Scientists: Global Water Scarcity Will Define Right to Resource

A new study concerning water has found that because of man-made climate change and use of fossil fuels for energy, there will a 40% decrease in water supplies in those nations.

Using predictive models, scientists have concluded that the impact in these computer assumptions is too important to ignore.

Eleven global hydrological models were created out of 5 global climate models to compare various simulations so that variants and correlations can be assessed.

Jacob Scheme, lead author of the study and hydrology expert at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PICIR), explains: “It is well-known that water scarcity increases, but our study is the first to quantify the relative share that climate change has in that, compared to — and adding to — the increase that is simply due to population growth.”

Scheme said: “The steepest increase of global water scarcity might happen between 2 and 3 degrees [Celsius] global warming above preindustrial levels, and this is something to be experienced within the next few decades unless emissions get cut soon.”

The UN has predicted that the world will surpass the 2 degree warming threshold by 2100.

Population growth has also impacted water shortages because of pollution and differentials in rainfall and evaporation in those areas.

These scientists say that this “absolute” scarcity “is defined as less than 500 cubic meters available per person per year — a level requiring extremely efficient water techniques and management in order to meet the demand. . . the condition has yet to become a reality in many countries, and currently, the global average water consumption per capita is around 1,200 cubic meters each year.”

India and western China are identified as problem areas, where the Mediterranean, Middle East and southern China are seeing an increase in available water.

Qiuhong Tang, co-author of the study commented: “Southeastern China’s Yangtze River Basin and Pearl River Basin are rich in water, so even if their future water supply will decrease, people there may still not run into a water shortage. But in southwestern provinces like Yunnan and Guizhou, water supply and demand already reached a delicate balance; if less water would come in the future, it could create a problem.”

Tang warns that “water scarcity is a major threat for human development as, for instance, food security in many regions depends on irrigation. Moreover, many industrial production processes require big amounts of water, and a shortage of that will hamper economic growth in some regions. An increase of precipitation is also challenging. The additional water may cause waterlogging, flooding, and malfunctioning or failure of water-related infrastructure. So the overall risks are growing.”

As a result, the study claims that 1 in 9 persons on the planet are living under water scarcity conditions.
At the High-Level International Conference on Water Cooperation (ICWC) conference , entitled “Water in the Anthropocene” states that humanity’s impact on freshwater resources were assessed and it was determined that a 3rd of the estimated 7 billion people on earth have limited access to clean water.
Millions if individual local humans affect the regional, continental and global water cycles which facilitates a drastic shortage and untold damage of aquatic ecosystems.

The document stated: “In the short span of one or two generations, the majority of the nine billion people on Earth will be living under the handicap of severe pressure on fresh water.”

Human populations utilize water resources the equivalent of the size of South Africa to tend to the needs of crops. Another Africa-sized amount of water is used on the care of livestock.

Fresh water makes up 2.5% of the total water supplies across the planet. It is estimated that 70% of it is snow and ice-pack.

The document says that because of the impact of man on the planet, the earth’s chemistry and climate have been altered which has evidenced itself in the measureable hydrological cycles of the planet.

UN-Water, a non-governmental organization (NGO), controlled by UNESCO, published the 4th edition of the UN World Water Development Report (WWDR4) in 2012.

In this report, the world’s freshwater resources were analyzed. Internationally controlled infrastructure was recommended to save those resources from being depleted.