Download Environment, Climate Warming And Water Management

The write-up on
Environment, Climate Warming And Water
Management
Has been written by
MZUMBE UNIVERSITY TEAM from Tanzania
The team members are
1. Deogratias Kibona
2. Gloria Kidulile
3. Fredrick Rwabukambara
Natural environment
The natural environment is a terminology that comprises all living and non-living
things that occur naturally on Earth or some region thereof. This term includes ecological
units like vegetation, animals, microorganisms, atmosphere, water bodies, and climate.
Also
including
energy,
radiation,
magnetism
and
electric
charge.
The natural environment is contrasted with the built environment, which comprises the
areas and components that are strongly influenced by man. A geographical area is
regarded as a natural environment, if the human impact on it is kept under a certain
limited level. This level depends on the specific context, and changes in different areas
and contexts.
Environmental degradation
Very large development projects - also called mega projects contribute to the
environmental degradation. The rate of increasing construction of major dams and power
plants is increasingly high. The challenge to the environment from such projects is
growing because more and bigger mega projects are being built, in developed and
developing nations alike. During construction of these dams and power plants so many
physical resources are used, in other ways lands are cleared, green house gas emissions
are emitted, forests are deforested and the ecosystems are disturbed.
Human activities have increased the concentration of various greenhouse gases, leading
to increased radioactive forcing from carbon dioxide, methane, tropospheric ozone, CFCs
and nitrous oxide. Molecule for molecule, methane is a more effective greenhouse gas
than carbon dioxide, but its concentration is much smaller so that its total radioactive
forcing is only about a fourth of that from carbon dioxide. Some other naturally occurring
gases contribute very small fractions of the greenhouse effect; one of these, nitrous oxide
(N2O), is increasing in concentration owing to human activity such as agriculture.
Further more the human activities have led to soil erosion due to agricultural activities
and poisonous gases due to industrial activities. Also the radioactive pollutants resulting
from the nuclear technology activities.
Environmental conservation
The Environmental conservation aims upon maintaining the health of the natural world:
its forests, fisheries, habitats, and biological diversity. It focuses on materials
conservation and energy conservation, which are seen as important to protect the natural
world. Also the environmental conservation aims to conserve habitat in terrestrial
ecoregions and stop deforestation. To protect sea life from extinction due to over fishing
is another commonly stated goal of conservation.
To achieve the environmental conservation goals the world community has to put much
emphasis and take actions on the following;
Reduction and clean up of pollution, with future goals of zero pollution; the production
of wastes particularly poisonous gases produced in industrial activities should be reduced
by convincing the nations which have not signed the Kyoto protocol which requires the
nations to reduce the production of wastes such as poisonous chemicals and gases. Even
though United States claims serious harm to her economy and the exemption of 80
percent of the world, including major population centers like China and India from the
treaty, but still the protocol will bring positive effects towards environment if well
implemented. George W. Bush contends that the Kyoto Protocol is an unfair and
ineffective means of addressing global climate change concerns. Bush has promoted
improved energy technology as a means to combat climate change, and various state and
city governments within the United States have begun their own initiatives to indicate
support and compliance with the Kyoto Protocol on a local basis.
Cleanly converting non recyclable materials into energy through direct combustion or
after conversion into secondary fuels; this action if emphasized will reduce the non
recyclable pollutants in the environment and there fore contributing to the cleaning up of
pollution.
Reducing societal consumption of non-renewable fuels; the use of non renewable
resources such as petroleum and uranium should be highly discouraged because they
cannot be replaced and therefore they can be finished leading to imbalance of nature.
Development of alternative, green, low-carbon or renewable energy sources; this is
one of best actions to conserve environment that can reduce the consumption of non
renewable fuels without affecting much the society. The alternatives such as wind energy
and solar power may be used instead of petroleum energy.
Conservation and sustainable use of scarce resources such as water, land, and air.
The world as a community regulates rules so as to prevent misuse of such scarce
resources. The climate change convention and other environmental conservation
agreements should be more emphasized so as to increase the discipline in water resource
utilization and protecting land, water and air pollution.
Protection of representative or unique or unspoiled ecosystems; those areas which
have not yet been polluted or in other ways the wildernesses should now be effectively
conserved to prevent further environmental degradation. People should not be allowed
and be discouraged to deforest the thick forests remaining in the world and interfering the
sources of rivers.
preservation of threatened and endangered species extinction; some species are now
extinct for example mammoth, other species are still surviving but they decrease in
number and may eventually disappear. Good example is the species of rhinoceros is in
danger of disappearing due to the reason that most of them are being killed by poachers.
