The report concludes that there is ample evidence to justify immediate and coordinated action to safeguard supplies and use water more efficiently.
Fresh water consumption is rising quickly, and the availability of water in some regions is likely to become one of the most pressing issues of the 21st century.
A third of the worlds population - around two billion people - live in countries that are experiencing moderate to high water shortages. That proportion could rise to half or more in the next 30 years unless institutions (制度) change to ensure better conservation and allocation of water.
China is one country where the portents (征兆) are gloomy. The most water-stressed country in East Asia, China is exploiting 44% of its usable water, a figure projected to rise to 60% by 2020. Primary withdrawal of water of more than 60% is widely considered by water experts to exceed the environmental carrying capacity of a river basin system. Although Chinas total use appears still to be reasonable, it has several basins that are severely stressed environmentally.
Withdrawals exceed environmental limits in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and will exceed them in India by 2020. In the Middle East and North Africa, only Morocco has unexploited water resources. The rest have exceeded environmental limits and many are mining aquifers (蓄水层) - bodies of water-bearing rock - the report says.
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