An article by anugraha hadke lays bare, some troubling statistics. Regarding water, a survey conducted in 1990 in 29 subsaharan countries showed that eight of these countries suffered from a shortage or a scarcity. This huge region extends from the maghreb, comprising morocco, algeria, tunisia, libya, and sometimes mauritania, into the mashriq, comprising. The subsaharan region of africa had the largest number of water stressed countries of any other place on the globe.
To adequately address the issue of water scarcity in africa, the united nations economic commission for africa emphasizes the need to invest in the development of africa s potential water resources to reduce unnecessary suffering, ensure food security, and protect economic gains by effectively managing droughts, floods, and desertification. Review approaches used by geographers to propose future. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic. The urban population in africa could rise from 8 million in 1990 to 500 million in 2020, and african cities with over 1 million inhabitants will then have to accommodate nearly 200 million people. And water s importance to political and social stability will only grow with the crisis. Sirte 2008 conference on water for agriculture and energy in africa. Lack of water security is not primarily the result of not having enough water.
Water scarcity challenges in the middle east and north. Africa nawrotski and bakhtsiyarava, 2016 and south africa mastorillo et al. Experts say wise economic development focused on infrastructure and improved treaties on water. Sep 20, 2015 subsaharan africa is the home to hundreds of millions of people who suffer from water scarcity issues 2. The effects of variable rainfall patterns and different climatic regimes are compounded by high evaporation rates across the country. Near east and north africas water scarcity initiative fao. Much of subsaharan africa is characterized by economic scarcity, so further. Africa international decade for action water for life. They want to find out how people live in this water crisis. People have been hired to work on the project of building water pipes across the cities. In a few years from now, almost all subsaharan countries will be below the level at which water supply is enough for all. Even worse, most of them will be in a state of waterstress or scarcity.
Feb 02, 2018 cape town without water could have a calamitous effect on south africas economy, economists and water experts say. Water stress in subsaharan africa council on foreign relations. Johannesburg is likely to run short of water should a severe drought occur in the next 10 years, as water wastage has not been stemmed and new sources of supply. Africa faces a situation of economic water scarcity. At the heart of the climate disaster is water scarcity, affecting rural and urban africans across the board as clean, reliable water sources are diminishing at an alarming pace. Cape town without water could have a calamitous effect on south africas economy, economists and water experts say. Wide income gaps between the rich and the poor also come into play, especially in urban areas, where the poorest pay up to 10 times more for sanitary water. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. This rainfall is inconstant and is often contaminated by silt and erosion. In this region, only an estimated 44 percent of the urban population and 24 percent of the rural population have adequate sanitation 4. Avoiding conflicts over africas water resources geographical considerations and the availability of water in africa geographically, the african continent straddles the equator, with an approximately equal range of latitudes to the north and south, though a larger proportion of the continents land. Theyll give your presentations a professional, memorable appearance the kind of sophisticated look that todays audiences expect. Underdevelopment, resource scarcity, and environmental. With rapid growth, regional instability, and climate change, these challenges are more pressing than ever.
The reporters find out that citizens in cities dont get enough water because there. By 2035 the municipal sector will account for roughly 32% of total withdrawals, against 28% in 2017, whereas the agricultural and industrial sectors will account for about 58% and 10% respectively. Yet rapidly changing socioeconomic, political, and environmental conditions make water security a different, and more urgent, challenge than ever before. Wrc water use and waste management executive manager jay bhagwan told the newspaper the problem was caused by ageing infrastructure and the prioritisation of new infrastructure over maintenance. Water scarcity often encourages people to store water in their homes. The money is then used to buy water and its given to people in africa. The world is trying to help solve water scarcity in africa. Water, food security and agricultural policy in the. The same goes for sections of india and latin america.
The water scarcity problem thats destroying countries. Water has always posed great challenges for the middle east and north africa. Water scarcity challenges africas ability to ensure food security for its. Ppt water scarcity in africa powerpoint presentation. Among the issues on the agenda for the 32nd fao regional conference for the near east and north africa is a new regional water scarcity initiative, launched by fao to support member countries in identifying strategies, policies and practices that promote sustainable solutions to water scarcity and related food security problems. This report shows that achieving water security means much more than coping with water scarcity. Water scarcity challenges in the middle east and north africa. Aug 03, 2006 subsaharan africa suffers from greater levels of water stress than many other regions in the world. South africa has an average annual rainfall of less than 500 mm, while that of the world is about 850 mm. Subsaharan africa is the home to hundreds of millions of people who suffer from water scarcity issues 2. Second order water scarcity in southern africa overview of research project 1 1 second order water scarcity in southern africa by dr julie trottier 1. In particular, the subtropics and midlatitudes, where much of the worlds. Moreover, a whopping 50% of the groundwater is contaminated, with myriad toxics like fluoride, nitrates, etc.
