UN Environment : The answer is in nature
Our planet has an artfully designed solution to the global water crisis : Trees
Decades of poor management, pollution and overconsumption have thrown our water systems out of balance. While 70% of the Earth is covered in water, only 3% of that is freshwater. At the current rate of water use, by 2050, more than half of the world’s population will be at risk of water shortages. But our planet has a solution to the global water crisis: Trees.
What do people and trees have in common?
They’re complex life systems, engineered by nature. Both are highly dependent on water to survive, and each is ultimately reliant on the other for secure access to life-sustaining H2O.
Nature’s technology
Our blue planet is running out of freshwater, the life force that sustains us all. While 70 percent of the Earth is covered in water, only 3 percent of that is freshwater. And humans are consuming water at a rate faster than nature’s ability to replenish it.
Our planet already has specially designed ecosystems to heal itself. The answer to our water challenges lies in nature’s technology, especially in its forests and trees.
To highlight this, UNDP reached out to Earth imaging company Planet for visuals that reveal the scale of the peril and highlight nature-based solutions to this global challenge.
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