[The Epoch Times, 18 Dàmhair, 2024](Full report by Epoch Times reporter Chen Ting) The world is suffering from increasingly severe droughts and floods. A new report reveals, for the first time in human history, that there is a global imbalance in the water cycle.
On Thursday (October 17), the Global Commission for the Economy of Water (GCEW) published this assessment report (PDF), blames the imbalance in the water cycle on “decades of general water mismanagement and neglect.”
GCEW is convened by the Dutch government and supported by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The OECD is made up of 38 of the world’s richest countries and is headquartered in Paris, France.
The report notes that years of mismanagement have damaged our freshwater and land ecosystems and continued to pollute water resources.
“We can no longer count on fresh water supplies to sustain our collective future,” the report says “Unsafe water and sanitation kill more than 1,000 children under 5 a year all day and carrying water.
The water cycle refers to the flow of water on the earth’s surface and atmosphere, including processes such as evaporation and precipitation.
The report says freshwater on land can be divided into “blue water” and “green water“. The water in rivers, lakes and underground water is called “blue water”, and the water in the soil and vegetation is called “green water”.
Green water returns to the atmosphere through plant transpiration, and eventually falls as rain and snow, enters the soil, and flows into rivers, lakes, and aquifers below. earth, creating a water cycle. Green water produces about half of all water on land.
The movement of green water, called soil moisture flow, sometimes spans distances of thousands of kilometers. This also means that deforestation in one area could affect rainfall in other areas.
Sustained rainfall and groundwater levels are not only related to agricultural production, but are also an important basis for industry and other economic activities. A disruption in the water cycle could increase the frequency of droughts and floods around the world.
The report points out that around two-thirds of the world’s population live in areas where total water resources are declining, and that more than a third (38%) live in areas where water resources are severely depleted. Densely populated areas, including northwest India, northeast China, and southern and eastern Europe, are particularly vulnerable.
The report also predicts that if current practices are not changed, there will be a “devastating” impact on the economy, which could see the GDP of high-income countries shrink by an average of 8 % in 2050, and at a low level. 10% to 15% income countries.
Editor-in-Chief: Li Lin #
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2024-10-18 16:30:00
