By 2030, Global water demand will be 40% greater than supply.
To share this message with the world,
I undertook one of the most challenging feats of my life
I ran 40 Marathons across 7 Deserts,
On 7 Continents in 7 weeks
for 1 reason:
to raise awareness of the global water crisis.
- THe Route -
Desert 1 - The tabernas, Spain.
Desert 2 - The arabian, jordan.
Desert 3 - The Antarctic, antarctica.
Desert 4 - The simpson, australia.
Desert 5 - The richtersveld, south africa .
Desert 6 - The atacama, chile.
Desert 7 - The mojave, USA.
Desert 1: The Tabernas desert in Spain
KEY WATER FACTS ON THE TABERNAS AND SPAIN
About 70% of Spain’s water
goes to agriculture, and much
of it is wasted through a combination of inefficient
irrigation systems and
water-thirsty crops unsuitable
for the arid climate.
An antiquated, leaky drainage system loses millions of litres of water a day throughout Spain. Within metres of the new
€130m headquarters of Agbar, which owns Aguas de Barcelona, the city's water utility,
one faulty system was reported
to be losing 800,000 litres a day.
Desert 2: The ARABIAN desert in JORDAN
KEY WATER FACTS about Jordan
Jordan is the third-driest
country in the world, and more than 600,000 Syrian refugees
are now living there alongside
their Jordanian neighbors.
Clean water was already scarce,
and now the limited resource
must serve a much larger population.
Jordan's water supply
is enough to sustain 4 million people. The population is
now 10 million.
Desert 3: The POLAR desert in antarctica
KEY WATER FACTS about antarctica
Scientists estimate there has been
as much as a 60% reduction in the volume of Antarctic Bottom Water – the cold dense water that drives global ocean currents.
Desert 4: The SIMPSON desert in AUSTRALIA
KEY WATER FACTS about australia
Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth, with the least amount of water in rivers, the lowest run-off and the smallest area of permanent wetlands of all the continents.
Agriculture uses 50-70% of the water consumed in Australia per annum and irrigation
uses 90% of that.
In recent years, Australia has exported as much as 430,000 tons of butter, cheese, and milk powder annually—the equivalent of shipping off 5.5 billion liters of valuable water. n 2005-06, for instance, cotton alone used as much as 20% of all the water in the Murray-Darling Basin.
Desert 5: The RICHTERSVELD SEMI-desert in SOUTH AFRICA
KEY WATER FACTS about south africa
South Africa is the 30th-driest nation on Earth, according to the government, which expects water demand to outstrip supply
as early as 2025.
South Africa is losing the
equivalent of 4.3 million
swimming pools of water
a year because of leaky pipes
Desert 6: The atacama desert in chile
KEY WATER FACTS about Chile
Tiny fishing communities that dot Chile's coastline, where the desert meets the sea suffer greatly from Chile's drought. People there
survive on around 8 litres of water each day, meaning showering isn't an option.
10% of avocadoes consumed in the US come from Chile. Over the last decade avocado production in Chile has increased over seven fold, despite the fact that avocado production is water intensive and Chile's central valley where they are grown is incredibly dry.
Desert 7: The mojave desert in The US
KEY WATER FACTS ABOUT THE USA
4 billion people face water
scarcity for at least one month
in the year, and 130 million
of these are in the US.
Farmers are making more money selling their water supply than planting food. The Metropolitan Water District will buy water off the farmers for $700 per acre-foot, more than double what it paid for the same water just five years ago