Summit, stressed that the early stabilization of population is a primary condi
tion for real-izing sustainable food security. Parliamentarians stated that th
e best prospect for slow-ing and eventually stabilizing population growth is t
o put decision- aking power into the hands of women, and that an important fir
st step in this regard is to ensure their education, reproductive rights and a
ccess to reproductive health care in all its aspects.
In addition, parliamentarians pledged to enact legislation providing rural pro
ducers of food, especially women, with equal access to and ownership of produc
tive assets includ-ing land and water. At the same time, they recognized that
water must be an integral part of national development planning, which brings
me to the main theme of this meet-ing.
The latest United Nations findings on global freshwater resources are grim. Th
ere is clear and convincing evidence that the world faces worsening local and
regional water quantity and quality problems, Iargely as a result of poor wate
r allocation, wasteful use of the resource, and lack of adequate management. I
n other words, constraints on water, and water degradation are weakening one o
f the resource bases on which life itself de-pends.
According to the United Nations, water use has been growing at more than twice
the rate of population increase during this century, and already a number of r
egions are chroni-cally water short. About one-third of the world's populati o
n now live in countries that are experiencing moderate to high water stress, p
artly resulting from increasing demands from a growing population and human ac
tivities. By 2025, as much as two-thirds of the world population will be under
stress conditions. Water shortages and pollution are causing widespread public
health problems, Iimiting economic and agricultural develop-ment, and harming
a wide range of ecosystems. Such shortages may put global food supplies in jeo
pardy and lead to economic stagnation in many areas of the world.
There are powerful forces of change that could make water problems worse, unle
ss im-mediate actions are taken. These forces include a world population that
is now 5.7 bil-lion, and is heading to 8.3 billion by 2025. Much of this incre
ase will be in the rapidly growing urban areas of developing countries, many i
n Asia, and many of which are al-ready experiencing serious water stress and c
rushing poverty. in less than 20 years, six out of the world's ten largest cit
ies will be in Asia : Bombay, Shanghai; Jakarta; Karachi; Beijing; and Dhaka.
All will have population of more than 18 million people.
To make water use more sustainable, planners at all levels need to understand
water is-sues, and make them a central part of their development plans. The ma
nagement of both water quantity and quality has to be a central part of health
, social and economic policies that recognize women's roles as providers of fo
od and water, caretakers of their fami]ies' health, and managers and conservat
ionists of forest, soil and water resources.
