According to United Nations agencies, one-third of the world's population live in countries that are experiencing moderate to high water stress, part of which is due to increased demands from a growing population. By the year 2025, two-thirds of the world's population could be facing serious problems with water availability. At the same time, freshwater ecosystems such as lakes, rivers and marshes are disappearing or being altered at an alarming rate. Some countries have already destroyed 50 to 80 per cent of their natural wetlands. In just a few decades, the populations of many freshwater-dependent species have fallen to critical levels.
All signs point to an impending fresh water crisis.
Less than 1 per cent of the world's water is readily available for direct human uses, for example in agriculture and industry, and for drinking and domestic purposes. Some 200 of the world's major rivers flow through more than one country. The potential for international conflict over such shared water resources is high. Mechanisms to ensure the equitable sharing of resources among the stakeholders concerned exist for only a relatively small number of these international rivers. Essential for human survival, freshwater ecosystems house large numbers of animal and plant species.