In 1992 at the time of the Rio Summit, 75% of the natural resources harvested and mined from
the Earth were shipped, trucked, railroaded and flown to 2.5 percent of the earth's surface,
metropolitan areas. Eighty percent of the natural resources are converted into waste, which are
disposed of.1
When water is used as a transport medium and a sink to dispose of these wastes,
including excreta, it is virtually impossible to prevent toxicants, heavy metals, and other
contaminants from getting into rivers, ground water, lakes and coastal bodies even with state-ofthe-art
sewage treatment. In the process huge amounts of fresh water, up to 50,000 litres per
person per year, are contaminated and deemed unfit for other purposes.2
And more than 90%
of sewage in developing countries is discharged without any treatment