The United Nations warned of the depletion of the planet's water resources "drop by drop", ahead of the start of a conference on Wednesday aimed at examining how to meet the needs of billions of people exposed to an imminent global water crisis.

"Overconsumption, overdevelopment, unsustainable exploitation of water resources, pollution and uncontrolled global warming are all depleting factors," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in the introduction to a report published hours before the United Nations Conference on Water, which is being held for the first time in nearly half a century. Drop by drop, this source of life for humanity."

He added that the world is "walking blindly down a perilous path...and we are all suffering the consequences".

Some areas suffer from water scarcity and others face heavy amounts of it due to the intensity of precipitation, or suffer from water pollution, and the recurrence of tragedies. imminent global water crisis.

“The number of people who will be affected by this global water crisis depends on the scenario,” lead author Richard Connor told AFP. “If nothing is done, 40-50% of the world’s population will suffer from a lack of sanitation and about 20-25%.” percent of the scarcity of potable water. Even if the percentages do not change, the world population is increasing, and with it the number of people affected by this problem.

In an attempt to reverse the trend with the hope of ensuring by 2030 everyone has access to drinking water or a toilet, goals set in 2015, some 6,500 participants, including about a hundred ministers and about a dozen heads of state and government, are meeting until Friday in New York to work on Make specific commitments.

But some observers are concerned about the scope of these commitments and the availability of funding to implement them.

- We have to move now -

However, says Gilbert Hongbo, chair of the UN-Water Commission, a platform that coordinates the work of the United Nations, which does not have a dedicated body on the subject. "There is a lot of effort required and time is not on our side."

No conference of this magnitude since 1977 has been organized on this vital, long-neglected issue.

In a world where over the past 40 years the use of fresh water has increased by nearly 1% per year, the report by the United Nations Water Commission first highlights that water shortages are becoming "widespread generalized", worsening with the impact of global warming, even It is expected that it will soon affect even regions that were spared from this destitution in East Asia or South America.

Thus, about 10% of the world's population lives in countries where water stress has reached a high or critical level. According to a report by United Nations climate experts published Monday, "nearly half of the world's population" suffers from "severe" water shortages during at least part of the year.

The situation also highlights inequality. "Wherever you are, if you are rich enough, you will have access to water... The poorer you are, the more likely you are to suffer from these crises," says Richard Connor.

The problem does not lie only in the lack of water, but also in the pollution of the available water, due to the absence or dilapidation of sewage systems.
At least two billion people drink water contaminated with feces, exposing them to cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio. This is not to mention contamination with drugs, chemicals, pesticides, microplastics or nanomaterials.

To ensure universal access to drinking water by 2030, current levels of investment must be at least tripled, estimates the UN Water Commission.

Also, all these sources of pollution threaten nature. According to the report, freshwater ecosystems that provide invaluable services to humanity, including helping to combat global warming and its effects, are "among the most threatened in the world."

"We have broken the water cycle... We have to act now because water insecurity undermines food security, health, energy security, urban development and (exacerbates) social problems," Henk Oveink, special envoy for water from the Netherlands, co-organizer of the conference with Tajikistan, told AFP. Act before it's too late, it's the opportunity of a generation."