06/06/2024
SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT TO FIGHT WATER CRISIS
Did you know that only 3% of total water resources are freshwater and that water global demand could surge by 20 to 30% by 2050? That's a serious wake-up call for sustainable water management!
🌡️Global temperatures reached exceptionally high levels in 2023: last year has been confirmed as the warmest calendar year going back to 1850 (Copernicus, 2023).
🚰Freshwater availability per person is shrinking worldwide due to population growth and droughts: 52 million people in EU already face water scarcity, and in a 2°C global warming scenario, that number could skyrocket to 60 million by 2040 (JRC,2023).
🍽️Climate change isn't just impacting water availability, it's threatening global food security too: with population booming agriculture will need to produce 50% more by 2050, with irrigated agriculture covering 20% of land but producing 40% of our food (FAO 2021, UN 2021).
🧪Pollution from nutrients and pesticides is impacting a large part of Europe's water bodies: 22% of its surface water bodies and 28% of its groundwater are significantly affected by agricultural pollution (EEA, 2021).
💰There is the need for improved water management to mitigate all these negative impacts. If not addressed, such strain could cost some regions up to 6% of their GDP by 2050 (WB, 2016).
🎉 Have you heard about the exciting news? The EIA has published a Position Paper on Sustainable Irrigation! Dive into the details via this https://irrigationeurope.eu/.../the-eia-finalized-the.../ or write us an email at [email protected] to get your hands on it. Find also more about EIA’s 5 recommendations to shape the Future of Irrigation!