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Global water shortages are growing problem and climate change and a persistant rise in meat-based diets are contributing to the threat of a global water crisis.  Hopefully by addressing these two major factors, and, perhaps more importantly, improving management of existing water systems we can steer clear of this looming disaster.  Farming demands three-quarters of the world’s water, and meat production requires many times the amount of water as a vegetarian diet. While water demand can be greatly reduced if people cut back on consuming meat, what’s frustrating is that the solution isn’t that simple.  According to The Economist:

The shift of diet will be impossible to reverse since it is a product of rising wealth and urbanisation. In general, “water intensity” in food increases fastest as people begin to climb out of poverty, because that is when they start eating more meat. So if living standards in the poorest countries start to rise again, water use is likely to soar. Moreover, almost all the 2 billion people who will be added to the world’s population between now and 2030 are going to be third-world city dwellers—and city people use more water than rural folk.

Perhaps if more affluent countries reduce their meat consumption and improve agricultural water management, then hopefully developing countries will follow their lead.  But even if we can reduce water demand required for agriculture, we still have climate change to contend with.  As The Economist points out,  climate change will effect water availability in a variety of ways, including changing the way plants grow, and disrupting supplies through drought and flooding.  So, combating climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions are critical to confronting the global water crisis.  But what surprised me the most about the articles analysis of the situation is what a difference improved water management can make.

To make water use more efficient, says Koichiro Matsuura, the head of UNESCO, the main UN agency dealing with water, will require fundamental changes of behaviour. That means changing incentives, improving information flows, and improving the way water use is governed.

Hopefully by working towards these solutions we can avoid a complete water crisis.
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