By José Tadeu Arantes
As the population grows and urbanization and agro-industrial activity increase, the demand for freshwater is expected to rise by 55% by 2050. Experts project that this increase in demand will strongly impact a scenario already characterized by scarce and unequally distributed water resources, the privatization of an essential public asset, and deteriorating water quality, especially in developing countries.
Forced migration, social tensions, and military conflicts caused by the water deficit are making this situation even worse. This is not a possible future scenario, but something that is already happening now. From 1970 to 2000, there was a 10% increase in global migration related to water shortages.
According to a 2024 report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 2.2 billion people lacked access to safely managed drinking water at that time. Since 2022, approximately half of the world's population has experienced severe water scarcity for at least part of the year, and a quarter has faced "extremely high" levels of water stress.
In this context, the journal Frontiers in Water published a dossier entitled "Emerging Water Contaminants in Developing Countries: Detection, Monitoring, and Impact of Xenobiotics," which brings together five articles on the subject.
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