Water Scarcity and Human Rights

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization, in 2014 there were more than 750 million people without adequate access to drinking water and more than 2.5 billion lacked proper sanitation conditions.In many countries, including Brazil, the disparities in water and sanitation services are among the main battlefronts when projecting a fairer and more sustainable society, according to 2015 UNESCO data. It is one of the central objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (2016)(2017)(2018)(2019)(2020)(2021)(2022)(2023)(2024)(2025)(2026)(2027)(2028)(2029)(2030). These challenges adopt new extents in areas which already have naturally low water availability, such as many African and some Middle--eastern and Asian countries. The equity principle therefore promises a world with greater water security for all.We live among increasing unsustainability in water consumption, and this relationship is marked by two aspects: on one side there has been a rise in climatic disasters (droughts, floods), and on the other, pollution of water sources turns supply more and more expensive. This pollution is consequence of the expansion of the economy and of production practices that drive countries' development, aside from natural resources exploitation and the obstinacy for fossil fuel expansion, such as the fracking case for gas extraction.Today, more than a billion people-i.e. one in seven inhabitants-lack adequate access to drinking water. Over 40% of the world population will live, in the short term, in regions which are being increasingly affected by hydric stress. Hydrologists forecast that, should this trend continue, freshwater will withstand a double pressure: population growth, enhanced by intense consumption habits that will increase the demand for food and energy, and the impact of climate change. Approximately 80% of the world suffers severe threats regarding hydric security, according to IPCC indicators, concerning water availability, demand, and pollution.It should be noted that a significant part of the world population lacks proper sanitation and 1/5 of aquatic systems that keep ecosystems functioning and feed a rising population is threatened, drying out or becoming too polluted to take advantage of.The fact is, agriculture water losses stopped being the most visible effect of droughts affecting many countries and regions. The energy crisis and the threat of water scarcity in great metropolis escalate and have become a reality.It is also important to emphasize that the impacts of the deterioration of ecosystems (caused by an urbanizing process without due sanitation actions taken, and subsequently under-implementation of actions promoting proper access to drinking water and basic sanitation) is reflected on a global water crisis.Hence, as Pedro Arrojo Agudo (one of the creators of New Water Culture Foundation -Fundación Nueva Cultura del Agua) notes, the deepest crisis is that of continental aquatic ecosystems. This is added to a poverty linked to a development model which promotes inequity and anti-governance, thus...

Residential water demand analysis

“…Today, more than a billion people lack adequate access to drinking water and the short-term forecast is that 40% of the world population will live in regions affected by hydric stress (Jacobi et al, 2016). The authors relate the unsustainability in the supply of water to two aspects: climatic disasters (droughts, floods) and the pollution of water sources.…”

“…The authors relate the unsustainability in the supply of water to two aspects: climatic disasters (droughts, floods) and the pollution of water sources. About water governance, Jacobi et al (2016, p. 1) highlights as important: [...] analyze water governance, comprising not only its management aspects, but the usage as a natural resource which tackles sustainability from a social point of view as well.…”

Utilização Do Polietileno Verde Na Indústria Plástica

“…Desta forma, o seu monitoramento é de suma importância para conhecer, controlar e mitigar os impactos gerados.Os problemas atuais de escassez de água, com um quadro de insustentabilidade em sua relação, perpassam por dois aspectos: o aumento dos desastres climáticos e a contaminação dos recursos hídricos, tornando cada vez mais caro o abastecimento de água potável. Assim, ressalta-se a seriedade do manejo sustentável e da preservação dos ecossistemas aquáticos, fundamentado na disponibilidade de água de boa qualidade e na capacidade de sua conservação e proteção (JACOBI; EMPINOTTI;SCHMIDT, 2016).OBJETIVOO presente estudo foi realizado com o objetivo de avaliar a qualidade da água em um canal de drenagem inserido em uma sub-bacia urbana, por meio de uma análise espaço-temporal dos parâmetros oxigênio dissolvido (OD) e demanda bioquímica de oxigênio (DBO), com a finalidade de identificar possíveis fontes de poluição hídrica.MATERIAIS E MÉTODOSO monitoramento ambiental foi realizado no córrego Sem Nome, pertencente à sub-bacia do Córrego Sem Nome, com área total de 3,466 km², localizada no município de Ilha Solteira -SP. A cidade se encontra no noroeste do estado de São Paulo, aproximadamente a 653 km da capital, situada entreas coordenadas geográficas: longitude oeste 51°06'35'' e latitude sul 20°38'44''.…”