Elixir of life

Are we running out of water?

The water on our blue planet is in a constant natural cycle, in oceans, clouds, ice, water bodies, trees and all other organisms, in the soil and in the air: we don’t lose a drop! However, we must adapt its use to the respective regional and local conditions and their changes in order to use and store the available quantities of water effectively, carefully and fairly and to make it available to as many organisms as possible in local cycles. The extraction of groundwater and surface water has increased rapidly in recent decades. Agriculture accounts for 70 percent of freshwater use. In many regions, important groundwater reservoirs are being depleted and lakes and rivers are drying up.

The use of fertilisers, pesticides, chemicals and medicines, as well as untreated wastewater from industry and households, is making more and more surface and groundwater unusable or even toxic. Over a quarter of the world’s population has no safe access to drinking water!

To counter these problems, water use should be adapted to be in line with natural cycles and water should be used effectively, carefully, fairly and in amounts corresponding to the local availability. The most important lever for sustainable use is to use and store rainwater more effectively.