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- World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has released a report titled ‘The High Cost of Cheap Water’ on the occasion of World Food Day.
- According to the report, the global water crisis threatens $58 trillion in economic value. It also threatens food security and sustainability.
- This amount is a first-ever yearly estimate of the economic value of water and freshwater ecosystems.
- As per the report, the amount is equivalent to 60% of global gross domestic product.
- The analysis has been done in collaboration with Dalberg Advisors, a strategy consulting firm.
- Water and freshwater ecosystems have both direct and indirect benefits.
- Direct economic benefits include water consumption for households, irrigated agriculture and industries.
- The direct economic benefits amount to a minimum of $7.5 trillion annually, as per the report.
- Unseen benefits are seven times higher at approximately $50 trillion annually.
- Unseen benefits include purifying water, enhancing soil health, storing carbon, and protecting communities from extreme floods and droughts.
- The report gives an example of Europe’s Danube basin. The Danube is the 2nd longest river of Europe, after the Volga.
- According to the report, unsustainable agricultural practices were among the primary threats to rivers and floodplains.
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