Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently announced the formation of the U.S. Water Partnership (USWP), a new public-private organization connecting people, ideas, and resources to tackle the growing water crises throughout the world.

USWP represents a collaborative effort by NGOs, U.S. government agencies, and scientific and academic institutions to share knowledge and resources and to form partnerships to find solutions for increasing global water concerns. The Clean Water America Alliance, Coca-Cola Company, Procter & Gamble, and Rockefeller Foundation are some of the 22 partners supporting the organization.

During Secretary Clinton’s speech at this year’s World Water Day, she also spoke of the recently released Department of State report entitled “Global Water Security,” which outlines current water usage and how growing water tensions are predicted to impact U.S. national security interests. The Global Water Security report predicts that as water shortages become more critical beyond the next 10 years, shared water basins could be used as leverage and weapons, and dams, pipelines, and desalination plants could become targets for terrorism.

“Water shortages, poor water quality, and floods by themselves are unlikely to result in state failure. However, water problems—when combined with poverty, social tensions, environmental degradation, ineffectual leadership, and weak political institutions—contribute to social disruptions that can result in state failure,” stated the report.

The report estimates that by 2030 annual global water requirements will hit 6,900 billion cubic meters (40 percent above the current sustainable water supplies) as the 2025 projected world population nears 8 billion people—a 1.2 billion increase between 2009 and 2025.

Countries currently already experiencing “water stress” include the western United States, southern Africa, northern Africa, Australia, the Middle East, and sections of China and South Asia, according to the report. One-third of the world’s population by 2030 will reside near water basins with water deficits larger than 50 percent. NASA satellite data has shown that northern India is depleting water faster than “any other comparable region in the world,” cited the report.

Water scarcity forces affected populations to rely on unsafe water sources for drinking water, which increases the risks of cholera, dysentery, typhoid fever, and other waterborne diseases, noted the report. According to a 2006 United Nations Human Development Report, one child dies from a water-related disease approximately every 15 seconds.

Decreased fresh water quality from salt-water intrusion and industrial, biofuel, agricultural, and sanitation processes, along with climate change, are contributing to increased water scarceness. Investments in water treatment, energy, and technology reducing the amount of water necessary for agriculture, along with improved water management, will offer the best solutions to water challenges.

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Thousands of participants, 140 ministerial delegations, more than 80 ministers, and members of hundreds of organizations are gathered this week in Marseille, France for the Sixth World Water Forum. The week-long forum aims to bring water crises facing communities, governments, and regions across the world to the forefront of political agendas.

More than 780 million people worldwide lack safe drinking water, according to a 2012 UNICEF/WHO report. Approximately 2.5 billion people in 2010 lacked improved sanitation, and 15 percent (1.1 billion) of the world’s population practice open defecation. The recently released UN World Water Development Report (WWDR4) cites that 3.5 million deaths per year are linked to insufficient sanitation, hygiene, and water supply.

“For the past fifteen years, the World Water Forums have advanced the understanding of issues related to this important topic … Things have moved too slowly, and we must now move up a gear to achieve our common goal,” said France’s Prime Minister Francois Fillon in his speech on Monday at the forum.

Meeting every three years since 1997, the forum provides a platform for debate through grassroots citizen involvement and the participation of experts and decision makers.  It also acts as a foundation for authorities to make commitments toward lasting solutions to global water challenges.

On Tuesday, forum participants announced that 2013 is going to be the “International Year of Water Cooperation.” Led by UNESCO, along with four other UN agencies, 2013 will focus on the successes achieved thus far in water cooperation, along with the span of water challenges still facing communities worldwide.

As a component of the Rural Water Supply Initiative in Africa, Chad, France, Italy, Ivory Coast, Niger, Republic of Congo, and Switzerland pledged $80 million. The Fourth African Water Week is scheduled in Cairo, Egypt for May 14-18, 2012.

During Wednesday’s Arab trialogue session, “Water and Energy,” Dr. Abid Thyab Al Ajeeli from the Arab Parliament predicted, “Currently 18 of the 22 Arab States suffer from water scarcity and by 2050 this will turn into water distress.” Holding only one percent of the planet’s fresh water, the Arab world contains five percent of the world’s population.

The panel discussion focused on desalination, already widespread in the Gulf States, and renewable energies as alternatives to the current fossil fuel reserves powering desalination plants. Zaher bin Khalid Al-Sulaimani, Director General of Projects for the Public Authority for Electricity and Water-Oman, stated that Oman relies on the sea for 80 percent of its population’s drinking water. During the next four years, Oman plans to invest in 200 MW of renewable energy projects.

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