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Unit 3 Water Conflicts > Summarising Water Conflicts > Flashcards

Summarising Water Conflicts Flashcards

1
Q

What is water conflict?

A

Water conflict is a term describing a conflict between countries, states, or groups over an access to water resources.

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2
Q

How does climate affect water supply?

A

Regions near the equator receive high levels of annual precipitation while some tropical areas suffer recurring drought.
Rainfall may also vary seasonally.
High mountains with snowpack hold vast reserves of water.

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3
Q

How do river systems affect water supply?

A

The world’s major rivers store large quantities of water and transfer it across continents.

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4
Q

How does geology affect water supply?

A

Where the rocks underlying a river basin are impermeable, water will remain on surface as runoff creating a high drainage density.
Permeable soils and rocks may allow water to pass into underground drainage systems.
Aquifers can store vast quantities of water underground.

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5
Q

What are three major uses of water?

A

Agriculture- particularly as we struggle to increase food supplies for a growing global population.
Industry- future rapid global rise driven by large scale industrialisation of India and China.
Domestic- smallest category of consumption however varies enormously from country to country.

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6
Q

What are some human impacts on water availability?

A

Sewage disposal in developing countries is expected to cause 135 million deaths by 2020 because of water borne diseases.
Chemical fertilisers used by farmers contaminate ground water/rivers.
Industrial waste disposal.
Big dams trap sediment- reduces floodplain fertility.

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7
Q

Problems with abstraction…

A

Worldwide, water is being extracted from aquifers faster than it is being replaced.
The removal of freshwater from aquifers in coastal locations can upset the natural balance of saline and fresh groundwater and lead to salt water incursion and salinisation of wells, boreholes and wetlands.

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8
Q

What is water insecurity?

A

Not having access to sufficient, safe water.

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9
Q

The problems of water insecurity are related to:

A

Availability- having a water supply and distribution network.
Access- freedom to use or income to buy water in a particular location.
Usage- entitlement to, and understanding of, water use and health issues.

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10
Q

What are the five parameters of the water poverty index.?

A

Resources- the quantity of surface and groundwater per person, and its quality.
Access- the time and distance involved in obtaining sufficient safe water.
Capacity- how well the community manages its water and health.
Use- how economically water is used in the home and by agriculture and industry.
Environment- ecological sustainability.

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11
Q

Explaining why precipitation varies…

A

Global atmospheric circulation- Hot air expands, rises and causes heavy rainfall and thunderstorms.
Proximity to the ocean- more evaporation
Occurrence of warm and cold ocean currents- Warmer current of your coast will mean wetter conditions as evaporation is more likely to occur
Prevailing wind patterns- wettest conditions will mean the prevailing wind is facing inland.
Altitude- Higher generally means wetter- because air is forced to rise up and as it cools it condenses.
Cyclical variations- El Nino

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12
Q

What human activity affect water availability?

A 
Global warming
Conflict and political reasons
Contamination/pollution 
Population growth: greater demand
Greater use in industry- development 
More water intensive processes 
Agriculture
Dams- increase and decrease supply
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13
Q

Citarum River, Indonesia- the world’s most polluted river?

A 
It is an important river because of three reasons: HEP, water farming and for the Indonesian people.
Industry (waste of 2000 factories)
Untreated sewage
Sediment
Domestic refuse from 9,000,000 people
Soil erosion from the river banks
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14
Q

Challenges with achieving Millennium development goals.

A

Money- whether countries have the resources and economic stability to provide them aid.
Distributing the water- decentralized, hard to reach rural and urban areas- urban areas- concentrated population, contamination.
Infrastructure
Growing population

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15
Q

How can we quantify water supply? Some definitions

A

Water Stress: The term used when annual supply of water per capita falls below 1,700m³.
Water Scarcity: When this figure drops below 1,000m³. There are two types of water scarcity:
Physical scarcity: When more than 75% of a country or region’s river flows are being used. There isn’t enough water.
Economic scarcity: When water is available locally to meet human needs but access is restricted due to costs. Water resources may be abundant relative to water use. There is water but people can’t afford it.

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16
Q

What are some impacts of global warming on water supply?

A

Increases in mean annual temperature lead to earlier snowmelt in mountain areas and this is causing increase in spring discharge in major river basins. This water will be lost to the oceans or evaporated.
Cyclones and monsoon events threaten water supply intermittently- but devastating when combined with frequent droughts.

17
Q

Water changes by 2025 with business as usual…

A

Water scarcity will reduce food production.
Consumption of water will rise by over 50%.
Household water use will increase by 70%.
Industrial water demand will increase in developing countries.

