Every large city needs a constant supply of fresh water to satisfy its
citizens; Beijing is no different. Beijing, which recently hosted the Olympic
and Para-Olympic Games, is a city of approximately 16 million people and growing
rapidly; current projections estimate that by 2010 there will be over 17 million
residents. While normally news about a city expanding is met with enthusiasm,
Beijing’s water supply can only support about 14 million. Complicating the matter is
the fact that Beijing is in the dry north and the surrounding province of Hebei has
been locked in a drought since 1999; since that time, the region has only received
about 75 percent of the anticipated precipitation.
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The third edition of the United Nations World Water Development
Report (WWDR) was presented at the World Water Forum in Istanbul,
Turkey on March 16, 2009. Taking a more in-depth approach than the
two previous reports, the WWDR focuses on four major elements: the
drivers of change, the use of water for humans and for ecosystems,
the state of the water in the world, and options for responding to a changing
world.
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