Therefore efforts must be increased to ensure security of the rhinos.
The establishment of nature and biosphere reserves under various types of protection;
and, most generally, the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems upon which all human
and other life on earth depends.
Climate warming (global warming)
The term climate warming refers to the warming in recent decades and its projected
continuation, and implies a human influence. According to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), climate change implies humancaused change, and climate variability for other changes. The term "anthropogenic global
warming" (AGW) is sometimes used when focusing on human-induced changes.
Climate warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air
and oceans since the mid-twentieth century, and its projected continuation.
The average global air temperature near the Earth's surface increased by 0.18 °C during
the hundred years ending in 2005.
Causes of climate warming
According the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) the most of the
observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-twentieth century is
likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic (man-made) greenhouse gas
concentrations
via
the
greenhouse
effect.
The greenhouse effect was discovered by Joseph Fourier in 1824 and was first
investigated quantitatively by Svante Arrhenius in 1896. It is the process by which
absorption and emission of infrared radiation by atmospheric gases warm a planet's lower
atmosphere and surface.
Existence of the greenhouse effect as such is not disputed. Naturally occurring
greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect of about 33 °C (59 °F), without which
Earth would be uninhabitable. On Earth, the major greenhouse gases are water vapor,
which causes about 36–70% of the greenhouse effect (not including clouds); carbon
dioxide (CO2), which causes 9–26%; methane (CH4), which causes 4–9%; and ozone,
which causes 3–7%. The issue is how the strength of the greenhouse effect changes when
human activity increases the atmospheric concentrations of some greenhouse gases.
Human activities since the industrial revolution has increased the concentration of
various greenhouse gases, leading to increased radioactive forcing from CO2, methane,
tropospheric ozone, CFCs and nitrous oxide. Molecule for molecule, methane is a more
effective greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but its concentration is much smaller so
that its total radioactive forcing is only about a fourth of that from carbon dioxide. Some
other naturally occurring gases contribute very small fractions of the greenhouse effect;
one of these, nitrous oxide (N2O), is increasing in concentration owing to human activity
such as agriculture. The atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and CH4 have increased by
31% and 149% respectively since the beginning of the industrial revolution in the mid-
1700s. These levels are considerably higher than at any time during the last 650,000
years, the period for which reliable data has been extracted from ice cores. From less
direct geological evidence it is believed that CO2 values this high were last attained 20
million years ago Fossil fuel burning has produced approximately three-quarters of the
increase in CO2 from human activity over the past 20 years. Most of the rest is due to
land-use change, in particular deforestation.
Natural causes such as solar variation combined with volcanoes probably had a small
warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 and a small cooling effect from 1950
onward. A few papers suggest that the Sun's contribution may have been underestimated.
Two researchers, Bruce West and Nicola Scafetta, have estimated that the Sun may have
contributed about 45–50% of the increase in the average global surface temperature over
the period 1900–2000, and about 25–35% between 1980 and 2000.
Peter Stott suggests that climate models overestimate the relative effect of greenhouse
gases compared to solar forcing; they also suggest that the cooling effects of volcanic
dust and sulfate aerosols have been underestimated. They nevertheless conclude that even
with enhanced climate sensitivity to solar forcing, most of the warming since the mid20th century is likely attributable to the increases in greenhouse gases.
Solar variation combined with changes in volcanic activities might have warming effect
from pre-industrial times to 1950, but recent researches a cooling effect since. In 2006,
Peter Foukal and other researchers found no net increase of solar brightness over the last
thousand years. Solar cycles led to a small increase of 0.07% in brightness over the last
thirty years. This effect is too small to contribute significantly to climate warming.
Mike Lockwood and Claus Fröhlich found no relation between global warming and solar
radiation since 1985, whether through variations in solar output or variations in cosmic
rays. This shows that solar variations and volcanic activities have small contribution to
the climate warming.
Research by NASA scientist James Hansen indicates the 0.75° rise in average global
temperatures over the last 100 years has been driven mainly by greenhouse gases other
than carbon dioxide.
