From Water Stress to Water Scarcity: Its Impact on Peace and Global Development

Abstract

The wide range of water-related problems, with their diverse implications for living beings and the environment, is an urgent issue to which both decision-makers at various levels and academia, as a generator and mobiliser of relevant and valuable knowledge for the community, must dedicate themselves. In Resolution 64/292, the United Nations General Assembly explicitly recognised the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation (HRWSS), of July 28^th., 2010.  It calls upon States and international organisations to provide financial resources, capacity building and technology transfer to help provide accessible and affordable drinking water supply and sanitation for all. The primary objective of this article is  raise awareness among the general population of the risks and conflicts caused by weak water governance by providing information, through the methodology of meta-analysis, in the quest to educate and deepen the conservation and reutilisation of water, not only as a limited natural resource but also as a central part of maintaining peace in an increasingly water-thirsty world where powerful interests continue the demand for and consumption of this precious liquid, despite the populations themselves and the scientific warnings on the subject.