According to the report, the lack of sufficiently skilled labour in water and sanitation has contributed to the estimated leakage of 30 per cent of total withdrawals of fresh water
A new report has highlighted a likely massive increase in pressure on existing water sources to meet agricultural, industrial and domestic demands in the coming decades. The 2016 edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report “Water and Jobs”, published jointly by UNESCO and UN-Water, has emphasised the need for improving resource management and realising the importance of water in job creation.
The report notes that water scarcity manifests itself through a combination of hydrological variability and unsustainable human use. In terms of per capita availability of renewable water, the statistics reveal that South Asian and African countries are typically facing greater water stress.
According to the report, 25-60 per cent of India’s renewable fresh water capacity has been depleted. Access to water, hit by successive droughts and erratic monsoons, also paints a worrying picture with over nine-tenths of the country experiencing either physical or economic water stress. There is a clear divide in the water stress experienced between south India, which is physical stress due to water shortages, than that in the north, where access to water is limited by a lack of capital and resources.
According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report from 2015, globally, an estimated 663 million people lack ready access to improved sources of drinking water, while the number of people without reliable access to water safe for human consumption is at least 1.8 billion. The same report has also noted that more than one third of the global population—some 2.4 billion people—do not use improved sanitation facilities. Of these, 1 billion people still practice open defecation.
Freshwater water resources around the world, several already in different stages of depletion, are only likely to be put under further stress. According to a 2012 assessment by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an estimated 2.3 billion people will be living in areas with severe water stress, especially in northern and southern Africa and South and Central Asia by 2050. Another report from the Water Resources Group predicts that the world could face a 40 per cent global water deficit by 2030 at current population and economic growth rates.
The UN report explores the link between the economy and water. While an estimated three out of four jobs that make up the global workforce are either heavily or moderately dependent on water, about half of the world's workers—1.5 billion people—are employed in eight water and natural resource-dependent industries. This means that water shortages and problems of access to water and sanitation could limit economic growth and job creation in the coming decades.
“Water and jobs are inextricably linked on various levels, whether we look at them from an economic, environmental or social perspective. This edition of the World Water Development Report breaks new ground by addressing the pervasive relationship between water and jobs to an extent not yet seen in any other report,” said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova in a statement to the press.
The report notes a number of studies that find correlations between water-related investments and economic growth.
Investment in small-scale projects providing access to safe water and basic sanitation in Africa could offer an estimated economic return of about US $28.4 billion a year, or nearly 5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) of the continent. Such investments, apart from having a direct economic benefit, will also have a beneficial effect on employment, claims the report. Authors cite the example of the United States, where every $1 million invested in the country’s traditional water supply and treatment infrastructure generates between 10 and 20 additional jobs. According to the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis, each such job created in the local water and wastewater industry creates 3.68 indirect jobs in the national economy. The study also cites case studies from Latin America where an investment of $1 billion in the expansion of water supply and sanitation networks would lead to 100,000 new jobs.
Transition to green economies and increasing investment in alternative technologies such as rainwater harvesting, recycled wastewater and urban runoff as responses to the rising threat of climate change and global warming is also likely to substantially add to the job market.
For water and sanitation as a sector, the report states that while it has great job generating potential (especially in developing countries), it is currently understaffed around the world due to a difficulty in attracting skilled workers. According to the report, the lack of sufficiently skilled labour in water and sanitation has contributed to the estimated leakage of 30 per cent of total withdrawals of fresh water. It indicates that this can be addressed with greater investment which would create more jobs and reduce wastage which would be crucial to coping with projected requirements for water.
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
India Environment Portal Resources :
.png)
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.