Water Availability

Water Availability

Transboundary Waters

Global Water Resources

Only this portion is renewable

Total = 1,386,000,000 km3 Fresh = 35,029,000 km3 (2.5% of total)

Global Water Cycle

Principal sources of fresh water for human activities

44,800 km3

Global Water Availability

Population and Water Use

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1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

Withdrawal (km3/yr)

Population (million)

global freshwater use is ~4000 km3/year~10% of the renewable supply (44,800km3/year)

Water in ecosystems and social systems

M.Falkenmark March 09

Water in two forms

M.Falkenmark March 09

Global water budget

M.Falkenmark March 09

Precipitation100 %

65 %

35 %

Global Water Withdrawal

Global Water Use

A basic development obstacle: water variability

M.Falkenmark March 09

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Cereal production

in water-constrained economies hydrologic variabilitycomplicates food production

water storage per person (m3) & the poverty trap….

43746

1 287 1 406

2 4863 255

4 729

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December rainfall

Cereal yield

Access to Water Supply

• Reasonable access to an adequate amount of safe water – Treated surface water and untreated but uncontaminated

water, such as from springs, sanitary wells, and protected boreholes

– Urban areas - public fountain or standpipe located not more than 200 meters away.

– Rural areas - members of the household do not have to spend a disproportionate part of the day fetching water.

– An adequate amount of water is that needed to satisfy metabolic, hygienic, and domestic requirements

Worldbank.org

Access to Sanitation

• At least adequate excreta disposal facilities – Private or shared, but not public– Effectively prevent human, animal, and insect contact with

excreta. – Suitable facilities range from simple but protected pit

latrines to flush toilets with sewerage. – To be effective, all facilities must be correctly constructed

and properly maintained.

Worldbank.org

Water Supply and Sanitation

• In 2002– 1.1 billion people lacked access to improved water sources (17% of

the global population)– Of those, nearly two thirds live in Asia (733 million people)– In sub-Saharan Africa, 42% of the population is without improved

water– 2.6 billion people lacked access to improved sanitation (42% of the

world’s population) – Over half of those live in China and India (nearly 1.5 billion people)– In sub-Saharan Africa, sanitation coverage is only 36%. – In developing countries, 69% of rural dwellers lack access to improved

sanitation, as opposed 27% of urban dwellers.

Water Supply and Sanitation

• Diarrhea (WHO 2004)– 1.8 million people die every year from diarrheal diseases

(including cholera); 90% are children under 5, mostly in developing countries

– 88% of diarrheal disease is attributed to unsafe water supply, inadequate sanitation and hygiene

– Improved access to water supply and sanitation can reduce diarrhea morbidity

• Water supply: 6% – 25% (108,000 – 450,000 people)• Sanitation: 32% (576,000 people)• Total: 1.026 million

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/diseases/burden/en/index.html

Poverty and Development

• > 1 billion people live in extreme poverty (< $1 a day)– Sub-Saharan Africa - > 15 of every 100 children die before the age of 5– Kenya - fertilizer costs > 2x what it costs in France or the U.S. – Ethiopia - so deforested that rural households cannot use manure as fertilizer

because they need it as cooking fuel.

• In 2002 developed countries promised to give $210 billion (0.7% of GNP) in ODA to end poverty– 2005 - gave $107 billion (U.S. $28 bln)*– 2008 – gave $120 billion (U.S. $26 bln)– 2015 – need $195 billion

http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/resources/fastfacts_e.htmhttp://stats.oecd.org/qwids

* $4.3 bln for WSS

Challenges & U.S. Response• What’s the problem?

– Lack of capacity – Competing interests – Decentralization

• It’s not all about water– It’s also about: political will, governance, and globalization

• Senator Paul Simon “Water for the Poor Act” 2005* – Recognizes importance of water and codified the internationally

agreed goals (MDGs)• Objectives of U.S. strategy

– Increase access to, and effective use of, safe water and sanitation

*2010 - http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/146141.pdf*2011 - http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/166895.pdf

International River BasinsOver 40% of the world lives in a shared basin (263 of ‘em)

GEO-3: GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT OUTLOOK http://www.unep.org/GEO/geo3/english/fig154.htm

Water Wars? Unlikely.

• Harbingers of conflict that should be considered: – Unilateral development – Internationalized basin – No / ineffective

institutions – General animosity – Downstream hegemony

• Some warning signs:– Large scale development – Rapid changes– Civil unrest

Water in the International Arena

• We continuously read about the threat of "water wars" in the press, where one country is likely to use military force to achieve its objectives of water use.

• Several international groups have warned of the threat of a "water crisis" looming in the coming century.

• Several area of the world are regularly mentioned as having tense negotiations over shared river basins: Jordan, Ganges-Bramaputra, and Tigres-Euphrates.

• In US, shared water resources with Canada and Mexico are now under increased scrutiny and negotiation resulting from the environmental side agreement to the North American Free Trade Agreement.

• In EU, multiple water “directives” are being implemented across 25 nations.

Domestic Water Use

• Survival = 5 L/day• Drinking, cooking, bathing, and sanitation = 50 L

– United States = 250 to 300 L (Includes yard watering)– Netherlands = 104 L– Somalia = 9 L

– 100-600 L/c/d* (high-income)– 50-100 L/c/d (low-income)– 10-40 L/c/d (water scarce)

* L/c/d = liters per person per day

Water Stress Index

• Based on human consumption– linked to population growth

• Domestic requirement:– 100 L/c/d = 40 m3/c/yr

• Associated agricultural, industrial & energy need:– 20 x 40 m3/c/yr = 800 m3/c/yr

• Total need:– 840 m3/c/yr– about 1000 m3/c/yr

Water Stress Index

• Water availability below 1,000 m3/c/yr – chronic water related problems impeding development and harming

human health

• Water sufficiency: >1700 m3/c/yr• Water stress: <1700 m3/c/yr• Water scarcity: <1000 m3/c/yr

Water Supply

Improved• Household connection • Public standpipe • Borehole• Protected dug well • Protected spring • Rainwater collection

Not Improved• Unprotected well • Unprotected spring • Vendor-provided water • Bottled water* • Tanker truck-provided water

World Health Organization

Sanitation

Improved• Connection to a public

sewer • Connection to septic system • Pour-flush latrine• Simple pit latrine • Ventilated improved pit

latrine

Not Improved• Service or bucket latrines

(where excreta are manually removed)

• Public latrines • Latrines with an open pit

World Health Organization

Water Stress (m3/person/year)