Freshwater is a scarce resource. According to a 1997 Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) report only 0.007 percent of all freshwater is available for human use. Freshwater sustains life. Yet, freshwater systems are imperilled, which threatens human existence. Everywhere activities such as manufacturing, dam construction, irrigation and water-flow regulation cause pollution, fragmentation and water over-consumption problems. In the process species are lost. For example, 10 percent of mussel species were eliminated in North America and 67 percent of remaining species are at risk, and the Aral Sea in Central Asia has shrunk by half and lost 20 of its 24 fish species.

Water shortages and pollution also cause problems for people, from forced human migration and widespread public health problems to limited economic and agricultural development. The Worldwatch Institute predicts that in China water shortages and distribution problems will have a major impact on global food supply as the competition for water increasingly influences world grain markets. The SEI report Comprehensive assessment of the freshwater resources of the world asserts that water use has been growing at more than twice the rate of population increase. They estimate that today more than 1.2 billion people lack access to clean drinking water and 2.9 billion people are without adequate sanitation facilities. These figures are expected to double within 30 years and within 50 years such water disparities will be a major cause of conflict between nations and peoples.

Even though some progress has been made in cleaning up polluted water sources and reducing water consumption much remains to be done. And the pressure on freshwater systems is bound to increase as our numbers swell and demand for freshwater grows.

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In Depth
	Stockholm Environment Institute. Comprehensive assessment of the freshwater resources of the world. Geneva: World Meteorological Organization, 1997. 33p.
Virtual Ideas
	Stockholm Environment Institute Web site information on freshwater Sustainable Developments report on the International Conference on Water and Sustainable Development

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