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Water Conflicts Unit 3

Global freshwater supplies are very limited, with less than 1% of the planet's water easily accessible. The geography of water supply is uneven and changing due to climate change. Supply is projected to increase at high latitudes and parts of Asia but decrease in currently water-stressed mid-latitudes and tropics. Glacial and snow melt is also expected to decline. Global water use has tripled since 1950 and much is wasted while populations in Africa and Asia face increasing water stress. Billions lack clean drinking water supplies and sanitation, especially in developing nations, and water scarcity affects over 2 billion people daily.

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89 views

Water Conflicts Unit 3

Global freshwater supplies are very limited, with less than 1% of the planet's water easily accessible. The geography of water supply is uneven and changing due to climate change. Supply is projected to increase at high latitudes and parts of Asia but decrease in currently water-stressed mid-latitudes and tropics. Glacial and snow melt is also expected to decline. Global water use has tripled since 1950 and much is wasted while populations in Africa and Asia face increasing water stress. Billions lack clean drinking water supplies and sanitation, especially in developing nations, and water scarcity affects over 2 billion people daily.

Uploaded by

Rebecca
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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LO: To build up an overview of the current global water supply

2.1 The Geography of water supply

The amount of water on Earth is fixed, less than 0.01% of the planets 1.4
billion cubic kilometres is easily accessible freshwater in lakes and rivers.
We are unable to increase world freshwater supply however we only use 50%
of the available water.
2.1 The Geography of water supply

The supply of water is very likely


to increase at higher latitudes
and in some wet tropics,
including populous areas in east
and southeast Asia. It is very
likely to decrease over much of
the mid-latitudes and dry tropics,
which are presently waterstressed areas.
Drought-affected areas will likely increase. Instances of extreme rainfall are likely to
increase in frequency and intensity, raising the risk of floods. Increases in the
frequency and severity of floods and droughts will have implications on sustainable
development.
Water volumes stored in glaciers and snow cover are very likely to decline, reducing
summer and autumn flows in regions where more than one sixth of the world
population currently live.
2.1 The Geography of water supply

Global water use has tripled since 1950 and has been increasing faster than the
worlds population. Much of the water extracted ends up wasted.

2.1 The Geography of water supply

Africa and Asia are already hard-hit by water stress. Increasing populations will
create more pressure in the near future.

2.1 The Geography of water supply

Most people without clean water live in developing countries. People in rich
countries use ten times more water each day than those in poor countries.
Two-fifths of the world's people already face serious shortages, and water-borne
diseases fill half its hospital beds.
Clean water and sanitation are getting to more and more people. But the number of
people benefiting is outstripped by the growth in human numbers.
2.1 The Geography of water supply

Last century many new dams were built. The provision of water this way has been
questioned due to human and environmental costs.

2.1 The Geography of water supply

Rapid population growth in areas where water supplies are limited, a


deterioration in water quality , and an uneven distribution of global water
supplies, means that greater numbers of people face severe water
shortages.
A world water gap exists between the haves and the have-nots.
Out of about 6.6billion people in the world:
1.4billion lack clean water supplies
2.4billion lack adequate sanitation
0.5billion face water shortages every day
These shortages lead to water stress when the
demand for water exceeds the amount available
during a certain period. Where a country water
consumption is more than 10% of its renewable
water supply its under stress.
2.1 The Geography of water supply

Where a country has less than 1000m per person per year a country has
water scarcity. This may be due to..
Physical scarcity: actual demands exceed supply
Economic scarcity: people unable to afford water even if available
2.1 The Geography of water supply

Using the following websites you are to research the stress placed
upon the countries in Europe over Water use.
http://maps.grida.no/go/collection/water-stressin-europe Water stress in Europe
http://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/water/waterresources/impacts-due-to-over-abstraction - impacts of
overuse
http://www.fao.org/nr/water/issues/scarcity.html

Produce a factsheet on water supply and demand for


south-east England + climate change

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