Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Despite Awareness, Water Is Still Being Wasted

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Jul 2 2012 (IPS) - Brazilians recognize that water is a limited resource, but they have yet to cultivate habits to preserve it, according to a survey conducted by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). While 82 percent of respondents said they knew that water will be scarce in the future, and 95 percent said they knew of ways to save water, 48 percent admitted they make no attempt to limit their water use, and 30 percent said they spend more than 10 minutes under the shower.

On the other hand, 81 percent of those interviewed said they were willing to cut back on their water consumption, and 58 percent approved of fees for water management. A totally of 2,002 respondents in 26 Brazilian states took part in the survey.

“People’s awareness of the problem and their behavior are out of sync. There is also little grasp of the bigger picture: for instance, only 1% of people recognize that deforestation aggravates the water problem,” Maria Cecilia Wey de Brito, president of WWF-Brazil, told Tierramérica.