While clean water in sufficient quantities is essential for the health of people, animals, and plants, over 700 million people will be displaced because of water scarcity by 2030, and 60% of the world population, billions, will face water shortages by 2050.
Climate change further deteriorates the accessibility of water. Melting glaciers in many regions disrupt water cycles and cause severe droughts. Rainfall patterns are changing for the worse and threaten both harvests, peatlands, and forests. Extreme heatwaves in many parts of the world compound these issues. They affect the especially elderly almost as severely as the current pandemic. Apart from the direct impact on human health, all these effects lead to crop loss, forest destruction, depleted groundwater reservoirs, and megacities running out of water.
So far, water scarcity may only be felt regionally, but it is a global problem that can lead to a humanitarian crisis on an enormous scale, food shortages, mass migration, and increased risk of conflicts and economic downturn. For more than 10 years, the World Economic Forum has published the Global Risks Report, analyzing different risks against impact and likelihood. Water-related crises are the only risk area that has made it consistently into the quadrant of both high impact and high likelihood.
But despite the obvious relevance of water, we seem to be oblivious to it. Water blindness, defined as a severe lack of understanding of water’s relevance, is prevalent in society and business. We urgently need concerted global action, unprecedented collaboration, and innovation at a global scale to counter this challenge!
Bayer assumes responsibility for water
One major driver for change must be the agricultural sector. Today, more than 70% of all available freshwater is used in the production of plant-based food, fuel, and fiber production or needed in animal husbandry. This means that the agricultural sector is by far the biggest consumer of water. As a leading crop science company, Bayer has an almost 25% market share in the agriculture input value chain. With that comes a huge responsibility. We will not be able to bring the company vision "Health for all, Hunger for none" to life without focusing on the water problem.
Bayer is taking up this challenge: Water is a cornerstone of our commitment to sustainability:
At Bayer, we invest in innovative products, technologies, and partnerships to reduce the demand for water in agriculture. Our plant scientists continue to pursue modern breeding methods to develop locally adapted varieties that have higher flooding and drought tolerance. One example is dry-seeded rice. Between 34-43% of the world’s total irrigation water goes to irrigated rice. Dry seeded rice saves up to 30% water and comes with an added benefit of reducing methane emissions. We also support better irrigation: Drip irrigation reduces water usage by up to 60%. Moreover, we have made investments in vertical agriculture to reduce water pressure by enabling more efficient vegetable production closer to population centers. By offering farmers access to such innovation, we reduce their water-related risks.
READ MORE Sustainable and wise use of groundwater is important
We improve our own operations by ensuring sustainable water management with a specific focus on water-scarce regions. We are committed to complying with international, national, and local legislation to protect water resources and further reducing emissions into water. We will also make water an integral part of our climate risk reporting. Besides, we use our local presence to support projects providing access to clean water and sanitation to our employees and the communities in which we operate. Bayer has committed itself to implementing access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene at the workplace at an appropriate level of standard for all employees in all premises under our control. We are therefore participating in the Human Rights and WASH Working Group of the UN CEO Water Mandate.
Besides our own activities, we are highly committed to working with partners to integrate water in local and global policies, thus promoting water security on a broad level – for example, by being an active part of the UN Global Compact Action Platform on Water Stewardship. We want to be part of broad coalitions that inspire action and avoid the traditional controversies that led to slowing down the global climate agenda. Water is one other good reason for why we support forest protection and are committed to net-zero deforestation. We need to protect forests to secure rainfall patterns that improve irrigation and, for example, in Central Brazil, enable two crop harvests each year.
Like on climate, companies need to take leadership, and investors must state clear expectations
Yet, more is to be done on a global level. While the issue of climate change has, fortunately, become a priority in recent years, water scarcity is often neglected. But as much as climate action is needed to reduce the severity of water challenges, water action is needed to support the 2.2 billion people who are already without access to safe water. The UN Sustainable Development Goal #6 combines the different water-related development challenges from access to safe drinking water to basic hygiene and equitable distribution of water. We need to support the UN’s efforts to systematically address the global water challenges identified in SDG 6 through partnerships between UN institutions, governments, civil society organizations, as well as the private sector.
First, businesses need to pay more attention than ever to water. Most importantly, the business community needs to focus on disclosing how water is connected to their individual value chains. For me, this kind of transparency is the key corrective lens to the water blindness that exists today across many sectors. In addition, industrial pollution of water with chemicals must become a stronger public concern because not only the quantity but also the quality of water is important.
Second, investors should pay as much attention to water as they are beginning to pay to GHG emissions. Regarding decarbonization, we already see that investors can nudge companies to reduce carbon emissions in their value chains. This will work for water as well. The investment community is, therefore, a key enabler of a successful transformation to preserve water for our future. The Carbon Disclosure Project has already established a water-related component in 2010: CDP Water. In recent years, Bayer has repeatedly been included in the CDP Water A List. Other leaders in the climate field like CERES and the Science-based Target Initiative (SBTI) are following suit to increase transparency and spur action. This is a good path to better reflect climate-related risks, of which water is probably the most near-term in their risk management.
Third, we need political and societal engagement. With growing populations and changing consumption patterns, the demand for water is only going to increase. By 2030, scientists project there will be a 40% gap between the supply and demand of water – a gap that could hit communities around the world.
Radical changes in consumption patterns and water distribution must reduce the demand for water. In addition, we need to protect rainforests since they are key for local and regional water cycles and a crucial component in the action plan that seeks to combat water scarcity. And climate protection in general needs to become an even greater priority: decarbonization as such will also help to slow down climate-related water shortages. The climate and water crises are two sides of the same coin.
With this kind of action, we can tackle water scarcity. However, in many ways, the parallels between the global discourse about potential impacts of the global water crisis and warnings about the lack of preparedness for a pandemic before COVID-19 are striking. We lack momentum behind an agenda that inspires decisive actions. Last year, UN Secretary General António Guterres announced a UN High-Level Conference on Water in 2023 – for the first time since 1970. With two years to go, this is an opportunity to re-focus the sustainable development agenda on water. In 2023, India will host the G20 Summit. Already today, no other country is home to more people under water stress. It would be befitting for India to make water the priority of their G20 presidency. Even though the country has an arid climate, Himalayan glaciers are melting and increasing water stress in many parts of the country.
And, yet again, water affects human health directly. more than 20% of all diseases are linked to water issues – both access to safe water and an absence of sanitation. A strong focus on rural India is needed to reduce the impact of the water crisis for the 1.6 billion people in the country. Let’s not wait any longer, but make sure that we already have results by 2023. Water activist Mina Guli said: “Water is everything, and we treat it as if it is worth nothing!” Nothing to add!
