Resource Managament Flashcards
What is the significance of food on economic and social well-being?
- lack of food could cause malnourishment
- malnourishment can cause increase of catching disease
- can also lead to underperformance in school meaning a lack of skills needed for economic development
What is the significance of water on economic and social well-being?
- necessary to clean, drink, cook and wash
- without sanitation water sources can become polluted
- water borne diseases are common
- having to walk long distances for water mean less time working and less economic development
What is the significance of energy on economic and social well-being?
- need energy for industry and transport
- energy in industry allows a country to develop
- people may use other methods of fuel without electricity causing negative environmental impacts
- can be needed to power wells and water sanitation
- lack of energy means people can’t travel for increased QoL
How is the global supply and consumption of resources uneven?
Some counties don’t have there own energy reserves
Some countries don’t have a climate suitable for food production
Consumption of resources depends on a countries wealth and availability
Consumption is increasing in NEE - China
Consumption is low in LICs because they can’t afford to import of export there own resources
Outline the three major changes in food production in the UK
Seasonal food all year round
Growing carbon footprint
More industrialised farming
Explain the growing demand for food imports?
- growing demand for seasonal fruits and vegetables that must be imported out of season
- increasing demand for high value foods like exotic fruit,veg and spice
- organic produce is increasing popular and lots of it needs to be imported
Why is the uks carbon footprint going as a result of food?
Growing, processing and packaging produces co2
Transporting food also produces CO2
imported foods have a larger carbon footprint because they have more food miles
More people are becoming aware of this and buying locally
How is UK farming becoming more industrialised?
Agribusiness has been growing
Small farms are taken over by large firms
Amount of chemicals used are increasing
Number of workers are falling due to increase in machinery
Industrial farming focuses on cost and quantity not on the environment
Outline the 3 major changes to the UK water resource
Demand for water varies
Water pollution needs to be managed
Water transfers help maintain supplies
How is the demand for water in the uk changing?
The north has smaller population densities and Hugh rainfall
The south has high pop densities and low rainfall
This created areas of water deficit and water surplus
Increase in water used per household because of appliances
Population increase in already dense areas
Why does water pollution need to be managed?
Polluted water reduces the amount available to use
Quality of uk river water has been improving but fertilisers are being washed into riders and chemical and oil spills
Pollution is effecting groundwater supplies
Strats include improving drainage systems and imposing regulations
How do water transfers help maintain supplies?
Transfer water from areas of surplus to areas of deficit
But transfers of water can causes issues
Dams are expensive and can distrust wildlife
How has the uks energy mix changed?
Traditionally the uk relied of fossil fuels
Use of nuclear energy increased since 1990
Recently there has been a shit away from fossil fuels
Wind and bio energy are the biggest sources of uk energy
What are happening to the uks fossil fuel supplies?
North Sea oil and gas reserves are rapidly being used
Uk still has coal reserves but production has fallen hugely
How is exploiting energy source causes issues in the uk?
Encomic
- extracting fossil fuels is expensive
- cost to produce energy from renewable sources is relatively high
- money need3d for research into renewable enrgy
Environmental
- greenhouse gases from fossil fuels
- oil spills or chemical leaks damage environment
Power stations and wind farms are considered eye sores
Describe global pattern of water surplus and deficit?
North America, Europe and parts of Asia are in surplus
Oceania, South America and Africa suffer from water deficit
Areas with high rainfall are in surplus like the Amazon rainforest
What does water security mean?
Water security means having access to enough clean water to sustain well being, good health and economic development.
What is water stress?
Water stress takes into account the accessibility, quality and scarcity of water
What are the reasons for increasing water consumption?
Changes in lifestyle and eating habits increase water usage per head
Global demand for food is growing, water is used for growing and processing
All energy sources require water, global energy consumption is constantly increasing a result of economic development
Outline the factors effecting water availability
Climate
Geology
Pollution of supply
Over abstraction
Poverty
Limited infrastructure
How does climate effect water availability?
Regions with high rainfall rainfall have a surplus but those with drier climates have less water availability
How does pollution effect water availability?
Increasing amounts of waste and growing amount of chemicals have led to higher pollution. Some water sources are often used as open sewers leading to waterborne disease
How does poverty effect water availability?
Poorer communities lack mains water supply
How does limited infrastructure effect water availability?
Poorer countries lack infrastructure for transporting water
How does geology effect water availability?
Infiltration of water through permeable rock builds up ground water supplies
How does over abstraction effect water availability?
Pumping water out of ground faster than it’s replaced.
