Water Insecurity

• physical factors for water availbility:

  • climate - in hot climates rain evaporates from water stores (lakes), climate change is altering the amount of rainfall people receive
  • geology - when rain falls on impermeable rock it runs off into rivers and lakes, when rain falls on permeable rocks it infiltrates it and can form underground water stores which are hard to get water from
• economic/social factors for water availability:

  • over abstraction - water is taken too quickly from natural resources before it can be replaced (population growth/economic development)
  • polluted water sources
  • limited infrastructure
  • poverty
• water insecurity leads to lots of problems:

  • pollution and disease
  • reduced food production - agriculture uses irrigation, when there's water shortages
  • reduced industrial output - many industries are water-intensive so can't produce enough products due to shortages
  • conflict - one country may try to improve their water security causing issues for another