The water crisis known in France in the summer of 2022 could become the norm or almost, if France does not radically review its management of water in all sectors, from energy agriculture, according to a note from the High Commission for Strategy and at the plan revealed Wednesday, June 25.
At the Horizon 2050, “Without inflection of current trends, 88 % of the hexagonal territory could be in a situation of moderate or severe tension in summer in terms of samples”provides for this report. Even by carrying out a breakdown policy, with a society “Sober in water in all sectors of activity”this proportion would only drop 64 %.
In any case, “Water use restrictions for agricultural, industrial or individual activities would then be likely on almost all of the territory, as in 2022”underlines the High Commission, summoning the memory of a memorable drought, marked by arranges of water restrictions in a mess.
At the time, “It was 86 % of the territory that was in tension” With more or less water-use restriction measures, recalled Clément Beaune, high-commissioner for strategy and plan, when presenting this report. “To put it simply, what we experienced in 2022 became a normal situation in 2050 with warming and tensions on the resource”he alerted.
“The tension relating to consumption (part of the samples which is not returned in the middle) could be strong in the Southwest and the Southeast, due to the large part of the water consumed, due in particular to the irrigation of the cultures”underlined the report.
To draw this observation, the institution, which had published in April 2024 a mapping of the samples and last January a study on the evolution of consumption, confronted this data by relying on a study led by the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE), explores 2, published last year, on the evolution of the availability of water resources.
Sobriety in all sectors
If France does not modify its practices in terms of water management or sticks to the latest measures that it implemented, in August, at the heart of summer, “We have almost 90 % of the largermen who are affected by a degradation of the water situation between 2020 and 2050”noted Hélène Arambourou, co -author of the note.
In the breakdown scenario, “This degradation of the water situation occurs in approximately half of the largermen”she added. Succeeding in containing this degradation goes through “A sobriety in all sectors and all human activities”.
In agriculture, for example, she evokes “Regulation” By the public authorities of the development of surfaces equipped with irrigation, or the development of agroecological practices which make it possible to better store water in the soil. For the residential, “The reuse of water on the scale of buildings” and, in the energy sector, “An 80 % decrease in nuclear production”.
Beyond uses, the alert report on the consequences: even in the event of wet spring-summer, “In almost half of the hexagon basins”mainly in the South West and the Southeast, “Environmental needs are not met at least a month of the year” to horizon 2050.
“In these territories, ecosystems could be in a situation of chronic stress, each year, by 2050, which could permanently observe their operation”warns the report, which advocates, to improve the resilience of ecosystems, to preserve and restore the environments “By diversification of habitats”.
