water case studies (various)

Created by

honor

Cards (70)

Amazon Coffee  
due to a reduced crop of arabica coffee beans, global prices went up 50%
Amazon water rationing
4 million people have water rationing
amazon rainforest  
major carbon sink
brief reduction in deforestation in early 2000s (more protections)
20% of trees deforested
storm desmond storm type
extratropical cyclone
plume of moist air, large rainfall to upland uk
Cyclone Sidr - location
Bangladesh
lies on three flood plains
Cyclone Sidr - Bangladesh  
most densely populated country
46% live less than 10m above sea level
salt water encroachment
Cyclone Sidr - affected households
2.3 million affected households
cyclone sidr - damage total
1.7 billion damage
electric lines and communication lines destroyed
low-lying areas flooded and destroyed
cyclone sidr - storm
tidal waves up to 5m breached coastal embankments
South-North Transfer - cost
already spent £79 billion
South-North Transfer - water movement
44.8 billion meters cubed of fresh water
South - North - routes
central, western, eastern
South-North - economic developments  
better for developing rural areas
aids large cities like Beijing in water scared north
South-North displacement  
About 345,000 villagers have been displaced by the project to date. Many farming communities displaced.
South - North - environmental concerns
exacerbate water pollution problems.
Pollution from factories along the Eastern Route may render the water unfit to drink.
3 gorges dam - location
China
3 gorges dam - energy
A hydroelectric dam on the Yangtze River in China.
In terms of the amount of electricity it generates, it’s the world’s largest power station.
34 generators is enormous. It is equivalent to burning 25 million tons of crude oil or 50 million tons of coal.
Industry and emerging middle class are ‘winners’
3 gorges dam - control of water levels
will avoid frequent floods, which cause problems around the Jinjiang river.
3 Gorges - human impacts
2 cities, 11 counties, 140 towns,
326 townships, and 1351 villages. About
23800 hectares, more than 1.1 million
people must be resettled.
3 gorges dam - tectonics
built on geological fault line
3 gorges - Sewage  
265 million gallons of raw sewage deposited in the Yangtze River.
increases the risk for waterborne diseases.
3 gorges - environmental
endangering 57 plant species, 25 fish species.
3 Gorges - human vulnerability
About 360 million people live within the watershed of the Yangtze River.
Landslides may increase. One killed at least 30 people.
3 gorges - cultural impact
over 1,000 archaeological and historic sites were also submerged and lost.
Tourism
3 gorges cost
30 billion
Tigris+Euphrates conflict location
the two rivers supply Syria and Iraq , but the source is in Turkiye
Tigris+Euphrates hydroelectric dams
Turkey has built hydroelectric dams
reduced water flow (80% in Iraq and 40% in Syria)
Syria built dams in response - less water reached Iraq
Almost conflict in 1975 as a response
Tigris+Euphrates Iraq problem
salt water encroachment from persian gulf, due to low flow rates
decreased agricultural yields, worst in 2009, food security
Tigris+Euphrates Iraq UN
Iraq threatened to go to the UN due to low flow rates in 2018
Tigris+Euphrates waters political use
in 1987, Turkiye and Syria agreed to sharing water
Turkiye would maintain a flow rate 500 cubic metres
Turkiye asked for Syria's collaboration about Kurdish Rebels in Syria
As water scarcity increases, Turkiye's political leverage increases
Tigris+Euphrates Future Drought  
several droughts in Iraq in recent years have increased the likelihood of conflict
IPCC projects a changing climate and potential permanent decrease in rainfall
Increasing populations within the region that could exacerbate tensions into conflicts
Intergrated Drainage Basin Management 
I W R M
IWRM theory 
the drainage basin as the logical geographical unit for managing water resources.
To achieve cooperation between basin users and players
Holistic (environmental quality, efficient usage, equitable distribution)
Judgement of IWRM
Works well at community level, but less so with larger basins with international/transboundary tensions
IWRM Success - Lerma-Chapala Basin 
supplies Guadalajara, MEXICO - 4.5 million
Needed :
poor governance + increasing populations = over-exploitation of surface and ground water
more conflicts
1981-2001, lost 90% of natural volume and the rest was polluted
Helsinki Rules - 1966
all bordering nations get an equitable share in water resources with considerations of past usage and varying needs
no mechanism that enforces it
superseded by Berlin 2004
Helsinki Rules - Share Criteria
extent of drainage area in each basin state (how much they have in it)
contribution of water to basin from each state
climate
past and existing use
population dependent
economic and social needs of each state
the relative cost of satisfying their demand through other means
avoidance of waste
degree to which one state's usage could impact another state
ability to compensate another state
UNECE Water Convention, Helsinki, 1996
surface waters and ground waters
water and health - disease management
joint management and conservation of freshwater ecosystems
Berlin Rules 2004  
principles
public involvement in decisions
management to promote resource availability
whole basin consideration
holistic (environmental, social, economic)
limit environmental damage
fair equal share
everyone must cooperate over shared resources
upstream developments are controlled
all players have an equal position
Colorado basin - background
233km long with 97% flowing through USA and the rest through Mexico
levels of rain vary - starts in Rocky Mountains, flows through semi-arid areas to the Gulf of California in Mexico
Climate Change - lower precipitation and areas of drought