Introduction The phrase “water is life” has been uttered so many times that it is shockingly simple not to deliberate deeply upon its meaning. However, when one examines the statistics as to the usage of water, one comes to the rather startling realization that this precious commodity is indeed the very engineer of life as it is fundamental for the activities on earth which directly or indirectly support life (examples are agriculture, industry which results in jobs, etc). Hence, it goes without saying that countries would want to assess as to how much water they have for the purpose of meeting human needs as well as combating possible deficits. As the availability of water is uneven over space and time (Christopherson), different places receive varying amounts of water over different time periods. Some places receive water abundantly for most of the time while others receive very little precipitation in a whole season, even though all places need the water. For this reason, many solutions have been proposed in order to counter the water-deficiency problem; one such remedy is that of inter-basin transfer schemes. This assignment will focus on one of the inter-basin water transfer schemes in Southern Africa- the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. It will elaborate on what the transfer scheme is consisted of, its purpose, its benefits, setbacks, impacts and its current state, as well as whether it has managed to or failed to live up to its purpose and the lessons that have been learned as a result of its existence. Description According to Slabbert (2007), inter-basin water transfer is the “artificial withdrawal of water by ditch, canal or pipeline from its source in one basin (catchment) for use in another.” Since South A... ... middle of paper ... ...t limited to Lesotho only as places like Clarens, Fouriesburg, Ficksburg and Ladybrand now have improved infrastructure. Tourism Economy Rservoir Fishes Disadvantages Landlessness Resettlement Food Insecurity Environmental damage Conclusion As much as the Lesotho Highlands Water scheme has served some of its intended purposes, there are still a few concerns lingering about it. These include the fact that some resettled people in Lesotho were undercompensated as they ended up receiving less than the agreed upon XXXXXX. A second item worth mentioning is the fact that Gauteng’s water woes are not over despite its Vaal Dam being boosted by the Lesotho Water Project and several other inter-water basin transfers. For the most part, the construction of the LHWP has been beneficial / detrimental to people’s economic state.
In many cases diversions of freshwater inputs for irrigation or other human uses have resulted in diminished size and increased salinity (Jellison 1992). Diverting Mono Lake's streams has not only stirred political and environmental controversy over rights but has also led to the waters of Mono Lake being halved in lake volume, reduced by 45 ft.
The most important benefit of water changed in Uganda is through Dr. Christopher Opio’s actions. First of all, global citizenship is based on the population, it combines food, water and electric which are the three things
Water is the foundational basis of life on Earth. Ecosystems, society and humans are completely dependent on it, and as the world population continues to grow, there will be more mouths to feed, and those people will need water to continue their daily lives. However, shortages and poor management leads to the destruction of natural habitats and human suffering. Desertification of land in China is ever-increasing, turning green, lush land into desert. However, this is due mainly in part, because of human activity, and global warming (Wang, Yang, Dong, & Zhang, 2009). The United States could experience a crisis similarly to China’s, but for now they have averted such a catastrophe, because of heavy regulation of water. Though there are water shortages in many parts of the world, it is unwise to export water from the Great Lakes to those regions. Two major reasons why diverting the Great Lakes is a terrible idea, one: it allows for waters wars to start on the basis of who is allowed to access it and for commodification purposes. Two, diverting water on such large scales could have cataclysmic effects on the local residents as well as the environment.
The system on a whole has been affected as the surrounding Coorong and Lower Lakes areas are encountering declining environmental conditions including: degradation of swamps, receding riverbanks and irrigation banks, disruption of irrigation usage and the irregularity of ferry services. These environmental issues have an effect on the provision of portable water to Adelaide and regional towns who rely on this water source. This means the government is having to find other sources of water so that it can be provided to Adelaide and the regional towns, putting extra stress on the
With today’s drought situations, it is more important than ever to be aware of the water sources in Wyoming as well as the various uses of the water and the amount of usable water that is available compared to the amount that must be used. This paper will not only inform about those uses and numbers, but also the highly debated HB 19 bill and the four major river basins in the western part of the country that supply Wyoming with it’s water. We will be talking about where and how Wyoming gets most of its surface water every year. Along with surface water, groundwater is also an important supply of water to the area which we count on for the environment, and it is important to try to conserve as much of this moisture as we can.
Water shortage in arid and semi-arid regions and declining its availability to a crisis ...
One of the largest geographic physical structures in the United States is the Colorado River. Human activity and its interaction with this great river have an interesting history. The resources provided by the river have been used by humans, and caused conflict for human populations as well. One of these conflicts is water distribution, and the effects drought conditions have played in this distribution throughout the southwestern region. Major cities such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, and other communities in the southwest depend on the river. It provides water for over 20 million people, irrigation for 2 million acres of land, four thousand megawatts of hydroelectric energy, and over twenty million annual visitors for recreation purposes. Also, once in Mexico, the river provides water to irrigate half a million acres of farmland, and municipal and industrial water for 2 million people living in this delta region. The river distributes its flow from lakes and canals along its journey as well. Due to climate change, human demand, natural forces like evaporation and human-induced climate change this water supply is in conflict. Also, a recent change that began in March of 2014 will bring a temporary water surge to the delta of the Colorado River for the first time in many years to help restore this region, and it’s possible it could reach the Sea of Cortez once again.
