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CRISIS AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
ASSIGNMENT
SUBMITTED TO: DR MANSOOR SHAHAB
SUBJECT: WATER CRISIS OF THE WORLD
DATE: DEC 2, 2011
SUBMITTED BY: NAUMAN, SAAD, ADNAN
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WATER CRISIS OF THE WORLD
INTRODUCTION: The watercoming out of your kitchen tap is four billion
years old and might well have been sipped by a Tyrannosaurus rex. Rather
than only three states of waterliquid, ice, and vaporthere is a fourth,
molecular water, fused into rock 400 miles deep in the Earth, and thats
where most of the planets water is found. Unlike most precious resources,
water cannot be used up; it can always be made clean enough again to
drinkindeed, water can be made so clean that its toxic. Water is the most
vital substance in our lives but also more amazing and mysterious than we
appreciate. As water runs our world in a host of awe-inspiring ways, yet wetake it completely for granted. But the era of easy water is over.
Water scarcity is a headline favourite of the doom-mongers, in company with
peak oil, overpopulation, climate chaos and war. It might be more
constructive to regurgitate these existential fears into political resolve to
protect the water cycle on which we all depend. If governments can observe
principles of freshwater sustainability and equitable distribution, then there
is more than sufficient knowledge, technology, and water itself, to meet our
needs.
Freshwater has been the constant and essential companion of homo sapiens
throughout our history. In modern times, we have risked even greater
dependence by adopting means of wealth creation characterised by
gargantuan thirst.
Industry accounts for 22% of freshwater use, the largest share of which is
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consumed by the energy sector. Water is used in great quantities for cooling
in thermal and nuclear power generation, as well as in the extraction of coal
and oil. Protests against new fossil fuel technologies such as gas
fracking and oil sands are inspired in part by fears of wastage and pollution
of water.
Although the relative needs of agriculture vary widely from just 3% in the
UK to 83% in India this sector currently accounts for the largest global
share of freshwater at about 70%. The dynamic expansion of food
production in Asia over the last 40 years often described as the green
revolution- has been achieved through modern farming methods which
require high input of water.
Households consume the remaining small share of
8% but demand the highest quality standards for
safe drinking. Despite considerable humanitarian
endeavour over the last three decades, almost 900
million people continue to lack access to safe
water.
The close dependence of industry and agriculture on freshwaterensures that
any scarcity is likely to impose upward pressure on food and energy prices.
This is the scenario that strikes fear into political leaders struggling to
restore economic health. Prudent stewardship of the water cycle isnevertheless a virtue honoured more in the breach than in the observance.
News headlines provide constant reminders of this failing. The drought in the
Horn of Africa demands emergency food aid for over 12 million people and
has led to the first UN declaration of famine in over 20 years.
Water Cycle
Our planet is a miserly distributor of freshwater. Most water is rendereduseless to humanity by dilution with salt in the ocean. Only 2.5% is available
as freshwater, of which two thirds is locked up in ice and snow.
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The water cycle is driven by evaporation from land
and sea, condensing into clouds which have the
potential for precipitation as rain. Again, nature is
unkind in depositing almost 80% of rain over the
sea.
Of the rain that falls over land, only 40% finds its
way as blue water into aquifers, lakes and rivers
which are accessible supply sources. The green
water balance is absorbed by the land, of great
potential value to agriculture but notoriously fickle for that purpose in
volume, timing, intensity and location.
Thanks to this natural cycle, water is a renewable source of energy and life.
However, unlike other renewable resources such as sun, wind and tide,
freshwater is not plentiful. It is a finite resource.
The current global per capita availability of freshwater from rivers, lakes,
aquifers and rainfall averages a potentially healthy 6,000 cubic metres per
annum. Availability of 1,000 cubic metres per annum within a country or
region is regarded as sufficient to meet the needs of households, agriculture,
industry - and to sustain local ecosystems.
A state of water scarcity exists below that threshold. Below 1,700 cubic
metres, short term periods of "water stress" may be experienced.
Average annual consumption in the US is just under 3,000 cubic metres; in
Syria and Jordan, availability is falling towards 500 cubic metres; in Yemen
the figure is now below 200.
Freshwater is very unevenly distributed and scarcity is normally assessed
within regions or individual river basins. Water security, the inverse of
scarcity, implies consistent and affordable access to unpolluted freshwater
for all categories of user.
Causes of Water Scarcity
Unsustainable extraction of freshwater and other human interference with
Kuang Xi Waterfall, Laos
Yip Seng Leong
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the water cycle are the immediate causes of water scarcity within a river
basin.
Over-extraction has its most straightforward
manifestation in the level of aquifers, underground
reserves charged by the passage of water through
soil and rocks. If withdrawals exceed the natural
rate of recharge, the level of an aquifer will fall,
eventually drying up altogether. In parts of India,
the water table is believed to have fallen more
than 300 metres.
Human intervention which degrades the quantity
and quality of the natural supply of freshwater
occurs in three principal ways.
Firstly, there are 48,000 large dams in place around the world, with many
more under construction. Dams alter the natural flow of a river, often
improving water and energy security for some, at the expense of others.
Secondly, soil moisture is lost in land degradation that results from poor
farming practices and deforestation. And thirdly, surface waters are polluted
by run-off of chemicals used in farming and by untreated industrial and
household wastewater in cities. This is an acute problem in less developedcountries where environmental and sanitation regulations remain
inadequate.
In many countries of sub-Saharan Africa, there is an additional category of
economic water scarcity which is caused by too little human intervention.
This occurs when natural supplies are sufficient to meet demand but fail to
reach users due to shortcomings in distribution or storage infrastructure.
