Global water resource crisis and ecosystem destruction Early 2000s

Global water resource crisis and ecosystem destruction Early 2000s

In the early 2000s, the international community recognized "securing water resources" as a pressing issue common to all humankind. In the background was the excessive consumption of groundwater brought about by rapid population growth, urbanization, and industrial expansion. The decline of the groundwater table has caused land subsidence in many regions, including India, China, and Mexico, resulting in serious damage to both agricultural and urban infrastructure. In addition, unplanned irrigation in arid regions has caused "salt damage," an increase in soil salinity that has severely damaged the productivity of agricultural land. These cases were typical examples of how environmental destruction directly affects the local economy and the lives of local residents.

In the 1980s, the OECD strongly called for improved water resource use efficiency and raised the need for sustainable management internationally. However, a framework for a global solution was not sufficiently developed, and the problem became even more serious in the 2000s. 2002 Johannesburg Summit (World Summit on Sustainable Development) placed water issues as one of the central agenda items, and the supply of safe drinking water and improvement of sanitation were among the "Millennium Development MDGs (Millennium Development Goals).

The causes include changes in precipitation patterns due to global warming, frequent droughts, loss of water recharge capacity due to deforestation, and water pollution due to industrial and domestic wastewater. These factors did not act in isolation but in combination, accelerating water shortages in conjunction with ecosystem destruction. The loss of wetlands and river crossings were threatening biodiversity, damaging fishery resources and agricultural production, and becoming a hotbed of social unrest and conflict.

The "water crisis" theory that prevailed in the international community at the time was not merely a matter of resource constraints, but reflected the contemporary situation in which environmental destruction and the sustainability of human society were directly linked. It was during this period that people began to share the recognition that a comprehensive approach combining the efficient use of water resources and international cooperation, as well as forest conservation and global warming countermeasures, was essential.