For the first time in recorded human history, global water supplies are being severely impacted by human activities and climate change.
According to a new report published by the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, a group of world leaders and experts
Decades of collective mismanagement around the world have damaged freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems and continuously polluted water resources, the report said.
Experts further say that we cannot express complete confidence in the availability of fresh water for our future.
“For the first time in human history, we are pushing the global water cycle out of balance,” said Johan Rockström, co-chairman of the commission and one of the authors. Rain, which is the source of all fresh water, cannot be fully relied upon.
It should be noted that the water cycle is the natural process by which water moves between the land and the atmosphere, which is essential for life on the planet. It involves water evaporating from the ground and other bodies, forming clouds, and eventually falling to the ground as rain or snow. However, the disturbance in this delicate balance is already being felt all over the world.
