While the run-up in crude oil prices has refocused attentions on actual and prospective supply shortfalls in the energy patch, a quick read through recent headlines suggests that when it comes to resource-related concerns, the more pressing issue is water shortages. Below is a just a sampling of reports from a wide variety of countries:
Yemen:
"Water Shortage Adds to Yemen Woes" (Financial Times)
Yemen is experiencing the first tremors of a significant social upheaval, likened by one expert to the industrial revolution. The cause is not al-Qaeda, or the insurgency in the north . The country of 23m people is running out of water.
It is easy to be sceptical about doomsday scenarios - people have been predicting the imminent drying out of the Sana'a basin for decades. No one knows exactly how much groundwater is left in the country, but what is known is that it is being used up considerably faster than it is being replenished.
The scarcity is beginning to be felt; engineers are having to dig ever deeper to find water, and its market price has quadrupled in the past four years. Driving the problem is a population growth rate of around 3.5 per cent, one of the highest in the world, and even higher in the cities.
Although it is agriculture, not personal consumption, that consumes up to 90 per cent of Yemen's water resources, supplying drinking water to growing urban areas is becoming a critical problem.
Peru:
"PERÚ - Water Shortage in Sight?" (Poder)
Water Shortage in Sight?
According to government officials, Lima’s water supply is only assured until 2015
As a result of global warming, the government's current plans would ensure water supply only until 2015, said the chairman of the Lima Potable Water and Sewerage Services (SEDAPAL), Guillermo León. He said that with the current rainy season, the Marcapomacocha weather stations (the Yauli lagoon which supplies the Rimac River) are recording minimum temperatures of between 1 and 6 degrees Celsius, which prevents the formation of snow. Given this delicate situation, the SEDAPAL chairman said that there will be a need to bring larger volumes of the vital fluid from other sources.
South Africa:
"'Invest in Water or Face 30% Shortage'" (Business Report)
SA must spend R2.8bn a year to prevent deficit - report
South Africa is heading for a water deficit of between 17 percent and 30 percent in 2030 - and needs to invest $365-million (R2.8 billion) a year to prevent shortages, according to a global water report released in Washington yesterday.
The Water Resources Group study, a collaboration between the International Finance Corporation, McKinsey consultants and private companies such as SABMiller, says South Africa faces "tough trade-offs" between water use for agriculture, industrial activities such as mining and power generation and domestic consumption in expanding urban centres.
Its best-case scenario projects a water shortfall in two decades of 2.9 billion cubic metres, rising to 3.8 billion cubic metres if moderate climate effects are taken into account and 5.4 billion cubic metres with accelerated economic growth. Currently water supply is about 15 billion cubic metres.
India:
"India to Face Serious Water Shortage by 2030" (Radio Australia)
India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been visiting the United States, where he signed a deal with President Obama to strengthen cooperation on climate change.
India is already the world's fourth largest greenhouse gas emitter, and that's expected to grow as its economy continues to expand. But a new report puts India at the forefront of another serious challenge - a scarcity of water. It warns that without concerted action, the subcontinent won't be able to meet half its water needs by 2030. In neighbouring China, the problem's even worse, with demand expected to outstrip supply by 25 per cent. While these problems are already well known, the report differs in having been written largely by multi-national companies, who've offered a range of solutions
Iran:
"Iran to Face Severe Water Shortage in 50 Years" (Tehran Times)
SEMNAN -- Iran will face severe water shortages in half a century, director of Iran’s Desert Studies Center warned here on Tuesday.
“Large swathes of the country will be on track for severe water shortage in 50 years,” Parviz Kardovani said.
The Central Plateau of Iran will face up to water crisis within a half century, he explained, blaming “excessive increase in water consumption” for such a shortage.
He elaborated human activities, lifestyles, poor management of water resources, and urban development as the main causes of the crisis.
Referring to the limitation of Iran’s water resources, he called for concerted efforts to manage urban development and consumption of water resources in a bid to tackle drinking water shortages.
Vietnam:
"Water Shortage Could Spell Doom in the South" (Viet Nam Net)
Groundwater levels have sunk 17 meters over a decade while much of the supply has been contaminated with arsenic.