The climate warming is also caused to the small extent by the nuclear emissions, hydro,
coal, gas and solar cell emissions. Vattenfall did a study of full life cycle emissions of
Nuclear, Hydro, Coal, Gas, Solar Cell, Peat and Wind which the utility uses to produce
electricity. The net result of the study was that nuclear power produced 3.3 grams of
carbon dioxide per KW-Hr of produced power. This compares to 400 for natural gas and
700 for coal (according to this study). The study also concluded that nuclear power
produced the smallest amount of CO2 of any of their electricity sources.
Feedback effects due to clouds. Currently researches are being done and these ongoing
researches have shown that; clouds emit infrared radiation back to the surface, and so
exert a warming effect; seen from above, clouds reflect sunlight and emit infrared
radiation to space, and so exert a cooling effect. Whether the net effect is warming or
cooling depends on details such as the type and altitude of the cloud. Nevertheless, cloud
feedback is second only to water vapor feedback.
Effects of the climate warming
Environmental effects
Although it is difficult to connect specific weather events to climate warming, an increase
in global temperatures causes big changes to the environment. The increase in climate
temperature has led to the glacial retreat which is due to the melting of ice. Most of the
areas which were formerly covered by ice have now lost large amount of their ice.
Highest mountains such as Everest in Asia and Kilimanjaro in Tanzania have lost large
amount of ice on their peaks due to global warming
Arctic and Antarctic shrinkage has resulted due to the climate warming. The icebergs
in these Polar Regions have been melting and therefore leading to decrease of their areas.
The melting of ice has been contributing to the worldwide sea level rise. Changes in the
amount and pattern of precipitation may result in flooding and drought. There may also
be changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.
Sparse records indicate that glaciers have been retreating since the early 1800s. In the
1950s measurements began that allow the monitoring of glacial mass balance, reported to
the WGMS and the NSIDC.
Some effects on the natural environment are in part, already being attributed to global
warming. In historic times, glaciers grew during a cool period from about 1550 to 1850
known as the Little Ice Age. Subsequently, until about 1940, glaciers around the world
retreated as the climate warmed. Glacier retreat declined and reversed in many cases from
1950 to 1980 as a slight global cooling occurred. Since 1980, glacier retreat has become
increasingly rapid and ubiquitous, and has threatened the existence of many of the
glaciers of the world. This process has increased markedly since 1995.
Excluding the ice caps and ice sheets of the Arctic and Antarctic, the total surface area of
glaciers worldwide has decreased by 50% since the end of the 19th century. Currently
glacier retreat rates and mass balance losses have been increasing in the Andes, Alps,
Kilimanjaro and Himalayas,.
Increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, are being attributed in
part to global warming. Storm strength leading to extreme weather is increasing, such as
the power dissipation index of hurricane intensity. Although some researchers relate
extreme weather intensity with population densities, some recent studies have shown that
there is correlation between hurricanes intensity and temperature. Hurricane modeling
has found that hurricanes, simulated under warmer, high-CO2 conditions, are more
intense; models also show that hurricane frequency will be reduced. Worldwide, the
proportion of hurricanes reaching categories 4 or 5 – with wind speeds above 56 metres
per second – has risen from 20% in the 1970s to 35% in the 1990s.
The climate warming has resulted into water scarcity due to drought and drying of river
sources. The summer streamflows have decreased while species extinctions have
increased because some living species cannot withstand the increasing temperatures. For
example in the Himalayan glacial melts that comprise the principal dry-season water
source of many of the major rivers of the South, East and Southeast Asian mainland.
Increased melting would cause greater flow for several decades, after which some areas
of the most populated regions on Earth are likely to run out of water as source glaciers
are depleted
Sea level rise is projected to increase salt-water intrusion into groundwater in some
regions, affecting drinking water and agriculture in coastal zones. Increased extreme
weather will lead to more water falls on hardened ground unable to absorb it, leading to
flash floods instead of a replenishment of soil moisture or groundwater levels. Higher
temperatures will also increase the demand for water for the purposes of cooling and
hydration.
Sea level rise
Sea level has been rising 0.2 cm/year, based on measurements of sea level rise from 23
long tide gauge records in geologically stable environments
Other expected effects include increased precipitation in some regions and adverse
health effects from warmer temperatures. Increases in the range of disease vectors. For
instance some cold places which were previously free from mosquitoes are now habitat
of mosquitoes due to climate warming.
Increased evaporation. For the whole 20th century the rates of evaporation were
decreasing but as the climate gets warmer the evaporation will increase due to warmer
oceans. Because the world is a closed system this will cause heavier rainfall, with more
erosion. In the areas where deforestation is high such as in Africa this erosion will lead
to desertification. On the other hand, in other areas, increased rainfall lead to growth of
forests in dry desert areas.
