Worldwide, Communities Demand Access to Water (OneWorld.net, via CommonDreams)

[marmar]

Published on Saturday, March 24, 2007 by OneWorld.net
Worldwide, Communities Demand Access to Water

by Haider Rizvi

UNITED NATIONS - Holding scores of rallies and sit-ins around world, environmental and community groups Thursday made fresh calls for drastic actions to protect the world’s rivers and other water resources from the devastating impact of global warming, pollution, and toxic waste.

From Bangladesh to Burkina Faso and Mali to Mozambique, activists reminded the world that there are still more than 1 billion people who have no access to safe drinking water and another 2 billion–one third of the world’s population–without any access to adequate sanitation.

According to the United Nations, which has designated March 22 as “World Water Day,” despite increased international efforts, about 700 million people in 43 countries still suffer from water shortage.

Experts say if appropriate actions are not taken on time to deal with the threat of global warming, this figure could increase to more than 3 billion in less than 20 years. Climatic changes are already affecting the natural ebb and flow of most of the world’s longest rivers.

According to some estimates, every year 34 million people–mostly children–die from water-related diseases like diarrhea and malaria. About 80 percent of these diseases and over one third of related deaths are caused by contaminated waters. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/03/24/54/

[jwirr]

1. The really sad thing is that this is a problem that we can do

something about. Safe wells, plant trees, deliver water. What is impossible about that? Again it is our attitudes.

[sandnsea]

2. Tales of Water

Last year the World Water Forum presented the story of 5 children and how water affected their lives. Between pollution and privatization, I think more of us are going to be in this position than we care to think about.

"The foundation visited the Mekong in Thailand, the Niger in Mali, the Pangani in Tanzania, the Zarqa in Jordan and theTacana at the border of Mexico and Guatemala. Brothers Hasan and Suleiman, Jordanian nomads, carry buckets long distances to their tent while sisters Razan and her sister Marah, from a more affluent home, learn at an early age that they must drink only bottled water as tap water is too dangerous. In Tanzania, children must carry water to school in plastic buckets, there are no water taps, restrooms or kitchen facilities. They grow their own vegetables, watered by hand, and prepare the vegetables for eating with buckets carried from the village furrow."

www.talesofwater.com

http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/?p=5