The Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) warned that in the region, more than 100 million people lack access to safe water and more than 110 million people who live in cities do not have sewage services, this is due to despite the amount of natural resources that the continent has.
“About 60% of urban wastewater does not receive any treatment, this is added to the inadequate discharges of urban solid waste that contaminate streams, rivers and lakes, adding sources of infection and impact on the environment. It happens in urban areas and it happens in rural areas with the use of fertilizers,” said CAF executive president Sergio Díaz-Granados.
During his participation in the tenth edition of the Spain-Latin America and the Caribbean Water Dialogues, he warned that addressing this panorama is urgent and is linked to the potential of being a region of life and health, and guaranteeing water sources is necessary. not only as solutions, but in a very complex world.
“This year, the panorama of environmental crisis in Latin America is essentially a panorama of water crisis. This year we had the biggest flood in history in Río Grande del Sur and we also have the biggest drought in the Pampas and the Amazon. We have a dramatic water shortage in Ecuador and Colombia,” highlighted the executive president of CAF.
He recalled that last year there were drops in water in the Panama Canal and that reduced the passage of ships from about 38 a day to less than 20, with a significant fiscal impact and all of this has happened in less than two years.
“The impact caused by the water crisis alone this year will total close to 7,000 million dollars, either due to floods or droughts. These droughts have also stimulated the largest forest fires in the region. “We are entering a very dangerous stage for Latin America that depends greatly on the stability of its natural resources,” said Díaz-Granados.
Faced with this situation, he recognized the contradiction of having a lot of water in the region but very poorly managed, with 30% of the world’s fresh water in Latin America and almost 20% of the region in arid or dry territory, which is why the proposals become important. of use of unconventional, regenerated water, salting and water harvesting.
“Latin America and the Caribbean has high urbanization, about 82% of our population is located in cities and it is estimated that by 2050 we will reach 86%. Added to this are the very strong migratory currents within the region, which are affecting important corridors and putting much more pressure on cities in the delivery of social and environmental services, which is why we need to make cities much more resilient,” concluded the president. CAF executive.
