TECH

Atlas of Water Scarcity: Will there be enough water in the future?

Water Sustainability
The Atlas of Water Scarcity is an educational tool that has just been made available for free.According to its creators, Joseph Guillaume and Matti Kummu of the University of Aalto in Finland, the goal is "to help the world make more sustainable choices."The Atlas shows how water scarcity has evolved over the last 100 years and presents potential scenarios for the rest of this century. The user can explore how different factors, such as dietary changes and food waste, affect water resources around the world."As we increase water use, it becomes more difficult to access the resource in a sustainable way." "Eating less meat and avoiding food waste can reduce water consumption," he said. "We need to support initiatives by governments, NGOs and companies with water management programs."It is difficult to find a balance between environmental and human needs, especially when there is not enough water. We can work together to help farmers and other water users adopt new techniques and establish effective management arrangements," said Guillaume.

We know, but we do very little

In countries not so poor, each person uses an average of 3,000 to 5,000 liters of water a day, of which the lion's share is not consumed directly for drinking or washing - it is spent on the food that the person ingests.The world's water resources are becoming an increasingly pressing issue as populations grow and climate change causes droughts in regions where there is enough water.Although studies have already provided several ways to reduce our water consumption, this valuable information is generally not used.The idea of ​​the two researchers, in drafting the Water Scarcity Atlas, is precisely to communicate the results of these surveys to a wider audience, hoping that they will influence the attitude of each one.An interactive version of the atlas can be found at https://waterscarcityatlas.org.


waterscarcityatlas.org