…high-level thinking, ground-level issue

September 5-11 was the 20th annual World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden.  This event, organized by the Stockholm International Water Institute, “focuses on new thinking and positive action toward water-related challenges and their impact on the world’s environment, health, economic and poverty reduction agendas.”

The theme this year was “The Water Quality Challenge”.  Clean, fresh water is a necessity of life on earth, for people, animals, plants, birds, insects and fish – even the ones in the sea.

The supply of fresh water is not limitless, and the demand for it is constantly growing.  The basic needs of everyday living – drinking, cooking, sanitation – compete with the demands of agriculture and industry.

The conference focussed on two areas of particular interest to tropical countries like Jamaica.  The first was improving water quality and public access to clean water.  The keynote speech pointed out that bad water kills more people every year than HIV, malaria and wars put together.  The conference’s submission to the UN pointed out that without more attention to – and investment in – water supply and sanitation, its Millennium Development Goals for living standards and social justice would not be met.

A special forum discussed water quality challenges in Caribbean and Latin American countries, including Jamaica.  The forum concluded that access to information and finance were the biggest barriers to progress.  However, Montego Bay is taking a small step forward.  The Ministry of Water and Housing’s commitment to improved water supplies and sanitation in inner city communities complements the Marine Park Trust’s new project.  Education and investment focussed on community sanitation are important elements in reducing the amount of waste and litter reaching the sea from the North Gully corridor.

The World Water Week conference also urged more attention to water storage – collecting fresh water in times of surplus, and storing it for use in times of shortage.  It’s easy to forget, after such a wet spring and summer, that a year ago we were in the middle of a two-year dry spell.  Climate change is likely to make the cycles of wet and dry more extreme.

The basics of water storage include better management of municipal reservoirs and farm ponds, installing household gutters and cisterns, and providing larger catch-and-store systems for commercial and industrial buildings.  Land management is also important.  Helping rain soak into the ground and keeping it in place will pay off with more reliable water supply, less need for irrigation, better flood control, less erosion and less dirt in the sea.  The simplest and best things we can do include preserving grass, trees and plants on land being developed for commerce or agriculture, and protecting – or restoring – natural wetlands.