Analysis of Water Scarcity - Research Paper Example

Analysis of Water Scarcity Introduction Water is an essential commodity in our day to day lives as it determines the survival of the eco system. Without it all living organisms such as plants, humans and animals among others would be extinct and the food chain would be broken (Postel, 2007). For example fish cannot survive without rivers, oceans and lakes and where domestication is involved, fish ponds. Over the years, water resources have been dwindling at a great pace due to various factors which will be discussed in this paper. More often than not, human beings have had to experience the two sides of this important resource i.e. availability and scarcity. Where it is available, most people do not appreciate it and end up utilizing it in a wasteful manner, forgetting that there are other areas where people are dying and suffering from the lack of it (Postel, 2007). This paper is a critical evaluation of water scarcity, causes, and effects as well as how this problem can be solved in order to save lives. Water Scarcity Water scarcity can be defined as a situation whereby the demand for clean and safe water exceeds its supply (Postel, 2007). This is a major issue that has continued to threaten the lives of human beings. It is estimated that approximately 900 million people and above in the world’s population have been suffering from water scarcity and with the prevailing conditions this number is expected to increase unless stringent measures are undertaken (Pearce, 2006). This means that these people live with the threat of contracting infections such as typhoid, diarrhea among other water borne diseases since they cannot afford to observe basic hygienic procedures such as hand washing, bathing among others. The water available to them is either contaminated due to industrial wastes directed into rivers or it is full of pathogens as a result of poor human and animal waste disposal which is channeled into open water reservoirs by floods. As a result, children especially those under the age of 14, who are perceived to be more susceptible to water borne diseases than adults, have been dying at an alarming rate of approximately 4000 children per day, which is significantly in the range within which other diseases such as Malaria, HIV and TB are (Pearce, 2006). Water scarcity is highly correlated to poor economic growth in a given society. In the affected areas such as the developing countries in the third world league, it is observable that poverty is a major contributing factor, which makes it difficult for the common man to afford quality water (FAO, n.d). The major issue in such places is not the lack of water resource but as reports indicate, it is the means of building sufficient infrastructure to connect every household to piped water as well as the ability to afford the connection fee. For example, sufficient water access in developing countries is estimated to be 20 liters of water per day while in the developed countries such as the US and Europe, it is estimated to be approximately 200 liters per day per person (FAO, n.d). The reports continue to indicate that 1 person in every 5 people in the developing countries does not have access to that sufficient water. In addition, there exists a huge disparity in the cost of water with those having piped water paying approximately 10 times cheaper than those without. This is made worse by the fact that majority of urban populations in the developing countries are slum dwellers and there are no strategies or policies in place to assist them and as such remain neglected (FAO, n.d). As a result, people especially women are left to travel long distances in search of clean water, which they carry back home on their backs and this makes it a considerably tiring affair. In this context, it becomes extremely necessary for them to use the available water with utmost care trying to economize on every drop of water spent. However, this practice is far much common in the rural areas, where most governments do not consider much when allocating funds for development as compared to urban centers, which are sometimes favored for their commercial nature, with industries and high human population. Human beings have continued to play a major role through their various economic activities to add to the problem of water scarcity. It is worth noting that the world is covered by 94% water but only a small percentage of approximately 3% is safe for human use; the rest is salty or is in form of glaciers or icebergs and therefore not accessible to humans (Rogers, 2009). However, this available water has over a long period of time suffered from pollution especially by untreated effluents from industries. This has been a major setback and environmental issue that has put the international community and organizations on the spot light as they try unsuccessfully to solve the situation especially in the developing nations. To make the matters worse, new industries are continuing to come up thereby raising more concerns on the safety of our water resources. It is estimated that approximately 2 million tones of industrial waste is dumped into the rivers as well as other water bodies on a daily basis (McCarthy, 2003). Most people see the growth of industries only as a means of creating more employment but more often than not they tend to overlook their effects on the environment. For example, it is true to say that much of the water used in most if not all places comes from water catchment areas which are basically the mountainous forested areas. In this aspect, allowing the industrial sector to be dominated by industries that use trees as their