The Stockholm Water Front

The Stockholm Water Front is a forum for global water issues No 1, April 2008:

1. 15 000 liters of water for 1 kg of beef
2. 40 liters of water for 1 slice of wheat bread
3. 5 000 liters of water for 1 kg of cheese

Water is the key to climate change adaption. A changing climate will have increasingly grave consequences for the world's poorest, most vulnerable people.

Water is central to both climate change and human development, and most of the effects of climate change will hit us through water.

The developed countries, mainly responsible for historic greenhouse emissions, have not yet delivered on the real commitment. Action of mitigation is too slow, and promises to finance adaption have been largely ignored.

"If we are to tackle climate change, ample and additional resources are needed", writes Karin Laxén, Swedish Water House in the Stockholm Water Front.

World Water Week, Stockholm, August 17 - 23, 2oo8

In the fast growing urban areas of the developing world, clean, efficient infrastructure and management of sanitation and waste facilities will require considerable up-front financial investments.

The economic, social and environmental benefits down the road will far outweigh this initial expenditure.

The World Water Week will take place in Stockholm, August 17 - 23, 2oo8. For a staggering 2,6 billion people, lack of access to adequate sanitation is a major and daily threat to their health and well-being.

This bears tremendous social and environmental costs, of which premature deaths, degradation of living quarters and the environment, and reduced access to education are but the few.

Parallell global trends - population and economic growth, increasing energy demand, changing diets, etc. - increase the amount of water required for development.

While increased agricultural production for food and bioenergy represent interesting new sources of income for rural farmers all over the world, these opportunities must take into account the water-constrained biophysical reality of the planet.

Reducing fossil fuel use will increase demand for bioenergy production. While the second generation of bioethanol may be produced on wastelands or from cellulose, croplands may also be converted for their production.

This increases competition for land and water resources. Climate change mitigation will increase the demand for biomass-based carbon sequestration.

Source: www.worldwaterweek.org