UN fears developing nations will spark global shortage of clean water
Surging appetite for fresh water and electricity - especially in developing countries - threatens to put 40pc of the world under 'severe stress'
Surging populations and economies in the developing world will cause dual problems sparked by demand for water and energy in the coming decades, the UN says.
In its World Water Development Report - published yesterday to coincide with its World Water Day today - the UN says the need for clean water and electricity are linked and could badly strain earth's limited resources.
Asia would become the biggest hot spot for conflict over water extraction, where water sources straddle national borders. "Areas of conflict include the Aral Sea and the Ganges-Brahmaputra River, Indus River and Mekong River basins," the report said.
Also, global energy demand, may rise by more than a third by 2035, with China, India and Middle Eastern countries accounting for 60 per cent of the increase.
"Demand for fresh water and energy will continue to increase over the coming decades to meet the needs of growing populations and economies, changing lifestyles and evolving consumption patterns, greatly amplifying existing pressures on limited natural resources and on ecosystems," the report says.
Today, 768 million people lack access to safe, reliable water supplies and 2.5 billion have no decent sanitation; at least 1.3 billion have no mains electricity.
About 20 per cent of global aquifers - bodies of permeable rock containing groundwater supplies - are depleted, the report says; agriculture accounts for more than two-thirds of the world's water use.