Seethalakshmi Kannan’s Post

Highlights from Report released by Global Commission on the Economics of water continued Part 3 - The costs of inaction The human and economic costs of inaction will be substantial. Globally, total water stored on and beneath the Earth’s surface is unstable and declining across areas where populations and economic activity are concentrated, and crops are grown. High-population density hotspots, including northwestern India, northeastern China and south and eastern Europe, are particularly vulnerable. The poorest 10% of the global population obtain over 70% of their annual precipitation from land-based sources and will be hardest hit by deforestation. If rainfall that originates from deforestation hotspots were to disappear, growth rates in Africa and South America could drop significantly – by 0.5 and 0.7 percentage points, respectively. Intensely irrigated regions tend to see declines in water storage with some experiencing a rate of decline twice as fast as other regions. If current trends persist, extreme water storage declines could make irrigation unfeasible, leading to a 23% reduction in global cereal production. The economic impacts of such trends will be severe. The combined effects of changing precipitation patterns and rising temperatures due to climate change, together with declining total water storage and lack of access to clean water and sanitation imply that high-income countries could see their GDPs shrink by 8% by 2050 on average, while lower-income countries could face even steeper declines of between 10% and 15%. Disruptions of the hydrological cycle therefore have major global economic impacts. The water challenge becomes even more pressing when we recognise how much water each person needs daily to live a dignified life. While 50 to 100 litres per day is required to meet essential health and hygiene needs, a dignified life – including adequate nutrition and consumption – requires a minimum of about 4,000 litres per person per day. Most regions cannot secure this much water locally. Although trade could help distribute water resources more equitably, it is hampered by misaligned policies and the water crisis itself. Part 2 - https://lnkd.in/gcaxp6e2 #SaveSoil #SoilForClimateAction

Part 2 - Why we must govern the water cycle as a global common good It starts with recognising that the problems we face are not only local. Communities, countries and regions are interdependent not just through transboundary blue water – as globally, more than 263 watersheds and 300 aquifers span political boundaries – but through atmospheric moisture flows that travel great distances. Current approaches tend to focus on water resources rather than the economic drivers that shape the water cycle. They also deal predominantly with the water we can see – the “blue water” in our rivers, lakes, and aquifers. They overlook a critical freshwater resource, namely “green water” – the water stored as soil moisture and in vegetation, which returns to the air through evaporation and transpiration. As it circulates naturally, green water generates around half of all rainfall over land, the very source of all our freshwater. Further, current approaches too often assume stable patterns of water supply year after year, but this is no longer true: as land-use changes and global warming destabilise the water cycle, rainfall patterns are shifting. Most dangerously, disruptions to the water cycle are deeply intertwined with climate change and the depletion of the world’s biodiversity, with each reinforcing the other. A stable supply of green water in soils is crucial to sustaining the natural systems that absorb more than a quarter of the carbon dioxide emitted from fossil-fuel combustion. Yet the loss of wetlands and soil moisture, together with deforestation, is depleting some of the world’s most important carbon stores, accelerating global warming. In turn, rising temperatures trigger extreme heatwaves and increased moisture loss, severely drying landscapes and heightening the risk of wildfires. When viewed holistically, the impact of water scarcity on both people and nature now jeopardises virtually every one of the SDGs. Left unchecked, it will result in growing gaps in nutrition in populations already at risk, the greater spread of diseases, widening inequalities within and across nations, and increased conflicts and forced migration. The water cycle must therefore be governed as a global common good: recognising, first, our interdependence through both blue and green water flows; second, the wicked interaction between the water crisis, climate change, and the loss of the planet’s natural capital; and third, how water flows through all our 17 SDGs. A destabilised water cycle is a large-scale collective and systemic problem, which can only be fixed through concerted action in every country and collaboration across boundaries and cultures. A shared understanding of the common good is crucial. Part 1 - https://lnkd.in/eGGuuCHY Ref: https://lnkd.in/gE63G3Kk #SaveSoil #SoilForClimateAction

🌍💧 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘁 On October 17th, the Global Commission on the Economics of Water raised alarms about the ongoing "water catastrophe." Experts warn that, for the first time in human history, the water cycle is imbalanced, endangering a sustainable future for all. Without urgent global action, this crisis could jeopardize over half of the world's food production by 2050 To address these challenges, the Commission outlines five key missions: 1 - Revolutionize food systems to optimize water use 2 - Restore ecosystems 3 - Create a circular water economy, focusing on industrial processes 4 - Harness clean energy and AI to reduce water consumption 5 - Ensure safe drinking water access for all by 2030 💡 The cost of inaction will be far greater than the cost of action. Link to the report: https://lnkd.in/eczsJEpF #FutureofWater #Sustainability #Watermanagement #Climateaction

