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Millions of people in the world are deprived of potable world. With big water firms not keen on investing in poor countries, developing nations are at a loss to quench the thirst of their population. Is water the next big crisis? Access to clean water should be a natural right, because no one 'manufactures' water and so no one should claim ownership over water resources and supplies. In practice, however, the management and distribution of this natural resource is plagued with inherent problems, which is where economic principles can help. Supplying water costs money. According to a recent analysis by UN, clean and safe water can be brought to the 1.4 billion people who lack it for as little as $50 (Rs 2,250) per person. It will also mean that 3.35 billion cases of illness and 5.3 million deaths in a year can be prevented. At any given time, an estimated one half of the population of the developing countries are suffering from diseases caused either directly by infection through the consumption of contaminated water or food, or indirectly by disease-carrying organisms. The UN warns that unless action is stepped up, the number of people without access to safe water will increase to 2.3 billion by 2025, with the number of those who die from unsafe water expected to jump sharply as well. Right now, 20 per cent of the world's population in 30 countries face water shortages, a figure that will rise to 30 per cent of the world's population in 50 countries by 2025. Some of the world's largest cities, including Beijing, Buenos Aires, Dhaka, Lima and Mexico City, depend heavily on groundwater for their water supply. Water scientists predict that many of these cities already are unable to provide safe, clean water and adequate sanitation facilities for their citizens. The problem is magnified by political and consumer unease about multimillion-dollar schemes, forcing major multinationals to pull out of developing countries. Faced with the public distrust of water privatisation, these companies are now concentrating on less risky markets of Europe and North America. While some water privatisation projects have been successful in ending the cycle of drought and death that has afflicted many countries, there are also cases where companies have indulged in profiteering and were unable to fulfil their pledges. Also, several reports in the past show that failed government policies have led to proliferation of private supplies of water, most of which are exploitative, but not necessarily. Provision of bottled drinking water has become a very significant economic activity and has seen astronomic growth rates in countries like Mexico, India and Thailand because of inadequate municipal water supply. In fact, the success of this sector has in recent years motivated multinational companies to develop near-global brands of drinking water that compete with local brands. For consumers in developed countries bottled water may mean high-priced mineral water. But consumers in developing countries expect their bottled water to be clean water that can be used for drinking, cooking or other uses that require drinking water quality. Provision of affordable drinking-quality water in bottles or containers also relieves the piped-water system of the need to produce drinking water quality that is largely used for purposes such as toilet flushing. Innovative public-private partnerships that devise alternative ways of providing water supply and sanitation services at various scales deserve more attention. In rural areas, private farmers have been largely responsible for major investments in groundwater development in recent decades. This groundwater use has contributed significantly to food production and creation of wealth in rural areas. But governments have largely failed to put in place rules and mechanisms that prevent over-exploitation of groundwater resources and maintain their quality. Perhaps one of the best things that developing countries could do to promote universal access to clean water is to lay down and enforce basic, transparent rules and then get out of the way!
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