Water.
Such a simple word. A simple word that carries so much meaning in our lives. As human beings, water makes up about 60% of our bodies and makes up about 70% of the world we live in today and is the biggest producer of oxygen for us all. Simple yet powerful.
This week as we start our work officially with the Office of the President of the General Assembly (OPGA), I attended a PGA initiative “Briefing of the General Assembly on Science-based Evidence in support of Sustainable Solutions”. The essence of the meeting was to hear from Scientists and experts on water-related issues and possible solutions using science-based evidence. So how come a simple word needs this much attention and at such a high level? I believe it is its value and what it means to us.
In the briefing I attended, the thematic areas discussed were the economics of water and conflicts over water. Is that money and war or war on water because of money? It can be confusing but that is the debate. Can we monetize water or put a financial value on it so that we can truly appreciate what it means for us? Can we securitize water or make it a security issue because it can be an existential threat to our beings when we run out? Honestly, I hope we can figure it out soon.
There are always 2 sides to a coin and 2 sides to a story. Unfortunately for us all, this story affects everyone, and we need universal solutions to a universal problem. But what is the problem? Demand and supply; due to historic human mismanagement, the demand for water is expected to exceed supply by 40 per cent at the end of this decade, cautioned Mr. Shanmugaratnam, Co-chair of Global Commission on the Economics of Water and Minister from Singapore.
I think once we figure out the answer to the monetizing and securitizing of water then we will be able to truly appreciate the gravity of the problem which is the 40% excess on supply of water that we ourselves have created.
As a national of a small island state, I am ecstatic this issue is taking a step in the right direction to be addressed because we are facing serious problems. We are facing land salination due to sea-level rise causing food insecurity, super flooding from heavy rainfall causing contamination of clean water, extreme drought which dries up the water supplies in certain countries.
It is no longer a national issue, it is no longer a regional issue but rather an international issue that should be seriously addressed by all in an inclusive and informed manner.
In this decade of action, we all need to act, and we all need to play our part individually in addressing this issue. We start the game changing transformative solutions based on scientific evidence by being game changers ourselves starting by adapting a futuristic approach to life and what you can do for your children and their children. Simple, realize our problem, admit there is a problem, find solutions and act on it keeping in mind that “Water is Life!”.
