The United Nations General Assembly declared 2013 as the ??United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation?. The objective of this International Year is to raise awareness on the potential for increased cooperation, and on the challenges facing water management in light of the increase in demand for water access, allocation and services.
Agriculture now accounts for roughly 70 percent of global water use, but as dietary changes in developing countries raise demand for water-intensive foods such as meat and dairy, this proportion will grow yet higher.
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As population increases and as our economies get wealthier, the demand for water increases.
Across all sectors, demand for water is increasing, by around 3% per year in southern Africa.
Pumps run all day long, but they cannot keep up with the demand for water.
It analyses pressures from decisions that drive demand for water and affect its availability.
The booming demand for livestock products in particular is increasing the demand for water.
Equatorial glaciers will melt and river-flows fall, even as demand for water rises.
But don't expect that the demand for water will merely keep pace with the 19% growth expected in population.
The demand for water originates from four main sources, namely, agriculture, production of energy, industrial uses and human consumption.
In Africa demand for water has shrunk Lake Chad by 95 percent since the 1960s, leaving only sand and scrub.
And the demand for water is only increasing dramatically as the global population grows and much of the developing world becomes more industrialized.
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The World Economic Forum cited rising demand for water, food and energy as a risk facing the world, in a separate report released Wednesday.
This arises because supply must also meet the demand for water for productive purposes, notably farming, and these use vastly larger quantities of the stuff.
Demand for water has never been as greater, due to population growth and mobility, rising living standards, changes in food consumption, and increased energy production, especially biofuels.
UNESCO: UK National Commission for UNESCO :: International Water Day 2009 - Transboundary water
Despite these real concerns over unsustainable abstraction rates and pollution, groundwater resources, if carefully managed, can make a major contribution to meeting the demand for water in the future and to adapting to climate change.
High demand for water amid the heat wave and problems with soil shrinking as the ground warms has resulted in burst pipes and low water pressure in Oklahoma City, prompting officials to issue mandatory water-use restrictions for the first time in at least a decade, according to utilities department spokeswoman Debbie Ragan.
The interview, conducted by Mr. Bert Diphoorn, UN-Water vice chair, shed light on international water strategy and policy and the effectiveness of collaboration to achieve water sustainability and to meet global demand for potable water, as well as on the role of the water-food-energy nexus in sustainable growth.
High population density, a poor ratio of available water to demand, and regional imbalances in available water supplies are serious challenges for China in managing its usable water supply.
The protesters from the nearby community of Mareniyoc blame the mining company for a worsening water shortage and demand the firm supply them with drinking water.
The Nature Conservancy is also encouraging vineyard owners to work together to coordinate water demand and supply.
In poor countries, demand for clean water is increasing rapidly, just as industrialisation is threatening supplies.
The issue of water demand also looms large, even if drought conditions ease.
Supporters say that the project is necessary to guard against droughts and the influx of new citizens who will increase the demand for fresh water.
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Tourism demand has increased water stress on many Caribbean Islands.
The demand for drinking water grew sixfold in the 20th century and it is expected to increase another 40 percent by 2025, according to the United Nations, making desalination of seawater a necessity.
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Demand for corn is such that more land is also being ploughed up in drier regions of the Great Plains states to the west of the corn belt, where irrigation in required, increasing water demand further.
The meeting will address the vision, strategy and analytical framework for growth and efficiency of green initiatives and the international agenda around the following initiatives: Power system transformation, energy efficiency in industry, global water demand issues, bio-refining, trade, aviation and financing.
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