Water Secuity Challenges In A Changing World Flashcards
Why is water a critical natural resource?
Water sustains life
All social and economic activities and ecosystems functions depend of water
Essential for humans- drinking sanitation, food production, washing, energy production, industry
Quantity & quality
“Water is the driving force of all nature”
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
On the origin and fate of water
All ecosystems on earth need an adequate supply of uncontaminated water to survive
An adequate supply of clean water is essential for human society and economy
Water Security
Having sufficient water to meet ecosystem and human health needs
The capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability
Where is water?
70% seawater
30% freshwater
0.3% of freshwater is usable
70% in ice and snow, 30% in groundwater, 0.3% in freshwater lakes and rivers
Water stressed
Don’t have enough water to meet needs
How is water distributed
Unevenly
Water isn’t necessary located where large populations are
What has reduced water availability
Economic development Societal change (daily showers)
Why do we worry about water security?
Forecast increases in food and energy production will continue to drive change
World food production needs to rise by 50% to meet increasing energy demands by 2030
Total world energy demands are predicted to increase by 50% but 2030
How is fresh water used?
70% used to irrigate agriculture
20% used for energy and industrial production
10% for domestic use
What impacts has food production had on water availability?
Lake Chad UNSECO world heritage, irrigates Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger has reduced in size over time
Case study- cash crops in Malawi
One of the poorest countries in the world
Population density highest in South African development
83% of population live in rural areas, 2/10 have access to a toilet
Moderate rainfall but mono-modal (6 months of the year no rain) and plateau regions (where people live) have less rain than mountains
Mean annual temperature is high-very high evaporation rates, evaporate-concentration of salts in surface water
25% of land used for agriculture, 12.5% occupied by large estates producing irrigation-subsided cash crops
Water resources over exploited and increasingly salinized (treat with salt) to support cash crop production for minority of producers
Not climate resistant- both food & water security are not assured
17% of population lack clean water, many have to walk 4-5 hours a day to fetch water from wells, compromising opportunities for education for women and children
Extracting more water not not using it in an efficient way
Developing counties use resources in proficient way without thinking of long-term consequences
How will climate change affect water security?
Water stress predicted to increase in response to climate change and population growth
Changing climate will also effect groundwater recharge, increasing water scarcity in vulnerable areas
Increased drought and increased risk of flooding
Water related natural disasters
90% of natural disasters are water related
2012- 184,000 Somalis fled due to water and food insecurity related to drought in the Horn of Africa
2 million people die every year due to water-related disease, inadequate water supply and sanitation
The state of freshwater ecosystems 2014- the living planet report
Freshwater species have declined more rapidly 76% the Marine terrestrial species 39%
Statistics based on trends in 3066 population of 757 mammal, bird, reptile, amphibians and fish species
Plant decline in freshwater is extensive globally, but not included in this analysis
Main threats to freshwater species- habitat loss, fragmentation, pollution and invasive species
Conservation efforts fail to take into account the water body within its wider catchment context
Traditional terrestrial protected-area models are not effective for the conservation of complex, interconnected freshwater ecosystems
Fish population is declining
Impact of water quality, biodiversity and ecosystem health
Human secure threat
Incident biodiversity threat
Earth has lost half of its wildlife in the past 40 years (WWF)
Life on earth is dying, thanks to one species