Some projections estimate that south africa already exploits about 98% of its available water supply resources. Water scarcity in africa lorem ipsum has been the industrys standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. This article examines the water crisis in africa, whether it is a myth or reality, and. Humans drive future water scarcity changes across all. Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the.
Water scarcity in africa essay example graduateway. In africa, the struggle for access to clean drinking water is one of todays most obvious examples of how water scarcity leads to the stalling and reversal of human progress. Seasonal water shortages along river basins are expected mostly in the. These competitions occur over several scales embedded in one another, among formal and informal actors, among.
Dr james dabrowski, the councils principal researcher specialising in water quality and aquatic ecology, said that, with over 98% of south africas available water resources already allocated across various sectors, the country could face a water deficit of between 2% and % by 2025, depending on economic performance, reported polity, the. Drinking waterscarcityafrica wikibooks, open books for an. Population and water scarcity in the middle east and north africa the middle east and north africa mena is the most waterscarce region of the world. This makes south africa the worlds 30th driest country. This report describes how the regions current water challenges go far beyond ageold constraints of water scarcity. It was estimated that 60% of global population may challenge water scarcity by 2025 and most of scare water countries are located in arid and semiarid zones especially in the middle east and north africa 6. Water security in south africa building africas prosperity. It is estimated that in the remotest parts of africa, the female population spends a combined total of 40 billion hours a year walking to and from a well. Nov 16, 2017 large parts of the world, particularly in africa, suffer from economic water scarcity. Resolution individuals have worked to solve the crisis of water scarcity in south africa by building pipes to allow people to get water. This puts a lot of strain on south africas water supplies because 65% of the country gets less than 500mm of annual rainfall. The council estimated that 15% of water loss was caused by theft. And waters importance to political and social stability will only grow with the crisis. The world health organization who has reported that more than 40 percent of the global water stressed population lives in subsaharan africa 3.
For instance, erratic rainfall for the past 3 years has left over 74% of the countrys farmland starved of water pushing the water crisis even further. Developing the right infrastructure would lower the poverty line. South africa tackles water issues home brand south africa. Water has always been a source of risks and opportunities in the middle east and north africa. Environ mental constraints and climate change have increased the crises of water scarcity in arid and semiarid countries. Not surprising, since the region is the home of over 50%. Africa shows a band roughly between 5 and 15 northern latitude with. As more people put everincreasing demands on limited supplies, the cost and effort to build or even maintain access to water will increase. Only, some parts of the cities have pipes so by having pipes all over the cities, everyone can get water. About libya about 95 percent of the country is desert. About 66% of africa is arid or semiarid and more than 300 of the 800 million people in subsaharan africa live in a water scarce. The water loss reportedly cost south africa around r7.
Water availability has for millennia shaped the culture of the people in the part of the world now commonly referred to as the middle east and north africa. Water is scarce in the middle east and north africa mena region. Jun 28, 2011 water scarcity in africa and the middle east. The geographic location of water scarcity is also shown to have consistent locations, as the amazon river basin and much of the northern high latitudes experience negligible changes in wsi independent of future, while basins in the southwestern united states and much of africa experience worsening water scarcity due to human activities. Water stress and human migration food and agriculture. Coping with water scarcity an action framework for agriculture and food security. In africa, women spend half of their day walking and hauling up water from a clear source. Worlds best powerpoint templates crystalgraphics offers more powerpoint templates than anyone else in the world, with over 4 million to choose from. Headlinegrabbing news of the crisis reaching epidemic proportions has elicited quite fervent brainracking among the intelligentsia that has come up with certain viable longterm solutions for water conservation to steer the ship away from the iceberg. Water scarcity in africa by katherine villaluz on prezi. Water scarcity in africa work cited if people living in africa are lucky enough to reach water, it might not even be safe to drink. Heres how you can help with the water crisis in south.