Economic effects
The climate warming has effects on the economic development. The production costs
have increased due to some changes such as the scarcity of water and expenses on
carrying researches on how to reduce the green house gas emissions. The great calamities
that have been striking the world have been very costful. For example cyclones nargis in
Myanmar, Katrina in USA (New Orleans), tsunami in south east Asia and the earth
quakes in Sichuan China have been destructive and therefore affecting the economy of
the affected communities.
.Many estimates of aggregate net economic costs of damages from climate change across
the globe, the social cost of carbon (SCC), expressed in terms of future net benefits and
costs that are discounted to the present, are now available. Peer-reviewed estimates of the
SCC for 2005 have an average value of US$43 per tonne of carbon (tC) (i.e., US$12 per
tonne of carbon dioxide) but the range around this mean is large. For example, in a
survey of 100 estimates, the values ran from US$-10 per tonne of carbon (US$-3 per
tonne of carbon dioxide) up to US$350/tC (US$95 per tonne of carbon dioxide.)
Nicholas Stern, the former Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President of the World
Bank, states that climate change could affect growth, which could be cut by one-fifth
unless drastic action is taken. Stern has warned that one percent of global GDP is
required to be invested in order to mitigate the effects of climate change, and that failure
to do so could risk a recession worth up to twenty percent of global GDP Stern’s report
suggests that climate change threatens to be the greatest and widest-ranging market
failure ever seen.
The insurance industry is highly affected by the climate warming. The climate
warming has led to frequent floods and droughts and other unexpected disasters which
when occur then insurance companies have to pay the customer victims. According to
one study, 35–40% of the worst catastrophes have been climate change related. Over the
past three decades, the proportion of the global population affected by weather-related
disasters has doubled in linear trend, rising from roughly 2% in 1975 to 4% in 2001.
Increase in transport expenses. Due to increase in global warming, the Roads, airport
runways, railway lines and pipelines, may require increased maintenance and renewal as
they become subject to greater temperature variation. Regions already adversely affected
include areas of permafrost, which are subject to high levels of subsidence, resulting in
buckling roads, sunken foundations, and severely cracked runways.
The rise of sea levels due to the global warming threatens the existence of some low land
areas which may eventually disappear on the earth’s surface. This is expected to cause
massive migrations which will have a great impact on the economies of the host areas.
For instance Some Pacific Ocean island nations, such as Tuvalu, are concerned about the
possibility of an eventual evacuation, as flood defense may become economically
unviable for them. Tuvalu already has an ad hoc agreement with New Zealand to allow
phased relocation.
The combined effects of global warming have big impact on people and countries
without the resources to mitigate those effects. This will slow economic development
and poverty reduction, and make it harder to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
This will be the major problem of the developing countries particularly in Africa and
Latin America.
Solutions to climate warming
The climate change particularly climate warming is highly associated with environmental
degradation. Air pollution has contributed much to the global warming because the
pollutants such as dust, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and other green house gases have
been destroying the ozone layer and the nature of other layers which have properties of
reflecting the ultraviolet radiations from the sun.
Water and land pollutions have also contributed to the climate change, now the main way
to tackle the problem of climate warming is to take measures towards environmental
conservation. Such measures have been explained above. But simply the measures are as
follows; recycling the persistent pollutants, protecting the virgin areas remaining in the
world, putting much effort to implement the Kyoto protocol and other signed agreements
and carrying talks with the nations that have not signed the agreements on the reduction
of greenhouse gas emissions to sign.
Putting much effort on educating people through out the world on the dangers of the
climate warming, causes and how to solve the problem. Making them aware of the
climate change and their role individually and communally through special program
which will link almost all major mass media and education networks to create awareness
in world community. This will change peoples’ perceptions towards environmental issues
and hence the environmental conservation will come part and parcel of their culture.
Water management
Earth's surface consists of 70% water. Water is available almost everywhere if proper
methods are used to get it. As a country’s economy becomes stronger (as its GNP per
capita or PPP rise) a larger percentage of its people tend to have access to drinking water
and sanitation. Access to drinking water is measured by the number of people who have a
reasonable means of getting an adequate amount of water that is safe for drinking,
washing, and essential household activities.
Therefore water management describes the whole process of controlling the sources of
water, monitoring the distribution and maintaining the supply of clean and safe water to
the end user. It therefore consists of activities such as water treatment, water purification
and sewage treatment.
