Global crisis in water management: Can a second UN Water Conference help?

Abstract

More than 60 years ago, President John F. Kennedy said: “Anyone who can solve the problems of water will be worthy of two Nobel Prizes—one for peace and one for science.” During the past six decades, global water situations, both in terms of quantity and quality, have become progressively worse and increasingly more and more complex. It has already been abundantly clear during the past six decades, unlike Kennedy's view, the world's water problems are primarily political, and not scientific or technical, and, thus, can be best approached and solved through political processes in each country, state, or municipality. Scientific or technical advances may solve some specific water-related problems, but the main solutions remain, and will continue to remain, in the political realm. Unfortunately, however, even though the main solutions are political, very, very few political leaders, in any country in the world, have shown interest in water over prolonged periods of time. They are interested in water only when there is a serious flood or drought. Once the flood or the drought is over, their interest in water invariably disappears (Biswas, 2019). President Kennedy was no exception as a political leader. His interest in water did not last very long, in fact, less than 1 year. Yet, no water problem of the world can be solved over the long-term unless seniormost politicians continue to remain interested in water. The only exception during the past 60 years has been Singapore. Its Prime Minister for the 1959–1990 period, Lee Kuan Yew, was convinced that water is a strategic resource, and Singapore's very survival and future economic development depended on ensuring water security. Accordingly, he had three people in his office who analyzed all national policies through the lens of water, both in terms of quantity and quality. He told us, as far as he was concerned, all policies Singapore, adopted during his tenure, had to bend in the knee for water (Tortajada et al., 2013). In 1959, when Lee Kuan Yew became the Prime Minister, Singapore's water management practices were similar to any other Third World city, from Delhi to Dakar. By the time Lee stepped down as the Prime Minister in 1990, Singapore's water management had become the envy of the world. Under Lee's leadership, Singapore formulated a long-term water security plan for 2060. It has been rigorously and regularly updated every 5 years, thereafter reviewed by the entire cabinet and its implementation has always been carefully monitored. Fortunately, the interest of Singapore's top policymakers in water has steadfastly remained high during the post-Lee period. Political leaders of any other country, developed or developing, could follow Singapore's footsteps regarding water's high political priority. As global water situations have mostly deteriorated, discussions of the resulting crises have become a growth industry. Putting “water crisis” in Google, in early March 2023, resulted in the identification of 805 million items. The number is likely to continue increasing exponentially in the coming years, especially if water situations continue to decline in most countries of the world. From our analysis, unlike the current mainstream thought, the world is not facing a water crisis because of physical lack of this resource. However, it is facing a crisis because of decades of poor water management practices. The two views are very different. Consider the following incontrovertible facts. Water, unlike fossil fuels, is a renewable resource. This means water can be used, used water can be collected and properly treated, especially for domestic and industrial uses, and treated wastewater can be used again. When properly managed, this virtuous cycle can continue indefinitely. Accordingly, if the world's available water resources are properly managed, there is not only enough water for now but also for the year 2100, when the world's population is likely to reach 10.9 billion, the level o