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Lesson 15: Freshwater Issues Part I – Water Scarcity

Lesson 15: Freshwater Issues Part I – Water Scarcity. Amy Duray EVPP 490 003 March 31, 2010. How Water is Used. Consumption Sanitation Production (Industrial, Agricultural) Power Generation Transportation Habitat Drainage. Water and the MDGs.

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Lesson 15: Freshwater Issues Part I – Water Scarcity

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  1. Lesson 15: Freshwater Issues Part I – Water Scarcity Amy Duray EVPP 490 003 March 31, 2010

  2. How Water is Used • Consumption • Sanitation • Production (Industrial, Agricultural) • Power Generation • Transportation • Habitat • Drainage

  3. 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.”

  4. Three Types of Water Crises From: Lall, et. al 2008 • Crisis of access to safe drinking water • Crisis of water pollution • Crisis of scarcity

  5. 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

  6. Water Stress Considering Ecosystem Requirements 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

  7. Primary Watersheds of South, Southeast, and East Asia 46 – Amur 74 – Yalu Jiang 54 – Hwang He (Yellow) 75 – Yangtze (Chiang Jiang) 73 – Xi Jiang (Pearl) 53 – Hong (Red) 64 – Mekong 58 – Kapuas 62 – Mahakam 49 – Chao Phrya 68 – Salween 57 – Irrawaddy 48 – Brahmaputra 51 – Ganges 56 – Indus 66 – Narmada 71 – Tapti 63 – Mahanadi 52 – Godavari 60 – Krishna Source: Ravenga et. al (1998) via Earthtrends Data Portal

  8. 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

  9. 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)

  10. State and Trends Increase in annual water demand 2005-2030 (Billion m3)

  11. 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)

  12. Yellow River Source: Ravenga et. al (1998) via Earthtrends Data Portal

  13. Yangtze River Source: Ravenga et. al (1998) via Earthtrends Data Portal

  14. Pressures: Scarcity 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

  15. 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

  16. 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

  17. South-to-North Water Diversion Project NY Times: Sending Water North From: NY Times via Yale Environment 360

  18. 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. C. J. Vörösmarty et al., Science 289, 284 -288 (2000) Published by AAAS

  19. Mekong River Source: Ravenga et. al (1998) via Earthtrends Data Portal

  20. 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.

  21. 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

  22. Mekong River State-and-Trends: • Extremely abundant resources – 1700 fish species know, several endangered • Largely natural flow regime supports this level of diversity

  23. 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)

  24. Response • Mekong River Commission • Basin-wide impact assessment requirements • Increasing community-driven activism

  25. Good Links for Water Links 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/

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