Water treatment describes a process used to make water more acceptable for a desired
end-use. These can include use as drinking water, industrial processes, medical and many
other uses. The goal of all water treatment process is to remove existing contaminants in
the water, improving it for subsequent use
Water purification is the removal of contaminants from untreated water to produce
drinking water that is pure enough for its intended use, most commonly human
consumption. Substances that are removed during the process of drinking water
treatment include bacteria, algae, viruses, fungi, minerals such as iron and sulphur, and
man-made chemical pollutants.
Sewage treatment is the process that removes the majority of the contaminants from
wastewater or sewage and produces both a liquid effluent suitable for disposal to the
natural environment and a sludge. To be effective, sewage must be conveyed to a
treatment plant by appropriate pipes and infrastructure and the process itself must be
subject to regulation and controls. Some wastewaters require different and sometimes
specialized treatment methods. At the simplest level, treatment of sewage and most
wastewaters is carried out through separation of solids from liquids, usually by
settlement. By progressively converting dissolved material into solids, usually a
biological floc which is then settled out, an effluent stream of increasing purity is
produced
Sources of fresh water.
Surface water is water in a river, lake or fresh water wetland. Surface water is naturally
replenished by precipitation and naturally lost through discharge to the oceans,
evaporation, and sub-surface seepage.
Although the only natural input to any surface water system is precipitation within its
watershed, the total quantity of water in that system at any given time is also dependent
on many other factors. These factors include storage capacity in lakes, wetlands and
artificial reservoirs, the permeability of the soil beneath these storage bodies, the runoff
characteristics of the land in the watershed, the timing of the precipitation and local
evaporation rates. All of these factors also affect the proportions of water lost.
Human activities can have a large impact on these factors. Humans often increase storage
capacity by constructing reservoirs and decrease it by draining wetlands. Humans often
increase runoff quantities and velocities by paving areas and channelizing stream flow.
The total quantity of water available at any given time is an important consideration.
Some human water users have an intermittent need for water. For example, many farms
require large quantities of water in the spring, and no water at all in the winter. To supply
such a farm with water, a surface water system may require a large storage capacity to
collect water throughout the year and release it in a short period of time. Other users have
a continuous need for water, such as a power plant that requires water for cooling. To
supply such a power plant with water, a surface water system only needs enough storage
capacity to fill in when average stream flow is below the power plant's need.
Nevertheless, over the long term the average rate of precipitation within a watershed is
the upper bound for average consumption of natural surface water from that watershed.
Natural surface water can be augmented by importing surface water from another
watershed through a canal or pipeline. It can also be artificially augmented from any of
the other sources listed here, however in practice the quantities are negligible. Humans
can also cause surface water to be "lost" (i.e. become unusable) through pollution.
Canada is the country estimated to have the largest supply of fresh water in the world,
followed by Brazil and Russia.
Sub-Surface water, or groundwater, is fresh water located in the pore space of soil and
rocks. It is also water that is flowing within aquifers below the water table. Sometimes it
is useful to make a distinction between sub-surface water that is closely associated with
surface water and deep sub-surface water in an aquifer (sometimes called "fossil water").
Sub-surface water can be thought of in the same terms as surface water: inputs, outputs
and storage. The critical difference is that due to its slow rate of turnover, sub-surface
water storage is generally much larger compared to inputs than it is for surface water.
This difference makes it easy for humans to use sub-surface water unsustainably for a
long time without severe consequences. Nevertheless, over the long term the average rate
of seepage above a sub-surface water source is the upper bound for average consumption
of water from that source.
The natural input to sub-surface water is seepage from surface water. The natural outputs
from sub-surface water are springs and seepage to the oceans.
If the surface water source is also subject to substantial evaporation, a sub-surface water
source may become saline. This situation can occur naturally under endorheic bodies of
water, or artificially under irrigated farmland. In coastal areas, human use of a subsurface water source may cause the direction of seepage to ocean to reverse which can
also cause soil salinization. Humans can also cause sub-surface water to be "lost" (i.e.
become unusable) through pollution. Humans can increase the input to a sub-surface
water source by building reservoirs or detention ponds.
Water in the ground are in sections called aquifers. Rain rolls down and comes into
these. Normally an aquifer is near to the equilibrium in its water content. The water
content of an aquifer normally depends on the grain sizes. This means that the rate of
extraction may be limited by poor permeability.
