World Bank: The volume of natural water storage has decreased in the last 50 years

The World Bank has released a report calling for water storage solutions to meet a variety of human, economic, and environmental needs.

While targeting both the public and private sectors, the call emphasized the importance of developing multi-sector solutions to close storage gaps. It was also noted that the proposed integrated water storage solutions are based on climate and sustainable development objectives.

As extreme weather events increase, water storage has become an increasingly vital tool for adapting to climate change and other water-related challenges, the report highlights.

Leaving behind global environmental and economic losses from droughts to floods, extreme weather events can wipe out decades of gains in a few days. It is claimed that up to 6 percent decline in countries’ growth rates can be seen due to water scarcity.

According to the report, 1.43 billion people have been negatively affected by droughts and at least 1.65 billion people have been negatively affected by floods in the past 20 years. An additional 180 million people are estimated to be directly affected by flooding by 2030.

COMMUNITIES THAT TAKE WATER STORAGE MEASURES WILL BE LONGER LASTING

Along with extreme weather events, variable rainfall that has become less predictable is making it difficult to provide reliable water supplies for cities, reducing agricultural production and discouraging investors.

Water storage has three main benefits: improving water availability, mitigating the effects of flooding, and regulating the flow of water to support energy, transportation, and other sectors.

On the other hand, according to the report, water storage can also be used to produce clean energy as part of the fight against climate change. Societies that take steps to store water in the coming years are expected to be more stable and resilient.

A CALL TO CHANGE CURRENT APPROACHES

According to the report, although the world’s population needs more storage, the drop in the volume of freshwater storage creates a global crisis.

In the last 50 years, while the world’s population has doubled, the volume of natural water storage has decreased by approximately 27 trillion cubic meters due to the destruction of wetlands and floodplains and the melting of glaciers.

The water storage gap, which corresponds to the difference between the required amount of water storage and the amount stored, is increasing. According to the report, existing approaches to water storage need to change to fill this gap.

Offering durable and sustainable solutions that can reduce the impact of climate-related disasters and close the water storage gap, the report recommends that countries seek efficient approaches to increase their storage capacity. (AA)