Environmental Limits
Disruption of the water cycle has potentially serious environmental side
effects. Cities are known to be sinking as aquifers become empty. This factor
was one cause of the serious flooding in Bangkok towards the end of 2011.
In coastal regions, depleted aquifers increase the risk of saline intrusion.
Sahito Banbhro
tubewell, Pakistan
SAFWCO
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Agro-chemical pollution through run-off of nitrates and phosphates
causes eutrophication, the excessive growth of algae whose eventual
decomposition removes oxygen from the water, killing the aquatic
ecosystem.
A combination of dams, drought and over-extraction can restrict the
environmental flow of the river to the extent that it fails to complete its
normal journey to the sea.
A quarter of the worlds rivers suffer this fate.
Important examples include the Yellow River in
China and the Murray-Darling River in Australia.
The rich ecosystem of the deltas are at risk.
Global freshwater use is listed as one of nine
planetary boundaries in the influential 2009 study
published by the Stockholm Resilience Centre.
These can trigger abrupt system state change
when critical thresholds have been crossed, warns
the report.
An example might be Lake Chad. Misguided governance of the natural cycle
of the Lake led to its area of water collapsing by 90% in the space of 30
years, affecting 20 million people.
Future Demand
The underlying drivers for continued strong demand for freshwater are
population growth and rising incomes.
Murray-Darling River,
Australia/Neil Saunders
Flickr
Precious water resource,
Morocco Curt
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World population is projected to grow from 7.0
billion to 9.3 billion by 2050. Rising living
standards will demand higher volume of household
water use, together with richer diets and more consumer goods. All of these
changes drive water consumption.
Most of the population growth will occur in the cities of developing countries,
many of which are already logistically overwhelmed by growth and
unregulated slum development. Whilst cities were often founded in proximity
to good freshwater supplies, the benevolence of nature rarely extends to
megacity concentrations of over ten million people.
In addition to safe drinking water and sanitation, the rising pressure on
freshwater will be felt most acutely in the energy and food sectors.
The latter is already in crisis, with almost a billion people experiencing
hunger. The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that global food
production must rise by 70% by 2050.
World primary energy demand will increase by 36% between 2008 and
2035, according to the International Energy Agency. Despite the emergence
of renewable energy sources, dependence on traditional water-intensive
mining and power generation is projected to rise in coming years.
The cumulative effect of these demand drivers will lift global demand for
freshwater by 53% by 2030, according to the 2030 Water Resources Group,
a consortium of private sector interests supported by the World Bank. One
third of the global population, mostly in developing countries, will live in
regions where demand for water exceeds supply by more than 50%.
Climate Change
With projections of supply and demand for freshwater veering off in opposite
directions, global warming represents the worst possible intervention. Rising
planetary temperatures will accelerate the pump of the water cycle through
faster evaporation from land and sea into a warmer atmosphere.
Carnemark/World Bank
/ Flickr
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The implications for rainfall are of course the
subject of intensive research. There is broad
agreement that monsoon patterns will change in
timing and intensity, that arid and semi-arid
regions will become drier, and that extremes ofdrought and flooding will become more frequent.
Rising sea levels will aggravate the problem of
groundwater salinity.
Much uncertainty remains, especially in focusing
predictions on national or regional areas that
match the scope of policy response. And the effect on the El Nino and La
Nina climate phenomena remains unclear.
Even where predictions of rainfall trends are confident, there is insufficient
understanding of the mechanics of run-off and groundwater recharge to fully
grasp the implications. This same is true for the consequences of the melting
of the worlds glaciers which together account for 40% of global irrigation.
The net impact on crop yields and soil conservation is also uncertain.
Water scarcity therefore presents policymakers with a perfect storm of
known and known unknown threats. But hesitation wins no sympathy in
nature. The 2011 emergency water relief for the Pacific island of
Tuvalu delivered a preview of water scarcity in a warming world.
According to Nature (2010), about 80% of the world's population (5.6 billion
in 2011) live in areas with threats to water security. The water security is a
shared threat to human and nature and it is pandemic. Human water-
management strategies can affect detrimentally to wildlife, such as
migrating fish. Regions with intensive agriculture and dense population, as
the US and Europe, have high threat to water security. The researcher
estimate that during 2010-2015, ca US$800 billion will be required to cover
the annual global investment in water infrastructure. Good management ofwater resources can jointly manage biodiversity protection and human water
security. Preserving flood plains rather than constructing flood-control
reservoirs would provide a cost-effective way to control floods while
protecting the biodiversity of wildlife that occupies such areas.
House buried by sand in
Mauritania Phuong
Tran / IRIN News
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The New York Times article, Southeast Drought Study Ties Water Shortage
to Population, Not Global Warming, summarizes the findings of Columbia
University researcher on the subject of the droughts in the southwest
between 2005 and 2007. The findings were published in the Journal of
Climate. They say the water shortages resulted from population size morethan rainfall. Census figures show that Georgias population rose to 9.54
million from 6.48 million between 1990 and 2007. After studying data from
weather instruments, computer models and measurements of tree rings
which reflect rainfall, they found that the droughts were not unprecedented
and result from normal climate patterns and random weather events.
Similar droughts unfolded over the last thousand years, the researchers
wrote. Regardless ofclimate change, they added, similar weather patterns
can be expected regularly in the future, with similar results. As the
temperature increases, rainfall in the Southeast will increase but because
ofevaporation the area may get even drier. The researchers concluded with
a statement saying that any rainfall comes from complicated internal
processes in the atmosphere that are very hard to predict because of the
large amount of variables.
