Water intensity and projections for the future for water scarcity And CS - WATER CYCLE Flashcards
What are the 6 future projections of water scarcity
- If farmers in Kansas keep irrigating at present rates, 69 % of the Oglala aquifer will be gone in 50 years
- Compared to today. 5x as much land is likely to be under extreme drought by 2050
- By 2050, an estimated 1.8 million people will live in areas plagued by water scarcity, with 2/3 of the worlds population living in stressed regions
- Global middle class will surge from 1.8 million to 49 million by 2030 , this will result in a significant increase in freshwater consumption.
- If current usage trends don’t change, the world will only have 60% of water it need in 2030
- N.o of people living in river basins under severe water stress is projection to reach 3.9 million by 2030, totalling 40% of worlds population
What are the three causes of water intensity
- Pollution - water
- Agriculture - uses 70 % of worlds accessible freshwater and also for crops
- Population growth - human population has more than doubled through economic development and industrialisation
What are the two Impacts of water intensity
- Disappearing wetlands and providing a range of ecosystems services that benefit humanity, water infiltration, storm protection and food control
- Damaged ecosystems - natural landscapes lose out and lakes as they are salty due t ocean being exposed to excessive pollution and diverse water for irrigation and power generation, as the sea refracts it leaves polluted land. This creates food shortages and rise in infant mortality and decrease in life expectancy for population in the Arab sea in Central Asia.
What are the consequences and risks associated with water insecurity?
- Due to limited supply, price of clean water has increased and may increase globally in the future
- Agriculture consumes round 67% of all water consumption
- over 20% fo all extracted water is used in industries and for energy production
- For ex- Bolivia
Water insecurity risk CASE STUDY example
Bolivia
- Water price increased and doesn’t match people salary
- Glaceirs are disappearing nd people who live there have had to relocate to urban areas
- Population
- Water privatisation- private companies raised prices in 1999 o they cost 20% of average income and people protested, after 4 days contract cancelled.
What are 4 Factors of economic scarcity ( income, price of water etc)
- Demand for water
- Physical costs of obtaining supply
- Infrastructure
- Supplies
CASE STUDY EX- this is even in the Middle East where there is desalination so water is expensive
Structural adjustment programmes (2)
- IMF and WB ( International Monetary Fund and world bank)
Benefits of structural adjustment programmes
- Have 15 millenium goals
- this program was enforced in many countries and had conditions attached to comply with.
- Water organisation sgoing in a country are restrict=trying governance, water, agriculture etc
- can be beneficial for weak/ corrupt governance countries
A Criticism of structural adjustment programmes
- IMF and WB are interfering and causing dependency relations
Water is essential to all economic activity such as
- Agriculture
- Industry
- Domestic uses
Water poverty index
- As economic scarcity is a big problem, the water poverty index as implemented to motion progress and prioritise water needs in repsonse to UN melinium goals that address poverty and water and water access
- Can be applied nationally
The water poverty index is based on 5 components:
- Water resource ( physical availability and quality)
- Access to water ( distance from safe water )
- Handling capacity ( effective management, infrastructure and income )
- Use of water ( domestic, agriculture and industries)
- Environmental indicators
There max value is 20, for ex:
- Chile- highest water resources of 13.1 due to large access and used for suitable purposes
- Haiti - value of 6.1 due to low access and much of water not concentrated on population
