Global Goals For Sustainable Development: Ensuring Clean Water And Sanitation For All

Background of the Clean Water Crisis

Access to clean water and sanitation has been a global concern. The issue’s background lies in the fact that worldwide, nine hundred people cannot access clean and safe water, which is a source of life and the human body’s basic need. The issue has drawn the attention of the United Nations. The underlying cause for the issue of lack of clean water has been the fact that water and poverty are unequally distributed. Low-income groups inclusive of people living in rural areas and those living in extreme poverty are not able to afford a supply of clean water thus survive through the use of unhygienic and unreliable water sources. Every year, over 3.4 million people perish due to water-related causes, hygiene, and sanitation, with ninety-nine percent of the deaths occurring in the developing countries. More than eight hundred and ninety-four people out of the planet’s total seven billion cannot access improved water sources, with the figure representing an approximate of one in nine people (Gilbert, 2012).

Rivers have dried up due to changing climatic conditions. Groundwater reserves are getting depleted and lakes are shrinking. The result will be a rise of the figure to three billion in 2025, especially in parts of Africa and Asia. The United Nations should face the situation and ensure that access to hygienic and safe water becomes a provision and no longer a demand. Therefore, the paper addresses global goals for sustainable development with an emphasis on business reporting on clean water and sanitation.

What are effects, causes and control measures that should be taken to ensure equal provision of clean water and health sanitations to diverse communities globally?

The most fundamental aspect to global health and the human condition is access to clean water and sanitation. Water covers seventy percent of the world, with twenty-five percent of the water being fresh. Lack of potable and clean drinking water presents challenges to people in caring for themselves and their families and in the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle. The absence of safe, clean, hygienic and potable drinking water hinders the development of countries worldwide since water is a major contributing factor to development. Lack of clean water has led to the emergence of diseases worldwide, which has, in turn, led to a cycle of instability and poverty. The contamination of water around the world and more so in developing countries has led to people contracting cholera, amoebic dysentery, diarrheal diseases, typhoid and other lethal diseases. The inadequate supply of potable water has resulted to people moving to places having adequate and reliable water which is fit for consumption which could lead to difficulties in those areas thus leading to disputes and clashes due to competition for the water. The resulting factor would be a rise in the price of water, with the people unable to afford the water having to suffer.

Effects of Lack of Access to Clean Water

In addition, dirty water affects every development area directly. Children are unable to attend school due to infections contracted due to the consumption of the contaminated water, while water-borne illnesses have affected patients highly and are unable to go to work since they spend time in hospitals. Hours spent collecting and looking for clean water results to loss of hours which would have been used in adding to the economic well-being of the family. As the community’s lifeblood, unsafe drinking water can lead to the suffering of a community. Therefore, the lack of water leads to the failure of planned development efforts. In addition, lack of water results to the death of crops and livestock. People become weak and go hungry, which eases the course of diseases resulting in a quiet killer hunger taking its toll on the people. Water is essential to a person’s health and leads to healthy environmental, geopolitical, and economic conditions globally. Due to population growth, and climate mismanagement and change, the requirement for affordable and adequate water has been a growing international crisis. By 2025, the United Nations has estimated that a combined population of 2.8 billion people from forty-eight nations will face a scarcity of freshwater (Homer-Dixon, 2010).

Population growth in many countries will lead to a lack of fresh water access by a large population since more births will lead to a rise in water demand due to a decrease in the amount of water available per person. Access to water through lakes, streams and rivers has become challenging due to the high amount of wastes dumped by factories and companies resulting to a pollution of the water which makes it unsanitary for consumption by humans. The pollution of the waterways has affected the potential sources through which people could get water resulting in a relocation to places with enough water. Globally, polluted freshwater covers approximately 12,000 square kilometres, and by 2050, the total will cover 18,000 square kilometres which amounts to nine times the amount presently used for irrigation (Downing, DeVanna, Rubeck-Schurtz, Tuhela & Grunkemeyer, 2008).

