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The Water Challenge

Water Security

Quito's water fund
Quito, Ecuador El Fondo de Agua de Quito, también conocido como FONAG, protege las cuencas hidrográficas que abastecen a los 2 millones de personas de la capital con el 80 por ciento de su a © Erika Nortemann/TNC

“Water is an essential element of Sustainable Development by virtue of its close correlation to various real challenges.” The Future we Want, UN, Rio +20

The water security challenges affect us all.

 

CHALLENGES AFFECT US ALL
Challenges related to water Here are some of the most frequent challenges experienced by the different sectors when they do not have sufficient quantity and quality of water, illustrating that the water crisis is a challenge that concerns us all.

Water security is defined as the capacity of societies to achieve successful and comprehensive management of their resources and water services to meet the needs of each of the dimensions covered by water security:

Water Security Dimensions The 5 essential dimensions of water security are showcased. This definition is an adaptation from the Asian Development Bank (Outlook 2016). For us, preserving the ecosystem integrity is an essential element of water security.

Having water security implies the ability to provide an adequate supply of quality water to meet agricultural, industrial, energy, and domestic needs. It is important to think beyond pipes, treatment plants, and other infrastructure that allows water to reach cities; efforts need to be directed at preserving the integrity of the environmental systems that are the natural sources of water.

The lack of water security is one of the greatest risks to global prosperity. Water consumption has doubled every 20 years, and by 2025, at least two-thirds of the world's population will live in areas experiencing water stress. Therefore, water security plays an integral role in different areas of our daily lives.

The water security contrasts Having water security implies the ability to provide water in enough quantity and quality to meet agricultural, industrial, energy and domestic needs. Therefore, we must take care of the environmental systems that lead us to a prosperous scenario.

Ecosystems play a fundamental role in water security

When ecosystems lose their integrity due to serious degradation, we cannot aspire to have water security.