Today is World Water Day and this year’s theme examines the scarcity of water in many areas of the world. Though that problem is especially pronounced in the Middle East and Africa, Latin America’s main problem revolves around uneven water distribution. The U.N. notes that impoverished households in underdeveloped countries tend to spend more of their income in potable water than those living in advanced industrialized nations. In several countries, the problem is worse:
- Only half of the population of urban areas of Bolivia has “reliable" access to water.
- A lack of a viable water infrastructure has contributed to Haiti’s high infant mortality rate.
- Though Mexico hosted the Fourth World Water Forum last year, the Rio Grande is one of the world’s “Top Ten Rivers at Risk” and northern Mexico could face severe droughts due to less rainfall.
- Chilean farmers in the town of Caimanes worry that a dam being built by one of the country’s largest copper mines will contaminate the town’s water supply and impede irrigation.
So what can be done in order to solve these problems? One solution may be to raise awareness in developed countries such as The Tap Project's campaign for New York City restaurant patrons to donate $1 for the usually free glass of tap water. Another plan of action may be to heed to the plan created by Latin American representatives to the Fourth World Water Forum including increased government participation and the creation of local community projects.
Links- United Nations, The Latin Americanist, Zee News, The Hindu, Washington Square News, Reuters AlertNet
Image- UNICEF (Children gathering around a well in a Brazilian favela)
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