Comment ▼ No water, no future We recognize that, in addition to our separate responsibilities to our individual societies, we have a collective responsibility to uphold the principles of human dignity, equality, and equity at the global level. As leaders we have a duty therefore to all the world’s people, especially the most vulnerable and, in particular, the children of the world, to whom the future belongs. —UN Millennium Declaration (2000) I had the good fortune to attend the United Nations Summit in New York City in the fall of 2000 when 189 nations signed the UN Millennium Development Goals. Typical of UN summits, it was a time to think hard about the big issues of our era, to meet incredibly inspiring people from distant parts, and to indulge (a bit) in some idealism. I am sorry to report that, four years later, we are in danger of falling short of our goals. I still carry in my wallet the eight Millennium Development Goals because they are shorthand notation for much of what is wrong with the world. If we want real progress toward a civilized planet, we must become more generous in addressing these issues. Our problems with water and sanitation are inextricably linked to poverty, education, health care, housing, and women’s empowerment throughout the world. (At the local scale, they are also linked to rainfall intensity and population density.) In particular, two goals in the Millennium Declaration pertain directly to the technological and policy content of ES&T: • To halve the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water by 2015 (currently 17% of the global population, or 1.1 billion people) • To halve the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015 (currently 38%, or 2.4 billion people) That we are falling short is evidenced by the grimmest common denominator of all, deaths per day. Every day, 5000–6000 children die from water-borne illnesses, including diarrheal diseases such as dysentery and cholera (~250 children every hour, 2 million per year). By comparison, the numbers dying from HIV-AIDS are even larger— 10,000 every day. Fortunately, the AIDS epidemic has begun to receive the world’s attention. But real progress is made only at considerable investment. Poor water and sanitation, which exert a major devastation on children, have not gotten the same priority as AIDS. Children cannot advocate for themselves, and water and sanitation are not high on the political agendas of developing and developed nations alike. Responsibilities for water and sanitation fall disproportionately on women, who collect water
© 2004 American Chemical Society
and firewood and play critical roles in family hygiene and health. Gender equality will help mightily with these and other goals of education and poverty reduction. According to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, the global community spends only one-third to one-half of the $83 billion needed for water and sanitation each year. To be fair, it is not only about money—important needs for good government, private investment, and institutional capacity-building remain unfulfilled in many countries. My students are always surprised to learn that, based on total wealth, the United States is among the least generous of developed countries, giving ~0.1% of GDP. For water supply, sanitation, and wastewater management, the United States has pledged a total of $970 million over the period 2003–2005 through the President’s Initiative on Water for the Poor. That is only 3% of U.S. developmental assistance and 0.04% of the federal budget. Of this total, only $8.551 million (three cents for each person in the U.S.) went to Africa in FY 2003, while $206.3 million funded water projects in Egypt, Jordan, and the West Bank/Gaza (strategic, as well as humanitarian assistance). Water assistance for Africa falls far short of what is needed. I believe citizens would be much more generous if they only knew. There are some bright spots. Private giving and peopleto-people programs are especially cost-effective. Rotary International, which has already proven its potential through an amazingly successful polio vaccination program, has announced that “water” will become the group’s new global program in 2004. The UN Commission on Sustainable Development will convene its 13th session on water and sanitation issues in 2005, at which a formal reporting of progress will be tabulated; so, the issue is high on the global radar screen at the moment. And the Atlantic Council is considering a new “Marshall Plan” for water in developing countries. Water must be recognized as a human right and one of the most fundamental conditions required for human dignity. There has been some progress, but without water, poverty reduction cannot be achieved. Without water, there is no future for billions of people.
Jerald L. Schnoor Editor
[email protected] AUGUST 1, 2004 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY ■ 279A
