Water: a scarce and poorly managed resource

On March 22, 1992, the United Nations established the World Water Day, a date that recalls the efforts of several international entities to raise awareness about this essential resource for planet Earth and human survival. 

One of the main challenges related to water in the world is inequality in access to the vital resource: according to data from United Nations World Water Resources Development Report, about 2.2 billion people in the world do not have access to clean water (about 25% of the world's population) and more than 4.2 billion (more than 50% of the world's population) live without access to basic sanitation services. 

The lack of access to clean water has dramatic consequences across the world, with around 2 million deaths attributed per year to this problem, especially among children under 5 years of age in developing countries. The inequality in access is also shocking: in countries where there is water scarcity, as is the case on the African continent, the average individual consumption is between ten and fifteen liters of water/day; In New York, a single person uses around two thousand liters of water/day.

Another major water-related problem is inadequate and criminal management of the resource. Pollution, above all industrial And agricultural, contaminates rivers, lakes and aquifers around the globe, making several water sources unsuitable for human consumption. This inadequate management also affects food production: agriculture is responsible for around 70% of water consumption (while only 6% is intended for domestic consumption), but unfortunately, it often resorts to excessive use of irrigation, which leads to soil degradation and reduced water quality.