2.8 Planets Needed by 2050 to Meet Growing Global Demand for Resources (Report)

Rabat, 28/11/2016 (MAP) – Nearly 2.8 planets will be needed by 2050 to meet the growing global demand for resources, according to a report published recently by the Royal Institute of Strategic Studies (IRES).

Between 2010 and 2030, the global demand would grow by 33% for energy, 30 % for food and 41 % for water, the report entitled “Panorama of Morocco in the world: the global challenges of biosphere” pointed out.

The prospects for the ecological footprint development by 2050 indicates a 55% increase in global water demand due to population growth and intensification of human activities, the report says, adding that the decline of water volume could reach 66%.

These prospects also represent a 10% loss of global biodiversity compared to 2014, particularly in Asia, Europe and Central Africa, as well as a decrease of 289 million hectares of tropical forest area, the equivalent of the surface of India, the report notes.

According to this document, half of irrigated land will lose its productivity due to salinization by 2025, while water and land availability will be insufficient to feed the world’s population by 2030.