The U.N. Says Water Shortages Will Affect a Quarter of the World’s Population By 2050.
He told the Security Council that "strains on water access are already rising in all regions," noting that three-quarters of the 193 U.N. member states share rivers or lake basins with their neighbors.
"Water, peace and security are inextricably linked," Guterres said.
The secretary-general said the United Nations is ready to engage in preventive diplomacy to keep the competition for water from sparking conflicts.
Bolivian President Evo Morales, whose country currently holds the council presidency, noted that since 1947, some 37 conflicts have taken place between countries related to water.
"Our planet, the human family and life in all its myriad forms on Earth are in the throes of a water crisis that will only get worse over the coming decades," he said.
Right now, he said, more than 800 million people lack access to safe drinking water and more than 2.5 billion don’t have basic sanitation.
British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said the world has already seen what can happen "when the waters run dry," pointing to drought in Somalia that is driving acute food shortages and threatening famine and a lack of clean water that is exacerbating the crisis sparked by Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria and sickening thousands.
He said the world currently is not on track to meet U.N. goals for 2030 calling for improved water security, access to drinking water and sanitation, as well as stronger management of water resources shared by countries.
"The cooperation between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan and the signing of the Declaration of Principles by the leaders of the three countries is also another manifestation of regional cooperation that needs to be enhanced further," he said.