EQ3

• Water insecurity


  The causes
• Sections 1.8 to 1.30 examine why water insecurity occurs and why it is becoming global
• Water crisis


  A global water crisis
• Water security


  The causes of water security
• Water inequality


  How inequalities may result between areas of water surplus and water scarcity
• Water risk


  How climate change increases the risk of water scarcity for people and the environment
• The UN's annual World Water Development Reports repeatedly warn that the balance between human demand and the availability of water is at a precarious point: the crisis of freshwater is emerging as the biggest challenge of the 21st century
• Access to safe water for people is seen as both a fundamental need and a basic human right, but for too many people it still represents part of their daily struggle
• Water shortages (i.e. quantity) and a lack of access to safe water (quality) cause serious problems for a third of the world's population
• Water shortage


  Insufficient water to meet demand
• Water scarcity


  People can't afford water, even when it's available
• In theory there is no global water shortage as only 50% of water is actually used
• Rapid population growth in areas where supplies are limited, together with an uneven distribution of global supply and a deterioration in water quality, means that more people are facing severe water shortages
• A world water gap exists between the haves and have-nots, as wealthy nations consume greater and greater quantities of water
• Alarming supporting data


  • 12% of the world's population consumes 85% of its water
  • 1.8 billion people lack clean drinking water
  • 2.4 billion lack adequate sanitation
  • 0.7 billion face water shortages
  • Every 90 seconds, a child dies from a water-borne disease
  • 0.8 million people die from diarrhoea as a result of dirty water each year
  • 25% of people drink water contaminated with faeces
  • Half of the world's rivers and lakes are badly polluted
  • Half of the rivers no longer flow all year
• Food supplies are also threatened as water shortages increase
• In water-impoverished areas, women and children spend many hours each day collecting water, which translates into US$24 billion in lost economic benefits each year and denies girls a good education
• Water stress


  If a country's water consumption exceeds 10% of its renewable freshwater supply, including difficulties in obtaining new quantities of water (e.g. from aquifers, lakes or rivers), as well as poor water quality restricting usage
• Water scarcity


  An imbalance between demand (insufficient water to meet demand; also the definition for water deficit) or economic scarcity (people can't afford water, even when it's available)
• Together, these terms (water stress and water scarcity) add up to water insecurity
• By 2025, the combination of population growth and economic growth is expected to have created a 2016 increase in demand for water supplies, but by then half the world's population will be living in water-deficit areas
• The decreasing size of the Aral Sea between 2000 and 2014 is due to the source rivers being used to supply large-scale agricultural irrigation, preventing its natural replenishment. Evaporation is increasing the sea's salinity, and pollution levels are so high that most fish have died
• When the annual average water availability falls below 1,700 cubic metres per person per year, a country experiences water stress. When it falls below 1,000 cubic metres per person per year, a country experiences water scarcity
• Causes of water insecurity

  • Increasing population and urbanisation
  • Improving living standards
  • Industrialisation
  • Agriculture
• During the 20th century, the global population increased by four times, but consumption increased by six times, due to improved living standards resulting from economic development
• Increasing urbanisation is causing local pressure on the availability of freshwater, especially in drought-prone areas. More than half of the world's population now lives in urban areas, and urban populations are projected to increase to 63 billion by 2050
• The rising incomes and living standards of a growing middle class in developing and emerging economies has led to sharp increases in water use, which can be unsustainable (especially where supplies are scarce)
• Changing consumption patterns, such as increasing meat consumption, building larger homes and increased use of cars, appliances and energy-consuming devices, involves increased water consumption in both their production and use
• The OECD report Environmental Outlook to 2050 predicted that global water demand for manufacturing would increase by 400% from 2000 to 2050, far more than any other sector. Most of the increase will be in emerging economies and developing countries, with implications for both water supply and quality
• Agriculture is by far the largest user of water, consuming 70%, and occasionally 90%, in some developing countries. By 2050, global agriculture will need to produce 60% more food to meet the demands of the growing population
• The inefficient use of water for crop production is depleting aquifers, reducing river flow, degrading wildlife habitats, and increasing pesticide and fertilizer pollution as they seep into groundwater, causing waterlogging and increased salinity
• Groundwater supplies in Israel and Gaza are being contaminated by salt, as salt water is drawn into aquifers when freshwater is pumped out
• As Section 1.7 showed, climate change will make some areas drier and others wetter, creating drought in some places and floods in others
• Using a range of computer models and socio-economic scenarios, the World Resources Institute scored and ranked the likelihood of future water stress, showing that 33 countries are predicted to be facing extremely high levels of water stress by 2040
• 14 of the most highly stressed countries are in the Middle East, which is one of the world's most water-insecure regions. Countries there make heavy use of groundwater and desalinated seawater, but face major challenges
• Countries such as the USA, China and India also face insecurities. High water stress is expected to remain constant, but specific areas such as the southwest USA could see water stress increase by 40-70%
• Chile is also expected to become highly water stressed by 2040, likely facing a decrease in water supply due to rising temperature
• Water stress


  • Ratio of withdrawals to supply
  • Low to medium (10-20%)
  • Medium to high (20-40%)
  • High (40-80%)
  • Extremely high (>80%)
• 33 countries are predicted to be facing extremely high levels of water stress by 2040
• 14 of the most highly stressed countries are in the Middle East, which is one of the world's most water-insecure regions