This can lower water tables and mean rivers aren’t fed by springs in the dry season
What is the impact of water insecurity?
Waterborne disease - little to no sanitation causes disease
Food production - agriculture uses 70% of water globally drier seasons cause impacts on food production
Industrial output - growth of manufacturing is increasing demand
Water conflict - water sources cross national and political borders
What is an example of how water insecurity has caused disease?
In the River Ganges - India
Over 1 billion litres of sewage enter each day.
Runoff of fertilisers in another source of pollution
Pollution has become so serious it has lead to diseases
What is an example of how food production can be effected by water insecurity?
In Egypt shortage of water is causing food insecurity. The Nile’s flow is expected to drop 90% and 80% of it is used for agriculture. Therefore Egypt has to import around 60% of their food
How is industrial output being effected by water insecurity?
Chinas industry uses 30% of available water . Water shortages mean some factories have to temporarily close and chinas industry relies on coal resources which use 20% of chinas water
How is water conflict impacted by water security?
The river Jordan flows through Jordan and Isreal. Isreal takes water from the Sea of Galilee. Palestine has no acces to water except depleting groundwater supplies so Isreal can control what water gets sent to Palestine causing conflicts
Outline the ways to increase water supply
Diverting supplies and increasing storage
Dams and reservoirs
Water transfers
desalination
How can diverting supplies and increasing storage increase water supply?
Water supplies can be artificially diverted and stored for use over long periods
Surface water evaporates really quickly
Water can be stored in aquifers underground
How can dams and reservoirs increase water supply?
Damns control water flow in rivers but storing water in reservoirs
Rack all can be collected and stored and released gradually
Dams can cause environmental and land issues
How can water transfer increase water supply?
Aim to redistribute water from areas of surplus to areas of deficit.
Often elaborate of canals and pipelines
How can desalination increase water supply?
Inolves removing salt from sea water,
Very expsinve as it requires lots of energy
Only used in areas where there are few alternatives such as in UAE
What is the name of an example of a large scale water transfer scheme?
Lesotho highland water project
What is the Lesotho highland water project?
Highland country in southern Africa
7 dams
1 HEP plant
200km of tunnels
What are the advantages of the Lesotho highland water project for Lesotho?
Provides 75% of its gdp
Income improves standard of living
Supplies HEP
Water will reach 90% of population
What are the advantages of the Lesotho highland water project for SA?
Provides water during low rainfall periods
Fresh water is rescuing acidity is reducing water pollution
What are the disadvantages of the Lesotho highland water project for Lesotho?
30k people were displaced for land
Destruction of wetland ecosystem
Corruption prevents money reaching those effected
Reduce agri land for 70 villages
What are the disadvantages of the Lesotho highland water project for SA?
Cost likely to reach 4 Billion
40% of water lost to leakage
Corruption plagued project
Increased water tarrifs are too high for the poor
What is sustainable water supply?
Sustainable approaches to managing water supply focus on careful management of resources and the need to reduce water waste and excessive demand.
Outline the ways of sustainable water supply
Water conservation
Groundwater management
Recycling
Grey water
How does water conservation help water supply?
Reducing leakages - 25% of global water is lost
Monitoring illegal connections
Improves awareness on need for water saving
Prevent pollution
How can groundwater management increase water supply?
Managing water stored underground to maintain quantity and quality
Balances water abstraction and water gain
How can water recycling increase water supply?
Reusing treated domestic or industrial waste water
Large quantities of recycled water are used for cooling in industry
Reuse for fish farming and agriculture
Nuclear power plants
How can using grey water increase water supply?
Grey water is taken from bathroom sinks, baths and showers.
It may contain traces of dirt and grease and cleaning products
But if used within 24hr contains valuable fertilisers for plants
What is the name of the example of a local scheme in an LIC?
Wakel River Basin Project
Where is the wakel river basin project?
In rajasthan india.
Driest and poorest part of India
Summer temps can reach 50 degrees
Rainfall less than 250mm per year
What are the issues that caused the wakel river basin project?
Water management is poor
Over abstraction from unregulated pumps have lowered water tables
What are the two main aims of the wakel river basin project?
Increase water supply and storage using appropriate local solutions
Raise awareness in local communities of the need for Effective water management.
What are the three ways of increasing water supply in the wakel river basin project?
Taankas - underground storage systems to collect surface water before evaporation.
Johed - small earth dams to capture rainwater to help raise water tables
Pats - irrigation channels to transfer water to the fields
How is the wakel river basin project increasing local awareness?
A cycle campaign was done to spread the message about water conservation
