http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/09/01/international1550EDT0595.DTL
Monday, September 1,
2003
San Francisco Chronicle
WWF:
Protecting forests ensures water supplies for cities
JONATHAN FOWLER, Associated Press Writer
(09-01) 12:50 PDT GENEVA
(AP) --
Cities worldwide can
slash the cost of supplying clean, safe
drinking water simply by protecting and expanding nearby forests,
the World Wildlife Fund said Monday.
In a 112-page study,
the international conservation group looked
at 105 metropolises in rich and poor nations, including New York,
Tokyo, Barcelona, Rio de Janeiro and Bombay. It carried out the
research with the World Bank.
"A natural forest
plays a key role in filtering water," said
Dr. Chris Elliott, head of the forests program at WWF -- known
outside North America as the Worldwide Fund for Nature.
Woodlands act as buffers
against pollutants. By preventing
erosion, they stop sediment to which bacteria cling from
getting into rivers and streams.
Forests go hand in
hand with regular municipal water treatment
plants, said WWF. By "pre-filtering" water, they make
a plant's
job easier -- and cheaper.
It cited the experience
of New York City, which in 1997 decided
against building a new water filtration plant for $6-8 billion
plus up to $300-500 million a year in running costs.
New York authorities
decided instead to boost their protection
of woodlands in the Catskills and Delaware watersheds. The plan
is costing the city $1-1.5 billion over 10 years.
One of the best examples
is Melbourne, Australia, which draws
90 percent of its water from forested areas, the study said.
But the growth of cities
in many parts of the world is putting
pressure on forests, which often are destroyed to make farmland.
"For many cities,
time is running out," said David Cassells,
a World Bank forest expert. "Protecting forests around water
catchment areas is no longer a luxury but a necessity. When
they are gone, the costs of providing clean and safe drinking
water to urban areas will increase dramatically."
Already water related
illnesses -- including simple diarrhea
-- kill 5 million people each year, most of them in poor
countries, the report said. Over a billion people worldwide,
mainly poor city dwellers, still lack access to clean drinking
water or adequate sanitation. Many governments simply cannot
afford to build treatment plants, meaning forests are an
essential alternative.
Some countries already
protecting forests need to do more,
the report said.
Mount Kenya's forests,
for example, save Kenya more than
$20 million a year by protecting the water catchment area
of two of the country's main river systems. However,
illegal charcoal burning, logging and road construction
have hurt the quality of water going to the capital, Nairobi.
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On the Net:
WWF study, www.panda.org/downloads/freshwater/runningpurereport.pdf
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