Water Scarcity
Global Water Scarcity - Problems And Solutions
Posted: 23.12.2009 author: Tater, Prof. Dr. Sohan Raj
Importance of Water Water is a source of life of every living organism. Without water living beings cannot survive their lives. There is 60% water in human gross body. It is a natural resource that sustains our environments and supports livelihood. Water is the blue gold, and that future wars will be fought for water. So, not a single drop of water received from rain should be allowed to escape into the sea without being utilized for human benefit.
The vast majority of the Earth’s water resources are salty water, with only 2.5% being fresh water. Approximately 70% of fresh water available on planet is in the icecaps of Antarctica and Greenland leaving the remaining 0.7% of total water resources worldwide available for consumption. However from this 0.7%, roughly 87% is allocated to agricultural purposes. These statistics are particularly illustrative of the drastic problem of water scarcity facing humanity. Water scarcity is defined as per capital supplies less than 1700 M3/year. The comprehensive assessment of water management in agriculture revealed that one in three people are already facing water shortage (2007). Around 1.2 billion people, or almost one-fifth of the world’s population, live in areas of physical scarcity, while another 1.6 billion people, or almost one quarter of the world’s population, face economic water shortage (where countries lack the necessary infrastructure to take water from rivers and aquifers); nearly all of which are in the developing countries.
Agriculture is a significant cause of water scarcity in much of the world since crop production requires upto 70 times more water than is used in drinking and other domestic purposes. The report says that a rule of thumb is that each calorie consumed as food requires about one litre of water to produce.
The amount of water in the world is finite. The number of us is growing fast
Posted: 23.12.2009 author: Tater, Prof. Dr. Sohan Raj
Importance of Water Water is a source of life of every living organism. Without water living beings cannot survive their lives. There is 60% water in human gross body. It is a natural resource that sustains our environments and supports livelihood. Water is the blue gold, and that future wars will be fought for water. So, not a single drop of water received from rain should be allowed to escape into the sea without being utilized for human benefit.
The vast majority of the Earth’s water resources are salty water, with only 2.5% being fresh water. Approximately 70% of fresh water available on planet is in the icecaps of Antarctica and Greenland leaving the remaining 0.7% of total water resources worldwide available for consumption. However from this 0.7%, roughly 87% is allocated to agricultural purposes. These statistics are particularly illustrative of the drastic problem of water scarcity facing humanity. Water scarcity is defined as per capital supplies less than 1700 M3/year. The comprehensive assessment of water management in agriculture revealed that one in three people are already facing water shortage (2007). Around 1.2 billion people, or almost one-fifth of the world’s population, live in areas of physical scarcity, while another 1.6 billion people, or almost one quarter of the world’s population, face economic water shortage (where countries lack the necessary infrastructure to take water from rivers and aquifers); nearly all of which are in the developing countries.
Agriculture is a significant cause of water scarcity in much of the world since crop production requires upto 70 times more water than is used in drinking and other domestic purposes. The report says that a rule of thumb is that each calorie consumed as food requires about one litre of water to produce.
The amount of water in the world is finite. The number of us is growing fast
References: * Goudie, As (2006). Global Warming and Fluvial Geomorphology Volume 79, September 2006, 37th Binghamton Geomorphology Symposium – The human role in changing Fluvial Systems. * Huntington, T.G. (2005) Evidence for Intensification of the global water cycle: Review and Synthesis. Journal of Hydrology, 319. * Konikow, Leonard et al. (2005). Ground water Depletion: A Global Problem. Hydrogeology (13). * Nearing, M.A. et al. (2005). Modeling Response of Soil Erosion and Run off to changes in Precipitation and cover. Catena, 61. * Oki, Taikan et al. (2006). Global hydrological Cycles and World Water Resources, Science; 313. * Vorasmarty, Charles et al. (2000). Global Water Resource: Vulnerability from Climate Change and Population Growth, Science, 289. * World Water Assessment Programme, 2003. Water for people, Water for life: The United Nations world water development report. UNESCO: Paris.