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Pope Francis appealed for better preservation of water at his weekly audience at the Vatican on Wednesday, as a major conference on the issue got underway in New York.
“I pray for a good result” from the UN meeting “and hope this important event will accelerate initiatives to help those who suffer from the shortage of water, this basic resource”, the 86-year-old pontiff said.
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“Water cannot be the object of waste or abuse, or a reason for wars, but must be preserved for the benefit of us and for future generations.”
Co-hosted by the governments of Tajikistan and the Netherlands, the UN Water Conference will gather some 6,500 participants, including around a hundred ministers and a dozen heads of state and government.
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In a report published ahead of its opening, the UN warned water is increasingly at risk around the world due to “vampiric overconsumption and overdevelopment”.
© Agence France-Presse
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