Welcome to the first in our series of ten big investment themes. Water. We can live for weeks without food, but only days without water. And although nations have fought wars in the past few decades over oil, it's likely that in the subsequent few decades, we'll see wars over water.
The Big Fact:
The World Health Organisation says that 1.1bn people lack access to safe drinking water, while an even more staggering 2.6bn lack adequate sanitation. According to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon there's a rising risk of wars over fresh water, as populations increase and the world gets drier. Half of all hospital beds in the world are filled with people suffering from water-related diseases.