The human right to water ‘entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses’ according to the manifest of the United Nations Organization. 

Nevertheless over a billion people have no access to safe drinking water, almost half of the world population none to safe sanitation. Subsequent high rates of human morbidity and mortality constrain the socio-economic progress of developing countries, whereas the provision of improved water and sanitation strongly stimulates development and reduces the destructive effects of poverty.

The world’s freshwater is allocated to the wealthier who lead a water-consuming lifestyle, to industrialized agriculture, industry, hydro power production as well as urban centers. Depletion and degradation of the finite resource take place on a threatening scale reducing the utilizable water quantity directly and indirectly.

To achieve the goal to provide food and water to the world population and eradicate malnutrition the common course of water waste and pollution has to be abandoned. Irrigated agriculture is responsible for 70% of the world’s freshwater withdrawal, largely due to the highly wasteful method of flood irrigation, therefore it is the key sector for the needed change. Irrespective of the size of the global population there will always be enough water on earth to secure domestic water for all, as water for drinking and sanitation constitutes only 2 to 3% of human water needs. The major root of the widespread drinking water crisis is pure mismanagement.