Desalination is an artificial process by which saline water (generally sea water) is
converted to fresh water. The most common desalination processes are distillation and
reverse osmosis. Desalination is currently expensive compared to most alternative
sources of water, and only a very small fraction of total human use is satisfied by
desalination. It is only economically practical for high-valued uses (such as household
and industrial uses) in arid areas. The most extensive use is in the Persian Gulf.
Several schemes have been proposed to make use of icebergs as a water source, however
to date this has only been done for novelty purposes. Glacier runoff is considered to be
surface water.
Uses of water
Uses of fresh water can be categorized as consumptive and non-consumptive (sometimes
called "renewable"). A use of water is consumptive if that water is not immediately
available for another use. Losses to sub-surface seepage and evaporation are considered
consumptive, as is water incorporated into a product (such as farm produce). Water that
can be treated and returned as surface water, such as sewage, is generally considered nonconsumptive if that water can be put to additional use.
Agricultural
It is estimated that 69% of world-wide water use is for irrigation, with 15-35% of
irrigation withdrawals being unsustainable
In some areas of the world irrigation is necessary to grow any crop at all, in other areas it
permits more profitable crops to be grown or enhances crop yield. Various irrigation
methods involve different trade-offs between crop yield, water consumption and capital
cost of equipment and structures. Irrigation methods such as most furrow and overhead
sprinkler irrigation are usually less expensive but also less efficient, because much of the
water evaporates or runs off. More efficient irrigation methods include drip or trickle
irrigation, surge irrigation, and some types of sprinkler systems where the sprinklers are
operated near ground level. These types of systems, while more expensive, can minimize
runoff and evaporation. Any system that is improperly managed can be wasteful. Another
trade-off that is often insufficiently considered is salinization of sub-surface water.
Aquaculture is a small but growing agricultural use of water. Freshwater commercial
fisheries may also be considered as agricultural uses of water, but have generally been
assigned a lower priority than irrigation.
As global populations grow, and as demand for food increases in a world with a fixed
water supply, there are efforts underway to learn how to produce more food with less
water, through improvements in irrigation [2] methods [3] and technologies, agricultural
water management, crop types, and water monitoring.
Industrial
It is estimated that 15% of world-wide water use is industrial. Major industrial users
include power plants, which use water for cooling or as a power source (i.e. hydroelectric
plants), ore and oil refineries, which use water in chemical processes, and manufacturing
plants, which use water as a solvent.
The portion of industrial water usage that is consumptive varies widely, but as a whole is
lower than agricultural use.
Household
It is estimated that 15% of world-wide water use is for household purposes. These
include drinking water, bathing, cooking, sanitation, and gardening. Basic household
water requirements have been estimated by Peter Gleick at around 50 liters per person per
day, excluding water for gardens.
Recreation
Recreational water use is usually a very small but growing percentage of total water use.
Recreational water use is mostly tied to reservoirs. If a reservoir is kept fuller than it
would otherwise be for recreation, then the water retained could be categorized as
recreational usage. Release of water from a few reservoirs is also timed to enhance
whitewater boating, which also could be considered a recreational usage. Other examples
are anglers, water skiers, nature enthusiasts and swimmers.
Recreational usage is usually non-consumptive. Golf courses are often targeted as using
excessive amounts of water, especially in drier regions. s, however, unclear whether
recreational irrigation (which would include private gardens) has a noticeable effect on
water resources. This is largely due to the unavailability of reliable data. Some
governments, including the Californian Government, have labeled golf course usage as
agricultural in order to deflect environmentalists' charges of wasting water. However,
using the above figures as a basis, the actual statistical effect of this reassignment is close
to zero.
Additionally, recreational usage may reduce the availability of water for other users at
specific times and places. For example, water retained in a reservoir to allow boating in
the late summer is not available to farmers during the spring planting season. Water
released for whitewater rafting may not be available for hydroelectric generation during
the time of peak electrical demand.
Environmental
Explicit environmental water use is also a very small but growing percentage of total
water use. Environmental water usage includes artificial wetlands, artificial lakes
intended to create wildlife habitat, fish ladders around dams, and water releases from
reservoirs timed to help fish spawn.
Like recreational usage, environmental usage is non-consumptive but may reduce the
availability of water for other users at specific times and places. For example, water
release from a reservoir to help fish spawn may not be available to farms upstream.
Reason for water management.