Lawrence Smith, the president of the population institute, asserts that
although an overwhelming majority of the planet is composed of water, 97%
of this water is constituted of saltwater; the fresh water used to sustain
humans is only 3% of the total amount of water on Earth (Hoevel).
Therefore, Smith believes that the competition for water in an overpopulatedworld would pose a major threat to human stability (Hoevel); indeed, world
wars may be fought over the control of thinning ice sheets and nearly
desiccated reservoirs. 2 billion people have gained access to a safe water
source since 1990. The proportion of people in developing countries with
access to safe water is calculated to have improved from 30 percent in
1970 to 71 percent in 1990, 79 percent in 2000 and 84 percent in 2004,
parallel with rising population. This trend is projected to continue.
The Earth has a limited supply of fresh water, stored in aquifers, surface
waters and the atmosphere. Sometimes oceans are mistaken for availablewater, but the amount of energy needed to convert saline water to potable
water is prohibitive today, explaining why only a very small fraction of the
world's water supply derives from desalination.
Manifestations
There are several principal manifestations of the water crisis.
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Inadequate access to safe drinking water for about 884 million people Inadequate access to water for sanitation and waste disposal for 2.5
billion people
Groundwater overdrafting (excessive use) leading todiminished agricultural yields
Overuse and pollution of water resources harming biodiversity Regional conflicts over scarce water resources sometimes resulting
in warfare
Waterborne diseases and the absence of sanitary domestic water are one of
the leading causes of death worldwide. For children under age five,
waterborne diseases are the leading cause of death. At any given time, half
of the world's hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from
waterborne diseases.[14]According to the World Bank, 88 percent of all
waterborne diseases are caused by unsafe drinking water, inadequatesanitation and poor hygiene.
Water is the underlying tenuous balance of safe water supply, but
controllable factors such as the management and distribution of the water
supply itself contribute to further scarcity.
A 2006 United Nations report focuses on issues of governance as the core of
the water crisis, saying "There is enough water for everyone" and "Water
insufficiency is often due to mismanagement, corruption, lack of appropriate
institutions, bureaucratic inertia and a shortage of investment in both humancapacity and physical infrastructure". Official data also shows a clear
correlation between access to safe water and GDP per capita.
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It has also been claimed, primarily by economists, that the water situation
has occurred because of a lack of property rights, government regulations
and subsidies in the water sector, causing prices to be too low and
consumption too high.
Vegetation and wildlife are fundamentally dependent upon adequatefreshwater resources. Marshes, bogs and riparian zones are more obviously
dependent upon sustainable water supply, but forests and other upland
ecosystems are equally at risk of significant productivity changes as water
availability is diminished. In the case of wetlands, considerable area has
been simply taken from wildlife use to feed and house the expanding human
population. But other areas have suffered reduced productivity from gradual
diminishing of freshwater inflow, as upstream sources are diverted for
human use. In seven states of the U.S. over 80 percent of all
historic wetlands were filled by the 1980s, when Congress acted to create ano net loss of wetlands.
In Europe extensive loss of wetlands has also occurred with resulting loss of
biodiversity. For example many bogs in Scotland have been developed or
diminished through human population expansion. One example is
the Portlethen Moss in Aberdeenshire.
On Madagascars highland plateau, a massive transformation occurred that
eliminated virtually all the heavily forested vegetation in the period 1970 to
2000. The slash and burn agriculture eliminated about ten percent of the
total countrys native biomass and converted it to a barren wasteland. These
effects were from overpopulation and the necessity to feed poor indigenous
peoples, but the adverse effects included widespread gully erosion that in
turn produced heavily silted rivers that run red decades after
the deforestation. This eliminated a large amount of usable fresh water and
also destroyed much of the riverine ecosystems of several large west-flowing
rivers. Several fish species have been driven to the edge of extinction and
some, such as, the disturbed Tokios, coral reefformations in the Indian
Ocean are effectively lost.
In October 2008, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman and former chief
executive of Nestl, warned that the production of biofuels will further
deplete the world's water supply.
Overview of regions suffering crisis impacts
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.
Two abandoned ships in the formerAral Sea, near Aral, Kazakhstan.
There are many other countries of the world that are severely impacted with
regard to human healthand inadequate drinking water. The following is a
partial list of some of the countries with significant populations (numerical
population of affected population listed) whose only consumption is of
contaminated water:
Sudan 12.3 million Venezuela 5.0 million Ethiopia 2.7 million Tunisia 2.1 million Cuba 1.3 millionSeveral world maps showing various aspects of the problem can be found in
this graph article.
According to the California Department of Water Resources, if more supplies
arent found by 2020, the region will face a shortfall nearly as great as the
amount consumed today. Los Angeles is a coastal desert able to support at
most 1 million people on its own water; the Los Angeles basin now is the
core of a megacity that spans 220 miles (350 km) from Santa Barbara to
theMexican border. The regions population is expected to reach 41 million
by 2020, up from 28 million in 2009. The population of California continues
to grow by more than two million a year and is expected to reach 75 million
in 2030, up from 49 million in 2009. But water shortage is likely to surfacewell before then.
Water deficits, which are already spurring heavy grain imports in numerous
smaller countries, may soon do the same in larger countries, such
as China and India. The water tables are falling in scores of countries
(including Northern China, the US, and India) due to widespread
overpumping using powerful diesel and electric pumps. Other countries
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affected include Pakistan, Iran, and Mexico. This will eventually lead to water
scarcity and cutbacks in grain harvest. Even with the overpumping of
its aquifers, China is developing a grain deficit. When this happens, it will
almost certainly drive grain prices upward. Most of the 3 billion people
projected to be added worldwide by mid-century will be born in countriesalready experiencing water shortages. Unless population growth can be
slowed quickly it is feared that there may not be a practical non-violent or
humane solution to the emerging world water shortage.
