharzias infections every day due to a lack of clean water and sewage infrastructures. The figures are both fascinating and disturbing.
At home we see the impact of rising sea levels, the consequences of building on flood plains, changing precipitation patterns and flash floods which overwhelm our drainage systems.
How to manage our water resources properly is vital. In the UK, the Pitt recommendations are going someway to address concerns, but this is only one element of the bigger watery picture.
We have to get better at managing this important natural asset; we also have to help those with scarce water resources. The challenge is to ensure that everyone around the world has enough safe, clean water to drink.
I believe that every country has to take measures to manage their water resources more effectively if we are to avoid it becoming another global crisis, like oil.
