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Click on the tabs above for a statistical view of the world's
water |
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The Amazon River in Venezuela – a vast but remote freshwater
supply |
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The amount of water on Earth is fixed. Less than 0.01% of the
planet's 1.4 billion cubic kilometres is easily
accessible freshwater in lakes and rivers. |
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Agriculture is the world's biggest water guzzler – it takes at
least 2,000 litres to produce enough food for one
person for one day |
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Global water use has tripled since 1950 and has been increasing
faster than the world's population. Much of the water extracted ends up
wasted. |
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About one third of the world's population lives water-stressed
countries - set to increase to two-thirds within 25 years |
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Africa and Asia are already hard-hit by water stress. Increasing
populations will create more pressure in the coming decades. |
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Recommended basic daily domestic requirement per person (litres):
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Most people without clean water live in developing countries.
People in rich countries use ten times more water each day than those in poor
countries. |
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The Hoover Dam on the Colorado river - there are 45,000 big dams
in the world, nearly half are in China and more than 6,000 are in the US |
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Last century saw a dam-building boom - but the pace has slowed
as many doubt that the benefits outweigh the human and environmental costs. |
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