Global Water Problem
The UN's World Summit on Sustainable Development to be held in Johannesburg from August 26 to September 4 is supposed to result in plans to reduce global poverty and the North-South income gap without causing irreparable damage to the environment. As a follow up to the Earth Summit of 1992, it is using the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) as a guide. These are part of the UN's 2000 Millennium Declaration, which resolved to cut the proportion of people who are unable to get safe drinking water in half by 2015.
Following are some facts and figures on the state of the world's water supplies and the UN's goals regarding water.
Water Supply and Shortage
A new study warns that about thirty percent of the world's people may not have enough water by the year 2025. A private American organization called Population Action International did the new study. It says more than three hundred-thirty-five-million people lack enough water now. The people live in twenty-eight countries which are mostly in Africa or the Middle East.
PAI researcher Robert Engelman says by the year 2025 about three billion people may lack water. At least 18 more countries are expected to have severe water problems. The demand for water keeps increasing. Yet the amount of water on Earth stays the same.
Mr. Engelman says the population in countries that lack water is growing faster than in other parts of the world. He says population growth in these countries will continue to increase.
Freshwater ecosystems cover less than 1 percent of the Earth's surface. Ice mostly in the form. of glacier comprises 69 percent of the world's freshwater supplies and groundwater is 30 percent. Wetlands, which include marshes and swamps, comprise 0. 3 percent, lakes 0.3 percent, and rivers 0.06 percent. However, many experts argue that the world's wells are not about to run dry.
They say that on a global level we have enough water but must use it more wisely and attempt to address uneven distribution around the globe which is related partly to different rainfall patterns.
Problem/Issue
Lacking of water in the future may result in several problems. It may increase health problems. Lack of water often means drinking water is not safe. Mr. Engelman says there are problems all over the world because of diseases, such as cholera (霍乱), which are carried in water. Lack of water may also result in more international conflicts. Countries may have to compete for water in the future. Some countries now get sixty percent of their fresh water from other countries. This is true of Egypt, the Netherlands, Cambodia, Syria, Sudan, and Iraq. Water shortage would affect the ability of developing to improve their economies. This is because new industries often need a large amount of water when they are beginning.
Moreover, there are many problems with the world's fresh water supplies, including pollution from industry, agriculture and untreated sewage. The World Bank says inefficient infrastructure means that water that does not reach customers is not only wasted but ultimately not paid for. This can lead to infrastructure decay because of a lack of funding for maintenance. Tariffs are often kept low by politicians seeking to woo voters, leading many to advocate the privatization of water services-95 percent of municipal water services are publicly run but this is controversial because of concerns that the very poor could be denied access. Privatization advocates argue that services will improve at a lower cost as a result because the contracted operators will have an incentive (动机) to improve their product.
Dams
Dams have brought huge benefits to more than 140 countries but the social and environmental costs have often been high. Perhaps

A. Y
B. N
C. NG