The study recommends that water prices should reflect the cost of supplying water and protecting watersheds. Freshwater ecosystems are not being managed effectively for people or for nature. The study recommends that the costs of distributing water and protecting watersheds should be included in the price of water. Polluters should also be charged for their discharges, the report says. Water is not only becoming scarce because of increased demand, but also because of higher pollution levels and habitat degradation.
Freshwater ecosystems occupy less than one percent of the earth's surface.
The study says that contamination denies as many as 3.3 billion people access to clean water. More than 20 percent of the world's freshwater fish have become extinct, endangered or threatened in recent decades, largely due to pollution and habitat loss. The authors said that without reforms in the pricing of water, freshwater supplies will continue to grow scarce. They project that by 2025, five out of every 10 people will be living in water stressed river basins. In Andhra Pradesh, India, farmers agreed to a three fold increase in water prices as part of a package that also boosted their role in running the irrigation agency.