The number of people living in areas affected by severe water stress is expected to increase to almost four billion people..
The Stockholm International Water Institute has kindly provided some statistics we should all be aware of:
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The 10 largest water users (in volume) are India, China, the United States, Pakistan, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Mexico and the Russian Federation.
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With rapid population growth, water withdrawals have tripled over the last 50 years. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the world population is predicted to grow from 6.9 billion in 2010 to 8.3 billion in 2030 and to 9.1 billion in 2050. At the same time, urban populations are projected to increase by 2.9 billion, to 6.3 billion by 2050.
An estimated 90% of the people expected to be added to the population, by 2050, will be in developing countries, many in regions already in water stress where the current population does not have sustainable access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation Water withdrawals are predicted to increase by 50% by 2025 in developing countries, and by 18% in developed countries.
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Water for irrigation and food production constitutes one of the greatest pressures on freshwater resources. Agriculture accounts for around 70% of global freshwater withdrawals, even up to 90% in some fast-growing economies.
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Feeding everyone in 2050 could require 50% more water than is needed now.
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The dietary shift from predominantly starch-based food to meat and dairy, which require more water, is the greatest to impact on water consumption over the past 30 years. Producing one kg of rice requires approximately 3,500 liters of water while one kg of beef requires 15,000 liters. Producing that one kg of meat requires as much water as an average domestic household uses over ten months (50l/person/day).
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Estimates indicate that there will not be enough water available on current croplands to produce food for the expected population in 2050 if we follow current trends and changes towards diets common in Western nations (3,000 kcal produced per capita, including 20 percent of calories produced coming from animal proteins).
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