Kapitel: 2.2 Wasserbedarf und Wasserverbrauch

Water demand and water consumption of private households and the industrial sector by countries:

Water is a critical and essential resource. Worldwide, the provision of new water services is out-pacing population growth. Actually 1.2 Billion people still lack safe drinking water and in spite of substantial progress, about 2.4 Billion people have no access to adequate sanitation. The universally accepted goal of improving the sustainability of development can only be achieved through an integrated resource management strategy.

The main driver for water crises is population growth, particularly in developing countries. While for the most people in Europe and other industrial countries, access to clean water in abundant quantity is taken for granted, in developing countries the growing water demand of the private household sector but especially of the industrial and agricultural sectors leads to severe pressures on water resources.

In order to balance water supply and water demand a better understanding of the factors influencing the structure and future development of water demand is a precondition for any water policy strategy. The article focuses on water withdrawals and water consumption of the private household and the industrial sector. It indicates that water crisis is not a problem of water availability on a global scale but represents a regional problem.