20 March 2018, Rome/Brasilia - Global water use has increased by a factor of six over the past century, twice the rate of population growth, and its scarcity is now a looming human challenge due to a host of factors ranging from climate change and pollution to lack of capacity and infrastructure.

FAO presented new research, done with Global Water Partnership and Oregon State University, USA, on the nexus between water and migration at a high-level panel at the forum. A key finding of the report is that more information on the dynamics of the migration-water linkage is needed for India, Central Asia, the Middle East and the Central Sahel – all areas that are expected to be among the earliest to face above-average surface temperature increases and intensifying water scarcity in the next 30 years.