Lesson 15: Freshwater Issues Part I – Water Scarcity
Amy DurayEVPP 490 003
March 31, 2010
How Water is Used
• Consumption• Sanitation• Production (Industrial, Agricultural)• Power Generation• Transportation• Habitat• Drainage
Water and the MDGs
• MDG-7 (Ensure Environmental Sustainability)• Target 10 under MDG 7 is “Halve by 2015 the
proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.”
Three Types of Water Crises
From: Lall, et. al 2008• Crisis of access to safe drinking water• Crisis of water pollution• Crisis of scarcity
Traditional Water Stress Indicators
Source: SMAKHTIN, V.U., REVENGA, C., DÖLL, P. (2004) Taking into account environmental water requirements in global-scale water resources assessments. Research Report of the CGIAR Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture. No. 2, International Water Management Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 24 pp. Accessed via: http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/assessment/Publications/Maps_for_Research_Report_No2.htm
Source: SMAKHTIN, V.U., REVENGA, C., DÖLL, P. (2004) Taking into account environmental water requirements in global-scale water resources assessments. Research Report of the CGIAR Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture. No. 2, International Water Management Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 24 pp. Accessed via: http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/assessment/Publications/Maps_for_Research_Report_No2.htm
Water Stress Considering Ecosystem Requirements
Primary Watersheds of South, Southeast, and East Asia
46 – Amur74 – Yalu Jiang54 – Hwang He (Yellow)75 – Yangtze (Chiang Jiang)73 – Xi Jiang (Pearl)53 – Hong (Red)64 – Mekong58 – Kapuas62 – Mahakam49 – Chao Phrya68 – Salween57 – Irrawaddy48 – Brahmaputra51 – Ganges56 – Indus66 – Narmada71 – Tapti63 – Mahanadi52 – Godavari60 – Krishna
Source: Ravenga et. al (1998) via Earthtrends Data Portal
DPSIR Framework(1 of 2)
A. Drivers:• Deeply held (and often contrasting) beliefs and ethics regarding water management• Increasing Human populations, especially in historically occupied river basins and coastal enclaves• Increasing globalization in world economy
B. Pressures:• Agricultural expansion and increased irrigation withdraws• Urbanization• Increasing groundwater extraction• Increasing industrial withdrawals• Increasing industrial (point source) pollution• Increasing agricultural (non-point source) pollution• Increasing demand for energy and hydropower• Dams and flow regime modification• Changing global climate, especially observed changes in seasonal precipitation and glacial ice• Increasing scarcity in certain regions due to either an increased supported population or
decreasing hydrologic flow
DPSIR Framework(2 of 2)
C. State-and-Trends:• Increasing sea temperatures (effects water density, which effects sea levels, salt water intrusion into estuarine
areas AND effects storm frequencies along coastal regions)• Changes in precipitation/Increasing variability especially with respect to monsoons. (UNEP, 2007)• Increasing personal access to water (in aggregate, per UN)• Increasing contamination in many river basins (Ravenga et. al, 1998)
D. Impacts:• Increasing time/labor to access water supplies in some locations (UNEP, 2007)• Decreased total flow, especially in downstream communities (Ravenga et. al, 1998)• Increasing use of water systems to carry away wastes deposited there by sanitation systems (or unsanitary
wastes)• Decreasing habitat quality for aquatic/riparian flora and fauna• Decreasing freshwater diversity
D. Responses:• Increasing water diversion for reservoirs, flood control, and hydropower• Development of water economies (e.g. entrepreneurial or mandated trucking of potable waters in underserved
areas)• Development of Polluter-Pays policies (especially in East Asian Countries – GEO-4 p. 219)• Development of demand-side water management strategies (China/Mongolia Amur region – GEO-4 p. 219)• Improvements in water use efficiency, esp. for irrigation in agriculture and industrial uses.• Market-based incentives for efficiency increases and utility upgrades• Bi-lateral and Multi-lateral treaties for water management and hydropower• Proliferation of “soft-path” water purification, collection, and distribution methods (Gleick, 1993)
State and TrendsIncrease in annual water demand 2005-2030 (Billion m3)
China(1 of 4)
• 4th Largest national freshwater resources• North = Scarcity, South = Quality• Drivers:– Population Growth, Development,
industrialization– Concentration of population in historic river basins– Communist Party structure and organizational
culture• Video: China’s Water Woes (NY Times)
Yellow River
Source: Ravenga et. al (1998) via Earthtrends Data Portal
Yangtze River
Source: Ravenga et. al (1998) via Earthtrends Data Portal
China(2 of 4)
• Agricultural withdraws constitute 66% of water use in China• Waste/Inefficiencies in Water use and distribution• Increasing affluence of Chinese population (esp. in cities)
means that water consumptions patterns are becoming more like European and American users – more and longer showers, household washing machines and dishwashers.
