According to research, only 25% of adults consider water scarcity a current problem

The awareness on the part of Italians on the seriousness of the water scarcity problem is progressively growing, albeit with still low percentages: 25% among adults (+ 4% vs 2021) and 31% among young people (+ 15% vs 2021) believes that water scarcity is a current and generalized problem, while the data of those who believe that the availability of water is not a current problem is slowly decreasing (7% in 2022 vs 9% in 2021) or that it is a problem only in specific areas and at specific times of the year (68% in 2022 vs 70% in 2021). Also this year, on the occasion of World Water Day (22 March), established by the United Nations in 1992, Finish, in collaboration with Ipsos, has developed a study on habits, consumption, protection and waste of water in Italy. The research was conducted in January 2022 on a representative sample of over 1,000 respondents. The position of young people, according to the survey, sees a reduction of 20% compared to the previous year among those who consider water scarcity a problem localized in specific areas and times (53% in 2022 vs 73% in 2021). Finally, the perception of Italians remains stable with respect to the forecasts of the World Resource Institute, according to which Italy will be in a situation of high water stress by 2040, with 76% of the Italians interviewed who believe them to be true. Regarding this, the idea of ​​17% of young people remains worrying, according to which these forecasts are made only to spread fear among the population (since it drops to 12% in the case of adults). Very interesting indications emerge from the Ipsos per Finish research also in relation to the perceptions of consumption with respect to the water resource. In fact, Italians are among the most wasteful in Europe, with an average per capita consumption of 220 liters per day (source Istat), contrary to the European average of 165 liters (source ‘Management of water resources and assessment of water quality in the Mediterranean basin ‘). On this issue, Italians show that they have very little awareness: only 1 in 2 is in fact aware of the higher consumption compared to other European countries, with a figure fortunately growing gradually over the years (from 48% in 2019 to 54% of 2022). The growth of awareness on the issue by young people is also interesting, with + 8% compared to 2021 (54% in 2022 vs 46% in 2021). Expanding the analysis to the average consumption per family, the photograph is certainly not better: taking into account an average size of Italian families of 2.3 people per nucleus, the average daily consumption in Italy is about 500 liters, and this data it is recognized only by 3% of adult Italians (9% in the case of young people). Over 68% are in fact convinced that the average daily consumption per family is less than 100 liters. With regard to consumption, water is still the least controlled by Italians, with a trend in line with past years. In fact, while 40% of the interviewees state that they always check the consumption of electricity and 38% that of gas consumption, a limited 32% are concerned about water consumption. On the other hand, good news comes from the hopes and intentions of Italians in relation to the management of public resources. Although only a small minority of respondents (22%) are aware of what the NRP actually is and are confident in the correct allocation of the foreseen funds, 43% of them believe that the resources must be used for an increasingly efficient use of water resources. , second only to investments and research in renewable energy sources (57%).