The over-exploitation of groundwater will push the Mekong Delta and southeastern provinces into a critical water shortage over the next decade, experts have warned.Scientists have also found high levels of arsenic in groundwater and evidence that the substance may be present in people using the water, posing a risk of neurological disturbances and death.
Duong Van Vien, a lecturer from the Water Resources University, said the groundwater level in the Mekong Delta would drop to “dead” levels by 2014 if no action was taken to tackle the problem.
Venezuela:
"Venezuela Rations Water Supplies" (BBC News)
Large parts of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, will be without water for up to 48 hours over the next week after officials began water rationing.
The measure is the start of a possible six months of rationing before the rainy season in Venezuela begins again.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said the unseasonably dry past few months have caused the water shortage.
Macau:
"Macau's Gambling Industry Faces Nightmare of Water Rationing" (Times)
Macau, Asia’s foremost den of neon-soaked excess and sleazy glamour, has expanded to the brink of catastrophe and may be forced to ration drinking water as reservoirs run dry.
Indeed, to the horror of big casino operators, there are signs that non-essential supplies may be cut off as early as this weekend as authorities struggle to keep non-toxic water flowing through the taps.
Even the briefest spell without water would be a devastating blow to a hotel industry that has just installed thousands of luxury bathtubs and to a city whose GDP is derived almost entirely from opulence-hungry visitors.
Some forecasts suggest that Macau may have only ten days of fresh water left. Stocks of bottled water may have to be shipped in unless a deal can be struck with water companies in Guangdong province — suppliers who are already under intense strain to keep Hong Kong’s taps running as the water shortage takes hold.
Casino operators have not been told what to do as drought day approaches. A construction boom over the past four years has propelled Macau past Las Vegas to become the world’s biggest gambling centre and several of the newest resorts feature immense waterworks. The City of Dreams has a sprawling wave pool as its centrepiece, while the Venetian boasts three indoor canals and an outdoor lagoon sufficient to float 51 gondolas.
Iraq:
"Iraq- Water Resources Minister Meets Iranian Official over Water Crisis" (MENAFN)
The Iraqi minister of water resources on Tuesday met with the Iranian minister of agriculture to discuss the water shortage in Iraq, according to a ministry statement.
"Minister Abdullateef Jamal Rasheed met with the Iranian minister of agriculture as part of a series of meetings with the heads and members of the delegations sent to the World Food Summit (Nov.16-18), which is currently held in the Italian capital," read the statement that was received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
The Iraqi official has highlighted the complexity of the water situation in the country, which he said has been suffering from water shortage for over two years.
He called on the Iranian government to increase the flow of water into Iraq.
He also urged Iranian businessmen and companies to invest in the Iraqi sectors of agriculture and irrigation, the statement pointed out.
China:
"909,000 Face Drinking Water Shortage in E China" (Xinhua)
NANCHANG: A prolonged drought since September has affected 909,000 people in east China's Jiangxi Province, said a spokesman with the provincial flood control and drought relief office on Friday.
The drought has cut off normal water supply in some rural areas. "Villagers in Fengxin, Jing'an, Leping counties have to carry drinking water by trucks," said Sun Xiaoshan, deputy director of the office."The water levels of four of the province's five main rivers hit record lows and are still dropping," he added.
"The self-cleaning ability of the rivers has decreased significantly due to the drastic fall of water volume, posing a threat to public health," Sun said.
Mexico:
"Mexican Youth Flee Drought" (Al Jazeera)
Sotero Palencia holds a withered corn cob in his hand - the result of the harshest Mexican drought in over six decades and all that is left of his crop for this year.
Gesturing to the rest of the withered maize plants in his field, Palencia explains that what he has grown will only be sufficient to feed his few farm animals and will not be enough for his family to trade, or even eat.
His story is typical of the rural parts of the state of San Luis Potosi, just north of central Mexico, one of the worst drought-hit areas in the country. In Temascalito, Palencia's village, many farmers did not even sow fields for fear of wasting the seed.
Some 313,000 hectares of crops were lost throughout the country in the months of July and August, according to Alberto Cardenas, Mexico's secretary of agriculture. As a result, many small-scale farmers have now left their communities to search for work. For farmers like Palencia, this has proved to be a fruitless pursuit.
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Posted by: Anonymous | November 27, 2009 at 12:32 PM