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The challenge in meeting people's
demand for water is partly down to the resource's finite nature.
Underground reserves of water — known
as groundwater — have proven particularly important for farming in arid regions
and also for providing drinking water to many of the world's largest
cities. But, in many places, including India and China, the water is
being withdrawn faster than it is naturally replenished.
Agriculture accounts for 70 per cent
of global water use, and industry for 22 per cent — both are constantly
growing in water demand.
Water scarcity is also affected by the
terminology we use: for example irrigation is considered efficient even if 85
per cent of the water evaporates without reaching the crops.
Water as a commodity is difficult to
manage because its values vary locally, and it is not evenly distributed:
"China and India, with over a third of the world's population between
them, have less than ten per cent of [the world's] water."
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