Water under pressure (original) (raw)

More than a billion people do not have access to safe drinking water and two billion have inadequate sanitation. This is despite two international decades, a millennium declaration goal, two international years and a string of global celebratory days — all dedicated to drinking-water or sanitation. Why has progress been so slow?

One reason could be that the current global targets — the Millennium Development Goals — do not provide sufficient incentives for all nations to ensure that everyone has access to water and sanitation (see page 283). Another reason is that the pressures on water resources are continuing to rise: whether through population growth, economic development or climate change (see page 270).

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