"For every one of us, the first thing you use when you wake up in the morning is water, and when we are going to bed, it is water. Yet, it's taken for granted," said Chris Moseki, research manager at the Water Research Commission (WRC) in South Africa. International water experts and policymakers are concerned that planning for changes to water availability is not getting the prominence it deserves.
WRC is a member of the Global Water Partnership - a global alliance of organisations working on water issues. Access to water is an urgent issue in the Southern Africa region, where nearly 100 million people lack adequate access to water. Modelling by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) shows the region will become hotter and drier over the next 50 to 100 years, putting farms, industry, domestic water supply and natural ecosystems at risk.
"We are saying to the parties, look: We appreciate what you are doing in other sectors, but without addressing water directly, all of that will be in vain," African Ministers' Council on Water's (AMCOW's), Bai-Mass told News24. At this point, water issues are being discussed by treaty negotiators as part of wider planning, prioritising and implementing of adaptation to a changing climate. But experts believe that, unless climate negotiations address management of this essential commodity specifically, it will not receive the necessary attention and funding.
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