World Water Day, drought alert. Italy: the South is thirsty, agriculture at risk

Water as a bridge to peace rather than a source of conflict. This is the appeal launched by Legambiente and UNHCR on the occasion of World Water Day 2024 which is celebrated today, this year dedicated to the theme of water resources as an instrument of peace. The global water crisis, a direct consequence of the climate crisis (which manifests itself with the intensification of events such as droughts, floods and storms) and the unsustainable management of water resources, represents a threat to the planet but also to peace. In fact, the management and control of water resources increasingly leads to the worsening of tensions and conflicts in the most vulnerable areas of the world with violent impacts on the future of populations, forced to flee, sometimes towards settlements or camps exposed to serious climatic and where it is increasingly difficult to provide water and sanitation services.

The tragedy of Africa

According to the World Bank, it is predicted that by 2050, around 216 million people could be forced to migrate due to climate impacts, including water stress. Among the parts of the world most affected is the Horn of Africa: in Somalia alone in 2023, according to UNHCR estimates, the greatest drought in the last 40 years and floods, combined with situations of conflict and insecurity, have caused almost 3 millions of new forced displacements within the country.

Children are the first victims

UNICEF recalls that every day over 1,000 children under the age of 5 die due to diseases linked to inadequate water and sanitation, killing over 1.4 million people a year. Globally, almost 1 billion children (953 million) are exposed to high or extremely high levels of water stress, i.e. lack of water for basic functions, such as proper hydration or body hygiene. In Italy it is estimated that in 2022 there were approximately 298 thousand children exposed to high or very high levels of water stress. And there is alarm in our country too, as the WWF reminds us: Europe (and Italy) are not prepared for the climate risk and water is among the main (negative) protagonists of this risk. Already more than 20 years ago, the Po basin Authority highlighted how water concessions exceeded average availability and that little was enough to send the system into crisis. After the various “extraordinary droughts” of the last 25 years and especially after 2022, it is clear to everyone that the situation is very different from the past, even the recent one, climate change is now a reality and it is necessary to seriously address the issue. Everyone can take small but big actions to help ensure a more just and sustainable future for all.

Earth Hour

With this hope, the WWF launches Earth Hour again this year and invites everyone to meet on Saturday 23 March at 8.30 pm for a global WWF event which since 2007 has united people all over the world by inviting them to turn off the lights for an hour to show, through this symbolic gesture, how strong the impact of a shared action to save the Planet can be. 15% of the entire territory of the European Union is on orange alert due to drought and for another 1% we are on red alert, also due to the record temperatures recorded in February in the old continent, 3.3 degrees higher than to the historical average 1991-2020 for the period.

This is what emerges from an analysis by Coldiretti. The effects of climate change upset the normal trend of the seasons, with the lack of rain and snow which has put territories and crops under stress, with a difficult situation that does not spare our country, despite the bad weather of recent weeks.

The South is thirsty

The situation is difficult in Southern Italy, where 107 million cubic meters of water are missing from the Apulian reservoirs compared to last year, according to data from the Anbi Observatory on water reserves. The ones who pay the price, according to the Coldiretti analysis, are the clementines, which ended up being pulped after being compromised by the lack of water which inhibited their growth, with production costs also for emergency irrigation skyrocketing. But the water crisis is also causing a drastic drop in green fodder in the pastures and at risk are wheat and legume plants, especially in the ‘white lands’ rich in clay and chalk. The situation in Sicily is dramatic where – Coldiretti reports – there is no water to irrigate, between dams which must be emptied when they fill because they are not tested, crumbling structures and a commissionership of the reclamation consortia which has lasted for over 30 years, while the harvests they are burned by the lack of rain. The “thirst” does not even spare Sardinia, especially in the south of the island, where the drought affects artichokes, processing tomatoes, fruit and fodder, with repercussions on livestock farming. But there is also fear for wine, rice, corn and medical products. Even in Basilicata the situation is quite compromised despite the rains of the last few days. In some areas of the northern area of ​​the region there is no vegetation and growth, particularly of cereals, fodder and proteins.