Former President Áder at World Water Forum: Water crisis ‘not eased by regional, global rivalry’

Former President János Áder talked about the rivalry between regional or global powers in view of the global crisis in water supply in his address at the opening ceremony of the 10th World Water Forum in Bali on Monday.

Áder, attending the forum at the invitation of Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok and Han Seung-Soo, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Disaster Risk Reduction and Water, told MTI by phone that in his address he identified soil, water and air as the three most important natural resources.

He cited an FAO study suggesting that by 2050, some 90 percent of the soil on the planet would have greatly deteriorated, and while the global population would have increased by 2 billion, “the amount of clear water per capita will become smaller and smaller.” He regretted that nine years after the climate agreement had been signed in Paris “neither emissions of carbon dioxide have been reduced nor its concentrations in the air; both have increased.”

Ader also said 80 percent of the world’s sewage was still left untreated, which meant 2 billion people globally had no access to unpolluted water. He added that “hundred years ago that was the world’s total population.” He noted that two million tonnes of plastic waste were released into the world’s seas and oceans per year, which he said “equalled 55 years ago the world’s annual plastic production.”

The former president said participants of the Bali forum were preparing to adopt another declaration concerning the importance of water and an impending water crisis, but added that “it will not resolve the problem, apparently”.

“We have been aware of the problems for years and we have a large part of the technology in place, but a political will is only manifested in declarations; at the end of such conferences the participants will always conclude that there is not enough money,” Áder said.

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