Salty or sweet, water is life, comprising 70% of our planet and 60% of our body. Our oceans generate half of the planet’s oxygen and regulate weather patterns and temperatures. Freshwater sources provide us with the basis for the water we drink. And both they and sewage discharges (from domestic, commercial, agricultural, or industrial use, but also rainwater that carries debris or chemicals from the soil into waterways) flow into our rivers, lakes and finally oceans.
Safe drinking water and sanitation were recognized by the UN General Assembly as human rights in 2010. Last year, the UN recognized the human right to a clean and sustainable environment, which includes a healthy ocean.lreinforcing the links and highlighting the connections between saltwater and freshwater and depletion.
The connection between freshwater and saltwater is obvious: wastewater management and sanitation are indispensable to protecting the water in our oceans. However, the sad reality is that despite the economic dependence of 3 billion people worldwide on marine and coastal biodiversity, almost 80% of ocean pollution originates primarily through agricultural waste, plastics and, most importantly, sewage. not treated.
The connections between the two types of water should be easy, almost instinctive, but this does not always translate into the way our governments are organized, our strategies and public policies.
With that in mind, there are three areas where decision makers can reap huge benefits from taking a holistic approach to protecting all of our waters. The adoption of integrated public policies —that protect water and discharges from the source to the sea— has the potential to ensure the proper management of both freshwater and sewage, as well as the quality of ocean water, promote the health of populations, improve economies and promote climate resilience.
Protecting ecosystems, improving global health
Two billion people, or 1 in 4, do not have access to safe drinking water and nearly half of the world’s population (3.6 billion people) lack adequate sanitation, making this one of the biggest challenges we face as a society. In Brazil, almost 35 million (16.3%) do not have access to water and 100 million Brazilians (46%) to sewage collection.
Currently, around 1.8 billion people worldwide use sources of drinking water contaminated with faeces, increasing the risk of cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio. Coastal environments are an important location, but they can be exposed to heavy metals, parasites, viruses and bacteria present in untreated sewage.
Such pollution has a profound impact on public health and quality of life for all those living in marine and coastal areas. The simple act of swimming in polluted oceans is directly linked to more than 250 million cases of respiratory illness and gastroenteritis every year. In Brazil, more than 273,000 hospitalizations and 2,734 deaths were recorded due to waterborne diseases in 2019.
Investment both in safe drinking water and in combating ocean pollution will make it possible to achieve very significant gains in terms of public health.
Combating climate change
About 90% of the problems caused by climate change are related to water. In 2021 alone, we experience extreme rainfall in Europe and Asia, a polar vortex in North America and supercyclones in Africa. Last year Brazil suffered the worst drought in 91 years.
Solutions to the climate crisis are already widely known and available. The ocean moderates and influences our climate. Since the beginning of the industrial period, it has stored over 90% of the heat from human-caused climate change and a third of the world’s carbon emissions. Thus, their protection is essential to any climate action policy.
On the other hand, having increasing flood-resistant sewage systems that do not contaminate the oceans will increase safety, sustainability and jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while also improving our resilience to climate change.
Strengthening our economies
For every dollar invested in water and sanitation, there is a return of $4.3 in the form of reduced healthcare costs for individuals and society around the world. In addition, there is an estimated global gain of 1.5 percent of global GDP.
When we look at the ocean, its annual economic value is estimated at $2.5 trillion, equivalent to the seventh largest economy in the world. However, one-third of the total annual economic value of the oceans depends on healthy ocean ecosystems.
Unless properly managed, activities to generate economic growth and increase human well-being in one part of a basin can negatively affect ecosystem health, resilience and the potential for economic growth of areas downstream.
For example, marine sewage pollution degrades coastal ecosystems used for recreation, livelihoods, jobs and culture, and results in the closure of beaches and fishing activities.
The virtuous cycle of water
The water cycle is the backbone of our existence, a source of health, wealth and pleasure. In it, oceans, rivers and groundwater are intrinsically connected.
Talking about sewage, feces and urine is not the most pleasant conversation, but it is one we should have at the highest level of decision makers. We need our presidents, prime ministers and governments to openly discuss faecal waste management and its impact on our health and the health of our oceans, as well as not to keep different development issues in airtight compartments.
Only the integration of the human rights to water and sanitation, with the right to a healthy environment, will ensure the health of our oceans, and thus improve the health of populations and the economy, in addition to combating climate change. Our lives depend on it.
