Mina Guli, founder and CEO of Thirst, is a global leader, entrepreneur, adventurer, passionate and dedicated to improving the world. “My races are a call for peace to unite to save water. The water in which we must live in order to survive is depleted. We call it #RunningDry because we need to recognize the seriousness of the crisis we are facing, ”says Mina Guli in her address
Experts predict that by 2030 the demand for water will be 40% higher than the available resources of drinking water, and this is an "astronomical" deficit in size. Therefore, the World Economic Forum in 2019 rated water as the number one threat to the world community.
Water crisis 2019
Of all the water on the planet, less than 1 percent is available to people, animals and plants. The remaining sources are in remote places, in the oceans and glaciers. Water experts say that people use it 1% faster than nature can make up for. According to the World Economic Forum, since 2012, the water crisis has always been considered one of the threats with the greatest potential impact and likelihood. Of the 1, 000 most severe natural disasters that have occurred since 1990, 90 percent are water-related. This is due to the fact that extreme water and weather events increase both in frequency and in severity. As a result of climate change, floods and droughts will become stronger and more frequent in subsequent years.
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It is expected that the annual flood losses in Europe will increase five times by 2050 and up to 17 times by 2080. Poor water management in many countries contributes to “man-made natural disasters”, “large-scale forced migration” and “interstate conflicts”. Negative dynamics in the loss of diversity and the destruction of ecosystems continue, which is why populations of freshwater species have declined by 83% over the past fifty years, which is much more than on land or in the ocean.
Mankind has neglected water problems for a very long time and can no longer afford to ignore the role of planetary water management. Water is not only a means of subsistence, it is the basis of progress and development, it promotes cooperation between countries, since all people are in the same boat. That is why the active position of each person is important, which is shown to the whole world by a fragile woman from Australia.
Australian running for water
Thirst CEO, a lawyer by profession, Mina Guli uniquely raises awareness of the global water crisis. In 2010, she was named the Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, and is now engaged in training and informing the younger generation.
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Mina first became interested in the problems of the global water crisis at the WEF in 2011, becoming acquainted with the concept of “invisible water” - water, which is included in everything that a person uses, buys and consumes. In an effort to help resolve the crisis, she launched her educational project. Currently, over 2 million students in China have passed through it. 600, 000 students took part in innovation contests. To emphasize the threat of the global water crisis, in 2016 Mina completed 7 desert marathons - having run the equivalent of 40 marathons in 7 deserts on 7 continents in 7 weeks.
In 2017, Mina organized a six-track river marathon in support of UN Sustainable Development Goal 6. She passed 40 marathons in 40 days on the 6 greatest rivers of the world on 6 continents. More than 4 billion people got acquainted with Mina's reports on the results of the marathon. The World Economic Forum has named Mina a young global leader, one of Australia’s most influential women, and Fortune magazine is one of the 50 greatest leaders in the world.
In November 2018, Mina launched the #RunningDry campaign, in which she organized 100 marathons in 100 days under the slogan of water protection. She started with the New York marathon on November 4, 2018 and completed the 62nd marathon, after which she left the track on January 5, 2019 due to a fractured femur.
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Participating in marathons across continents, Mina made a real world picture of the water crisis, conducted many hours of interviews with local residents and produced many short films that spread through social networks around the world and became available to billions of people, raising awareness about the problem of caring for water.
Thirst Program
Much work to preserve and develop water resources in the fight against global challenges to humanity is carried out by Mina and her supporters on the basis of the Thirst program.
The program has three main initiatives:
- Educational. At the beginning, her team conducted a study that confirmed that more than 80% of respondents did not know or did not fully understand the magnitude and severity of the consequences of the water crisis. But as soon as they were informed, their behavior changed, and the information became “viral” on the Internet, quickly spreading through social networks. In 2012, the program covered 400, 000 graduates, and in 2019 it is projected to reach 1 million high school students.
