Growing population needs twenty more ‘Niles’ September 11th 2012
The world needs to find the equivalent of the flow of 20 Nile
rivers by 2025 to grow enough food to feed a rising population
and help avoid conflicts over water scarcity, a group of former
leaders said on Monday [11 September]. Factors such as climate
change would strain freshwater supplies and nations including
China and India were likely to face shortages within two
decades, they said, calling on the UN Security Council to get
more involved. ‘The future political impact of water scarcity
may be devastating,’ former Canadian Prime Minister Jean
Chretien said of a study issued by a group of 40 former leaders
he co-chairs including former US President Bill Clinton and
Nelson Mandela. ‘It will lead to some conflicts,’ Chretien told
reporters on a telephone conference call, highlighting tensions
such as in the Middle East over the Jordan River. The study, by
the InterAction Council of former leaders, said the UN Security
Council should make water t