World to face water shortage by 2025

ISTANBUL, Turkey, March 7 (UPI) -- More than 25,000 conservationists and international policy makers are preparing to meet in Istanbul this month to discuss world water challenges.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature says two-thirds of the world's population will face water shortages by 2025.

Policy makers at the World Water Forum must understand that investing in good water governance is critical for a sustainable water future, the group said.

"Climate change will be felt first and foremost through water, whether it be drought, floods, storms, ice melting or sea-level rise," Mark Smith, head of IUCN's Water Program, said Thursday in a release.

Smith said the world needs systems for governing water "based on a balance of policy, good water law and participatory institutions."