BEST WATER QUALITY COUNTRIES

Tanzania ranks 70th, South Africa 47th

Ansbert Ngurumo, Kyoto, Japan March 21,2003

TANZANIA ranks 70th among 122 selected countries world wide in terms of water quality, a report has indicated. South Africa is positioned at 47.

The report by UNESCO PRESS, a news service of the World Water Development Agency on water quality indicator values released in Kyoto at the 3rd World Water Forum shows Finland ranking first as Belgium ranks last in terms of low quantity and quality of groundwater combined with heavy industrial pollution and poor treatment of wastewater.

No African country is listed among the top ten, which chronologically include Finland, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Japan, Norway, Russian Federation, Republic of Korea, Sweden and France.

“The poor continue to be the worst affected with 50 percent of the population in developing countries exposed to polluted water sources,” says the report. Asian rivers are the most polluted in the world, with three times as many bacteria from human waste as the global average.

The last ten, from bottom-up, are Belgium, Morocco, India, Jordan, Sudan, Niger, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic and Rwanda. Zimbabwe is positioned at 58.

With regard to water availability per person per year, the report shows that Greenland holds number one as Kuwait becomes the poorest among 180 selected countries and territories worldwide.

The amount of water resource total renewable per capita in Greenland stands at 10,767,857 cubic metres per person per year, while in Kuwait it is only 10 cubic metres.

Tanzania holds the 124th position with 2,591 cubic metres of water resource per capita per person per year, far ahead of South Africa, which holds the 150th position with 1,154-m3/capita year.

No African country falls within the last ten in this regard. From bottom-up, the ten last are Kuwait (10), Gaza strip (52), United Arab Emirates (58), Bahamas (66), Qatar (94), Maldives (103), Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (113), Saudi Arabia (118) Malta and Singapore (149).

The top ten in this category include, chronologically, include Greenland (10,767,857), United States, Alaska (1,563,168), French Guiana (812,121), Iceland (609,319), Guyana (316,689), Suriname (292,566), Congo (275,679), Papua New Guinea (166,563), Gabon Islands (133,333) and Solomon Islands (100,000).

The report says that by the middle of this century, at worst seven billion people in 60 countries will be faced by water crisis, at best two billion in 48 countries, depending on factors like population growth and policy making. UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsura says:

“No region will be spared from the impact of this crisis which touches every facet of life, from the health of children to the ability of nations to secure food for the citizens. Water supplies are falling while the demand is dramatically growing at an unsustainable rate. Over the next 20 years, the average supply of water world wide per person is expected to drop by a third.”

Ends