Agriculture as the Greatest Water User - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages... The author brings up the issues concerning environment changes and protection of water resources. Water usage in terms of agriculture has increased twice in comparison to the population growth in the past century. It is apparent that water withdrawal is anticipated to rise and more land is being irrigated to feed the increasing population. Many countries are experiencing conflicts as increase of competition in the economic sectors for similar features one of them being limited supply of water. Water wars might well be the main source of conflict in the twenty-first century. Various developing countries and other parts of America, irrigation is used to flood the fields and run water between crops. Almost half of the water is lost through evaporation and seepage from irrigation canals, which brings water to the irrigated fields.
Food and agriculture are considered the biggest water consumers, which require more than a hundred times of what people use for personal needs. The 70 % of the water taken from rivers as well as groundwater is all channelled to irrigation with 10% mainly used domestic applications and around 20% by industries.
Water conservation remains the adequate solution in fighting water deficient in many countries. Others feel water conservation is a partial solution in that both the past and current conservation methods have reached their realistic limits. As the world population increases across there is a rising demand for safe and dependable water sources to fulfil the expanding population needs. ...Download file to see next pagesRead More