Manakeli G Mokete-2014203349
Oregolele K Seitshiro-2014086124
Population dynamics and environmental issues-SOCP2624
Assignment-Water scarcity and depletion
Lecturer(s) Mr. WF Goodrick
Due date: 27 September 2018
Table of contents
Introduction
Nature and extent of the issue
Causes of the issue
Implications of the issue for society
Proposed solutions to the issue
Conclusion
List of references
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Introduction
An extensive variety of conservational concerns meet the realm. The world population keeps growing daily, whereby the forest, dams and other natural resources have to be destroyed to accommodate the growing population. This results in high use of natural resource such as fossil fuels and water. It’s unpredictably challenging to conclude whether H2O is actually rare in the fleshly logic at the universal gauge or whether it is accessible.
This topic is important because we need to be cautious of our daily activities which have negative impact in the environment. By being aware we will be able to reduce the use of harmful substances to the environment and use environment or water friendly substances. This essay will discuss the environmental issues caused by water scarcity and measurement that should be taken to reduce or avoid loss of water, causes of these issues and its implications.
Defining water scarcity and depletion.
Water scarcity is the lack of fresh water resources to meet water demand.
Depletion is the reduction in the number or quantity of something
According to Rijsberman (2004:1) water scarcity is “when an individual does not have access to safe and affordable water to satisfy her or his needs for drinking, washing or their live hood we call that person water insecure”. In short water scarcity and depletion is the decrease of water resources for the world population to use for their basic needs.
The nature and extent of the issue
I tend to agree with Bezuidenhout (2013: 344) when he says that “Water covers 70% of the earth surface, earning earth the apt description of blue planet, yet of the 1.4 billion cubic kilometres of water on earth, only 35 million are fresh and majority of it is locked up in glaciers, permanent snow cover and deep ground water sources that are inaccessible for human use”.
The growing population of the world contributes to water scarcity and depletion, reason being that the available water resources are not enough to cater for the whole population hence there is a decrease in fresh water supply. The nearby water resources have to be destroy in order for the humans to get land where they can build or have a life. In some cases the government cannot afford to supply the country with clean water so in rural area they use water from the rivers and streams across the villages.
The causes of the issue
Pollution
Pollution is a major cause of water shortage. Water is polluted when industrial wastes are deposited into water bodies thus making it unhealthy for human consumption. Oil spillage and focal matter also makes the water contaminated. Furthermore, the use of pesticides and insecticides
Drought
Whenever there is a drought, regularly no rain for a long period of time the rivers, dams and other water resources dry out. This causes a negative impact in humans and animals .The need to perform domestic and industrial work slows down and animals and plants may die due to the extreme hotness of the weather.
Water Wastage
Wasting water is common in urban area. People uses appliance which wastes a huge amount of water, for instance they fill their bathtub with a lot of water for bathing, leave taps running water, washing cars with hosepipe, irrigating the garden, filling swimming pools with water and draining it regularly.
Distance
In some areas especially arid regions, people stay far away from rivers, dams and other water resources such as boreholes.to get water they have travel a long way which takes a lot of time. It is also a burden to carry water from the catchment area to home. This discourages people to fetch water especially if they do not have equipment that will help them carry the water tanks or buckets.
Urbanisation
Urbanisation which results in the changing patterns of land use affect water flow and quality for instance drainage arrays are significantly altered by human activities , such as urban encroachments into floods plains, weirs and bridges
Over population
The rapid growth in human population joint by massive evolution in manufacturing divisions has resulted in an increase the demand of water resources worldwide.
Implications of the issue for society
According to Eschooltoday.com health, hunger, education and poverty are the implications of the issue for society.
Health: in several developing countries, people are forced into drinking low quality water which come from flowing streams, many of which happen to be contaminated, there are water-borne diseases that people die off. Less water also means sewage does not flow and mosquitoes and other insects breed on still dirty water, the result is malaria and other infections. Lack of water or quality water causes huge sanitation issues clinics, local restaurants, public places of convenience and other places are forced to use very little water for cleaning.
Hunger: it takes a lot of water to grow food and care for animals. Experts say that globally we use 70% of our water sources for agriculture and irrigation and only 10% on domestic uses. Less water means that farming and other crops that need water to grow have lower yield. It means that farm animals will die and others won’t do well without water, which will result in constant hunger, thirst and low quality of life.
Education: for many people in other parts of the world, children have to be up at dawn to collect water for the family. They have to walk for several miles to get water, the children then get tired at some point and miss school as a result. Doing this for many years takes away school time and the cycle continues. In other places girls and women are not allowed to go to school at all just so they can serve the family by getting water and taking care of other family needs.
Poverty: lack of water implies that no economic activity can take place and therefore the people will be in constant poverty.
Identify 2 solutions to address the issue
Aquatic properties are significant for commercial expansion and healthiness and the safety of the people.
Conclusion
Water is essential natural resources to all living things such as humans, animals, plants and etc., without it we cannot live to see another day. Our lives revolve around water, we need water to satisfy our basic needs and do certain chores with it. This means our activities have negative in impact in water resources and there should be laws which protect the over use of water and factories should be restricted to deposit their waste into Dams and rivers. However it is clear from the above mentioned that human are the leading factors which pollute water and cause harm to Aquatic lives. Furthermore, the growing population
List of references
www.Eschooltoday.com
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