As the year 2000 approaches, the world's population is expanding rapidly. Water is, literally, the source of life on earth.
Human beings can survive for only a few days without freshwater.
Population growth alone will push an estimated 17 more countries, with a projected population of 2.1 billion, into these water-short categories within the next 30 years. Another nine countries, including China and Pakistan, will be approaching water stress. Beyond the impact of population growth itself, the demand for freshwater has been rising in response to industrial development, increased reliance on irrigated agriculture, massive urbanization, and rising living standards. Moreover, the supply of freshwater available to humanity is shrinking, in effect, because many freshwater resources have become increasingly polluted.