Water Scarcity
Introduction
Water scarcity refers to the absence of ample available water resources to fulfil the daily demand for water utilization in a certain area set. Water scarcity affects various areas globally and about 2.8 billion people all over the world are affected by scarcity for one month in every complete year. Over 11.2 billion more people fail to access clean water for drinking. Water scarcity includes deficits, water stress, and water crisis. Water stress refers to the difficulty of getting freshwater sources to use for a certain duration and may lead to further deterioration and depletion of the already present water sources. Climate changes such as floods, increased pollution, water overuse, and increased human demand are the major causes of water scarcity in most areas. Water scarcity can usually result from two mechanisms: economic water scarcity, and physical water scarcity as will be explained in this text. This paper focuses on two passages presented in a post by Al-Jazeera discussing water scarcity. It gives insights on if the global community can successfully address issues associated with water scarcity all over the globe.
Critical Assessment Test
The report by Al-Jazeera features two experts on water resources exploitation. One expert is Robert Rubinstein, Chairman and Founding Partner of TBLI Group, Social Entrepreneur, and a former lecturer at Rotterdam School of Management. According to him, water scarcity is caused by unregulated use of water. Income generated from water is usually from bottled water being sold in shops and supermarkets. Other uses such as irrigation and domestic use are not monetized, which leads to people using water unsparingly, which leads to unwanted shortages. Water resources remain constant over time, but with the population increasing daily, water usage remains on the rise. This view, however, might bring a lot of contention given that not everybody consumes the same amount of water every day.
By pricing water, this means that the only people who will receive ample water will be the rich who are conversant with paying the underlying water bills. The poor, on the other hand, will still face water scarcity given that they only have funds to use on other basic necessities such as food and shelter. Irrigation would only be available for the elite in the community, and other common people might be forced to depend on natural water sources such as rainfall for growing their crops. The long-term implications of such practices will only lead to droughts and unwanted famines.
The second expert invited in this show is Tim Forsyth, a Professor of Environment and Development at London School of Economics, also a specialist in Political Approaches to Environmental Change, and a Specialist in International Development. Tim identifies that pricing water might not be the best solution to reducing water scarcity in different regions. Accessibility is the main issue that needs to be considered if ever the issue of water shortage is to be countered. The government delivers almost equal proportions to all parts of different states. The problem is that some areas are more prone to drought than others. Distributing equal amounts of water to these areas and others might not be a lasting solution to the problem of water scarcity. There is a need to understand different areas in which this water is being delivered.
This second perspective is more agreeable. For areas that are more affected with scarcity, it is important to make sure that the water delivered meets the daily needs of people living in such areas. In India, for example, despite efforts by the government to eradicate the vice by digging different boreholes, there are still problems of obtaining freshwater in drought struck areas. As time progresses, the water level for this boreholes tends to go deeper, which means that the water obtained in these regions tend to have more calcium than before. This has led to the emergence of certain medical conditions such as kidney stones in these areas which endangers the lives of the inhabitants of this area. Changing the water pricing in these areas is, therefore, not a viable solution to eradicating the problem of water shortages.
Conclusion
It is, however, possible to counter the problem of water scarcity globally. This can be achieved by using different strategies to ensure that areas faced with water shortages are well supplied and that the inhabitants of this lands receive almost the same amount of water as those living in areas with ample water supply. Some of the most efficient means would include ensuring that wetlands are protected, coming up with efficient water filtration projects, improving the storage of water in water reservoirs, ensuring that people have efficient water irrigation systems, and also promoting water stewardship. Such strategies, if employed efficiently, will ensure that people face little or no water scarcity at all. Water is an essential life component, and everyone needs water to live a comfortable and healthy life. Global water scarcity can be reduced if everyone works together to ensure that water is used efficiently and sparingly.
References
Mekonnen, M. M., & Hoekstra, A. Y. (2016). Four billion people are facing severe water scarcity. Science advances, 2(2), e1500323.
van Vliet, M. T., Flörke, M., & Wada, Y. (2017). Quality matters for water scarcity. Nature Geoscience, 10(11), 800-802.
https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2016/04/stop-global-water-scarcity-160424175518314.html