NEW YORK, New York, March 17, 2008 (ENS) - The international community needs to start creating strategies for using water more efficiently and sharing it more fairly, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, warning that unless action is taken soon, the conflicts and problems caused by water shortages around the world will multiply. In an opinion column published today in "The Hindu" newspaper of Chennai, India, ahead of observances this week to mark World Water Day, Ban called for partnerships between governments, civil society groups, businesses and individuals to better use and conserve water.
"We are at the early stages of this awakening," he wrote. "But there are some encouraging signs, especially in the private sector. Corporations have long been viewed as culprits. The smokestacks from power plants pollute our air; the effluents from industry spoil our rivers. But this is changing - more and more today, businesses are working to become part of the solution, rather than the problem." More >>>
