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UN: 2008 the year of water

26 January 2008

The secretary general of the United Nations on Thursday called for action to prevent the pressing crisis over water shortages and stop conflicts over scarce supplies.

Ban Ki-moon told business and political leaders at the World Economic Forum that the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan was sparked off by drought.

He said shortages of water intensified poverty and social hardship in Somalia, Chad, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Haiti, Colombia and Kazakhstan.

"Too often, where we need water we find guns instead,'' Mr Ban said.

"Population growth will make the problem worse. So will climate change. As the global economy grows, so will its thirst. Many more conflicts lie just over the horizon.''

To stop water running out, Mr Ban called for vigilance to keep it clean and to share it fairly.

A report by International Alert, a London-based independent peace building body, estimates that in 46 countries, home to 2.7 billion people, water-related crises set off 'a high risk of violent conflict'.

In a further 56 countries, with 1.2 billion people, there is high risk of violent conflict.

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