African ministers say share water to combat hunger

Projects like this have been in full swing for over 70 years in the United States and other countries. People MUST realize that water IS a limited resource - do to pollutants, bacteria, etc. - and is vital to all life. All our food and most other products we use require water. This is definitely one of the many overlooked features of our planet that we take for granted.

This precious resource may become increasingly scarce as we place more demands on fresh water supplies. To ensure future water supplies, we need to learn about water resources and be good stewards of them. Who knows...in certain regions war could even be fought over such a valuable and limited source of life.

And someone put the tag "non news" on this? Clearly some have no sense of what news is.

Yes mismanagement, overpopulation, pollution, and waste all go hand in hand in being the culprits in water scarcity as well which has affected crops which then in turn has led to more poverty... the effects of climate change such as drought and melting glaciers only seek to exacerbate this crisis. That is why any serious pacts to share water and truly get serious about conserving it (especially in agriculture where 70% is wasted because of old methods of irrigation) will go a long way in helping people adapt to these changes.

And not only to combat hunger, but to combat war. This is the most crucial environmental crisis facing Africa right now: water scarcity. It is such because it is bringing with it hunger, famine, malnutrition, drought, disease, and war. A scarcity of water combined with a scarcity of education and opportunity to help the people of Africa become self sufficient is at the crux of the wars they face as well. However, so many countries in Africa are being run by corruption in order to take their resources as in the case of Sudan, that it is hard to now comprehend a pact that will allow the people the self determination they need to survive.

In my view there is also too much interference from government agencies such as the World Bank and WTO that prevent access to food and keep prices high thus perpetuating the poverty of countries in Africa that rely solely on imports of food, much of it now genetically modified in an attempt to force this technology on farmers for profit.

There is no reason why farmers in Africa cannot have access to natural seeds that will grow their own food naturally for them to stimulate the economies of their countries, save for a concerted effort by world organizations and governments to control the production and access to food and water for profit. And this I fear will become more prevalent due to climate change as we are seeing glaciers in Africa melting as well at a more rapid pace than predicted, which also puts water resources for many in jeopardy.

To come to an amicable agreement among African states to share water for agricultual purposes in an efficient way (drip irrigation particularly) is definitely a step in the right direction. The fulfillment of that goal however, is what is unclear at the moment as we see so much of Africa in the throse of turmoil, war, and corruption. Water is the key to their sustainability and must be made accessible to the poor without cost in order to allow them to be able to feed themselves and live with dignity. Water can combat hunger, war, disease, and hopelessness. It must be the lynchpin to any plan to lift Africa into a sustainable future.