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Soft Path continued from pave 2 illegal hook-ups, and vandalism. In some countries, drinking water is highly subsidized for those connected to the system, generally more affluent people, while poor people not connected to the system rely on expensive private sellers or unsafe sources. To begin addressing the problem, the United Nations declared 2003 to be the International Year of Freshwater and pledged to cut the number of Death people without clean d t .~®~' y ~®~® water or a equate sanitation in half by ~~'. ~r~ i nae (date 2015. Unfortunate- ~~ ~~~es$~ t~ e~~ean wat ly, there is little indication that ~ end sanitati®Ct I$ improving access to l ej(petted t® be c ean water is a priority among between 52 0111 wealthier nations. a ~ ~ '~ '~ p ' I I t According to an _ O analysis by the Pacific pe®p~e. Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security published. recently in the journal Science, aid from wealthy nations far clean water and sanitation projects in the developing world is drying up, not improving. In fact, it's declined from US$3.4 billion per year in 1996 to $3 billion per year in 2001. To make matters worse, the people suffering mo from lack of clean water and sanitation are receiving least amount of aid. Countries where only 60 percen the population has access to clean water receive just percent of international funding. Researchers say tha unless greater efforts are made, the cumulative dead toll by 2020 from inadequate access to clean water and sanitation is expected to be between 52 million and 118 million people -mostly children. Developed countries have tended to solve their water problems through massive infrastructure projects like dams and canals. These projects delivered huge volumes of water but at a high cost. Large dams and reservoirs have displaced tens of millions of people in the last century and have done irreparable damage to freshwater ecosystems. Dams and irrigation schemes now remove so much water from some rivers that they can dry up before reaching the sea. The Colorado River, for example, now rarely flows all the way to the Pacific Ocean. I' ®n Focusing on large infrastructure projects to provide even more freshwater for the Earth`s growing population would cost an estimated $180 billion per year by 2025. The environmental and social costs of such projects ~Tould also be extremely high. Fortunately, there are less damaging and less expensive ways to provide clean water to the developing world. Rather than just providing massive amounts of water, researchers instead suggest a "soft path" that will cause fewer environmental and social problems while still providing the world with adequate fresh water. This path focuses on being as effective as possible with a minimum amount of water using techniques such as rainwater harvesting, integrated land-use plans, precision- application irrigation, and pricing tools to ensure water is not wasted. Not long ago, the use of vast amounts of e r water and energy was equated with having a high quality of life. Fortunately, we've become much more efficient at using water and that connection is no longer true. For example, the United States now uses less total freshwater than n it did two decades ago. Developed nations need to continue to become more efficient, for our freshwater resources in many areas are stretched to their limits. In the developing world, following a soft path approach could reduce the costs of delivering freshwater by as much as 90 percent, bringing clean water and adequate sanitation within the reach of millions more people. But that will only happen if adequate aid reaches the hands of those who can use it most effectively. Anew international campaign- called WASH -Water, I "1 ow i n Sanitation and Hygiene a0 path for all -has been ii launched to mobilize ~~ C C®u I political support s the' C®St$ ®f and action around the world. ~l~verin mater by as For more -~~ as 9® information, -ereent. please visit: www.pacir-st.org or www.unep.org FACETS December 2003