The lack of water has caused an increased demand in the drilling of wells, which create even more problems with water shortage. “‘ If you own your own property, you can dig a well and you can pump as much groundwater as as you a want…” (Source 3). This shows the problem of over usage of what little water there is. The wells dug at the edge of properties drain and steal water from the surrounding estates. By doing this, you do not know the amount being drained from the aquifer. “‘Groundwater is like a bank account. You can’t take out more than you put in on an ongoing basis,’” (Source 3). The unwatched drainage of water by farmers can empty out an entire aquifer if it is not filled back
Introduction on Water It covers 70% of our planet, makes up 75% of our body, it is necessary for survival and it is declining at a rapid rate (http://www.sscwd.org). It is water. Unfortunately, clean water is rare, almost 1 billion people in developing countries do not have access to water everyday. “Yet, we take it for granted, we waste it, and we even pay too much to drink it from little plastic bottles” (The Water Project). Use of earth’s natural resources should be seen as prosperity, although it is taken for granted, every aspect of daily life revolves around the environment, forcing water conservation to be necessary for future on this planet.
In recent years, water pollution has increased and has had an effect on marine biodiversity of Namibia. According to Free Dictionary (2012) water pollution is the building up of wastes and toxics substances in water to such an extent that cause problems to living organisms that live in water as well to those that are not living in water. Water covered approximately more than two thirds of Earth’s surface and less than a third is taken up by the land (Smith, 2010). Therefore, as the earth’s population grow perpetually, living organisms such as human beings keep on putting ever-increasing
Article 1 It is about the development bank of Southern Africa. It is helping by supporting the local government sector in South Africa with financing and implementation of infrastructure projects. Its helps with infrastructure for new building as well as refurbishment. Its responsibility is providing basic salary services such as water, sanitation, electrification, waste management and roads to local communities. Increasing levels to access to grid based on electricity as well as clean portable wate...
The problem of water scarcity has increasingly spread throughout the world as of yet, The UN reports that within the next half- century up to 7 billion people in 60 countries which is more than the whole present population will face water scarcity (Sawin “Water Scarcity could Overwhelm the Next Generation”). As well the demand for freshwater has tripled over the past 50 years, and is continuing to rise as a result of population growth and economic development. 70% of this demand derives from agriculture which shows the influence of water on food supply globally as well not just drinking water (Sawin “Water Scarcity could overwhelm the Next Generation”). But increasing water use is not just a matter of the greater number of people needing it to drink and eat; it also comes from pollution and misuse of water supplies, by either dumping or runoff of bacteria or chemicals into water. This also “causes other pollutions as well such as soil and air pollution, accelerating wetland damage and human caused global warming” (Smith and Thomassey 25). According to UN report, recent estimates suggest that climate change will account for about 20 percent of the increase in global water scarcity in coming decades.
As mentioned above, South Africa has been working on improving the lives of people. The Reconstruction and Development Program is one of the many that have been implemented that work on improving the life styles of people in South Africa. This is one of the strategies that has been very successful and is still standing as is. It is through this program that the lives of the many South Africans living in rural areas will be made
Meaning that LHWP, could have an even larger impact on Lesotho then it would have on any other country. Lesotho is also considered one of the poorest countries in the world, as most of its citizens lived off of $550 a year. Most of Lesotho's people relied on their land, for food, and resources to make and repair shelters. They would also sell wood, to gain what little money they had. During the Lesotho Highland Project's construction, almost 27,000 people were deprived of their land in order to make room or free up resources for the project. These citizens that were affected by LHWP were promised compensation for all that they had lost. To this day, most if not all of the citizens affected has never received the full compensation that was promised, because of this some groups have attempted to sue LHWP in the hopes of getting the rest of the money. Those citizens weren't the only ones affected by LHWP, Lesotho's environment also began to change. Flooding became more common, and rainfalls were so strong that crops were almost completely destroyed. Those that raise livestock were probably affected the worst out of all. Because LHWP required so much land and resources, farmers had less land to use to raise livestock, which lead many animals to die of starvation. Farmers also had little to no land to shelter animals during the winter months, leading to many of the younger livestock to die. Many types of vegetation were also almost wiped out, such as trees, plants used for medicine, and
Water is an integral part of not only human beings but all other creatures in the world. We use it every day for different purposes such as domestic, agricultural and industrial. Water has always been a prestigious resource. However, the majority of people do not appraise water’s worth since they do not face water scarcity; whereas, in third world countries it is one of the most serious problems. Nearly 2.4 billion people have a lack of water resources in the world, shows the investigation done by the Pacific Institute, an Oakland, California-based non-profit scientific research group. Moreover, every year this number is growing gradually and more people are suffering (Bloomberg News, 2010). There are certain causes which deteriorate current situation. The most influential reasons are global warming, pollution by human-beings and overpopulation. It is known that India is one of the countries which face water scarcity so this essay will consider the possible ways of solutions of water shortage in India.