Topic: Ensuring Access to Potable Water
Country: Algeria
Delegate Name: Brandon Lee
School: Forest Hills Eastern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Algeria position papers GLIMUN 2016 committees
The subject matter of global water access may be the single most significant topic that will be discussed during this conference. Thirst – it is a pain worse than any disease, a threat greater than any weapon, and a plague that affects nearly a billion humans on this planet. Although previous efforts such as the Human Right Council Resolution (A/HRC/RES/18/1) of 2011 and Millennium Development Goal Seven established in 2002 have yielded great success,we must improve operational efficiency and international support. Due to impending climate change and growing populations that will exacerbate this global plight, with vigilance, we must consider multiple topics: improving water infrastructure, decreasing sources of contamination, and encouraging conservation.
Diminishing access to potable water is an ever-growing threat in Algeria. As of 2011, only 11.67 cubic kilometers of total renewable water resources exist amongst our borders, a number that is guaranteed to have dropped significantly within the past five years; we are a desperate country. To put these facts into perspective, Algeria has the 34th largest population on our planet, however, the amount of renewable water we possess is ranked at 135th.
In addition, low oil prices have put a burden on the government’s budget. Financial constraints can be blamed for the wasted water and unregulated exploitation. Thirty percent of the country’s general water supply is lost due to leaks in transportation systems. Water in the southern aquifers is being extracted at twice the rate it is replenished. The already low price of water does not encourage conservation and does not take into account water production, treatment, and maintenance costs. Unable to self-sustain the water systems, Algeria relies on foreign or private investments to maintain the country’s access to potable water.
In less than sixty years, our country’s annual per capita availability of water decreased from more than 1000 cubic meters, to 292 cubic meters. As global temperatures rise and rain falls less, Algeria’s and many other countries’ water supplies will diminish even further. Until oil prices begin to rise, our country will continue to rely on foreign aid to keep our citizens hydrated. The problems that Algiers face are not exclusive to our borders; excluding our citizens, over 700,000,000 humans still suffer from water deprivation. In a united partnership, we must work to support reliant countries. Together, we must promote water conservation through education, we must improve methods of transportation and access, and we must ensure safe potability. In today’s world, we may one day dispose of wars, corruption, and disease, but without international access to water, there will be no peace.
