‘The High Cost of Cheap Water’ report

• A report, titled The High Cost of Cheap Water, was released by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) on the occasion of World Food Day(October 16).

MAJOR FINDINGS

• The mounting global water crisis threatens $58 trillion in economic value, food security and sustainability.
  • It is the first ever annual estimate of economic value of water and freshwater ecosystems.
  • It is equivalent to 60 per cent of global gross domestic product.
• The world has lost a third of its remaining wetlands since 1970, while freshwater wildlife populations have, on average, dropped by 83 per cent.
• Unsustainable agricultural practices were among the primary threats to rivers and floodplains.
  • Other threats include- climate change, water pollution and flow modification & fragmentation by dams etc.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Countries must support nature-positive food production and maintain free-flowing rivers for agricultural productivity.
• The world must also apply sustainable land use practices to facilitate natural water retention.
• We must adopt diets that reduce demand for products that strain freshwater.

ABOUT WORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE (WWF)

• The WWF is an international non-governmental organization dedicated for the conservation and preservation of nature and natural species.
• It is the largest conservation organization in the world.
• It was founded on 29th April 1961 in Switzerland as the World Wildlife Fund.
• Presently, it is active in more than 100 countries around the world.
• HQ- Gland, Switzerland
• It works around six major areas- food, climate, freshwater, wildlife, forests, and oceans.