By 2100, water scarcity could impact between 1.1 and 3.2 billion people, says a leaked draft of an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report due to be published in April 2007. The report focuses on the consequences of global warming and options for adapting to them. In February 2007 the panel released a report on the scientific basis of climate change.

The IPCC predicts critical water shortages in China and Australia, as well as parts of Europe and the United States. Africa and poor countries such as Bangladesh would be most affected because they were least able to cope with drought.

One way to deal with acute (drinking) water shortages, would be to ship water by tanker. This was already happening between France and Algeria and Turkey and Israel, said Daniel Zimmer, executive director of the World Water Council (WWC).

In France, forty-five nations called for the establishment of a United Nations Environment Organization (UNEO) to slow global warming and protect the planet, a body that potentially could have policing powers to punish violators. The effort is led by President Jacques Chirac of France, who also proposed an accompanying UN declaration of environmental rights, covering rights to water and clean air, and responsibilities, such as emissions reductions.

Web sites: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ; Co-operative Programme on Water and Climate

Related news: Climate change: water shortages biggest threat to developing countries, Source Weekly, 3 Nov 2006

Source: Rob Taylor, Reuters, 30 Jan 2007 ; Stefano Ambrogi, Reuters, 2 Feb 2007 ; World Bank Press Review, 5 Feb 2007

Tags: policies & legislation, water distribution, water resources management