Water A shared resource

Himba Where do the Himba live? Who are the stake holders in the Kunene River dam project?

The dam Kunene River

Water A diminishing resource

The rate of extraction is exceeding the rate of replenishment chief use of water is agriculture major water use in cities the demand for water resources leads directly to environmental change: dams, roads, pipes, reservoirs, development...

Hydrologic cycle Rain enters the ground Groundwater accumulates, lakes fill, rivers flow Water reaches oceans by natural courses. Evaporation produces clouds, cools the air, leads to rain Wetlands purify water and control flow Fossil aquifers hold most groundwater left over from glacial period. Rain recharges the aquifers.

Efforts to manage water through technofix approach is often impacted by L.U.C. Case: High Aswan Dam, Egypt Case: Hopi water sales Case: Three Rivers Gorge Dam, China Case: Mississippi river flooding

Groundwater depletion Ogallala Aquifer United States Man made River Project, Libya Gujarat over pumping, India California river diversion sinking groundwater levels saline increase increased pumping costs reduced distribution falling crop yields

The 15 minute brain storm Groups of three Task: imaginative scenario

Imagine you live in a farming community. You depend heavily on the flow of a nearby river for irrigation. Development upstream has reduced the flow of the river by 60% over the past ten years. A new proposal for development is expected to draw off another 15%. What do you do? Discuss for 5 minutes. Write a reaction paper briefly for 5 minutes.

For the next 5 minutes: List the five worst ideas you can think of for responding to this problem.

Assignments Read the posted articles concerning climate and water issues as foundation for the next few weeks. These two readings will form the framework of our discussion next week. You should also have read through Chapter 6 in Bates.