‘Poor water management will lead to crisis’
KUALA LUMPUR: Experts and industry players must keep abreast of knowledge and technology on water management to ensure sustainable development of water resources.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said managing water was a dynamic issue, and poor water management could cause a crisis.
“Water is a finite and irreplaceable resource that is fundamental to human wellbeing and only renewable if well managed.
“Studies show that smart water management is a precondition for sustainable development.
“We need to manage water smartly and efficiently. We need to be innovative,” he said when opening the 37th World Congress of International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research here yesterday.
Present was Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
Water-related issues, especially shortages caused by poor management, had been identified by industries, governments, academia and civil society as one of the top three risks to global development.
Zahid said water would become one of the biggest challenges for sustainable development in the coming decades, adding that its effects could be felt across all the three pillars of sustainability, which were environmental, social and economics.
“Water for survival is a human right. Population growth and urbanisation trends mean water is getting scarce. At the same time, extreme weather can also cause situations where excess water becomes a problem.
“Globally, the demand for water will increase by 55 per cent by 2050. What if there is insufficient supply and we are unable to meet the demand?
“Water crisis is not fiction but a real phenomenon. We are in an era when many scientists tell us that wars of the future will be fought over water.”
He said the congress served as an excellent platform for consultants, scientists, researchers as well as non-governmental organisations to share state-of-the-art technology in water management and practices.
He said participants must also focus on education and sustainable water development, ensuring that people are taught to value water. They must realise their responsibility in protecting and conserving water resources so all efforts would not end in vain, he said.
Globally, the demand for water will increase by 55 per cent by 2050. What if there is insufficient supply and we are unable to meet the demand? Water crisis is not fiction but a real phenomenon. Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Deputy prime minister