3. Water conflicts Pressures on water resources

Transcription

1 3. Water conflicts 3.1. Pressures on water resources

2 Water Conflicts Reductions because of: Users abstracting/polluting upstream Deteriorating quality Impact of climate change Population growth Consumer demand Industrial growth Agricultural demand DEMANDS? SUPPLY? Rising Diminishing DIFFERENT USERS? Conflicting demands International conflicts i.e. basin crosses national boundaries Internal conflicts i.e. within a country Conservation versus exploitation PRESSURE POINT- i.e. need for management. This is shown spatially as a hotspot of conflict. Pressure and hence tension and conflict may be over surface flow and/or groundwater supplies Dams and diversions and loss of wetlands are particularly contested. Drainage basin: the area drained by a river and its tributaries. Worldwide 263 basins cross national boundaries.

3 3.2. Competing demands for water lead to conflicts Conflicts at the local and national scale Agriculture vs tourisme in arid regions Water transfers in Spain The Murray-Darling basin in Australia Conflicts at the international scale

4 Aral Sea faces environmental catastrophe, although recent attempts to reduce impacts of river diversions for especially cotton production Egypt imports > 50% of its food because of physical scarcity Ogallala aquifer provides 1/3 all US irrigation water, but is seriously depleted: the water table is dropping by about 1m/yr. As a fossil reserve, formed probably from past glacial meltwater flows, it is effectively a finite resource Severe water scarcity N China, leading to South North transfer scheme Ganges: physical stress from pollution and over abstraction Australia: diversion ¼ of all water away from Murray Darling Basin for agriculture Much of sub Saharan Africa suffers from economic scarcity due to poverty but also lack of infrastructural development. Little/no water scarcity Physical water scarcity- not necessarily dry areas but those where over 75% river flows are used by agriculture, industry or domestic consumers Economic water scarcity- less than 25% rivers used, and abundant supply potential but not reaching the poorest people. Approaching physical water scarcity More than 60% river flows allocated, and in the near future these river basins will have physical scarcity

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6 Present and potential water conflict hotspots As water supply decreases, tensions will increase as different players try to access common water supplies Many conflicts are transboundary in nature, either between states or countries River basins currently in dispute Colorado: disputes between the 7 US states and Mexico it flows through. The river is so overused, that it no longer reaches the sea!. 90% abstracted before reaches Mexico River basins at risk in the future Tigris-Euphrates Iraq + Syria concerns that Turkey s GAP project will divert their water Large International drainage basins Ob Lake Mekong Chad Ganges Okavango La Plata Zambezi Orange Insert Figure 2.11 page 47 Nile hotly disputed Note: although there have been rising tensions globally, many areas demonstrate effective management to diffuse the situation and create more equitable and sustainable demand-supply balance, such as the Mekong River Committee, & the Nile River Initiative between Ethiopia and Sudan,who control its headwaters, and Egypt. The Aral Sea, an inland drainage basin, once the world s 4th largest inland lake has shrunk since the 1950s after the 2 rivers feeding it: the Amu Dayra and Syr Darya were diverted for irrigation. By 2007 the sea was 10% of original volume and split into 2 lakes. The exsoviet states are in conflict: Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakstan.

7 Hydropolitics (or water politics): political negotiations centered on conflicts over the shared use of water sources. The first use of the term hydro politics same in the book Hydropolitics of the Nile Valley (1999). Arun P. Elhance s definition of hydropolitics is " the systematic study of conflict and cooperation between states over water resources that transcend international borders ".

8 hare"rivers"and"lakes."as"the"demand"for"water"increases"and"the"supply" me"increasingly"into"conflict"about"who"the"resources"belong"to."one"of"the" The Nile Basin The Nile is the t"is"the"river"nile." longest river in the hydropolitics in Nile Basin Tensions due to world: 6,500kms. the dominance of l"length"of" Egypt Two main tributaries: White d"blue"nile." Nile and Blue Nile.,"Khartoum." ce"of"blue"nile"in" Flows through lue"nile." total of eleven es;"burundi," countries, with 360 go,"uganda,"kenya," million people uth"sudan,"egypt." depending on it for 2,"roughly"10%"of" survival. Huge drainage History of Civil wars in Sudan and Ethiopia Upstream states increasingly challenging Egypt s dominance. basin, roughly 10% Growing issues of desertification & salinisation and increased 23" Ethiopia wants of the whole of evaporation linked to climate change. to use the Nile River for HEP Africa. About 85 % water originates from Eritrea and Ethiopia, but 94 % is plants and used by Sudan and Egypt. industrial development.

9 Evidence of more effective co-operation - The Nile Basin Initiative, system of cooperative management, which started in the late 1990s - All countries except Eritrea working with The World Bank and bi-lateral aid donors - Community level involvement Helsinki Rules on the Uses of the Waters of International Rivers regulating how transboundary rivers and groundwater are managed - The Nile Basin is an example that Water Wars may be averted

10 Video - NATO water or WARter?

11 3.3. Water governance and management Water actors and decision makers Different actors have conflicting views on water insecurity Political, economic, social and environmental focus One player may have quite complex views (e.g. The government) most governments will have departments defending conservation (Ministry of Ecology) as well as others focused on economic development (Ministry of the Economy) Political: water is a human need International organisations e.g. the United Nations (UN) Government Regional & local councils Lobbyists & pressure groups Social: water is a human right Individuals Consumers, land owners, health officials, NGOs like Water Aid Economic: water security has a cost but is necessary for economic growth International: World Bank and IMF TNCs and developers Businesses and users Environmental: water must be protected Conservationists Scientists & planners

12 Responses: sustainable management strategies Trend toward more global approach Present policies Driven by short term economic and political concerns. Obstacles to sustainable management Future policies? Often do not rely on scientific research and effective technology.

13 How can differences in interest be reconciled between water actors? How can we meet the challenge of water security for all? What solutions can YOU think about?

14 Hard management solutions Soft management solutions

15 High Cost of Hard Management Equipment Desalinization Plant Water Pumping and Transfer project over 750 km in Algerian Sahara Desert Three Gorges Dam million euros (for the largest: Barcelona, Algiers, Oran ) 1 billion euros billion euros Itaipu Dam (Brazil/Paraguay) billion euros

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18 Conclusion