Mumbai, the most densely-populated city in India with 13 million inhabitants in 2006, is currently facing a severe water crisis. The quantities of water available have reached a critical level, meaning the various uses of water resources have to be prioritised.

At the end of 2009, the 2030 Water Resources Group (McKinsey & Company, financial institutions, agricultural and industrial enterprises, experts, etc.) issued a report on the economic and social risks induced by possible water shortages on the 2030 timescale, and a number of recommendations to prevent them.

At the end of June, the evaluation commission of the World Water Council in Madrid announced its decision to select the city of Marseilles and France to host the 6th World Water Forum in 2012. In so doing, France and Marseilles will take over from Morocco (1997), the Netherlands (2000), Japan (2003), Mexico (2006) and Turkey (2009), where the previous forums were held.

The World Water Week was held on 16-22 August 2009 in Stockholm on the topic: “Responding to Global Changes: Accessing Water for the Common Good” and was attended by some 2,500 experts in water from more than 130 countries. The purpose of this annual event was to discuss the means required to develop access for all to drinking water and sanitation in the current context.

According to a report by the Asia Society, a group of experts based in New York, reduced access to drinking water in South and East Asia “will have a profound impact on security throughout the region”. The report, published on 17 April, is entitled “Asia’s Next Challenge: Securing the Region’s Water Future” and asserts that the situation will have a “cascading set of consequences” on this part of the Asian continent, including lower agricultural production, loss of livelihood security, an increase in migratory movements, and rising geopolitical and economic tensions.