1. Planetary Resources
Water

3. “Water is about quantity, quality, space and time
“Water is about quantity, quality, space and time. Whether you have a big problem or not depends entirely on where you live.”
Source: Ian Cluckie Professor of Hydrology and Water Management, University of Bristol

4. Key Questions
Nearly one billion inhabitants do not have access to safe drinking water: why is access to this essential resource so unequal?
How do societies use and develop their water resources?
Why is it necessary to use water more sustainably?

5. 97.2% Ocean & saltwater

6. Freshwater is effectively a finite resource since only about 1% of freshwater is easily available for human use.

8. Water Scarcity Map
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Water scarcity: supply of water per person falls below 1000m3/year. An imbalance of supply and demand. A high rate of use compared to available supply, especially if the remaining supply is difficult or costly to tap.

9. Water Poverty Index 2002
Water poverty: The condition of not having access to sufficient water, or water of an adequate quality, to meet one’s basic needs. (=economic scarcity)
Are the Water Scarce and Water Poor areas in the world the same? Why or why not?

10. Physical and Economic Water Scarcity

11. I. Unequal Access to Water
A. Water - an indispensable resource which is unequally spread out
Necessary to life and irreplaceable
Various uses:
household/industrial/agricultural (17% of farmland uses irrigation)

12. Global Water Use 20% Industry 10% Domestic Use
Source: World Water Assessment Program (WWAP)

13. H2O distribution
9 countries hold 60% of freshwater reserves in the world (Brazil, Russia, U.S.A., Canada…)
40% of developing countries have arid land (mostly in Africa and Asia – Sahara, Arabic Peninsula…)

14. Seasonal access to water
Water access is also unequally spread out over the year
Several climate regions have dry seasons like in Mediterranean zones (e.g. Spain) and monsoons (e.g. India)

15. B. Water Access in function of development levels
Especially dependent on a society’s ability to create appropriate infrastructure and develop its territory
Consumption is related to standard of living of populations
A Californian uses 38X more water than a Cambodian even though water is more abundant in Cambodia

16. Global Water Footprint
The water footprint indicates how much is required by consumers- and in an increasingly globalised world, the footprint of someone in a country like the UK will not be just local as so many products using water will have been produced elsewhere!

17. Daily Domestic Water use per capita
Country
Liters per capita per day
Canada
778
2. United States
616
3. Australia
605
4. Korea
552
5. Italy
483
6. Japan
373
7. Spain
342
8. Portugal
308
9. Mexico
300
10. Turkey
238
11. France
232
12. Czech Republic
213
13. Germany
151
14. Poland
149
15. India
139
16. United Kingdom
17. Denmark
114
18. China 95

18. Water Footprint Water Footprint Website
Before consulting the website, how many liters of water do you think are needed to make the following:
1 liter beer?
1 liter milk?
1 kg of cotton?
1 kg of cane sugar?
1 kg of wheat bread?
1 kg of rice?
1 kg of beef?

19. The relation between consumption and water use
"The interest in the water footprint is rooted in the recognition that human impacts on freshwater systems can ultimately be linked to human consumption, and that issues like water shortages and pollution can be better understood and addressed by considering production and supply chains as a whole. Water problems are often closely tied to the structure of the global economy. Many countries have significantly externalized their water footprint, importing water-intensive goods from elsewhere. This puts pressure on the water resources in the exporting regions, where too often mechanisms for wise water governance and conservation are lacking. Not only governments, but also consumers, businesses and civil society communities can play a role in achieving a better management of water resources."
Going back to the website, compare China, Japan and the U.S. for their externalized water footprint…

20. Access to drinking water
Very unequal
WHO estimates that 2.4 B inhabitants do not have access to potable water in 2013 and in 40 countries, more than 50% of the population is deprived of drinking water
Mostly countries in subsaharan Africa and southern Asia

21. Water Demand Increases with urbanization In mostly urbanized societies
Esp in the south
In mostly urbanized societies
Higher level of consumption
Problems of water management and waste management
Crucial issue in precarious areas (slums)

22. Conclusion Water access an issue of natural conditions
Economic reasons
Social reasons