UN chief tackles issue of global clean water shortage.
He told the Security Council that "strains on water access are already rising in all regions," noting that three-quarters of the 193 UN member states share rivers or lake basins with their neighbors.
"Water, peace and security are inextricably linked," Mr. 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.
"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.
"If current patterns of consumption continue unabated, two-thirds of the world’s population will be facing water shortages as a daily reality by 2025," Mr. Morales added.
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.
Morales, who presided over the meeting, said the limited availability of fresh water underscores the importance of tackling the issue and ensuring that access to clean water is shared and doesn’t become "a pretext for domestic or international conflict."
He said the world currently is not on track to meet UN 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.
Follow Stories Like This Sign Up In one example of regional cooperation, Ethiopian Ambassador Tekeda Alemu said that while there are differences between the six countries that are upstream and downstream on the Nile River, those nations negotiated for 13 years to produce an agreement on using its waters.

UN chief tackles issue of global clean water shortage.
He told the Security Council that "strains on water access are already rising in all regions," noting that three-quarters of the 193 UN member states share rivers or lake basins with their neighbors.
"Water, peace and security are inextricably linked," Mr. 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.
"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.
"If current patterns of consumption continue unabated, two-thirds of the world’s population will be facing water shortages as a daily reality by 2025," Mr. Morales added.
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.
Morales, who presided over the meeting, said the limited availability of fresh water underscores the importance of tackling the issue and ensuring that access to clean water is shared and doesn’t become "a pretext for domestic or international conflict."
He said the world currently is not on track to meet UN 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.
Follow Stories Like This Sign Up In one example of regional cooperation, Ethiopian Ambassador Tekeda Alemu said that while there are differences between the six countries that are upstream and downstream on the Nile River, those nations negotiated for 13 years to produce an agreement on using its waters.

The Relentless March of Drought – That ‘Horseman of the Apocalypse.
No wonder then that a major United Nations Convention calls drought ‘one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.’ See what the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) says in this regard.
“Drought, a complex and slowly encroaching natural hazard with significant and pervasive socio-economic and environmental impacts, is known to cause more deaths and displace more people than any other natural disaster.” Drought, Water Scarcity and Refugees On this, Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary, reminds that the world’s drought-prone and water scarce regions are often the main sources of refugees.
“Converging factors like political tension, weak institutions, economic marginalisation, lack of social safety nets or group rivalries create the conditions that make people unable to cope.
According to Convention, the geo-political and security challenges the world faces are complex, but a better implementing good land management practices can simultaneously help populations adapt to climate change and build resilience to drought; reduce the risk of forced migration and conflict over dwindling natural resources and secure sustainable agricultural and energy production.
Reversing the effects of land degradation and desertification through sustainable land management (SLM) is not only achievable; it is the logical, cost-effective next step for national and international development agendas…” UNCCD informs that 12 million hectares of productive land become barren every year due to desertification and drought alone, which is a lost opportunity to produce 20 million tons of grain.
“We cannot afford to keep degrading land when we are expected to increase food production by 70 per cent by 2050 to feed the entire world population.” “Sustainable intensification of food production, with fewer inputs, that avoids further deforestation and cropland expansion into vulnerable areas should be a priority for action for policy makers, investors and smallholder farmers.” Meantime, the Convention’s secretariat reports that the increase in droughts and flash floods that are stronger, more frequent and widespread is destroying the land – the Earth’s main fresh water store.
Over 1 billion people today have no access to water, and demand will increase by 30 per cent by 2030.” National Security, Migration With up to 40 per cent of all intrastate conflicts in the past 60 years are linked to the control and allocation of natural resources, the exposure of more and more poor people to water scarcity and hunger opens the door to the failure of fragile states and regional conflicts, according to UNCCD.
Losing productive land is driving people to make risky life choices, it adds and explains that in rural areas where people depend on scarce productive land resources, land degradation is a driver of forced migration.
“This in turn stabilises the income of the rural population and avoids unnecessary movement of people.” The UN Convention to Combat Desertification works with partners such as the International Organization for Migration to address the challenges arising from land degradation, large-scale population movements and their consequences, while aiming to demonstrate how the international community could leverage the skills and capacities of migrants along with the remittances, sent home by migrants, to build resilience.

Surviving drought in South Africa.
Quick facts At least 17 countries in Africa are struggling to cope with two consecutive years of drought.
A senior UN official in March 2017 said that the world is facing "the largest humanitarian crisis since the creation of the United Nations" in 1945.
Since the 1990s, the country has lost a third of its farms due to water scarcity.
Professor Farrant believes they may hold the answer to crops surviving long periods without water.
But should there be a drought, the plant won’t die," Professor Farrant says.
"When the next rain comes, [the crop] will continue growing and the farmer can at least get a harvest.
And you can get another chance of life."
The family has employed a cutting-edge technology called Fruitlook to help run their orchard effectively.
As a result, farmers are able to target irrigation to areas that really need it, thus saving water.

US Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that by 2050 global demand for fresh water is projected to grow by more than 40 per cent and at least a quarter of the world’s population will live in countries with a “chronic or recurrent” lack of clean water. He told the Security Council that “strains on water access are already rising in all regions,” noting that three-quarters of the 193 UN member states share rivers or lake basins with their…

The Relentless March of Drought – That ‘Horseman of the Apocalypse.
No wonder then that a major United Nations Convention calls drought ‘one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.’ See what the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) says in this regard.
“Drought, a complex and slowly encroaching natural hazard with significant and pervasive socio-economic and environmental impacts, is known to cause more deaths and displace more people than any other natural disaster.” Drought, Water Scarcity and Refugees On this, Monique Barbut, UNCCD Executive Secretary, reminds that the world’s drought-prone and water scarce regions are often the main sources of refugees.
“Converging factors like political tension, weak institutions, economic marginalisation, lack of social safety nets or group rivalries create the conditions that make people unable to cope.
According to Convention, the geo-political and security challenges the world faces are complex, but a better implementing good land management practices can simultaneously help populations adapt to climate change and build resilience to drought; reduce the risk of forced migration and conflict over dwindling natural resources and secure sustainable agricultural and energy production.
Reversing the effects of land degradation and desertification through sustainable land management (SLM) is not only achievable; it is the logical, cost-effective next step for national and international development agendas…” UNCCD informs that 12 million hectares of productive land become barren every year due to desertification and drought alone, which is a lost opportunity to produce 20 million tons of grain.
“We cannot afford to keep degrading land when we are expected to increase food production by 70 per cent by 2050 to feed the entire world population.” “Sustainable intensification of food production, with fewer inputs, that avoids further deforestation and cropland expansion into vulnerable areas should be a priority for action for policy makers, investors and smallholder farmers.” Meantime, the Convention’s secretariat reports that the increase in droughts and flash floods that are stronger, more frequent and widespread is destroying the land – the Earth’s main fresh water store.
Over 1 billion people today have no access to water, and demand will increase by 30 per cent by 2030.” National Security, Migration With up to 40 per cent of all intrastate conflicts in the past 60 years are linked to the control and allocation of natural resources, the exposure of more and more poor people to water scarcity and hunger opens the door to the failure of fragile states and regional conflicts, according to UNCCD.
Losing productive land is driving people to make risky life choices, it adds and explains that in rural areas where people depend on scarce productive land resources, land degradation is a driver of forced migration.
“This in turn stabilises the income of the rural population and avoids unnecessary movement of people.” The UN Convention to Combat Desertification works with partners such as the International Organization for Migration to address the challenges arising from land degradation, large-scale population movements and their consequences, while aiming to demonstrate how the international community could leverage the skills and capacities of migrants along with the remittances, sent home by migrants, to build resilience.

Security Council 7959th Meeting (PM) Spotlighting the scarcity of Earth’s most precious resource, the United Nations Secretary-General today urged world leaders to invest in water security, amid increasing demand and the burgeoning effects of climate change.
Council members must commit to investing in water security to ensure durable peace and security for all communities and nations.
Government agreements must underscore the need to sustainability manage transboundary water resources.
Beyond recognizing the link between water, peace and security and the need to prevent related conflicts, the goal should be sharing experiences of cooperation and success stories.
Water management could also serve as a building block for sustainable development, peace and security.
Water should be a tool for cooperation, development and security.
While there was no standard approach to resolving water disputes, increasing the capacity of Member States would help them engage better in the transboundary management of the resource.
Meanwhile, the United Nations and international community must continue to respect national sovereignty.
Riparian States had negotiated the Nile River Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement for almost 13 years, and it was now signed by six States and ratified by three others.
As conflicts were best resolved locally or regionally, river basin governance efforts should be supported.

Security Council 7959th Meeting (PM) Spotlighting the scarcity of Earth’s most precious resource, the United Nations Secretary-General today urged world leaders to invest in water security, amid increasing demand and the burgeoning effects of climate change.
Council members must commit to investing in water security to ensure durable peace and security for all communities and nations.
Government agreements must underscore the need to sustainability manage transboundary water resources.
Beyond recognizing the link between water, peace and security and the need to prevent related conflicts, the goal should be sharing experiences of cooperation and success stories.
Water management could also serve as a building block for sustainable development, peace and security.
Water should be a tool for cooperation, development and security.
While there was no standard approach to resolving water disputes, increasing the capacity of Member States would help them engage better in the transboundary management of the resource.
Meanwhile, the United Nations and international community must continue to respect national sovereignty.
Riparian States had negotiated the Nile River Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement for almost 13 years, and it was now signed by six States and ratified by three others.
As conflicts were best resolved locally or regionally, river basin governance efforts should be supported.

Security Council 7959th Meeting (PM) Spotlighting the scarcity of Earth’s most precious resource, the United Nations Secretary-General today urged world leaders to invest in water security, amid increasing demand and the burgeoning effects of climate change.
Council members must commit to investing in water security to ensure durable peace and security for all communities and nations.
Government agreements must underscore the need to sustainability manage transboundary water resources.
Beyond recognizing the link between water, peace and security and the need to prevent related conflicts, the goal should be sharing experiences of cooperation and success stories.
Water management could also serve as a building block for sustainable development, peace and security.
Water should be a tool for cooperation, development and security.
While there was no standard approach to resolving water disputes, increasing the capacity of Member States would help them engage better in the transboundary management of the resource.
Meanwhile, the United Nations and international community must continue to respect national sovereignty.
Riparian States had negotiated the Nile River Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement for almost 13 years, and it was now signed by six States and ratified by three others.
As conflicts were best resolved locally or regionally, river basin governance efforts should be supported.

UN chief warns of serious clean water shortages 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.
"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.
"If current patterns of consumption continue unabated, two-thirds of the world’s population will be facing water shortages as a daily reality by 2025," Morales added.
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.
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.
Rycroft said Britain has provided $30 million over the past five years to support a regional approach to "identify and resolve challenges affecting these transboundary waters."
"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.