• Millennia of hydrologic alteration of the Yellow River and especially hydropower construction under Mao
• Desertification-induced siltation in the Yellow River basin
Pressures: Scarcity
China(3 of 4)
State and Trends: Scarcity• See Picture – NY Times - Where Water is Scarce• Two-thirds of China’s 660 cities have less water than they
need• 1 in 6 cities have “severe” water shortages• Several cities in the North near Beijing and Tianjin could run
out of water in 5-7 years.• Urban water consumption 2004-2005 grew by 6.6%• Groundwater provides 70% of drinking water
China(4 of 4)
Impacts: Scarcity• Extreme groundwater/aquifer depletion (See Picture – NY Times -
Where Water is Scarce)• Yellow River Delta often dry, leading to habitat destruction, lack of land
creation• Seawater intrusion into estuaries• Subsidence
Response: Scarcity• 1987 – Yellow River Water Distribution Formula (Ma, 2007)• Reforestation efforts on the Loess Plateau (Ma, 2007)• South to North Water Diversion Project
South-to-North Water Diversion Project
NY Times: Sending Water NorthFrom: NY Times via Yale Environment 360
Published by AAAS
C. J. Vörösmarty et al., Science 289, 284 -288 (2000)
Figure 2. The imprint of accumulated relative water demand from all sectors (DIA/Q) plotted as a function of downstream distance along two major rivers in eastern Asia. The contemporary setting is contrasted against the three scenarios of potential conditions in 2025 simulated by CGCM1/WBM. Trajectories are unique for individual main-stem rivers and involve a complex interplay between the geography of river discharge and water use. An increase in this index along the downstream direction accompanies an increase in accumulated water demand, a decrease in discharge, or both, whereas a lowering of the curve reflects dilution from local runoff or less impacted tributaries. DIA/Q is an index of water competition and reuse as well as a surrogate for potential water quality problems.
Mekong River
Source: Ravenga et. al (1998) via Earthtrends Data Portal
Mekong River
• True international river – Six riparian states• 3rd highest River in term of Biological Diversity
(behind Amazon and Congo)• 72 million inhabitants of the basin (2005 – up
from 63 million in 1995)• Growth rates slowing in some areas (China,
Thailand, Myanmar) but rising in others (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam) – expected positive growth through 2050.
Mekong River
Pressures:• Navigation – plans to dredge and blast to increase
carrying capacity• Hydropower:– China planning 8 hydropower dams on upper reaches
(2 built, 2 under construction)– Laos plans 6 dams on Laotian tributaries
• Fish Exploitation• Patchy international coordination
Mekong River
State-and-Trends:• Extremely abundant resources – 1700 fish
species know, several endangered• Largely natural flow regime supports this level
of diversity
Mekong River
Impacts:• Impacts to human nutrition:– 80% of dietary protein provided by fish of Mekong– Kai, a high-protein littoral plant, supplies additional
protein to diets• Damming disrupts the natural flood cycle– Impacting agriculture downstream– Impacting aquatic food cycle
• Decreased flow expected (up to 23% decline)
Response
• Mekong River Commission• Basin-wide impact assessment requirements• Increasing community-driven activism
Good Links for WaterLinks for Water Resources:
Asia Pacific Water Forum (APWF): http://www.apwf.org/WWAP (World Water Assessment Programme): http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/
Links for information for local/Subregion exploration:Mekong Basin Research Network (United Nations University): http://www.mekongnet.org/Main_PageMekong River Commission: http://www.mrcmekong.org/India Water Portal: http://www.indiawaterportal.org/GWP CACENA (Global Water Partnership Central Asia and Caucasus): http://www.gwpcacena.org/GWP SAS (Global Water Partnership South Asia): http://www.gwpsouthasia.org/GWP SEA (Global Water Partnership Southeast Asia): http://www.gwpsea.org/KWF (Korea Water Forum): http://www.koreawaterforum.org/JWF (Japan Water Forum): http://www.waterforum.jp/NEW: The Asia Water Project: China: http://www.asiawaterproject.org/