Half of world's rivers polluted or running dry
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Your support makes all the difference.MORE THAN half the world's rivers are either polluted or at risk of running dry, according to the preliminary report of an international committee charged with finding a way to ensure the world's water supply through the next century.
The World Commission on Water, which is backed by the World Bank and Unesco and other United Nations agencies, said that foul water supplies were one reason why last year for the first time the number of people displaced for environmental reasons exceeded the number of those displaced by war - 21 million.
"The land and water crisis in river basins contributed to the total of 25 million environmental refugees last year, which for the first time exceeded the number of war- related refugees," the report says. "By 2025, the number of environmental refugees could quadruple."
The commission is due to release its official report next spring, but previewed its findings yesterday in The Hague, saying that a way had to be found to increase the production of water and improve its quality. It said that the Amazon and the Congo were among the cleanest rivers, largely because there was little industry in the vicinity to pollute them.
Among the most polluted were the Yellow river in China, which also ran dry in its lower reaches on 226 days in 1997.
The flow of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya into the Aral Sea has been reduced by three-quarters, causing a catastrophic 52-foot fall in the level of the sea in the 32 years to 1994 and a decline of three-quarters in the varieties of fish it supports.
The Nile is reported to be heavily polluted with agricultural and industrial waste by the time it reaches the Mediterranean, and only 3 per cent of surface water in Russia's Volga river basin is considered safe to drink.
Only 3 per cent of the water of the river Ganges in India is said to be safe to drink, and the water levels are so depleted that the Sundarban wetlands and mangrove forests of Bangladesh are seriously threatened.
In the United States, the Colorado river was said to be so overused for irrigation and so polluted that there was little clean water left to protect the ecosystem downstream, which had turned into unusable salt swamp. The commission found that the Colorado's problems, were exacerbated by the lack of a single jurisdiction to oversee its protection.
However, the report does say that some rivers can be restored: examples include the St Lawrence, where the US and Canada are working together, the Lerma in Mexico, and the Murray-Darlin river basin in Australia.
RUNNING OUT OF TIME?
Major rivers with serious problems as cited by the World Commission on Water for the 21st Century:
The Yellow River (China), severely polluted, dry in its lower reaches 226 days out of the year in 1997.
Amu Darya and Syr Darya (Central Asia) flow into the Aral Sea has been reduced by three-quarters and has caused a catastrophic regression in sea levels - 53 feet between 1962 and 1994.
The Colorado, (US) so exploited and polluted by agriculture that the ecosystem downstream has turned from lush green to salty and desolate marshes.
The Nile (Africa), with 90 per cent of its flow used for irrigation or lost through evaporation, heavily polluted when it reaches the Mediterranean.
The Volga (Russia), with only 3 per cent of its basin a safe source for drinking water, with 42 tons of toxic waste piling up each year.
The Ganges (South Asia), so depleted that the unique ecosystem of Sunderband Wetlands in Bangladesh is seriously threatened.
The Jordan (Middle East), with only a third of its water ever reaching the Dead Sea, no longer meeting the needs of people in the region.
Rivers cited as healthy:
The Amazon (Brazil), a powerful stream with few settlements or industries on its bank.
The Congo (Africa), also a strong river with little industry near its banks.
Rivers being restored:
The St Lawrence, with Canada and the US working together to improve its flow, although some pollution remains.
The Rhine (Western Europe), considered dead by the Sixties, is coming back to life. People can drink treated water, it is safe for agriculture, and fish have returned.
Murray-Darling River Basin (Australia), cleaned of blue-green algae and the salt level is down.
The Lerma (Mexico), with government and user groups starting a major programme to reverse pollution and flow reduction problems.
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