Voluntary Cooperation Best Way to Decrease Consumption

A variety of events are being held across the country to highlight the importance of water on the occasion of the 12th anniversary of World Water Day Monday.

Too many people believe that water can be used without limit just like air. This naïve belief may be attributed to the fact that we pay the least amount for the use of tap water among the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

A year ago, the World Water Commission warned that as many as half of the world’s population would suffer from water shortages around 2025.

But as Korea is to lack 1.8 billion tons of water by 2011, we are much too near to the day when we may have to suffer hardships from a shortage of water.

``Water and Disasters’’ is the theme of this year’s Water Day. According to a recent report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Asia has been damaged most by floods above other natural disasters, while Africa and other continents have been most afflicted by drought and ensuing hunger.

Damage from natural calamities is considered as one of the prime factors undermining the development of a nation, as demonstrated by its taking account of the 13 percent level of the gross domestic product (GDP) in poor countries. Korea is no exception.

It is not the time to boast of our consumption of water with more than 2-6 times than that used in advanced countries.

The nation’s annual precipitation averages 1,283mm, reaching 1.3 times the world’s average. However, per capita precipitation is 12 percent level of the world’s average because of high population density.

Heavy snowfalls, as well as typhoons and floods, have become annual events hurting the daily life of the people and the economy.

Under such an unfavorable environment, both the government and the people should actively consider ways to efficiently manage and use water.

Water management policy should be focused on how to secure water resources on a stable basis, minimizing changes affecting ecology and the social and cultural environment.

Dam construction can be one option to solve both problems of water shortage and natural disasters. But the government also needs to listen to the environmentalists who claim it is not economical in consideration of soaring construction costs and the potential destruction of the environment.

The supply-oriented policy ought to be switched to a management-oriented one so as to reduce water leakages, to recycle used water and to improve the tap water charging system.

But what is most important is that everyone should cooperate in using water much less.