President Erdoğan: It is an obligation for us to use our water resources efficiently
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed the 1st Water Forum via videoconference from the Vahdettin Mansion in Istanbul.
“THE STRUGGLE WAGED FOR OIL IN THE PAST WILL NOW BE CARRIED OUT IN THE AREA OF WATER”
Water in the civilization means life, and it should always be kept in mind that water is not an unlimited resource, underlined President Erdoğan. “The total amount of water on the earth is 1.4 billion cubic kilometers. However, out of this entire water mass, the portion that is accessible to human beings amounts to just two per 10 thousand. The struggle waged for possession of oil and carbon fuels in the past will now be carried out in the area of water. The pressure on water resources, the most strategical asset of the next hundred years, will further mount year by year.”
While the need for potable clean water resources are growing bigger and bigger, potable clean water resources are decreasing rapidly as a result of fast consumption and pollution, warned the President. “World Water Development Report projects that nearly 6 billion people will have no access to sufficient clean water by 2050.”
Drawing attention to the increasing world population, which rose from 3 billion in 1960 to nearly 8 billion today, President Erdoğan noted that whereas the population and, hence, the consumption across the world increase so quickly, the rainfall remains the same.
Drought, floods, and wildfires—all escalating due to climate change—have impacts on the quality and quantity of water resources, said the President, adding that the agricultural industry, which is the source of foodstuff, consumes more than 70 percent of water globally.
“WE HAVE UNDERTAKEN MAJOR WATER INVESTMENTS IN AFRICA”
Stressing that Turkey is not a water-rich country and that the annual average rainfall in Turkey is below the world average, President Erdoğan said: “It is an obligation, no longer an option, for us to conserve, use efficiently, and manage correctly our water resources before they reach the brink of depletion. As the country, we have taken, and continue to take, the necessary precautions not to let our water, that is our future, flow away through our fingers.”
President Erdoğan added: “Our water investments are not limited only to our country. We have undertaken major water investments in Africa as well. We have supplied around 2 million people with potable water by means of the 512 water wells we have drilled in Africa to date. We have also contributed to the fulfillment of the needs of nearly 1.5 million brothers and sisters of ours with the 143 water wells we have drilled in the regions inside Syria where we carry out security and humanitarian aid activities.”