After China and India, there is a second tier of smaller countries with large
water deficits Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Mexico, and Pakistan. Four of these
already import a large share of their grain. But with a population expanding
by 4 million a year, it will also likely soon turn to the world market for grain.
According to a UN climate report, the Himalayan glaciers that are the
sources ofAsia's biggest rivers -
Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra,Yangtze, Mekong, Salween and Yellow - could
disappear by 2035 as temperatures rise. It was later revealed that the
source used by the UN climate report actually stated 2350, not
2035. Approximately 2.4 billion people live in the drainage basin of the
Himalayan rivers. India, China,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar could experience floods followed
by droughts in coming decades. In India alone, the Ganges provides water
for drinking and farming for more than 500 million people. The west coast
ofNorth America, which gets much of its water from glaciers in mountainranges such as the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada, also would be
affected.
By far the largest part ofAustralia is desert or semi-arid lands commonly
known as the outback. In June 2008 it became known that an expert panel
had warned of long term, possibly irreversible, severe ecological damage for
the whole Murray-Darling basin if it does not receive sufficient water by
October. Water restrictions are currently in place in many regions and cities
of Australia in response to chronic shortages resulting from drought.
The Australian of the year 2007, environmentalist Tim Flannery, predicted
that unless it made drastic changes, Perth in Western Australia could
become the worlds first ghost metropolis, an abandoned city with no more
water to sustain its population. However, Western Australia's dams reached
50% capacity for the first time since 2000 as of September 2009. As a
result, heavy rains have brought forth positive results for the
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region. Nonetheless, the following year, 2010, Perth suffered its second-
driest winter on record and the water corporation tightened water
restrictions for spring.
Outlook
Wind and solar power such as this installation in a village innorthwestMadagascar can make a difference in safe water supply.
Construction ofwastewater treatment plants and reduction of groundwater
overdrafting appear to be obvious solutions to the worldwide problem;
however, a deeper look reveals more fundamental issues in play.
Wastewater treatment is highly capital intensive, restricting access to this
technology in some regions; furthermore the rapid increase in population of
many countries makes this a race that is difficult to win. As if those factors
are not daunting enough, one must consider the enormous costs and skill
sets involved to maintain wastewater treatment plants even if they aresuccessfully developed.
Reduction in groundwater overdrafting is usually politically very unpopular
and has major economic impacts to farmers; moreover, this strategy will
necessarily reduce crop output, which is something the world can ill-afford,
given the population level at present.
At more realistic levels, developing countries can strive to achieve primary
wastewater treatment or secure septic systems, and carefully analyse
wastewater outfall design to minimise impacts to drinking water and toecosystems. Developed countries can not only share technology better,
including cost-effective wastewater and water treatment systems but also
in hydrological transport modeling. At the individual level, people in
developed countries can look inward and reduce overconsumption, which
further strains worldwide water consumption. Both developed and
developing countries can increase protection of ecosystems, especially
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wetlands and riparian zones. These measures will not only conserve biota,
but also render more effective the natural water cycle flushing and transport
that make water systems more healthy for humans.
A range of local, low-tech solutions are being pursued by a number of
companies. These efforts center around the use of solar power to distillwater at temperatures slightly beneath that at which water boils. By
developing the capability to purify any available water source, local business
models could be built around the new technologies, accelerating their uptake
Conventional Fossil or Nuclear Energy Based Desalination
As new technological innovations continue to reduce the capital cost
ofdesalination, more countries are building desalination plants as a small
element in addressing their water crises.
Israel desalinizes water for a cost of 53 cents per cubic meter Singapore desalinizes water for 49 cents per cubic meter and also treats
sewage with reverse osmosis for industrial and potable use (NEWater).
China and India, the world's two most populous countries, are turning todesalination to provide a small part of their water needs
In 2007 Pakistan announced plans to use desalination All Australian capital cities (except Darwin, Northern
Territory and Hobart) are either in the process of building desalination
plants, or are already using them. In late 2011, Melbourne will beginusing Australia's largest desalination plant, the Wonthaggi desalination
plant to raise low reservoir levels.
In 2007 Bermuda signed a contract to purchase a desalination plant The largest desalination plant in the United States is the one at Tampa
Bay, Florida, which began desalinizing 25 million gallons (95000 m) of
water per day in December 2007. In the United States, the cost of
desalination is $3.06 for 1,000 gallons, or 81 cents per cubic meter. In
the United States, California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida use desalination
for a very small part of their water supply. After being desalinized at Jubail, Saudi Arabia, water is pumped 200 miles
(320 km) inland though a pipeline to the capital city ofRiyadh.
January 17, 2008, article in the Wall Street Journal states, "World-wide,
13,080 desalination plants produce more than 12 billion gallons of water a
day, according to the International Desalination Association."
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The world's largest desalination plant is the Jebel Ali Desalination Plant
(Phase 2) in the United Arab Emirates. It is a dual-purpose facility that uses
multi-stage flash distillation and is capable of producing 300 million cubic
meters of water per year.
A typical aircraft carrier in the U.S. military uses nuclear power to desalinize400,000 US gallons (1,500,000 L) of water per day.
While desalinizing 1,000 US gallons (3,800 L) of water can cost as much as
$3, the same amount ofbottled water costs $7,945.