Spatial assessment of water quantity stress in sultanate. The initiative on water scarcity will make governments, international organizations, civil society and the private sector work together to seek participatory and innovative policy, governance and management options for the sustainable use of water scarce resources, which are vital for the food security of the near east and north africa countries. The most immediately apparent impact of water scarcity in africa is on the continents health. Prevalence of villages in many parts of africa meant that large parts of africa lacked the necessary industrial technologies in order to ensure sustainability of water scarcity solutions. Capes water crisis to have ripple effect africas best read. A free powerpoint ppt presentation displayed as a flash slide show on id.
Africas total water withdrawals, the most significant increase is expected in the municipal sector. Half a billion people in the world face severe water scarcity all year round. Water for agriculture and energy in africa food and agriculture. The secondary source is an article about a reporter going to west africa and meeting up with other reporters to see the water scarcity problem. By giving the africans water, the websites are helping put an end to their problem of lack of water. Explain the geographical term water scarcity using examples of physical and economic water scarcity at different scales.
Subsaharan africa suffers from greater levels of water stress than many other regions in the world. Water stress in subsaharan africa council on foreign. At the heart of the climate disaster is water scarcity, affecting rural and urban africans across the board as clean, reliable water sources are diminishing at. Government on water scarcity and drought south african. About 93 percent of the land surface receives less than 100 mm of rain per year. On monday, ratings agency moodys placed the citys credit rating under. This article examines the water crisis in africa, whether it is a myth or reality, and reasons thereof, and suggests remedial measures. This often forces those living in water deprived regions to turn to unsafe water resources, which, according to the world health organization, contributes to the spread of waterborne diseases including typhoid. Water scarcity in south africa and the precarious road. The reporters find out that citizens in cities dont get enough water because there are no pipes to allow them to get water.
Water scarcity, a failing water system and alternative solutions to an increasingly arid south africa were the points of focus at a gibb engineering and architecture round table discussion in. The visualization shows the average level of water withdrawal per capita per year. South africa is a water scarce country and ranks as one of the 30 driest countries in the world with an average rainfall of about 40% less than the annual world average rainfall. Coping with water scarcity food and agriculture organization of. This can increase the risk of household water contamination and provide breeding grounds for mosquitoes. In the article, seeking water solutions for africa, it says, as a result. Climate change impacts in subsaharan africa climate analytics. Some people who do drink this water can suffer from harmful diseases. Near east and north africas water scarcity initiative. Africa cannot yet be considered fully water secure.
With a complete lack of water, humans can only live up to 3 to 5 days on average. This makes it hard to diagnose the exact problem and determine the appropriate response. Water security in the middle east and north africa draws on regional and global examples to show that limited water resources need not restrict the regions future, but that a. Terrorist groups and local warlords use their own wealth and resources to create the needed infrastructure, the major caveat being that they control the pipeline and in turn use it for their. Heres how you can help with the water crisis in south africa right now. Ppt water scarcity in africa powerpoint presentation free. South africas water resources have always been very limited, and with increased population, the demand for water has also increased. As allan 2002 noted, the region basically ran out of water in the 70s and today depends as much on water from outside the region in the form of its food imports, for example as on its own renewable water resources. This blog looks at the water scarcity crisis which continue to worsen due to the continued effects of climate change in africa and middle east. Winner of the standing ovation award for best powerpoint templates from presentations magazine. Growing water scarcity, shrinking of some water bodies, and desertification. Climate change will amplify existing stress on water availability in africa high confidence.
About 66% of africa is arid or semiarid and more than 300 of the 800 million people in subsaharan africa live in a waterscarce. In scarcity scramble, students move through three different stations to learn about resource abundance, physical scarcity, and economic scarcity using a resource that they know. Four billion people facing severe water scarcity ncbi. Internationally, it is recognised that water scarcity does not, in itself, determine the success or failure of a countrys economic and social development. The participants emphasized the impact of water scarcity resulting from. Equitable and sustainable use of water for socioeconomic development g r o u p e d e l a b a n q ue afr ic ne d e d e v e l o p e m e n t a f ri c a n d e v elopment b a k g o u p economic commission. Water scarcity affects 1 in 3 people in the african region and is getting worse with population growth, urbanization and increases in household and industrial uses. There are many websites like the that inform people about the crisis and ask them to donate money. There are a number of countries across south asia, africa and latin america. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. The authors 2015 understanding the water crisis reprints.
669 1160 314 1229 185 1179 1421 1200 808 91 1143 412 1571 957 1536 1071 676 809 655 350 1106 1089 1010 69 414 116 1222 1306 1130 783 1295 1326 500 381 679 1290 309 1372 605 634 993 330 108 1115 755