Global warming has also affected the amount of water accessible to people, with the rise in earth’s atmospheric temperature negatively affecting water levels in lakes and rivers through evaporation. In addition, sea water levels have increased resulting in storms due to the disruption of water flow. Per capita water supply has been predicted to fall by 2050, leaving approximately two billion to seven billion people with a scarcity of water. Lack of clean water has been attributed to inequality distribution, poverty and corruption by leaders.

Causes of Water Shortages and Pollution

How is climate change, population and water demand linked to water shortages and poor sanitation in Asia?

The Middle East is comprised of the Mashriq and the Arabian Peninsula and is dominated by areas that are semi-arid and arid with major areas being extremely arid. The northern part of the region is predominated by a steppe climate with cold winters and hot summers. The central and southern parts are characterized by extreme dryness with mild temperatures and very hot summers. Asia belongs to this part where water is a very scarce resource in the Middle East. Most countries experience droughts and water stress. Summer temperatures do not significantly vary in the region. Temperatures generally rise to thirty degrees Celsius and the deserts warm to about forty-five degrees Celsius. Rainfall is scarce in Asia and depends on the season and most of the precipitation occurs during winter. However, southern Asia is constituted of an exception with summer rains and regular rainfall varying from 0mm to 200mm (Ashfaq et al., 2009). The Asian region has two shared rivers and various seasonal rivers. Most of the surface water drains to the Mediterranean, Dead, and Red Seas. The Middle East’s civilization has always faced water challenges and climatic conditions influence activities and politics in the region. The economy has also been restricted by the lack of water and the well-being and development of the society thus endangering the stability of politics between neighbors and the states of the areas. The situation in the Middle East has increased with an increase in the freshwater demand as a result of the increasing population. The region’s greatest water supply consumer is agriculture. However, for survival, every human requires an approximate of five liters of fresh water daily with the modern civilization development increasing than the personal demand for water. Drinking water is mostly on high demand, with a considerable fraction being used for application for privacy issues, cleaning of the house and for personal hygiene.

Does dry weather, improved standards of living and growth of industrialization the main cause of water shortage and decline sanitation in Singapore?

Water supply is one of the greatest issues faced by Singapore, with the country experiencing water shortage for many years. In 1990, the country experienced an unexpected dry weather period that led to a decline in the reservoir by 98% from 95%. The dry weather period has led the country to be keen on planning, strategizing and encouraging its citizens to conserve water. Furthermore, Singapore learned the hard way from this period and came up with four major sources of water commonly known as National Taps.  The National taps fulfilled half of Singapore’s water demands. Singapore has water catchment areas located in Bishan and Ang MO kio. According to Schmidt-Walter & Lamersdorf (2012) water catchment is collecting water from rivers and water sources and then it is processed for human consumption. In Singapore, the recycled water and water resources are called NEW water. Currently, NEW water is the most consumed by the community because it is economical, clean and readily available. Furthermore, in Singapore, clean water covers thirty percent of the industry’s water needs.

Water Shortages and Poor Sanitation in Asia

The desalination process also provides water supply as seawater is collected and treated and salt extraction process conducted for water to become effective for drinking. However, in the culture of Singaporeans, this water type is not common among common citizens as it is expensive because of technology used in the transformation of seawater to drinking water. PUB faces the challenge of reducing people’s demand. The increase in Singapore’s population has been a key factor to water shortage, as the demand for water is believed to exceed supply. For example, in 1950, Singapore had a population of one million and daily consumption of water accounted for 142,000 daily per capita (Goldstone, 2010). However, in 1960 when the population increased by 1.6 million, the water consumption increased by more than 100 percent. Better standards of living and industrial development in Singapore are other factors that have caused the water demand to increase. For example, in 1950, Singapore had only 580 industrial organizations. However, in 1980, the number of organizations grew up significantly reaching more than 2900 companies which are established (Bhattacharya, 2011). Therefore, the development in organizations increased water consumption from 50,000 to 170,000 cubic meters. Currently, in Singapore, other commodities are expensive than water and with an increase in standards of living, people are more liberal with water usage. In Singapore today, the demand for water has grown by 1.3 million cubic meters per capita and the population has increased to 4.6 million.