- Competition of innovations, children are invited to find a technological solution to the problem with the water that they see around. Last year, the organization received 400, 000 applications.
- The third project is the Run for Water marathon.
The organization also works with companies to improve water efficiency or “suitability” through the supply chain.
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100 marathons in 100 days
The campaign began at the New York Marathon last November. The plan was to run a full marathon, breaking six continents. To organize the events, a team of medical workers, logistics specialists, as well as an operator and a photographer were staffed to capture water problems along the route.
The grueling schedule led the marathon team through Europe, to Uzbekistan and to India, where Mina was supposed to run the marathon right after landing at Delhi airport.
After the 25th marathon in India, the first health problem appeared, the scan showed a gap in the cartilage of her thigh. Now the marathons did not last for five hours, but twelve, due to frequent stops.
The team continued on their way through China to the Middle East, where Mina's pain subsided and she began to run again. But when they reached South Africa, pain appeared in her right leg. Scanning revealed a stress fracture of the right thigh.
Immediately after the diagnosis was announced, the team found out that the South African city of Beaufort West ran out of water. The next day, with a sore leg, Mina completed part of her marathon, delivering 5-liter bottles of water to local residents who were left without water.
#RunningDry Program Continues
The 62nd marathon was tragic. Mine was informed that if she continued to run or even walk, she would never again be able to take part in the marathon. She decided to continue the campaign - through her followers around the world, who committed themselves to make one kilometer and donate them to her, after which she “passed the baton” to her supporters who completed the marathons instead.
People around the world, from countries such as Africa, India and South America, have donated over 800 kilometers to the #RunningDry campaign, sharing tips on saving water. Mina’s injury was a challenging moment for her supporters. Two months later, Mina continued treatment, although she had already begun to move not in a wheelchair, but on crutches.
Interesting data about Mina's marathons:
- There are 858 marathons in total.
- Passed km - 36, 240.
- Passed countries - 50.
- The distance is equal to the distance from the North to the South Pole.
Aral Sea
As part of the 100 Marathon campaign, Mina visited the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan as an example of how people thoughtlessly used fresh water, suggesting that it would never end. Water from the two main rivers feeding the sea was directed to agriculture in the 1970s. What used to be the fourth largest inland sea in the world now has less than 10 percent of its former size. Thousands of local residents left, and those who stayed fight for jobs and suffer losses from constant dust storms.
Many Western experts believe that the disaster of the Aral Sea was caused by ill-conceived environmental policies in the USSR. But this is far from the case; similar crises also take place in the rich capitalist countries. For example, the problem of the Salton Sea Lake in the United States, with a dying ecosystem, is not only not stopped, but continues to worsen, despite the country's decent financial potential. No less significant is the crisis of Lake Urmia in Iran, where Muslim traditions are strong in relation to water and the country also has enough funds to solve the problem.
Mina Guli believes that the reason for these troubles is that countries care exclusively about economic benefits, and remember the environment - when nature begins to take revenge on the territories. At meetings with local authorities and residents of the city, she promised to promote the flashy situation with water use in the Aral Sea region on the UN international arena.
Problems of water use in Russia in 2019
Russia is rich in water resources, it was rightly called an “vessel with water” in ancient times, but the problems of water use in the country are enormous and M. Guli’s experience in solving problems “with the whole world” can be very useful. It is clear that the state has many special programs that are well funded, but without involving all water users in solving the problems, they will be ineffective.
The most serious water use problems in the country are:
- Non-compliance of drinking water with the requirements of state and international standards.
- Ineffective water treatment system.
- Unsatisfactory condition of engineering water supply systems.
- Low operational level of plumbing systems for housing and industrial facilities.
- The lack of a sufficiently developed storm sewage system.
- Low level of availability and implementation of projects for the preservation of water protection zones.
Given the real situation in the water use system, experts believe that at this stage it is urgent to stabilize the situation and stop the degradation process in the country's water ecosystems.