However, given the energy intensive nature of desalination, with associated
economic and environmental costs, desalination is generally considered a
last resort after water conservation. But this is changing as prices continue
to fall.
Picture show, due to record less rain in Summer 2005, and resulting to
drought occurred in Sameura Dam, which one of water supplies
to Takamatsu, Shikoku Island, Japan
According to MSNBC, a report by Lux Research estimated that the worldwide
desalinated water supply will triple between 2008 and 2020
However, not everyone is convinced that desalination is or will be
economically viable or environmentally sustainable for the foreseeable
future. Debbie Cook, the former mayor ofHuntington Beach, California, has
been a frequent critic of desalination proposals ever since she was appointed
as a member of the California Desalination Task Force. Cook claims that inaddition to being energy intensive, desalination schemes are very costly
often much more costly than desalination proponents claim. In her writing
on the subject, Cook points to a long list of projects that have stalled or
been aborted for financial or other reasons, and suggests that water-
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stressed regions would do better to focus on conservation or other water
supply solutions than to invest in desalination plants.
Solar Energy Based Desalination
A novel approach to desalination is the Seawater Greenhouse which takes
seawater and uses solar energy to desalinate it in conjunction with growing
food crops in a specially adapted greenhouse.
Global experiences in managing water crisis
It is alleged that the likelihood of conflict rises if the rate of change within
the basin exceeds the capacity of institution to absorb that change. Although
water crisis is closely related to regional tensions, history showed that acute
conflicts over water are far less than the record of cooperation.
The key lies in strong institutions and cooperation. The Indus River
Commission and the Indus Water Treaty survived two wars between India
and Pakistan despite their hostility, proving to be a successful mechanism in
resolving conflicts by providing a framework for consultation inspection and
exchange of data. The Mekong Committee has also functioned since 1957
and survived the Vietnam War. In contrast, regional instability results when
there is an absence of institutions to co-operate in regional collaboration,
like Egypts plan for a high dam on the Nile. However, there is currently no
global institution in place for the management and management of trans-
boundary water sources, and international co-operation has happened
through ad hoc collaborations between agencies, like the Mekong Committeewhich was formed due to an alliance between UNICEF and the US Bureau of
Reclamation. Formation of strong international institutions seems to be a
way forward - they fuel early intervention and management, preventing the
costly dispute resolution process.
One common feature of almost all resolved disputes is that the negotiations
had a need-based instead of a rightbased paradigm. Irrigable lands,
population, technicalities of projects define "needs". The success of a need-
based paradigm is reflected in the only water agreement ever negotiated in
the Jordan River Basin, which focuses in needs not on rights of riparians. In
the Indian subcontinent, irrigation requirements of Bangladesh determine
water allocations of The Ganges River. A need based, regional approach
focuses on satisfying individuals with their need of water, ensuring that
minimum quantitative needs are being met. It removes the conflict that
arises when countries view the treaty from a national interest point of view,
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move away from the zero-sum approach to a positive sum, integrative
approach that equitably allocated the water and its benefits.
884 million people lack access to safe water supplies; approximately one ineight people.
3.575 million people die each year from water-related disease. The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any
war claims through guns.
People living in the slums often pay 5-10 times more per liter of water thanwealthy people living in the same city.
An American taking a five-minute shower uses more water than a typicalperson in a developing country slum uses in a whole day.
Children
Diarrhea remains in the second leading cause of death among children underfive globally. Nearly one in five child deaths about 1.5 million each year
is due to diarrhea. It kills more young children than AIDS, malaria and
measles combined.
Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease. Diarrhea is more prevalent in the developing world due, in large part, to the
lack of safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as poorer overall
health and nutritional status.
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Children in poor environments often carry 1,000 parasitic worms in theirbodies at any time
In the developing world, 24,000 children under the age of five die every dayfrom preventable causes like diarrhea contracted from unclean water.
1.4 million children die as a result of diarrhea each year.Women
In just one day, more than 200 million hours of womens time is consumedfor the most basic of human needs collecting water for domestic use.
This lost productivity is greater than the combined number of hours workedin a week by employees at Wal*Mart, United Parcel Service, McDonalds,
IBM, Target, and Kroger, according to Gary White, co-founder of Water.org.
Millions of women and children spend several hours a day collecting waterfrom distant, often polluted sources.
A study by the International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC) ofcommunity water and sanitation projects in 88 communities found that
projects designed and run with the full participation of women are more
sustainable and effective than those that do not. This supports an earlier
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World Bank study that found that womens participation was strongly
associated with water and sanitation project effectiveness.
Disease
At any given time, half of the worlds hospital beds are occupied by patientssuffering from diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water,
inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene.
The majority of the illness in the world is caused by fecal matter. Almost one-tenth of the global disease burden could be prevented by
improving water supply, sanitation, hygiene and management of water
resources. Such improvements reduce child mortality and improve healthand nutritional status in a sustainable way.
88% of cases of diarrhea worldwide are attributable to unsafe water,inadequate sanitation or insufficient hygiene
90% of all deaths caused by diarrheal diseases are children under 5 years ofage, mostly in developing countries.
It is estimated that improved sanitation facilities could reduce diarrhea-related deaths in young children by more than one-third. If hygiene
promotion is added, such as teaching proper hand washing, deaths could bereduced by two thirds. It would also help accelerate economic and social
development in countries where sanitation is a major cause of lost work and
school days because of illness.
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Economics
Over 50 percent of all water projects fail and less than five percent ofprojects are visited, and far less than one percent have any longer-term
monitoring.
Investment in safe drinking water and sanitation contributes to economicgrowth. For each $1 invested, the World Health Organization (WHO)
estimates returns of $3 $34, depending on the region and technology.
