GLOBAL CLEAN WATER SHORTAGE
Water covers 70 percent of the earth. However, only about three percent of that volume is fit for human consumption without the need for comprehensive purification processes. The bulk of the earth’s water supply is saline, and therefore, non-potable. The steps needed to obtain pure drinking water can be highly capital-intensive thus making clean water a luxury far out of the reach of people in impoverished regions of the world.
As the global population continues to increase, freshwater resources are beginning to diminish. Many regions around the world face the clear and present danger of water crisis as potable water reservoirs are declining around the world. The World Economic Forum (WEF) estimates that by the year 2030, demand for freshwater will exceed the available supply by as much as 40 percent. Thus, the WEF has identified water shortage as the single greatest crisis facing the globe today.
To this end, UNICEF spends over hundreds of millions of dollars per annum on water, sanitation, and hygiene-related (WaSH) humanitarian projects around the world. Despite the concerted efforts being made, more than 844 million people around the world still have no access to clean drinking water. Funds meant for aid, and relief projects are sometimes not efficiently utilized. Bureaucratic red tape continues to constitute a considerable bottleneck to the actualization of the aims and objectives of these projects. Rather than these funds being used for their intended purpose, they are diverted to maintain the organizational structure or embezzled outright.
THE WATERCOIN PROJECT
Blockchain, the technology behind cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum offers the possibility of improving upon the current efforts being made to solve the global water shortage. Centralized processes tend to be bogged down by transparency and security issues. Lack of trusted information flow showing how funds are being utilized disincentivizes donors from continuing to contribute to these worthy causes.
BANKEX has decided to apply blockchain technology to create a robust and comprehensive decentralized platform that restores transparency and ensures judicious use of charitable project funds. WaterCoin is a blockchain-based token that allows people from all over the world to donate money in support of clean water initiatives across the globe. WaterCoin is a utility token in the truest sense of the word meaning that it can only be used within the clean water initiative ecosystem.
During the pilot project, one WaterCoin costs only $0.02, the price of the drinking water from water pipes.
Each WaterCoin is redeemable for one liter of drinking water. At this phase, a $1 donation could provide 50 liters of clean drinking water, as the price of the water system and the service fee are not included in the final price.
