The Challenge of Resource Management - [Optional] - Water (Paper 2) Flashcards

Having access to enough clean, safe drinking water that aids well being and economic development

Supply of water is lower than the demand

Supply of water is higher than demand

Drier areas such as Australia, Northern Africa (Sahara) and Southern Africa, The Middle East.

• Typically, equatorial locations such as the Amazon, Brazil.
• Mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere such as Europe and North America.

When a country has a water surplus. They have a higher supply of water than they demand.

When a country has a water deficit. Their demand is higher than their supply of water.

When an area does not have

1. Access water
2. Access clean, safe water
3. The natural flows of water to sustain rivers etc

• Water aids crop production which secures a source of food and income
• Not having to travel daily for water enables children to go to school
• Improves the quality of life

• People are becoming wealthier
• Diets are changing - more variety is demanded which increases water in food production
• Energy production is changing which now involves higher levels of water
• Increasing urbanisation increases population demand for water i.e. domestic uses.

1. Climate - rainfall patterns
2. Poverty - some places have to share water sources
3. Poor infrastructure - limited pipes to bring water to communities
4. Pollution - some water is highly contaminated with industrial pollution
5. Geology - the rock type in an area dictates how much water is stored underground
6. Over abstraction - water is removed from the ground quicker than it replenishes which reduces the water table.

1. Waterborne diseases
2. Water pollution
3. Lowering food production
4. Changing industrial output
5. Conflict

Diseases that affect people who drink contaminated water. e.g. cholera, dysentery.

Drinking from unsafe water supplies in places that do not have infrastructure e.g. pipes. This increases the likelihood of disease

Food production requires water. Agricultural practices suffer if there is not an adequate amount of water to tend to crops. As a result, lower supply increases food prices.

Industry requires large amounts of water to be productive. Many factories around the world close in times of water shortage. This reduces productivity and a loss of profits.

• Many people rely on rivers for a supply of water - building dams in a shared river e.g. the Nile, can restrict flow and cause conflict
• Some industries do not regulate their waste which means water pollution can occur, affecting some communities source of drinking water.

1. Diverting supplies and increasing storage
2. Building dams and reservoirs
3. Water transfers
4. Desalination