Almost two in every three people who need safe drinking water survive onless than $2 a day and one in three on less than $1 a day.
Households, not public agencies, often make the largest investment in basicsanitation, with the ratio of household to government investment typically
10 to 1.
Investment in drinking-water and sanitation would result in 272 million moreschool attendance days a year. The value of deaths averted, based on
discounted future earnings, would amount to US$ 3.6 billion a year.
Environment
Less than 1% of the worlds fresh water (or about 0.007% of all water onearth) is readily accessible for direct human use.
More than 80% of sewage in developing countries is discharged untreated,polluting rivers, lakes and coastal areas.
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The UN estimates that by 2025, forty-eight nations, with combinedpopulation of 2.8 billion, will face freshwater stress or scarcity. Our
Water.org High School Curriculum
Agriculture is the largest consumer of freshwater by far: about 70% of allfreshwater withdrawals go to irrigated agriculture. (14)
At home the average American uses between 100 and 175 gallons of water aday. That is less than 25 years ago, but it does not include the amount of
water used to feed and clothe us.
Conserving water helps not only to preserve irreplaceable natural resources,but also to reduce the strain on urban wastewater management systems.
Wastewater is costly to treat, and requires continuous investment to ensure
that the water we return to our waterways is as clean as possible
Governments are losing the fight to tackle the world's water crisis.The
situation, which sees 1.1 billion people with no access to safe water and 2.6
billion people without basic sanitation, is steadily getting worse, in spite of a
major pledge by the international community to improve it, according to the
UK relief and development agency Tearfund. The UN's Millennium
Development Goal (MDG) to "halve by 2015 the proportion of people without
access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation" is in danger of becoming
no more than a pipe dream, the agency said in a report released for World
Water Day, which falls today.
As the report was issued the seriousness of the water crisis was re-
emphasised with new figures suggesting that five million people in Kenya are
now facing food shortages as as result of failed rains. The drought in
northern and north-eastern Kenya has also affected areas of Somalia,
Ethiopia, Djibouti, Tanzania and Burundi, leaving more than 11.5 million
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people in need of food aid in the next six months. The Tearfund report says
that international aid, from the European Union especially, is failing to keep
pace with the worsening water stress hitting a growing numbers of
countries. "Governments are failing to tackle a crisis in which a child dies
from dehydration from diarrhoea every 14 seconds. Half the world's hospitalbeds are taken up by people with water-borne diseases," the report says.
"Over the past decade, aid for water and sanitation from EU member
governments has been falling, despite 6,000 children dying every day from
diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water.
"Since the MDG was agreed, EU aid to water and sanitation has declined anda smaller percentage of it now goes to sub-Saharan Africa. In 1997, EU
Member States gave an average of $126m (72m) to address the global
water crisis. Today, they give on average $94m." The report alleges that the
EU Water Initiative, launched in 2002 to coordinate and improve the EU
response to the crisis, "has not changed any policy or practice to help one
single person have access to water and sanitation." It adds that money
needed to meet the water and sanitation MDG - $15bn - is "a small
proportion of the $100bn that is spent each year on bottled water, mainly as
a fashion accessory." The report says that the UK and other governmentshave failed to prioritise aid for water and sanitation in the way they have for
health and education, even though diarrhoeal diseases cause 443 million
school days to be lost each year. Is says that between 2000 and 2004 the
UK government gave an average of $327m a year to health, compared to
$86m to water and sanitation. Furthermore, more aid for water and
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sanitation in poor countries is given as loans than as grants - pushing
heavily indebted countries deeper into debt.
In 2002, governments at the World Summit on Sustainable Development
recommitted to have plans for managing water resources in place by 2005.
Tearfund says: "This date has passed and only 12 per cent of countries have
met the target. Add climate change and global warming into the equation,
and even developed countries start to feel the heat." The agency calls on
rich country governments to commit to doubling aid to water and sanitation
by 2010, focusing 70 per cent of this aid on the poorest countries and giving
particular emphasis to sanitation and hygiene promotion. It says all aid for
water and sanitation in the poorest countries should be given as grants not
loans.
Another major report issued , the UN-led Global International WatersAssessment, said that the overuse of water for farming is the biggest
environmental threat to the world's freshwater resources, and damage is
likely to worsen until 2020. The report said that more dams and deeper wells
were not the answer. It said, for instance, that dams on the Volga River had
reduced the spawning grounds for Caspian sturgeon, and 90 per cent of the
water in Namibia's Eastern National Water Carrier canal was lost because of
evaporation.
Causes
"Scarcity and misuse of fresh water pose a serious and growing threat to
sustainable development and protection of the environment. Human health
and welfare, food security, industrial development and the ecosystem on
which they depend, are all at risk, unless water and land resources are
managed more effectively in the present decade and beyond that they have
been in the past"[10]. Water is a vital element for human life, and any
human activity relates somehow to water. Unfortunatly, it is not a renewable
resource and in the future there will be lot of water problems. Moreover,some people state that future wars will be fought for water.
Water conflicts occur because the demand for water resources and potable
water extend far beyond the amount of water actually available. Elements of
a water crisis may put pressures on affected parties to obtain more of a
shared water resource, causing diplomatic tension or outright conflict.
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1.1 billion people are without adequate drinking water; the potential for
water disputes is correspondingly large. Besides life, water is necessary for
proper sanitation , commercial services, and the production of commercial
goods. Thus numerous types of parties can become implicated in a water
dispute. For example, corporate entities may pollute water resources sharedby a community, or governments may argue over who gets access to
a river used as an international or inter-state boundary.
