27.
Other indicators of the present situation have to dowith the depletion of natural resources. We
all know that it is not possible to sustain the present level of consumption in developed countries and
wealthier sectors of society, where the habit of wasting and discarding has reached unprecedented
levels. The exploitation of the planet has already exceeded acceptable limits and we still have not
solved the problemof poverty.
28.
Fresh drinkingwater is an issue of primary importance, since it is indispensable for human life
and for supporting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Sources of fresh water are necessary for health
care, agriculture and industry. Water supplies used to be relatively constant, but now in many places
demand exceeds the sustainable supply, with dramatic consequences in the short and long term. Large
cities dependent on significant supplies of water have experienced periods of shortage, and at critical
moments these have not always been administered with sufficient oversight and impartiality. Water
poverty especially affects Africa where large sectors of the population have no access to safe drinking
water or experience droughtswhich impede agricultural production. Some countries have areas rich in
waterwhileothers enduredrastic scarcity.
29.
One particularly serious problem is thequalityofwater available to thepoor. Everyday, unsafe
water results in many deaths and the spread of water-related diseases, including those caused by
microorganisms and chemical substances. Dysentery and cholera, linked to inadequate hygiene and
water supplies, are a significant cause of suffering and of infant mortality. Undergroundwater sources
in many places are threatened by the pollution produced in certain mining, farming and industrial
activities, especially in countries lacking adequate regulation or controls. It is not only a question of
industrial waste. Detergents and chemical products, commonly used in many places of the world,
continue topour intoour rivers, lakes and seas.
30.
Even as the quality of available water is constantly diminishing, in some places there is a
growing tendency, despite its scarcity, to privatize this resource, turning it into a commodity subject to
the laws of themarket. Yet
access to safe drinkable water is a basic and universal human right, since
it is essential tohuman survival and, as such, is a condition for the exerciseof other human rights
. Our
world has a grave social debt towards the poor who lack access to drinking water, because
they are
denied the right to a life consistent with their inalienable dignity
. This debt can be paid partly by an
increase in funding to provide cleanwater and sanitary services among the poor. But water continues to
