They do not differentiate between the rich and the poor. Man made boundaries cannot restrict them. They cower not before the insolent might of guns or roses. They are the risks that face mankind at large – lurking in some unknown recess, perhaps even readying to shower their fire and brimstone on humanity even as we write this.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks 2013 which is just out, the top five risks facing mankind in terms of likelihood were:
- Severe income disparity (4.14 on a scale of 0 – 5 indicating high likelihood)
- Chronic fiscal imbalances (3.99)
- Rising Green House gas emissions (3.91)
- Water Supply Crises (3.85)
- Mismanagement of population ageing (3.83)
In terms of impact, the top five are:
- Major systematic financial failure (4.05)
- Water supply crisis (3.99)
- Chronic fiscal imbalances (3.97)
- Food shortage crisis (3.95)
- Diffusion of weapons of mass destruction (3.92)
A world still nursing its wounds sustained in the all pervading recessions whose shroud is still to lift naturally identifies the collapse of existing financial structures as a major threat is understandable. However, the fact that we are yet to address the queries raised by wanton emission and its effect on our fragile eco system is really something to be concerned about. A growing world population that is increasingly becoming urbanized is another treat as this migrating population will create a major impact on the world’s water supply. Not only will water be scarce for drinking and industrial uses but will also fall short of meeting the sewerage needs of the world at large.
An allied problem, will that be of providing food to this growing population. What has to be noted here is the fact that this population is charecterised by an aging multitude which I why the thinkers are rating mismanagement of an aging population higher than many a so-called conventional threat. Not only are our existing agricultural facilities bursting in their seams, but are also showing clear inabilities to meet the growing demands that are now being projected. Little wonder then that the threat from the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is lower in the rankings than food shortage.
Another threat that is pretty high in the list of 50 is that of bacteria and other killer microbes mutating to become resilient to our anti-biotic doses. Such developments are giving rise to the possibility of a breakout with chronic ailments attaining manic proportions.
I will fail in my duties if we do not broach the topic of wrong information going viral through the social media networking sites with negative fallouts of colossal magnitude. This is the equivalent of a digital wildfire that spreads in real time causing untold damage even before the “right” information can follow through with corrective actions. Sounds farfetched, but well within the ambits of possibility at least enough to be listed as a real threat by the apex think tank.
In a dynamic world order, it is natural that the threats it perceives against itself will also be changing. Otherwise, who would have thought that misinformation spreading through the social networks can be a real life threat as opposed to being a sci-fi fantasy even a few decades back? Or for that matter, threat from orbital debris from space, leave alone, that from carbon nanotubes?