World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has published a report that shows that fresh water sources globally are dwindling, whose cause effect has been food, planetary and health crisis. This water shortage has been attributed to increased drying up of rivers and lakes, in addition to increased pollution of water sources, which cause reduction in fresh water fisheries and grounds, despite the importance of fish to the food chain. Rivers contribute more than a third of all global food production through sustaining fresh water fisheries, providing water for irrigation, flood recession agriculture and highly fertile and nutrient rich deltas. Better water management, governance and protection are critical to the achievement of many development indicators like water and food security, health, gender equality and conflict prevention and management. There is a close relationship between water availability and access and food security, which is a major factor in addressing poverty.
The report shows that the annual economic cost of fresh water bodies is US$ 58 trillion or 60 percent of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Water comes from nature and hence there is need to ensure that the fresh water ecosystems and water cycles and related aspects are protected and sustained. Water bodies, including rivers and lakes are key in provision of life supporting mechanism for planet earth, since they support ecologies for sustainable development covered under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
SDGs are made of 17 major goals which are concretized by 167 sub-goals, all of which are central to the fight against poverty on the planet. Some scholars have divided the SDGs into three major categories: firstly, those that deal with demand for resources and how the same can be appropriated, which touches on water resources and related resources that are central to the development of the society. The second category of the broader SDGs touch on those that deal with sustaining the resource base, where again the water sources and bodies sector are key in ensuring that some of the products that are obtained from therein can be available even for future generations. The third category of the SDGs deal with means of redistributing power and benefits, where it matters for example how the water resources are distributed and shared amongst people.
There have been conflicts between upstream and downstream people for example in Kenya. There is need to adopt a systems approach to water resources and products, the economy and societies. This is because water shapes transformational economic, sociocultural, ecological and environmental and climate change issues globally. Dr Giti is an urban management, public – private partnerships (PPP) and environment specialist. mutegigiti@gmail.com , @danielgiti
Dr. Daniel Mutegi Giti 