Management Strategies to water conflict Lesson aims: To understand management options available; To know of hard/soft engineering strategies; To evaluate costs/benefits of small scale projects from a range of examples; To evaluate costs/benefits of large scale projects from a range of examples; To implement understanding in an exam question

Responses: Management strategies Water conflicts can be managed in a range of different ways There is a spectrum of different management strategies Some are sustainable as they balance ecological and human needs Strategies rely on technology? What is Sustainability? Millennium Ecosystem Assessment definition: A characteristic or state whereby the needs of the present and local population can be met without compromising the ability of future generations or populations in other locations to meet their needs. Present policies Driven by short term economic + political concerns Often do not include science and effective technology. EXAMPLES: Obstacles to sustainable management Climate change uncertainty and effects Natural variability of water Pressures caused by human activities and rapid growth of transition economies towards a consumerist society Increased water demands Gross inefficiencies in use Poor existing quality of supply across huge areas of world Funding Access to appropriate technology EXAMPLES: Future policies? Longer term? Need more research, information and monitoring especially on aquifers in developing countries More partnerships? More community involvement? More accountable? EXAMPLES:

Hard and soft management How to meet the challenge of the need for more water? Traditional ‘hard’ engineering Dams; currently 845000 of which 5000 classed as megadams. The aim is to increase natural storage capacity by artificial reservoirs. Rivers most at risk at present: Yangtze, Amazon, Danube and many in the Himalayas Channels, seen in most arid/semi arid countries whatever their economic status, eg Jonglei Canal on Nile Pipelines eg Australia and California Aqueduct and snowy Mountains scheme Australia Desalination plants eg in Middle East Recharging schemes for depleted aquifers, eg North London Artificial recharge Scheme and Long Island New York Softer more environmentally and ethically responsible approaches Water conservation e.g. targeted drip irrigation on plants in Ethiopia, includes water harvesting Water restoration e.g. Northern Aral Sea, and on smaller scale river Colne in UK Integrated drainage basin management , especially if bottom up and community involved. The 4 Rs: i.e. an attitudinal fix: Reduce, Respect, Reuse, Renew..... Newer hard technologies Tankers to transport water eg Turkey to Israel Osmosis membranes filtering salt from brackish water e.g. Israel (the Ashkelon plant produces 15% of domestic demand). Also in California, Spain and China Fertigation: fertilser and water drip feeding of crops, as in Israel Specific Technologies seen as appropriate /intermediate with less negative externalities Water harvesting of grey water e.g. Belize Micro dams serving villages e.g. Nepal Water meters to reduce use e.g. UK Composting latrines – seen in National Trust properties in UK to Mumbai slums!

Low tech solutions to water : a case study Water management often focuses on large scale, technologically advanced mega-projects These often have complex costs and benefits Water conservation and restoration of supply have a role Small scale, bottom-up schemes are likely to be important in the developing world However, unless duplicated on large scale may be ineffective for longer term economic growth The problem: The River WAKAL area of Rajasthan in NW India is one of the driest and poorest areas in India. Subsistence agriculture dominates. 96% of rainfall is from the 3-4 month monsoon (late June through September.) and the traditional methods of using groundwater and conserving surface water are falling short of demands A solution? Basic technology and information is channelled through the NGO: GLOWS( global water for sustainability project) a partnership between World Vision India and Florida International University. Methods: 1. Increasing simple low tech appropriate and intermediate solutions to increase storage: Increased rainwater harvesting Improved storage system at a family scale: Tanks: 3 m in diameter , 3-4 m deep, most below land level with a side opening to allow surface flow in. They store about 20,000litres, and once full provide water for a family until next monsoon. 2. Using colourful drama performed by trained locals to villagers to illustrate the advantages of working cooperatively with other families and villages to reduce desertification and pollution of ground water by since aquifers are shared-if an unseen resource! (see photgraph) Changes: Traditional low tech methods of water conservation.: stone dams, Persian water wheels and tube wells- but cannot cope with increased demand and increased droughts

Exam style question: Using examples, explain how water use could be made more sustainable? (6 marks)

