The world is not just facing a water crisis ¡ª it may already be bankrupt. That was the stark message delivered by Kaveh Madani, Director of the ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ Institute for Water, Environment and Health (²ÝÁñÊÓƵ-INWEH), during a lecture at IPB (Institut Pertanian Bogor) University as part of his official visit to Indonesia.
Mr. Madani¡¯s visit marked the launch of a collaboration between ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ-INWEH and Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI), Indonesia¡¯s public broadcaster. Under this partnership, RRI will serve as the Asia Pacific secretariat of the Global Media Academy, a platform developed by ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ-INWEH to bring water, environment, and health issues to the forefront of global media narratives. ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ-INWEH, headquartered in Canada, focuses on evidence-based policy research, capacity development, and advancing solutions to global water and sanitation challenges, particularly in support of developing countries.
In a lecture delivered to students and faculty members in Bogor, Mr. Madani urged the public to rethink how they speak about water-related challenges. He explained that over the past decades, human activity has steadily drained both surface water and groundwater reserves, often faster than nature can replenish them: ¡°Surface water is like a checking account meant for regular use, while groundwater functions as a savings account, one that should only be tapped above its replenishment level in emergencies,¡± he said. ¡°Yet today, many countries are living off this savings account without a plan to repay the debt.¡±
Written by
Kevin Surya Setiadi
UNDGC
Public Information, UN Information Centre (UNIC) Jakarta
kevin.setiadi@un.or.id