raw materials such as the paper industry, building and construction among others should be avoided completely by coming up with substitute products. The main issue here is that trees attract rainfall, which in turn increases the water volume in our rivers thereby ensuring that there is constant flow of water. Otherwise, the rivers we have will continue to reduce in volume and the humans will suffer. Apart from investing more on industries, the ever increasing human population has also contributed greatly to dwindling of the world’s forest cover. This is due to the fact that this increase leads to the need of creating more space for settlement and cultivation to feed the extra mouths. As a result, you find that areas which have been categorized as forests and wetlands have continued to be grabbed or acquired by private developers and government departments to build commercial houses and to conduct other commercial activities such as mining (Rogers, 2009). The long term effect of this combined with green house gas emissions from the industries is for example climatic change, which is being experienced as for now. When this happens, rainfall patterns are distorted such that when people are expecting rainfall, drought and famine strikes instead, and when the rain falls, it exceeds the expected limits leading to flooding, which lead to contamination of water with impurities swept from different areas, maybe with burst sewerage systems. High population growth as stated herein is a major factor which results to water scarcity. This is due to the fact that to some extent, water resources can easily deplete as a result of accelerated use whereas the source itself is not renewable. Water sufficiency to begin with is measured in terms of the percentage of renewable fresh water per person whereby every person is supposed to have at least 1000 to 1700 cubic meters of the resource per annum (Rogers, 2009). Unfortunately, reports indicate that majority of countries such as those in North Africa and the Middle East lie below this range. This means that the population in these countries is far much higher than the available water tempting one to ask him self what would happen to these citizens if the population growth continues to rise and the available water resources remain static or continues to reduce. This is a possibility because most countries have taken the sinking of bore holes and wells as their way out in solving their water crises. What they don’t remember is that these wells may either get their water from the aquifers, which according to experts can be recharged through the usual water cycle or from underground formations which reduces without reformation depending on the rate at which water is being used. According to reports, it is estimated that approximately 1800 million people by year 2025 will survive in areas with acute water scarcity (Rogers, 2009). In order to solve the problem of water scarcity, it is of paramount importance that this issue is addressed and proper strategies put into place in order to reach a conclusive solution. For example, most plans do not consider the relevance of rain water, which most of rural populations depend on for their day to day activities. Much of this water goes to waste whereas measures such as supplying the inhabitants with storage tanks could enable them utilize as much water as they can. For those owning houses in the urban centers and industries, they should be made to buy the same as a requirement in order to reduce the stress on the little available piped water. The governments should also come up with a policy of compelling industries to take up corporate responsibility on environmental matters in order to protect and upgrade the environment by reducing water pollution. The international community especially the wealthy nations such as the US and other European countries should take up the social responsibility of assisting the developing nations with grants and loans to improve their infrastructure although this has been taken care of to some extent in the Millennium development goals (FAO, n.d). People should also be encouraged or forced to refrain from destroying water catchment areas and if caught, severe punishment should be administered so as to act as a lesson to others having the same intentions. Conclusion Water scarcity is the situation whereby the demand for water is higher than its supply. More than 900 million people world wide suffer from this dilemma and it is estimated that the number will rise significantly by the year 2025. There are several factors that contribute to water scarcity but it is important to note that most of them are due to human activities. This implies that a solution can be found but only if each and every person would be willing and dedicated to find it. It goes without saying that our survival as humans depends on the availability of clean and safe water as the consequences for lack of it can only contribute to high mortality rate and extinction of the human race. In fact it is said that at least 70% of our bodies comprises of water and therefore water is life. References FAO (n.d) Hot Issues: Water Scarcity, Retrieved 13 November 2010 from McCarthy, M. (2003) Water Scarcity Could Affect Billions: Is This the Biggest Crisis of All? Retrieved 13 November 2010 from Pearce, F. (2006) When the Rivers Run Dry: Water--The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-First Century, Beacon Press Postel, S. (2007) Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity, W. W. Norton & Company Rogers, P. (2009) Running Out of Water: The Looming Crisis and Solutions to Conserve Our Most Precious Resource, Palgrave Macmillan Read More