Page 28 - IB November 2023

Water Security Water Security

WATER SHOCKS

IMPACT THE FOOD CHAIN

Farm irrigation. Photo: PIFON Facebook

By Kite Pareti that only 60% of the Pacific’s population has access to basic
drinking water sources, according to data collected through
“We often think of buckets for food security. But in the a joint monitoring program by two United Nations agencies—
Pacific, it means water security,” said Dave Hebblethwaite, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Health
the Pacific Community’s Water Security and Governance Organization.
Coordinator. “The Pacific has the world’s lowest levels of access to basic
To illustrate his point, Hebblethwaite joined other drinking water sources, and unfortunately, that number gets
stakeholders in water security at a virtual plenary session at worse when we look at access to basic sanitation facilities
last month’s Pacific Resilience Meeting at the Pacific Islands which is at 33% for the Pacific,” said Hebblethwaite.
Forum Secretariat in Fiji, holding a white plastic bucket in his “There’s a high number of Pacific communities that are
hand. resorting to the bush or the beach for their toilet facilities.
“All around the Pacific, this vessel is used by communities 13% of Pacific Islanders rely sometimes on the bush or the
who are [getting] water either from wells or rainwater beach to openly defecate, affecting not just the ones that do
harvesting, either in [peak] times or in times of emergencies.” it, but also those that live in communities where this is being
He noted the vessel was 15 litres in volume—the exact practised.
amount a person needs in one day for washing, cooking, Most of these numbers come from the Pacific’s rural and
bathing, and drinking. maritime communities and “the numbers are driven heavily
“This unit is not just relevant during times of disasters, but from people living in the bush in Papua New Guinea,” he
it is a unit used every day,” he said. added.
The shocking reality about water scarcity in the region is Another factor causing water scarcity is “less than a quarter

28 Islands Business, November 2023