water paper 3 Flashcards
5.6c climate change resulting from short term oscillations (ENSO cycles) & global warming increase uncertainty in the system; this causes concerns over the security over future water supplies.
future trends: scientists say hydrological cycle will intensify. drought has spread over last 30 years. determined by changes in sea temp and atmospheric circulations - this effects ENSO
concerns about disaster management and water planning due to more extreme weather events. however no definite link between this and climate warming.
Uncertainty arises because modern scientific research is unable to make confident forecasts about the future availability of water. But even if scientists were able to do this, there are other important unknowns to be taken into account e.g possible advances in water technology and factors related to the demand side, such as population growth and the rising tide of global development.
5.8c the potential for conflicts to occur between users within a country, and internationally over local and trans-boundary water sources (Nile or Mekong)
When the demand for water overtakes the available supply and there are key stakeholders desperate for that water= water wars.
The Nile = world’s longest river (6,700 km). 11 countries compete for its water. In 2017, 300 million people lived within the Nile basin and such is the rate of population growth that total is set to double by 2019. [eople will need the waters from Nile for domestic consumption and growing crops. The Nile is expected to generate HEP. Potential flash points have been dams and barrages built in Sudan and Ethiopia that deprive downstream Egypt of its fair share of Nile water.
Other shared rivers that could become battefields of water wars are the Jordan and the Tigris-Euphrates in the Middle-East, and the Indus and Ganges in the Indian subcontinent.
Conflicts ranging from minor disputes to wars can occur at any scale from local to international. At a local scale, key players are the water users (farmers, industrialists and households). Their views may differ from those of the planners, environmentalists and water providers. Internationally, the key players are those governments and users of trans-boundary water sources. In some cases, it may be necessary to call in the mediating services of UN agencies.
