The President of United Nations Economic and Social Council, Pakistan's Ambassador Munir Akram, has warned that by 2050 more than half of the world’s population would be at risk due to water stress.
Ambassador Akram, in his opening remarks at a special event on Sustainable Development Goal number 6, about "clean water and sanitation for all", said desertification alone threatens the livelihoods of nearly one billion people in about 100 countries and called for a multilateral response to deal with the challenge.
The ECOSOC president said intense water scarcity might displace as many as 700 million people by 2030.
He said lack of investment in water infrastructure leads to significant economic, social and environmental losses as water and environment are inter-linked.
Global estimates for financing to make the world water secure range from US $ 6.7 trillion by 2030 to US $ 22.6 trillion by 2050.
He said investments are needed not only to build new infrastructure but also to maintain and operate existing water facilities.
The Pakistan's Envoy warned that failure to improve water resource management could diminish national growth rates by as much as six percent of by 2050.
He said governments must explore new and innovative approaches for investment in environmentally sustainable water and sanitation-related infrastructure.
Water management is one of the most formidable challenges facing the world,that has been intensified by the #ClimateCrisis . Implementation of the recommendations of 2018 @UN Water #SDG6 Synthesis Report & SDG6 Global Acceleration Framework is critical to this endeavor: @UNECOSOC pic.twitter.com/QeAjLUQ9yk
— Permanent Mission of Pakistan to UN, NY (@PakistanUN_NY) July 10, 2021