5.8 Flashcards
What is the price of water determined by?
- physical cost of obtaining supply
- degree of demand for water
- infrastructure
- who supplies the water E.g. Bolivia privatised water in 1999 where prices rose overnight to over 20% of the average income, riots
What is the cost for 50L of water in UK in comparison to Cambodia?
UK- $0.10 this is 0.1% of daily income
Cambodia- $2.48 this is 108% of daily income
What is the water poverty index?
- assessment of the degree of water shortage
- scores linked between water poverty index and income, GNI
- Canada highest score
- Haiti lowest score
What does the index consider?
amount of water available, access to water, capacity, use of water and environment
What are the 4 main impacts of water insecurity?
lack of access
lack of availability
lack of sanitation
poor infrastructure
How can water use be shown to be unsustainable?
- 75% UKs water for energy
- Food production will require 140% more by 2050
What is a weir?
Example how links to insecurity
weir- a low dam across a river which raises the level
E.g. Denton Holme, Carlisle
-> used to be for industry, HEP
-> reduces water meaning impacts downstream
-> Solway firth suffers, less vegetation, fish and animals
How does water conflicts impact insecurity upstream and downstream?
- Dams and diversion schemes upstream built to meet demand but impacts downstream
- 263 rivers cross political borders, become tense as water stress and scarcity begins
What’s an example of a violent conflict due to water?
Turkey conflict with Syria and Iraq:
- Involves Tigris and Euphrates rivers
- over 140 HEP plants in turkey impact downstream
- Syria and Iraq experience civil wars and Islamic state militants threaten turkey with terrorists
Case studies on water conflicts impacting downstream…
Mekong river:
- China built hydroelectric dams impacting Mekong downstream, fishing villages lose out
- lack of monsoon rain due to climate change
Aral sea:
- located in Kazakhstan
- land locked country
- diverted to irrigate plantations by soviet union
- since 1960s over 90% disappeared
- huge loss of industry/fishing, people moved away
