Written by Prof. Dr. Joachim Willms [Managing Director]
The 2006 Human Development Report
Throughout history water has confronted humanity with some of its
greatest challenges. Water is a source of life and a natural resource
that sustains our environments and supports livelihoods –
but it is also a source of risk and vulnerability. In the early
21st Century, prospects for human development are threatened by
a deepening global water crisis. Debunking the myth that the crisis
is the result of scarcity, this report argues poverty, power and
inequality are at the heart of the problem.
In a world of unprecedented wealth, almost 2 million children die
each year for want of a glass of clean water and adequate sanitation.
Millions of women and young girls are forced to spend hours collecting
and carrying water, restricting their opportunities and their choices.
And water-borne infectious diseases are holding back poverty reduction
and economic growth in some of the world’s poorest countries.
Beyond the household, competition for water as a productive resource
is intensifying. Symptoms of that competition include the collapse
of water-based ecological systems, declining river flows and large-scale
groundwater depletion. Conflicts over water are intensifying within
countries, with the rural poor losing out. The potential for tensions
between countries is also growing, though there are large potential
human development gains from increased cooperation.
TF: Agrotourism 