Water Conflicts overview Water Resources Water Conflict Water like energy is a fundamental need but not evenly distributed Factors influencing geography of supply: Physical-surface, groundwater, desalinisation Human: demand, management, mismanagement Increasing demand not matched by supply= WATER GAP Implications for human well being- which is why it is named in the MDGs Demand from various users Water resources are often transboundary Potential conflicts=high both local & international Resource use often exceeds recharge capacity leading to long term degradation Future is in doubt because of unsustainable use+ climate change Vulnerable populations most at risk Management strategies to ensure supply require cooperation of many different players = changes in way water is valued & used Water Futures Water stress and scarcity are projected to increase because: Climate change will make some areas more arid and rainfall more unreliable Glacial water sources will reduce due to climate change Unsustainable use of some supplies will decrease their quality and quantity Demand will rise due to population and economic growth Water wars will lead to winners and losers in water supply Therefore, there are alternative futures – It all depends on the decisions the players make.... and climate change, population trends, energy security, superpower politics, bridging the development gap etc…

Transboundary supply issues

Water politics Water is a strategic resource for many countries… Water could become a tradable commodity, bringing benefits to water-rich nations (Greenland, Canada, Colombia). Annual profits of global water industry are around 40% of oil industry. Suez, Veolia/Vivendi, Bechtel-United have almost 400million customers in 140 countries.

Water politics Where water resources cross international boundaries, the challenges for integrated watershed management are made more complex and political co-operation compromised. Authorities responsible for sources and upstream tributaries are able to control downstream flows, possibly depriving other states of the resource.

UNECE and Water Convention Read the information on the Water Convention on Trans-boundary water management Create a quiz question on this information

Water politics There are 261 international rivers covering 45% of the earth’s land surface. 19 basins are shared by five or more riparian countries. Examples inlude: Danube Rhine Congo Niger Zambezi Lake Chad Nile Okavango Basin Amazon Ganges/Brahmaputra Indus Mekong Colorado Jordan Tigris/Euphrates

http://www.mg.co.za/article/2005-03-17-risk-of-armed-conflict-over-nile-water Nile The Blue and White Nile provide Egypt with vital water supplies, but 85% come from other countries. All the following are in the Nile basin: Burundi D.R.Congo Egypt Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Sudan Tanzania Uganda All have rising population and want to irrigate their agriculture to help feed the population and develop

The megaprojects of dams like Aswan are famous. Hydropolitics and geopolitics Political negotiations centred on conflicts over the shared use of water sources History of hydropolitics in Nile Basin tensions due to the dominance of Egypt civil wars in Sudan Ethiopia tensions from Egypt’s treaties dating back to the 1929 and 1959 Nile Water Agreements. Upstream states increasingly challenging Egypt’s dominance. Ethiopia wants to use the Nile River for HEP plants and industrial development. The Nile is the world’s longest river , 6,500kms, 2.9km2 catchment,10% of Africa, running through 10 countries with 360 million people depending on it for survival. Growing issues of desertification & salination and increased evaporation linked to climate change About 85 % water originates from Eritrea and Ethiopia, but 94 % is used by Sudan and Egypt. Evidence of more effective co-operation The Nile Basin Initiative, system of cooperative management which started late 1990s All countries except Eritrea working with The World Bank and bi-lateral aid donors . Community level involvement . Managers visited Colorado River recently to see how effectively the 1922 River Water Compact and its ‘law of the river’ works Tech Fix ; The megaprojects of dams like Aswan are famous. Latest high tech is the 1990sproject called ‘Tecconile’ a joint GIS system to help monitor and plan the basin 1996 Helsinki Rules on the Uses of the Waters of International Rivers - regulating how transboundary rivers and groundwater are managed The Nile Basin is an example that ‘Water Wars’ may be averted

Kahoot

‘The next war in the Middle East will not be about politics but over water’ (1991 UN Secretary general)? ‘Referring to examples, assess the potential for water conflict in areas where demand exceeds supply’ Referring to examples, explain why future water supplies for many regions are increasingly insecure Using named examples, assess the contribution of large scale water management projects in increasing water security Using named examples, assess the advantages and disadvantages of contrasting technologies to secure water supplies in developing countries