1. Water Quiz http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/2 946916.stm

2. 70% of the Earth's surface is covered by water so why are we concerned about water scarcity?

4. Water - Need to Know Facts Looking at the “Water Facts”, consider which have a) demographic b) development implications or c) both. development demographic

5. According to the World Health Organization, less than 1% of the world's freshwater, or 0.007% of all the water on Earth, is readily available for human world consumption. development

6. March 22nd has been celebrated as 'World Water Day' since 1993. 70% of water withdrawn from freshwater systems goes toward irrigation. 17% of the world's irrigated cropland produces 30-40% of the world's crops. development

7. 8% of fresh water resources go towards human consumption and sanitation purposes; the majority of fresh water resources - 70% - is allocated for agricultural purposes, with the remaining 22% used by industries. development

8. Out of 191 nations in the world, 10 nations share 65% of the world's annual water resources. 1.2 billion people - or almost 1 out of 5 people in the world - are without access to safe drinking water and half of the world's population lacks adequate water purification systems. development demographic

9. 2.4 billion people, or 40% of the world's population, do not have access to adequate sanitation.  According to Peter Gleick, a co-founder of the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment and Security, the average person needs a minimum of 50 L of water per day, with 5 L for drinking, 10 L for cooking, 15 L for bathing and 20 L spent on sanitation needs. demographicdevelopment

10. In 1998, 31 countries faced chronic freshwater shortages. By the year 2025, however, 48 countries are expected to face shortages, affecting nearly 3 billion people - 35% of the world's projected population. Countries in danger of running short of water in the next 25 years include Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Nigeria, and Peru. development demographic

11. Residents of developing nations pay on average 12 times more per liter of water than those getting their water through municipal systems. Industrialized country that pays the least for water: Canada - $0.31 per cubic meter. Industrialized country that pays the most for water: Germany - $2.16 per cubic meter. demographic

12. According to the UN and the World Health Organization, 80% of diseases in developing nations stem from consumption of and exposure to unsafe water, which kills more than 25,000 people each day. Did you know that people pay $366 billion a year - equal to 1% of the world's GDP - on water purification and consumption? development demographic

13. The demand for water from 1900 to 1995 increased sixfold - more than twice the rate of population growth during the same time interval. Why?

14. The UN estimates that in less than 25 years, if present water consumption trends continue, 5 billion people will be living in areas where it will be impossible or difficult to meet basic water needs for sanitation, cooking and drinking. development demographic

15. According to Population Action International, based upon the UN Medium Population Projections of 1998, more than 2.8 billion people in 48 countries will face water stress or scarcity conditions by 2025. Of these countries, 40 are in West Asia, North Africa or Sub-Saharan Africa. Over the next two decades, population increases and growing demands are projected to push all the West Asian countries into water scarcity conditions. By 2050, the number of countries facing water stress or scarcity could rise to 54, with their combined population being 4 billion people - about 40% of the projected global population of 9.4 billion (Gardner-Outlaw and Engleman, 1997; UNFPA, 1997).

16. Many African countries, with a population of nearly 200 million people, are facing serious water shortages. By the year 2025, it is estimated that nearly 230 million Africans will be facing water scarcity, and 460 million will live in water-stressed countries (Falkenmark, 1989). Today 31 countries, accounting for less than 8% of the world's population, face chronic freshwater shortages. Among the countries likely to run short of water in the next 25 years are Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Nigeria and Peru. Parts of other large countries (e.g. China) already face chronic water problems (Hinrichsen et al., 1998; Tibbetts, 2000). Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have resorted to the desalinisation of seawater from the Gulf. Bahrain has virtually no freshwater (Riviere, 1989). Three-quarters of Saudi Arabia's freshwater comes from fossil groundwater, which is reportedly being depleted at an average of 5.2 km 3 per year (Postel, 1997).

17. Water: A global issue DVD