Water for farming
農(nóng)業(yè)用水

Running dry
日益缺水的世界

The world has a water shortage, not a food shortage
世界面臨著水資源短缺，而非糧食短缺

MOST people drink about 2 litres of water a day, but consume 3,000 a day if the water that goes into their food is taken into account. Rich countries use more as their consumption of meat, which is far more water-intensive than grain, is higher. Around 1.2 billion people live in places that are short of water, and it is running out in others such as northern China and western America. Meanwhile, the world’s population is growing and more water will be needed to feed it. Farming, which accounts for some 70% of human water consumption, offers the best opportunity for thrift. Repairing leaks and better irrigation in poor countries could help reduce wastage by up to 70%, as could switching to less thirsty crops in arid regions.

大多數(shù)人一天飲用2升水，不過若算上吃的食物在生產(chǎn)、銷售過程中的用水量，卻會在一天內(nèi)消耗3000升水。富裕國家的耗水量就更大了，因為他們消費更多的肉制品，而肉制品在生產(chǎn)、銷售過程中的耗水量遠高于谷物。世界上約有12億人生活在缺水地區(qū)，而其它地區(qū)比如中國北部和美國西 部，則正面臨著水資源日益枯竭的局面。與此同時，世界人口卻在不斷增長，水的需求量進一步增大。農(nóng)業(yè)用水占了人類水資源消耗的70%，所以農(nóng)業(yè)用水的節(jié)約 有著最為明朗的前景。修復(fù)水管泄漏以及在貧窮國家實行更好的灌溉措施可以減少70%的耗水量，而在干旱地區(qū)種植需水量小的農(nóng)作物同樣可以減少70%的耗水 量。

圖例：
Physical scarcity: 自然性水資源匱乏；當(dāng)一個地方的水需求超過其水供給能力時，該地就存在這種類型的水資源匱乏。一般來說，世界上的干旱地區(qū)都伴有這種類型的水資源匱乏。但現(xiàn)在有越來越多的地區(qū)由于人為原因而造成這種水資源短缺的局面，比如過度利用水資源，過于嚴格管理。

Near physical scarcity: 近于自然性水資源匱乏；

Economic scarcity: 經(jīng)濟性水資源匱乏；這是最困擾人類的水資源短缺，因為它完全由于缺少同情心和有效的管理造成的。當(dāng)一個地方無法采取必須的財政政策來利用充足的水資源時，就是存在這種類型的水資源匱乏。比如撒哈拉以南非洲（黑非洲）地區(qū)就飽受其苦。

Little or no scarcity: 基本無水資源短缺；

Not estimated: 未做評估