The broad spectrum of water disputes makes them difficult to address.
Locale, local and international law, commercial interests, environmental
concerns, and human rights questions make water disputes complicated to
solve combined with the sheer number of potential parties, a single
dispute can leave a large list of demands to be met by courts and
lawmakers.
Economic and trade issues
Waters viability as a commercial resource, which includes fishing,
agriculture, manufacturing, recreation and tourism, among other
possibilities, can create dispute even when access to potable water is not
necessarily an issue. As a resource, some consider water to be as valuable
as oil, needed by nearly every industry, and needed nearly every day. Water
shortages can completely cripple an industry just as it can cripple a
population, and affect developed countries just as they affect countries withless-developed water infrastructure. Water-based industries are more visible
in water disputes, but commerce at all levels can be damaged by a lack of
water.
International commercial disputes between nations can be addressed
through the World Trade Organization, which has water-specific groups like a
Fisheries Center that provide a unified judicial protocol for commercial
conflict resolution. Still, water conflict occurring domestically, as well as
conflict that may not be entirely commercial in nature may not be suitable
for arbitration by the WTO.
Fishing
Historically, fisheries have been the main sources of question, as nations
expanded and claimed portions of oceans and seas as territory for domestic
commercial fishing. Certain lucrative areas, such as the Bering Sea, have a
history of dispute; in 1886 Great Britain and the United States clashed over
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sealing fisheries, and today Russia surrounds a pocket of international water
known as the Bering Sea Donut Hole. Conflict over fishing routes and access
to the hole was resolved in 1995 by a convention referred to colloquially as
the Donut Hole Agreement.
Pollution
Corporate interest often crosses opposing commercial interest, as well as
environmental concerns, leading to another form of dispute. In the
1960s, Lake Erie, and to a lesser extent, the other Great Lakes were polluted
to the point of massive fish death. Local communities suffered greatly from
dismal water quality until the United States Congress passed the Clean
Water Act in 1972.
Water pollution poses a significant health risk, especially in heavily
industrialized, heavily populated areas like China. In response to aworsening situation in which entire cities lacked safe drinking water, China
passed a revised Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law.The possibility
of polluted water making it way across international boundaries, as well as
unrecognized water pollution within a poorer country brings up questions of
human rights, allowing for international input on water pollution. There is no
single framework for dealing with pollution disputes local to a nation.
According to Aaron Wolf, et all there were 1831 water conflicts over
transboundary basins from 19502000. They categorizied these events asfollowing:
No water-related events on the extremes Most interactions are cooperative Most interactions are mild Water acts as irritant Water acts as unifier Nations cooperate over a wide variety of issues Nations conflict over quantity and infrastructureResponse
International organizations play the largest role in mediating water disputes
and improving water management. From scientific efforts to quantify water
pollution, to the World Trade Organizations efforts to resolve trade disputes
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between nations, the varying types of water disputes can be addressed
through current framework. Yet water conflicts that go unresolved become
more dangerous as water becomes more scarce and global population
increases
United NationsThe UN International Hydrological Program aims to help improve
understanding of water resources and foster effective water management.
But by far the most active UN program in water dispute resolution is its
Potential Conflict to Co-operation Potential mission, which is in its third
phase, training water professionals in the Middle East and organizing
educational efforts elsewhere. Its target groups include diplomats,
lawmakers, civil society, and students of water studies; by expanding
knowledge of water disputes, it hopes to encourage co-operation between
nations in dealing with conflicts.
UNESCO only just recently published a complete map of transboundary
aquifers. Academic work focusing on water disputes has yet to yield a
consistent method for mediating international disputes, let alone local ones.
But UNESCO faces optimistic prospects for the future as water conflicts
become more public, and as increasing severity sobers obstinate interests.
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization can arbitrate water disputes presented by its
member states when the disputes are commercial in nature. The WTO hascertain groups, such as its Fisheries Center, that work to monitor and rule on
relevant cases, although it is by no means the authority on conflict over
water resources.
Because water is so central to agricultural trade, water disputes may be
subtly implicated in WTO cases in the form ofvirtual water, water used in
the production of goods and services but not directly traded between
countries. Countries with greater access to water supplies may fare better
from an economic standpoint than those facing crisis, which creates the
potential for conflict. Outraged by agriculture subsidies that displacedomestic produce, countries facing water shortages bring their case to the
WTO.
The WTO plays more of a role in agriculturally-based disputes that are
relevant to conflict over specific sources of water. Still, it provides an
important framework that shapes the way water will play into future
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economic disputes. One school of thought entertains the notion of war over
water, the ultimate progression of an unresolved water disputescarce
water resources combined with the pressure of exponentially increasing
population may outstrip the ability of the WTO to maintain civility in trade
issues
Notable conflicts
Water conflicts can occur on the intrastate and interstate levels. Interstate
conflicts occur between two or more neighboring countries that share a
transboundary water source, such as a river, sea, or groundwater basin. For
example, the Middle East has only 1% of the world's freshwater shared
among 5% of the world's population. Intrastate conflicts take place between
two of more parties in the same country. An example would be the conflictsbetween farmers and industry (agricultural vs industrial use of water).
According to UNESCO, the current interstate conflicts occur mainly in the
Middle East (disputes stemming from the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers among
Turkey, Syria, and Iraq; and the Jordan River conflict among Israel,
Lebanon, Jordan and the Palestine territories), in Africa (Nile River-related
conflicts among Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan),as well as in Central
Asia (the Aral Sea conflict among Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan,
Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan). At a local level, a remarkable example is
the 2000 Cochabamba protests, depicted in the 2010 Spanish film Even theRain by Icar Bollan.