The only known example of an actual inter-state conflict over water took place between
2500 and 2350 BC between the Sumerian states of Lagash and Umma. Yet, despite the
lack of evidence of international wars being fought over water alone, water has been the
source of various conflicts throughout history. When water scarcity causes political
tensions to arise, this is referred to as water stress. Water stress has led most often to
conflicts at local and regional levels. Using a purely quantitative methodology, Thomas
Homer-Dixon successfully correlated water scarcity and scarcity of available arable lands
to an increased chance of violent conflict.
Water stress can also exacerbate conflicts and political tensions which are not directly
caused by water. Gradual reductions over time in the quality and/or quantity of fresh
water can add to the instability of a region by depleting the health of a population,
obstructing economic development, and exacerbating larger conflicts.
Conflicts and tensions over water are most likely to arise within national borders, in the
downstream areas of distressed river basins. Areas such as the lower regions of China's
Yellow River or the Chao Phraya River in Thailand, for example, have already been
experiencing water stress for several years. Additionally, certain arid countries which rely
heavily on water for irrigation, such as China, India, Iran, and Pakistan, are particularly at
risk of water-related conflicts. Political tensions, civil protest, and violence may also
occur in reaction to water privatization. The Bolivian Water Wars of 2000 are a case in
point.3. We use water in a lot of different ways. We use water for recreation such as
swimming. We use water to wash objects. Water is used for electricity and irrigation. It is
used to water plants; sprinklers also use water. Water is used for farming and growing
crops.
Factors hinder good water management
Population growth
In 2000, the world population was 6.2 billion. The UN estimates that by 2050 there will
be an additional 3 billion people with most of the growth in developing countries that
already suffer water stress. Thus, water demand will increase unless there are
corresponding increases in water conservation and recycling of this vital resource.
Increased affluence
The rate of poverty alleviation is increasing especially within the two population giants of
China and India. However, increasing affluence inevitably means more water
consumption: from needing clean fresh water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and basic
sanitation service, to demanding water for gardens and car washing, to wanting jacuzzis
or private swimming pools.
Expansion of business activity
Business activity ranging from industrialization to services such as tourism and
entertainment continues to expand rapidly. This expansion requires increased water
services including both supply and sanitation, which can lead to more pressure on water
resources and natural ecosystems.
Rapid urbanization
The trend towards urbanization is accelerating. Small private wells and septic tanks that
work well in low-density communities are not feasible within high-density urban areas.
Urbanization requires significant investment in water infrastructure in order to deliver
water to individuals and to process the concentrations of wastewater – both from
individuals and from business. These polluted and contaminated waters must be treated
or they pose unacceptable public health risks. In 60% of European cities with more than
100,000 people, groundwater is being used at a faster rate than it can be replenished.
Even if some water remains available, it costs more and more to capture it.
Climate change
Climate change could have significant impacts on water resources around the world
because of the close connections between the climate and hydrologic cycle. Rising
temperatures will increase evaporation and lead to increases in precipitation, though there
will be regional variations in rainfall. Overall, the global supply of freshwater will
increase. Both droughts and floods may become more frequent in different regions at
different times, and dramatic changes in snowfall and snowmelt are expected in
mountainous areas. Higher temperatures will also affect water quality in ways that are not
well understood. Possible impacts include increased eutrophication. Climate change
could also mean an increase in demand for farm irrigation, garden sprinklers, and perhaps
even swimming pools.
Depletion of aquifers
Due to the expanding human population, competition for water is growing such that
many of the world’s major aquifers are becoming depleted. This is due both for direct
human consumption as well as agricultural irrigation by groundwater. Millions of small
pumps of all sizes are currently extracting groundwater throughout the world. Irrigation
in dry areas such as northern China and India is supplied by groundwater, and is being
extracted at an unsustainable rate. Cities that have experienced aquifer drops between 10
to 50 meters include Mexico City, Bangkok, Manila, Beijing, Madras and Shanghai.
Effect on failure to water management
Diarrhoeal diseases cause ninety percent of all deaths of children under five years old in
developing countries. Malnutrition, especially protein-energy malnutrition, can decrease
the children's resistance to infections, including water-related diarrhoeal diseases. In
2000-2003, 769,000 children under five years old in sub-Saharan Africa died each year
from diarrhoeal diseases. As a result of only thirty-six percent of the population in the
sub-Saharan region having access to proper means of sanitation, more than 2000
children's lives are lost every day. In south Asia, 683,000 children under five years old
died each year from diarrhea disease from 2000-2003. During the same time period, in
developed countries, 700 children under five years old died from diarrhoeal disease.
