BRAZILIA, Brazil.- About 5 billion people will be threatened by water shortages if preventive actions are not taken, UN-Water alerts in a dossier on water resources presented on Monday in Brazilia at the eight World Water Forum.

“If we do nothing until 2050, some 5 billion people will live in areas with low access to this precious liquid,” UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said.

“We need new solutions for the management of water resources and to face the emerging challenges related to water security, caused by demographic growth and climate change,” the high officer stated.

In the view of Azoulay, “this is an important challenge we must all face together with a virtuous approach to prevent conflicts related to the vital liquid”.