DAVOS: UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon urged the world to put the looming crisis over water shortages at the top of the global agenda this year and take action to prevent conflicts over scarce supplies.
He reminded business and political leaders at the World Economic Forum on Thursday that the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan was touched off by drought - and he said shortages of water contribute to poverty and social hardship in Somalia, Chad, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Haiti, Colombia and Kazakhstan.
"Too often, where we need water we find guns instead," Ban said. "Population growth will make the problem worse. So will climate change. As the global economy grows, so will its thirst. Many more conflicts lie just over the horizon.
He said a recent report identified 46 countries with 2.7 billion people where climate change and water-related crises create "a high risk of violent conflict- and a further 56 countries, with 1.2 billion people "are at high risk of violent conflict.
The report was by International Alert, an independent peace building organization based in London.
Ban told the VIP audience that he spent 2007 "banging my drum on climate change, an issue the Forum also had as one of its main themes last year. He welcomed the focus on water this year saying the session should be named: ‘Water is running out’.
