Water or WARter?
About 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water
But only 2.5% of the world’s water is freshwater
Around 70% of this water is found in uninhabited areas...
in permafrost ice and glaciers, particularly around the Earth’s poles
70% of available freshwater is used in irrigation...
about 22% in industry and 8% in domestic use
Water use has been growing at more than twice the rate
of the population increase over the last century
Nearly 1.5 billion people live in river basins...
where water use exceeds minimum recharge levels
Each person needs between at least 20-50 litres of water a day...
to ensure all their basic drinking, cooking and cleaning needs
Many more litres will have already been used to get the food to the table
And the world’s population is rising rapidly...
World Population Rise
In 1990, the world population was around 5.2 billion people...
Today it is just over 7 billion and will reach 8 billion in just over 10 years
The future lack of water sources and its knock on effects on food security...
could lead to geopolitical challenges
145 nations - around 3 out of 4 in the world -
have territory within a transboundary basin
‘...water in shared basins will increasingly be used as leverage;
The use of water as a weapon or to further terrorist objectives
will become more likely beyond 10 years.’ (US intelligence report)
30 nations will already be water scarce in 2025
18 are in the Middle East and North Africa
Yemen will probably become the first nation to run out of water...
This may happen as soon as 2015
In India, there are fears that new hydroelectric dams
on the stretch of water Yarlung-Zangbo-Brahmaputra...
from China could lead to major reductions
in the flow of water coming into India
Both India and China have areas suffering from water scarcity
More than 60 million people in 6 countries
from China to Vietnam depend on the Mekong River...
Planned dams may have a major effect on these people
Vietnam’s President Truong Tan Sang warned in September 2012
of the importance of dealing with water issues
‘It would not be an exaggeration to view the water resources
of the 21st century as the oil of the 19th and the 20th centuries.’
‘Tensions over water resources are threatening economic growth
and presenting a source of conflict.’
The President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, said:
‘Water problems may cause conflicts in Central Asia...’
‘...this is a serious confrontation.
It may even become a cause of war in the region.’
Finally, water conflicts may not be confined to disputes
between countries – but also within countries
In India, the Prime Minister’s Office has been asked
to resolve a water sharing dispute...
between the country's Tamil Nadu and Karnataka states
The population of just these two states is over 130 million people...
And rising
