Unless action is taken by 2030, "a business as usual scenario (suggested that) humanity's demand for water could outstrip supply by as much as 40 per cent," the Stockholm Declaration said.
"This would place water, energy and food security at risk, increase public health costs, constrain economic development, lead to social and geopolitical tensions and cause lasting environmental damage," the statement added.
The declaration was supported -- after a show of hands -- by participants at the international gathering of researchers, politicians, business leaders and representatives of international agencies.
Organizers said the declaration was aimed at influencing next year's United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, sometimes called Rio+20.
Targets listed in the declaration included to increase water efficiency in agriculture and energy production by 20 per cent by 2020, as well as decrease water pollution by one fifth by that year.
The week-long meeting in the Swedish capital was attended by about 2,500 particpants.
Solutions should especially target "the bottom billion," the poorest portion of the world's population, said Adeel Zafar, head of UN-Water that groups 28 United Nations agencies.
Anders Bertell of the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), co-host of the World Water Week, said that unless measures were taken "water shortages will constrain economic growth and inhibit food and energy production in many regions."
Other backers of the statement included the German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Conservation International and the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF).
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(c)2011 Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (Hamburg, Germany
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