TASK ONE: DEFINING PHYSICAL AND ECONOMIC WATER SCARCITY

Physical water scarcity occurs when there is not enough water to meet all demands. Arid regions are most often associated with physical water scarcity, but an alarming new trend is an artificially created physical water scarcity due to over allocation and overdevelopment of water resources. Symptoms of physical water scarcity include, among other factors, severe environmental degradation and increasing occurrence of conflicts.

Economic water scarcity is caused by a lack of investment in water or a lack of human capacity to satisfy the demand for water, even in places where water is abundant. Symptoms of economic water scarcity include inadequate infrastructure development: people have trouble getting enough water for domestic and other purposes; high vulnerability to seasonal fluctuations: floods and drought; and inequitable distribution of water, even when infrastructure exists. (Source)

TASK TWO: GLOBAL PATTERNS

On a blank world map, show the distribution of water scarcity and add a key explaining the categories.

TASK THREE: EXPLORING WATER SCARCITY

Watch and take detailed notes from the video.

TASK FOUR: DROUGHT IN CALIFORNIA 2011-2014

Watch the video report and note the causes and consequences of the 2014 drought.

TASK FIVE: DROUGHT IN CHENNAI, INDIA

TASK SIX: WATER QUALITY AND QUANTITY

While much attention has focused on water quantity – too much water, in the case of floods; too little water, in the case of droughts – water quality has attracted significantly less consideration.

Watch the video and listen to the podcast. Outline the ways in which water quality declines, and the effects this has on different people and places.

MAIN POINTS

• Irrigation techniques range from flood > spray > drip

• Irrigation occurs in low to high income countries

• 50% of all agricultural land is irrigated

• 39% of water in the US is used for irrigation

salinisation

eutrophication

eutrophication: excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to run-off from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life.

CASE STUDY: Mexico Dead Zones

exam practice

Explain two ways in which agriculture and/or irrigation on flood plains can affect water quality. [6 marks]

mark scheme

Explanations are likely to refer to two of the following – salinisation, eutrophication, the impacts of agro-chemicals, effluent run-off. In each case, award [1 mark] for the identification and up to [2 marks] for the explanation/developed exemplification.

The most likely focus for candidates will be:

Eutrophication [1 mark] occurs when fertilisers/nitrates are washed into a lake/river [1 mark]. Algae grow, and then die, leading to oxygen depletion [1 mark].

TASK ONE: POPULATION MIGRATION AND LAKE CHAD, NORTH AFRICA

Over the past 50 years, the surface area of Lake Chad has experienced significant climate, hydrological, ecological, and social changes. Throughout the last century, fishers, farmers, and herders from different ethnic groups migrated to the lake’s shores to exploit its rich natural resources and to flee droughts, famine, and conflicts in other parts of the region. These changes have created both opportunities and threats.

TASK TWO: SHRINKING LAKE CHAD

With reference to named countries and compass directions, describe the changes to Lake Chad from 1963.

TASK THREE: WHAT IS AN AQUIFER?

Draw a labelled diagram and research aquifers to add explanatory labels to your diagram.

TASK FOUR: ECONOMIC GROWTH & THE OGALLALA AQUIFER, MID-WEST USA

Large scale extraction for agricultural purposes started after World War II due partially to center pivot irrigation and to the adaptation of automotive engines for groundwater wells. Today about 27% of the irrigated land in the entire United States lies over the aquifer, which yields about 30% of the ground water used for irrigation in the United States. The aquifer is at risk for over-extraction and pollution. Since 1950, agricultural irrigation has reduced the saturated volume of the aquifer by an estimated 9%. Once depleted, the aquifer will take over 6,000 years to replenish naturally through rainfall. (Source)

TASK ONE: WATER CONFLICT GLOBALLY

Use the options at the top of the page to investigate recent water conflicts, particularly in Northern African and the Middle East.

TASK TWO: HISTORICAL AND REGIONAL CONTEXT OF NILE WATER CONFLICT

Study the sources below and add information to the Nile map worksheet.

TASK THREE: WATER CONFLICT IN THE NILE BASIN

Watch the video explaining the history of water conflict in the Nile basin and add detailed labels to the map of the River Nile. Highlight the role of different countries in the conflict.

TASK FOUR: ROLE OF DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS

The USA has hosted talks between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan in an attempt to calm tensions between the nations over the construction of the disputed Grand Renaissance Dam in Ethiopia. However, Ethiopia pulled out of these talks in February 2020 citing unresolved issues with stakeholders in its own country.