Wastewater key to easing global shortage, says UN

Paris, March 22

Recycling the world’s wastewater, almost all of which goes untreated, would ease global water shortages while protecting the environment, the United Nations said in a major report today.

“Neglecting the opportunities arising from improved wastewater management is nothing less than unthinkable,” said Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO, one of several UN bodies behind the report issued on World Water Day.

Two-thirds of humanity currently live in zones that experience water scarcity at least one month a year. Half of those people are in China and India. Last year, the World Economic Forum’s annual survey of opinion leaders identified water crises as the top global risk over the next decade.

High-income nations treat about 70 per cent of the wastewater they generate, a figure that drops to 38 per cent for upper middle-income countries. In low-income nations, only 8 per cent of industrial and municipal wastewater undergoes treatment of any kind. — AFP