At Mexicothe water crisis The current situation demands an integral collaboration from all sectors of society, agreed experts from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
The need to have accurate technical diagnostics, financial investment and long term, as well as the adoption of new technologies and a civic awareness The water conservation measures are fundamental elements in view of the obvious challenges facing the country in this regard, they said in a press release issued by the UNAM.
We recommend: Water, a fundamental pillar of sustainable development and human rights: UN
Eduardo Vega LópezThe head of the University Coordination for Sustainability, emphasized that the water scarcity is increasingly evident in various regions and municipalities, as evidenced by historical rainfall records.
He also highlighted the rise in temperatures, noting that 2023 was the warmest year in decades.
Marisa Mazari HiriartThe coordinator of the University Seminar on Society, Environment and Institutions and a researcher at the National Laboratory of Sustainability Sciences, emphasized the importance of the natural ecosystems in water availability, warning about the consequences of actions such as deforestation.
We recommend: Exploitation of mega-basins, a sustainable solution to Mexico's water crisis?
He stressed that these ecosystems provide essential services such as water supply for human consumption and agricultural activities, as well as erosion control.
"They are basic type services that sustain the hydrological dynamics, that is, the water cycle and purification (which leads us to have water of a certain quality)," he said.
The researcher stressed that in the last five years the drought has worsened, so it is necessary to treat and reusing water since there are no more.
"More investment is needed and we need to understand that, with the inadequate use we make of water, we are turning a renewable resource into a non-renewable one," he said.
Fernando González Villarrealof the UNAM Water Network, enumerated the challenges facing the country:
- It is highly likely that Mexico will not meet the targets established in the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.
- Mexico has high levels of coverage, but intermittent water services.
- The country has low levels of wastewater treatment (less than 50%) and water bodies contaminated by more than 60%.
- The effects of climate change are intensifying with more hurricanes, droughts and a reduction of at least 10% of precipitation.
Scientists at the UNAM The participants expressed the urgent need for greater coordination between the environmental and health authorities for the implementation of new technologies for the wastewater treatment that guarantee their reuse.
We recommend: Organic treatment plants, a viable and affordable option for water reuse
The experts emphasized that urgent and coordinated action is needed to address the water crisis in Mexicofrom the conservation of natural resources to the improvement of infrastructures and public awareness.
Source: UNAM