To curb the water problem in Singapore, several measures have taken place. Firstly, the PUB has managed to seize water usage through promotion, campaigning, encouragement of ownership and pricing. Furthermore, a pricing strategy is an effective mechanism for encouraging customers to conserve water. The full cost of water production is recovered by pricing and this makes people realize that there is a scaling of water as it decreases with time. Furthermore, water conservation tax and tariffs have been introduced and are valid for all consumers including non-domestic and domestic consumers. PUB also conducts campaigns to lower water usage. For example, in 1995, the organization launched a save water campaign at Bedok waterworks which was aimed at making Singaporeans realize how water conservation is important for their future generations and also encourage and educate the members of the public to use water effectively and prudently. The campaign was fueled by seminars and conferences on water conservation which were provided to workers and students. Furthermore, all groups and members of the community were invited to visit water plants. Additionally, rationing of water still carried out to let Singaporeans realize the inconveniences and difficulties of water shortages. More advertisements concerning water conservation were also made by PUB through mass media for the creation of awareness. The advertisements were published in leaflets, stickers and posters.

Water Shortage and Declining Sanitation in Singapore

In my community, many people are overusing water due to a lack of education and knowledge on ways in which they can conserve water. Irrigation and livestock rearing have resulted in a rise in water demand as a lot of water is used in watering plants and livestock annually. Many people are also leaving taps running and water is wasted. The government also needs to solve this global concern which has become a great challenge in our communities. The short-term measures that could be of benefit include the collaboration of government and public sector canals and new pipes that will make sure pure water is not contaminated. Furthermore, people in my community do not treat water for themselves and that is why waterborne diseases have fueled recently. People need to be educated on treating water with chlorine so that they can make sure water is purified and not contaminated. Many farmers in my community also need to use drip irrigation and contribute to all projects relating to water recycling to make water available.

Despite people conserving water, they should also practice sanitation. I believe in sanitation practices as they assist in sustaining the environment. In my community, sanitation has been used to strike nutrients balance because there is so much stress on available resources. Furthermore, human waste has been getting into our lands and water sources from not well-designed pit latrines, untreated sewage being disposed into our river channels as well as defecation. Leakages have also been a key issue that we are facing in our region. Untreated sewage has been leaked everywhere threating human health. Despite leakages disposing of sewage alone, huge amounts of pure water are lost because of leakages and PUB is confronting communities for water wastage. According to Gondek (2011) in the current world, approximately 90 percent of untreated sewage is dumped into our rivers, killing plants and fish. In the Asian continent alone, 13 million tons of untreated sewage are annually disposed into inland water sources (Aleluia & Ferrão, 2016). I therefore believe that untreated sewage is a big threat to our sanitation as many people in my community are using streams for fishing and also as their primary source of water. Therefore, sanitation practices should integrate safe methods of disposing human waste hence controlling the contamination of our water catchment areas. This will further stop environmental degradation trend and avoidance of associated losses.

Conclusion

The paper discusses the importance of water in life and the need for its appropriate conservation for the survival of plants and animals. Furthermore, the survival of future generations depends on our abilities to control the environment and preserving water catchment areas. The combination of hygienic sanitation is a global success in the fight against gender equality, mortality, hunger and poverty. Different factors like inequality of water distribution, poverty and corruption are the main causes of lack of clean water. Lack of good infrastructure like proper transportation systems that can lead to the quick transport of extracted groundwater have left a clean water scarcity globally. Furthermore, when groundwater is extracted excessively for agricultural and industrial use, its availability for domestic use is not hugely affected. Corruption is believed to have played a huge role in water scarcity. Diverse governments have been accused of not responding to water issues in a timely manner.  According to Pereira, Cordery & Iacovides (2012) approximately forty percent of water is lost in leakages from canals and water pipes because of illegal tapping or the pipes not meeting the required standards. Therefore, the community should be sensitized on the importance of water conservation.

References

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