18
Q

Water changes by 2025 with water crisis…

A

Global water consumption will increase mostly for irrigation.
Worldwide, demand for domestic water will fall.
Demand for industrial water will increase by 33% over business as usual levels, yet output will remain the same

19
Q

Water changes by 2025 with sustainable water…

A

Global consumption and industrial water use will have to fal considerably.
Environmental flows could be increased dramatically.
Global rain fed crop yields could increase due to improvements in water harvesting and use of sustainable farming techniques.
Agricultural and household water prices will rise.

20
Q

Aral Sea Case Study

A

Located in between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in central Asia.
It’s a landlocked basin. The Aral Sea was once the world’s fourth largest inland saline body of water with an area of 68,000 km2.
1918-became part of the Soviet Union.
They saw potential for farmland in surrounding desert- and usd the two big rivers flowing into the sea, Amu Darya and Syr Darya- main crop = cotton.
Over abstraction of the rivers feeding into the Aral Sea means the depletion of the water.
The remaining water is still evaporating which has increased the salinity of the sea as the salt is left behind.

Impacts:

  • Stagnant water- cancer & disease
  • Lack of freshwater
  • Weak immune systems
  • Lack of crop growth- impoverishment

Work is being done to restore in part the North Aral Sea by building a dam wall to hold the water in place.

21
Q

Water Conflicts in the Middle East: Israel

A 
This part of the Middle East has low seasonal rainfall and a growing population. 
Water is derived from:
•The River Jordan and The Sea of Galilee
•Three important aquifers –
The Coastal Aquifer
The Mountain Aquifers
The Gaza Aquifer.

Issues:
Overconsumption
Growing Population
Degradation of existing water supplies- saltwater incursion
Border disputes- Shifting borders- who owns the water?

Conflict:
Shifting borders have not helped. Many Palestinians live in areas that were once Israel occupied. However Israel still claims that water as their own.
The Israelis fear that the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza strip will use too much water and that this will cause salt water to seep into the aquifer and cause contamination of water supplies.
The Palestinians think that Israel’s high demand for water leaves them with too little.
Allegations that the Israeli army have demolished Palestinian reservoirs.

A wall separates Palestinian controlled territories and Israeli controlled territories.

22
Q

How does Israel tackle its water issues?

A

Expansion of territories?
Recycling of sewage and use of desalination
Long standing plan of importing water from Turkey- giant ships importing gallons of fresh-water across the Eastern Mediterranean.
Transboundary conflicts between Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Israel- rivers flowing through all: River Tigris and Euphrates.
A combination of water transfer and desalination
Red Sea -> Dead Sea

23
Q

The Colorado River Case Study

A

The basin of the Colorado river is the most heavily used source or irrigation water in the USA.

Colorado Compact 1922, allocated the water rights between the seven different states.
Under this, the ‘Law of the River’ divided the river into the Upper and Lower Basin with the Upper having responsibility to supply the Lower Basin states.

Now there is a ‘giant plumbing system’, with more than 10 major dams to give water to over 30 million people

Stakeholders:
Farmers
City dwellers
Environmentalists and recreationalists
Indigenous groups
Mexican people
US federal government
24
Q

Millennium Development Goals:

Number 7

A

Number 7 Is intended to ensure environmental sustainability and includes the aim to ‘reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water’.

25
Q

Since 1930…

A

The total amount of water demand has increased by 9x since 1930. All the individual sectors have gone up as well.

26
Q

The richer the country, the cheaper the water.
The PORE pay MORE.
Why is this?

A

This is because there is a formal supply of water in rich countries (public utility).
and an informal supply of water in poor countries.
In rural areas in poorer parts of the world you are even less likely to have a piped water supply.
Rural areas: cost of infrastructure, economic viability.

27
Q

Development affects access to water.

Access to water affects development.

A

Farming- not enough water- can’t grow crops- poor income- poor diet.
Health issues due to water borne diseases- income affected as you need to buy medication etc.
No inward investment- unattractive for investment
Limits industrial production.
Education levels affected- children have to instead fetch water.

28
Q

Cholera

A

The cholera bacterium is usually found in water or food sources that have been contaminated by feaces from a person infected with cholera. Cholera is most likely to be found and spread in places with inadequate water treatment, poor sanitation, and inadequate hygiene.
This can be remedied by using soap, saline solutions, chlorine and boiling the water to make it safe.