Some analysts estimate that due to an increase in human consumption of
water resources, water conflicts will become increasingly common in the
near future.
During World War One, the Battle of Beersheba (1917) was fought with the
expressed intention of securing water resources in Palestine.
Practical Solutions
Most of the worlds poor are dependent on small farms in developing
countries, inadequately equipped to respond to water problems. This is
where sustainable solutions are most needed and are most challenging.
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In Asia the tasks are to reduce demand for
irrigation and to restore water tables. Most
irrigation is currently performed by indiscriminate
flooding of fields, highly inefficient and
wasteful.Modern drip irrigation technologycanreduce water use by around 50% and increase
yields through its targeted application.
Underground aquifers are by nature ideal for
adaptation to variable rainfall. Groundwater
recharge can be revived by maintenance of
neglected storage tanks and drainage, supported by simple rainwater
harvesting technologies.
In sub-Saharan Africa the problems are very different. Nearly all of the
farming is rainfed but only 4% of rainfall is captured for the purpose.
Government and donors are under considerable pressure to reverse their
long term neglect of this sector of agriculture.
Integrated programmes of land and water management would upgrade
farmers' awareness of techniques to conserve soil moisture and structure.
Selection of diversified and drought-tolerant crops represents basic risk
management.
In view of the uncertain effects of climate change at local levels, most
climate adaptation strategies will focus on steps that are consistent anyway
with establishing greater resilience to variable rainfall.
Theoretical Solutions
Richer countries can in theory contribute to management of water scarcity
by leveraging the economic tools of modern consumer societies.
Drip irrigation in
Niger/Pencils for Kids
Flickr
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Measurement of water consumed throughout the
manufacturing supply chain has provided an
invaluable starting point for raising awareness
amongst corporations and consumers alike. The
figures are startling: 140 litres of freshwater arerequired for a single cup of coffee, 6,000 litres for
a pair of denim jeans and more than 15,000 litres
for a kilo of beef.
This invisible input has become known as virtual
water, a concept especially useful for illustrating
the movement of water between countries in
traded goods. The methodology can also be aggregated to quantify
the water footprint of individuals and businesses.
These ideas have inspired economists to suggest replicating the familiar
model for mitigating carbon dioxide emissions. This would involve a global
system for countries and businesses to trade the right to consume water.
Informed choices by individual consumers would be enabled by labelling
retail goods with their water footprint.
These proposals remain on the drawing board. Unlike carbon dioxide which
has the same environmental consequences regardless of where it is emitted,
the impact of water consumption varies widely according to its local
availability.
Failure to price water as a scarce environmental resource is one of the fault
lines of modern market economics. The consequences of the green
revolution in Asia were exacerbated by allowing farmers unlimited free
access to water. The worlds largest exporters of beef and manufactured
goods, Australia and China respectively, are countries which experience
serious water scarcity.
Governance Issues
Reconciling the demands of competing users of water is especially
challenging where responsibilities are fragmented between different
government departments.
Virtual water ready for
export, South
Australia/Dave Clarke
Flickr
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Governments are encouraged to focus accountability for coordinating the
water implications of goals for poverty reduction, food security and energy
security. The demanding ideal of pulling together both human and
environmental needs is often described as integrated water resourcesmanagement.
Poor governance standards in many developing countries can nevertheless
enable powerful interests to gain disproportionate access to scarce water
resources. An extreme example is the phenomenon known as land-
grabbing.
The acquisition of agricultural land in developing countries is being pursued
by foreign investors and by wealthy governments seeking to overcome their
own food and water insecurity. Displacement of the poor from land on which
they have enjoyed customary use too often equates with the loss of water
rights.
Governments are being reminded of their obligations to protect access to
water for all citizens. A resolution passed by the UN General Assembly in
July 2010 recognises the right to safe and clean drinking water and
sanitation as a human right.
At international level, there is a governance vacuum on water scarcity. UN
Water is not an implementing agency its role is to strengthen coordination
and coherence among other UN entities dealing with freshwater.
There is no UN Convention to tackle water scarcity in parallel with those for
climate change, biodiversity and desertification. A 2011 meeting of the
InterAction Council, the group of former world leaders, deplored that
"international water leadership is virtually nonexistent."
Conflict Prevention
History is replete with water conflict, from squabbles between neighbouring
farms to wars decided by cutting off or poisoning a water supply.
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Fear of water wars pervades the modern era, more so
perhaps than is justified by events. The ingredients are
certainly there the mega-dam technology to deny
supplies to downstream countries, the location of major
rivers in regions already convulsed by water scarcity andmilitary tension.
The Middle East and North Africa region is the particular
focus of concern. The River Jordan supplies water to
Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Jordan and
Syria whose poor inter-relations in any event provoke a
high state of military readiness.
Management of a transboundary river is a zero sum
game; if one country gains in distribution rights, another loses. No fewer
than nine countries share the resources of the River Nile and they are
currently in dispute. The two major users, Egypt and Sudan, are refusing to
sign the Entebbe Agreement, a set of new regulations which would reduce
their current allocations.
There is nothing new about such disputes and water conflict resolution
mechanisms are commonplace around the world.
In Southeast Asia, the Mekong River Commission is an inter-governmental
agency formed by the governments of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and
Vietnam to further their interests of shared water resources of the Mekong
River. The Commission maintains dialogue with China whose 21 dams on the
upper Mekong are the cause of considerable anxiety.
Deceptive calm
on the Nile at
Aswan Jeff
Black
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