Natural solutions needed to prevent climate change
Speakers at a symposium at the World Water Week currently being held in Stockholm underscored the necessity of natural and organic solutions to prevent irreversible climate change.
Speakers of the Laureates' Symposium on Thursday hoped that overall attitude in this regard would see change globally.
“The eyes that used to be closed are now wide open,” said Audrey Azouly, Director-General of Unesco, who thinks recent weather events helped people understand the threats of a changing climate.
Speakers at the event also included International Water Management Institute and water prize laureates.
They agreed that cities must be rethought making better use of nature's abilities to clean, store and recharge water. They thought city planning should also reflect more stress on spending more on infrastructural solutions that were essentially nature driven.
At another discussion, speakers said water -- its availability or the lack thereof -- is directly related with human development.
This is especially true for rural communities where access to water is crucial for subsistence of agricultural production and to attain a minimum standard of health.
They also said many of the world's rural poor are incredibly reliant on ecosystems of their natural habitats. About 2.5 billion people directly depend on farming as a livelihood worldwide. The world's agriculture uses up 70 percent of this rapidly disappearing resource, they added.
Over-utilisation of water and poor water management in agriculture were identified as the reasons behind groundwater depletion and water quality deterioration, leading to damaged ecosystems.
The effects are visible as the world is going through an unprecedented heat-wave and drought-like situation. Farmers are desperate for water throughout the world.
In a study published in May 2018, Nasa scientists found significant shifts in global freshwater resources with high groundwater depletion.
Lack of empowerment of farmers to make decisions in rural areas of developing countries when it comes to water management remains an issue, especially for women.
Climate change adds to their daunting task in many regions of the world, it said.
Research and development projects have shown that women's empowerment can ensure they are better enabled to maintain water resources and ecosystems.
The target of the UN SDG 2 (the second sustainable development goal) is to secure sustainable and resilient agricultural production practices that conserve ecosystems by 2030. However, the task is not an easy one.
The ecosystems have become complete decimated in many cases which in turn restrict resources and processes that certain communities rely on.
The global population will be nearing nine billion by 2050 and will require a 50 percent boost in agricultural production and a 15 percent increase in water removals.
It will require a sustainable approach to meet the water needs of the agricultural sector with responsibility.
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