29
Q

The Three Gorges Project

A

Yangtze River and is the world’s largest hydroelectric scheme

Benefits
- 18,000MW of electricity generated
- Will supply water to the region responsible
for 22% of China’s GDP
- Flood protection will save lives and cut
financial losses
- Navigational improvements could open up
China’s interior to development

Costs
- Dammed waters will down 100,000 hectares
- 1.9 million people will be displaced
- Pollution increases as abandoned mines and
factories are flooded
- Dam failure, earthquakes and heavy rain could
cause serious issues
- Ecological impacts on fishing and habitats

30
Q

Tensions between India and Bangladesh

A

1974- India opened the huge Farakka Barrage- 11km from Bangladeshi border
Series of Dams divert water into irrigation systems of many of India’s largest cities
Used to carry wastewater
1990- agreement signed about sharing the waters of the Ganges

Impact of India of the Brahmaputra on Bangladesh
Fish stocks
Reduction flow
Trade harder- water level low
Delta eroding
31
Q

The Snowy Mountains scheme

A

The Snowy Mountains scheme in the Kosciuszko National Park- Australia
The scheme collects and diverts water so that it can be used by the power station to create electricity

Negatives
Destroyed wildlife habitats
Some places have fallen to only 1% of its original discharge
Conflict between farmers and city dwellers
Record droughts in Australia in recent years triggered by El Nino events have used up the water allocations of Snowy Mountains Scheme

32
Q

Case Study: Factors affecting California’s water supply

A

Geographical Controls on water supply:

  • Mountain chains run parallel to the coast and prevent moist air reaching inland
  • High pressure systems over the Pacific ocean block moist air currents reaching southern California

Threats: Precipitation

  • Much of California is arid with annual average precipitation of between 200-500mm
  • 65% of precipitation is lost through Evapotranspiration, 13% flows out to sea = only 22% for human use
  • 50% of the rain falls between November and March = seasonal shortages

Threats: Population
- Has grown from 2 million people in 1900 to 37.7 million in 2007

33
Q

India

A
  • 4% of the world’s freshwater but 16% of the population
  • Demand will exceed supply by 2020
  • Water tables are falling rapidly as 21 million wells are used
34
Q

China

A
  • 8% of the world’s freshwater but 22% of the population
  • 2/3rds of cities do not have enough water all year round
  • Stress levels expected to occur by 2030
  • Annual population growth rate is about 2.5% in Beijing
  • Water table has been lowered in some areas by 40m
35
Q

Development contrasts: Canada vs. Ethiopia

CANADA

A

 Each household uses 800 litres per person
per day
 Water used for lawns, parks and swimming
pools
 Issues of rising water bills and leakages
 Water poverty index = 78
 Water use agricultural = 12%
 Water use industrial = 69%
 Water use domestic = 20%
 GNI ($ per person) = 33,170
 Population in 2000 (millions) = 30

36
Q

Development contrasts: Canada vs. Ethiopia

ETHIOPIA

A 
 Each person uses 1 litre per day
 Water is fetched daily from a shared
source
 Issues of water shortages, pollution and
risk of disease
 Water poverty index = 45
 Water use agricultural = 93%
 Water use industrial = 6%
 Water use domestic = 1%
 GNI ($ per person) = 170
 Population in 2000 (millions) = 62.9
37
Q

Case Study: China’s South-North Transfer Project

A

Project began in 2003 and involves building 3 canals to run across the eastern, middle and western parts of China and link the country’s 4 main rivers.

Benefits:
- Transfer 44.8 billion m3 per year
- Central government to pay 60% of the cost
- Water conservation, improved irrigation,
pollution treatment and environmental project
- Will supply big cities like Beijing

Costs:
- Significant ecological and environmental
impacts along the waterways
- Resettlement of people will be needed
- Declining water quality
- Will cost $62 billion
- Will take 50 years to complete
38
Q

Technology can help increase both water supply and access. Examples include:

A
  • Desalination – provides 70% of Saudi Arabia’s water but it is the most expensive option for
    water supply due to its energy use
  • Towing flexible polypropylene bags will with freshwater has been propose e.g. Kielder to Essex
  • USA uses reverse osmosis membrane technology to filter salt from brackish water
39
Q

In developing countries ore intermediate technology is more appropriate:

A
  • Water collection e.g. catching rainwater or building small dams
  • Wells built by NGOs e.g. Water Aid
  • Using plastic or glass bottles filled with contaminated water exposed to the sun for 6 hours
    destroys micro-organisms

Unit 3 Water Conflicts (19 decks)

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