🚨🚒📢 "The world faces a growing water disaster. For the first time in human history, the hydrological cycle is out of balance, undermining an equitable and sustainable future for all".💦 ☢ "The human and economic costs of inaction will be substantial. Globally, total water stored on and beneath the Earth’s surface is unstable 🌩️ and declining across areas where populations 🏘 and economic 🏭 activity are concentrated, and crops 🌽 are grown." The Global Commission on the Economics of Water has just released its last report, "Valuing the Hydrological Cycle as a Global Common Good". And it's scary 😰 📚 https://lnkd.in/eQErcYYf Mission #1: Launch a new revolution in food systems (promoting less water-intensive practices and food: bye bye, Green Revolution...) Mission #2: Conserve and restore natural habitats critical to protect green water (being the agricultural expansion, and associated deforestation, one of the main drivers of hydrological cycle alteration) Mission #3: Establish a circular water economy Mission #4: Establish a clean energy and IA-rich era with much lower water intensity Mission #5: Unsure that no child dies from unsafe water by 2030.

🌍 The Global Water Crisis Is Reaching a Breaking Point 💧More than 3 billion people are already facing severe water shortages, and the consequences are alarming. Entire crops are dying, threatening food security, while cities are sinking as groundwater supplies run dry. A new report highlights an urgent reality: if we don’t take action now, the situation will spiral even further out of control. From agriculture to urban infrastructure, water depletion's ripple effects impact lives and livelihoods everywhere. But there is hope. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) offers a sustainable solution by harnessing the ocean’s thermal gradient to produce clean energy and unlimited desalinated water. This technology can help tackle water scarcity while driving economic growth in vulnerable regions. It’s time to prioritize innovative solutions like OTEC to protect our most precious resource. https://lnkd.in/gqnCMuYB #WaterCrisis #Sustainability #ClimateAction #GlobalImpact #WaterScarcity

🌍 The Global Water Crisis Is Reaching a Breaking Point 💧More than 3 billion people are already facing severe water shortages, and the consequences are alarming. Entire crops are withering away, threatening food security, while cities are literally sinking as groundwater supplies run dry. A new report highlights an urgent reality: if we don’t take action now, the situation will spiral even further out of control. From agriculture to urban infrastructure, water depletion's ripple effects impact lives and livelihoods everywhere. But there is hope. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) offers a sustainable solution by harnessing the ocean’s thermal gradient to produce clean energy and unlimited desalinated water. This technology can help tackle water scarcity while driving economic growth in vulnerable regions. It’s time to prioritize innovative solutions like OTEC to protect our most precious resource. https://lnkd.in/gqnCMuYB #WaterCrisis #Sustainability #ClimateAction #GlobalImpact #WaterScarcity

Water quenches our thirst, keeps us clean, and gives us lives. It causes calamities through extreme rain and drought, yet it is also the victim of climate change. 🌊 The Global Commission on the Economics of Water’s report underscores the urgent need to rethink how we govern and value this precious resource. In Singapore, we are committed to doing our part through initiatives that promote equitable use, conservation, and sustainability. It is encouraging to see these efforts recognised in the report, highlighting our commitment to sustainable water management. I encourage everyone to read the report to understand how we can appreciate the true value of water and together, work towards a sustainable future. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/gNWeNTGd

Water is Earth's most precious resource, but more can be done to recognise its importance worldwide. The Global Commission on the Economics of Water (GCEW), co-chaired by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, has released its report on how the world can change the way it values, manages and uses water. The report calls for the world to shift its mindset and recognise the water cycle as a global common good, which can only be fixed through collective action, so that it can benefit people across boundaries and cultures. It also highlights several concrete steps that can be taken to accomplish this goal. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/gTVhQxne

The economics of water. Valuing the Hydrological Cycle as a Global Common Good The Global Commission on the Economics of Water writes in its report that no community or economy will be spared the consequences of a water cycle that is out of kilter – itself the result of our collective actions over decades. Most dangerously, we will fail on climate change if we fail on water. We will also fail on each and every one of the Sustainable Development Goals. Read the report: https://lnkd.in/e2HE_9gu