Improved water supply reduces diarrhea morbidity by twenty-five percent and
improvements in drinking water through proper storage in the home and chlorination
reduces diarrhea episodes by thirty-nine percent
Conclusion
As of the year 2006 (and pre-existing for at least three decades), there is a substantial
shortfall in availability of potable water in less developed countries, primarily arising
from industrial contamination and pollution. As of the year 2000, 27 percent of the
populations of lesser developed countries did not have access to safe drinking water.
Implications for disease propagation are significant. Many nations have water quality
regulations for water sold as drinking water, although these are often not strictly enforced
outside of the developed world. The World Health Organization sets international
standards for drinking water. A broad classification of drinking water safety worldwide
can be found in Safe Water for International Travelers.
It reflects the health of a country’s people and the country’s capacity to collect, clean, and
distribute water to consumers. According to the United Nations' World Health
Organization (WHO) more than one billion people in low and middle-income countries
lack access to safe water for drinking, personal hygiene and domestic use. These numbers
represent more than 20 percent of the world’s people. In addition, close to 3 billion
people did not have access to adequate sanitation facilities. While the occurrence of
waterborne diseases in developed countries is generally low due to a generally good
system of water treatment, distribution and monitoring, waterborne diseases are among
the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries,
frequently called developing countries.
The main reason for poor access to safe water is the inability to finance and to adequately
maintain the necessary infrastructure. Overpopulation and scarcity of water resources are
contributing factors.
Many other countries also lack in the amount of safe drinking water that they need to
survive. Some of the countries have less than twenty percent of the population that has
access to safe drinking water. For example in Africa, with more than seven hundred
million people, only forty-six percent of people have safe drinking water. The more
populous Asia Pacific region with over three billion people, eighty percent of whom with
access to drinking water, still leaves some six hundred and twenty seven million people
without access to safe drinking water.
The lack of water and the lack of hygiene is one of the biggest problems that many poor
countries have encountered in progressing their way of living. The problem has reached
such endemic proportions that 2.2 million deaths per annum occur from unsanitary water
- ninety percent of these are children under the age of five. One program developed to
help people gain access to safe drinking water is the Water Aid program. Working in 17
countries to help provide water, Water Aid is useful in helping the sanitation and hygiene
education to some of the world's poorest people.
Recommendations
Water supply and sanitation require a huge amount of capital investment in infrastructure
such as pipe networks, pumping stations and water treatment works. It is estimated that
nations need to invest at least USD 200 billion per year to replace aging water
infrastructure to guarantee supply, reduce leakage rates and protect water quality.
International attention has focused upon the needs of the developing countries. To meet
the Millennium Development Goals targets of halving the proportion of the population
lacking access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015, current annual
investment on the order of USD 10 to USD 15 billion would need to be roughly doubled.
This does not include investments required for the maintenance of existing infrastructure.
Once infrastructure is in place, operating water supply and sanitation systems entails
significant ongoing costs to cover personnel, energy, chemicals, maintenance and other
expenses. The sources of money to meet these capital and operational costs are
essentially either user fees, public funds or some combination of the two.
But this is where the economics of water management start to become extremely complex
as they intersect with social and broader economic policy. Such policy questions are
beyond the scope of this article, which has concentrated on basic information about water
availability and water use. They are, nevertheless, highly relevant to understanding how
critical water issues will affect business and industry in terms of both risks and
opportunities.
Finally the international community should now establish a water institute which will be
responsible for water management in particular. It will be working to improve technology
in sea water distillation and coordinate the water distillation activities all over the world
and reserve the distilled water so as to ensure availability of sufficient water in the
coming future which is anticipated to have shortage of water.
References
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An Anatomy of Ambition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
SWQM Data Management Reference Guide published on March 23, 2007
Antle, J. M., and T. McGuckin. 1993. Technological innovation, agricultural
productivity, and environmental quality. In Agricultural and environmental resources
economics, ed. G. A. Carlson,
Bhatia, R., R. Cestti, and J. Winpenny. 1995. Water conservation and reallocation: Best
practice cases in improving economic efficiency and environmental quality. World Bank–
Overseas Development Institute Joint Study. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.
Birge, R., and F. Louveaux. 1997. Introduction to stochastic programming. New York:
Springer-Verlag.
Bhatia, R., R. Cestti, and J. Winpenny. 1995. Water conservation and reallocation: Best
practice cases in improving economic efficiency and environmental quality. World Bank–
Overseas Development Institute Joint Study. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.