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There are currently more than 1000 million people in the world that lacks access to an easily accessible and safe water source, such as a connection to water mains or a protected well. Instead, water access is limited or available through unprotected sources. The target, under the Millennium Development Goals, is to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation.

Source: http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/access-to-safe-drinking-water

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According to Population Action International, based upon the UN medium population projections of 1998, more than 2.8 billion people in 48 countries will face water stress or water scarcity conditions by 2025. An area is experiencing water stress when annual water supplies drop below 1700 m3 per person. Water scarcity means that the annual water supply is below 1000 m3 per person. This graphic shows which African nations are expected to be experiencing water stress, and which are expected to be facing water scarcity, by the year 2025. It also includes a graphic which shows that as the world's population continues to grow, a higher proportion of the population will be affected by water stress and water scarcity.

Source: http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/freshwater_stress_and_scarcity_in_africa_by_2025

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The diagram shows clearly that Finland has the highest intensity with around 24 R&D personnel per 1,000 total employment, followed by Sweden (18), Denmark (16) and Japan (15). China, South Africa and Mexico however demonstrate the lowest intensity of R&D personnel.

Source: OECD Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2008: 48

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Source: http://www.rainfoundation.org/

Rainwater harvesting
The low cost of rainwater harvesting, together with its decentralisation aspects, enables people at household and community level to manage their own water, thereby reducing reliance on central supply systems which are either absent, unreliable or too expensive.

Besides access to safe water, rainwater harvesting yields numerous environmental, social and economic benefits and can contribute significantly to poverty alleviation and sustainable development. Presence of a rainwater harvesting structure can change this vicious circle through creation of opportunities for health improvement, self-reliance and empowerment. Community centres and schools become more attractive because of the availability of (drinking) water.

Rainwater harvesting has proven to be an attractive alternative water source in areas where other means of water supply have no or very little potential. Of increasing relevance is the solution offered by (rain)water harvesting in protecting vulnerable communities from the expected negative effects of climate change.

Source: http://www.rainfoundation.org/

Integrated Water Management (IWRM)
The grave risks associated with growing water crisis – illness, hunger, environmental degradation, conflict, stymied economic development – require urgent action in all parts of the world and by all people, from local communities to international bodies. The starting point for action is Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). The IWRM is an ecosystem-based approach that considers the relationship among natural resources systems, biophysical processes, and socio-economic systems and objectives, with a view to integrating them in the management of water resources.

The Key Principles of IWRM are:

• Water should be treated as an economic, social and environmental good;
• Water policies should focus on both the management of water (demand) and the provision of water (supply);
• Government regulatory frameworks are critical in fostering the sustainable development of water resources;
• Water resources should be managed at the lowest appropriate level (i.e., in communities and villages as opposed to in capitals); and
• Women should be recognized for and supported in the central role they play in the provision, management and safeguarding of water.

Source: UNDP 2004: Water Governance for Poverty Reduction Key Issues and the UNDP Response to Millennium Development Goals – Key Issues and the UNDP Response to Millennium Development Goals. NY)

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Source: Georg Houben (BGR)

• Dirty water and poor sanitation account for the vast majority of the 1.8 million child deaths each year from diarrhoea (almost 5,000 every day) – making it the second largest cause of child mortality.
• In addition water-related diseases such as diarrhoea and parasitic infections cost 443 million school days each year – equivalent to an entire school year for all seven-year-old children in Ethiopia – and diminish learning potential.

Source: UNDP (2006): Human Development Report 2006, p. 22. NY