Water resources and development
- 1. Water, Resources and Development
- 2. Water for Life Water plays a major role in humanity’s social and economic existence. ‘Available water’ : streams, lakes and groundwater = blue water ‘unavailable’ – constrained in oceans or polar ice. ‘Green Water’ – water absorbed by vegetation and returned to the atmosphere.
- 3. Water Division Oceans Saline 1,350,000, 97.37% 000km3 Snow and Ice Freshwater 27,5000,000 1.98 Groundwater Freshwater 8,200,000 0.59 Atmospheric Freshwater 460,000 0.033 Lakes and Rivers Freshwater 207,000 0.015 Soil Moisture Freshwater 70,000 0.005
- 4. Access to Water 1990-2004
- 6. Relationships between water development and human livelihoods Health (hygiene, improvement, disease reduction) Labour availability (health and less effort required to collect water) Cheaper water (compared to commercial vendors) Improved well-being (more security, less stress) Education (More time, especially for children) Empowerment (through greater community decision making) Income (health and labour improvement raise other opportunities) Food security and nutrition (household production opportunities)
- 7. Water Scarce countries (i.e. less than 1,000 m3) 700 million people in ‘water stressed’ countries.
- 8. Water Scarce Countries World Water Council (2010): ‘While the world's population tripled in the 20th century, the use of renewable water resources has grown six-fold. Within the next fifty years, the world population will increase by another 40 to 50 %. This population growth - coupled with industrialization and urbanization - will result in an increasing demand for water and will have serious consequences on the environment. ‘ UN World Water Development Report (WWDR, 2009) presents an equally gloomy future with these opening comments, ‘At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the Earth, with its diverse and abundant life forms, including over six billion humans, is facing a serious water crisis. All the signs suggest that it is getting worse and will continue to do so, unless corrective action is taken. This crisis is one of water governance, essentially caused by the ways in which we mismanage water.’
- 9. Water and Development Social and economic development are not dictated by water distribution, although nor are they independent it. Mismatches between development and ‘natural’ distribution are compounded by changes in hydrological regimes.
- 10. Water, Climate Change and Uncertainty
- 11. Chain of climate change uncertainty for water resource management
- 12. Hydrological changes that could impact on water resources Precipitation intensity increases leading to higher surface runoff Lower seasonal rainfall leading to drought Higher temperatures with lower humidity causing plant water stress Increased potential evaporation Higher peak runoff Lower seasonal runoff Increased glacial meltwater runoff Sea level rises and coastal flooding with associated saline water intrusion Groundwater recharge declining Increased agricultural (irrigation) demand Increased domestic water demands
- 13. Water dilemmas Science and Economic Technology: and political Engineering or capacity to mobilise technology. resources.
- 14. Enhancing Strategies up to 1850s – small private (commercial) water supply companies, up to 1920s – municipal bodies investing in water and sanitation measures due to health and environmental concerns Up to 1970s – large scale, national control of water investment and regulation with goals of economic development and social welfare improvement, post 1970s – period of privatisation and decline of state-led economic development.
- 15. Water Use
- 16. Recognised by 75% as an independent state. Not recognised by the UN. However it has it’s own water regime and respective management issues. Palestine: Water Resources
- 17. The HDI of Palestine Human Dev Index Rank 114 / (United Nations 0.641 Development Health (Life Exp.) 72.8 Programme, 2011) Education Index 0.674 GNI per Capita $2,656 Inequality n/a Poverty Index 0.005 Gender n/a Sustainability n/a Demography (pop) 4,152,400
- 18. International recognition of the State of Palestine
- 19. The Political Issues of Palestine Conflict with surrounding states and associated import restrictions Food shortages Lack of central government Lack of international recognition as a sovereign state
- 20. Water Use & Provision in Palestine Arid region Only 69% of Palestinian communities are connected to water networks Water consumption below WHO’s minimum standard Restrictions of transboundary water supplies Dependency on an Aquifer system
- 21. Palestine’s Aquifer Dependency Dependency upon an Aquifer system which discharges 600- 660 Mm3 annually However West Bank Palestinians exploit a mere 115-123 Mm3 Israel controls the westward- flowing aquifers and all waters flowing eastward into the Jordan River
- 22. Predictions of Climate Change in the Levant Annual rainfall is likely to decrease, with proximity to the Mediterranean Sea. The last 7 years have already seen precipitation levels fall. The Levant is the most effected region by changes in precipitation in the Middle East. 4.5°C suggested surface temperature rise and 25% precipitation decrease by the end of the century.
- 23. Downscaling the Effects of Climatic Change to Palestine The aquifer system will be severely effected, the replenishment rate is expected to decrease by up to 60%. 25% decrease in precipitation the Upper River Jordan catchment. The Mediterranean Sea is expected to rise, leading to salinization of the aquifer system.
- 24. Palestine’s Water Outlook in Relation to Political and Climatic Pressures 2.5% to 5% decrease in agricultural grain yield by 2080 – exacerbating food shortages. Lack of political stability inhibits their access to water resources, restraining adaption to climate change. In the absence of a clear political structure, there is no clear water management plan, with or without respect to climate change. Increasing price of imported water They don’t have the economic resources to desalinize.
- 25. UN Policy Brief Challenge Information on Water Resources For the selected country the water resource environment should be described using information from FAO Aquastat at, http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/main/index.stm online data base http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/data/query/index.html?lang=en The data is organised into Geography and Population Water Resources (precipitation, total renewable resources) Water Use (agriculture, industry and domestic). Irrigation Conservation Health
Editor's Notes
- #3: We need water for life. Beyond this fundamental association of water with ‘life’ however, water plays a major role in humanity's social and economic existence. Not only is the management of water needed to enable almost all productive activity, but the need to manage water has historically imposed organisations requirements on human society. AT t a first glance it might seem strange that we are concerned about water use since human activity withdraws less than 10% of available water resource on the planet. ‘Available water’ here means water in stream, lakes and groundwater – sometimes referred to as ‘blue water’ – after discounting the 99% of the worlds water as ‘unavailable’ because it is contained in the oceans or polar ice, falls as rain but is absorbed by vegetation and returned to the atmosphere (transpiration – ‘green water’) before it an drain into aquifers and streams.