Accessible freshwater comprises less than 1% of the world’s total water and is unevenly distributed around the world. In China for example, per capita freshwater resources are only about 28 percent of the global average, meaning two-thirds of Chinese cities are facing a shortage of water. Furthermore, over five billion people are expected to be living in cities by 2025; increased urbanisation results in the depletion of local groundwater resources, which in turn has serious environmental impacts. Many countries have additional supply constraints, including water quality degradation and limited resources for establishing advanced units for efficient fresh water production, such as desalination.

 

 

 

 

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