Deforestation of the Madagascar Highland Plateau has led to extensive siltation and unstable flows of western rivers.

The water crisis is the status of the world’s water resources relative to human demand as of the 1970s and to the current time.^[1] The term "water crisis" has been applied to the worldwide water situation by the United Nations and other world organizations.^[2][3] The major aspects of the water crisis are overall scarcity of usable water and water pollution. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 × 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 × 2112 pixel, file size: 1. ... Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forest land use such as arable land, pasture, urban use, logged area or wasteland. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This bridge across the Danube River links Hungary with Slovakia. ... Water resources are sources of water that are useful or potentially useful to humans. ... The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ... Drinking water This article focuses on water as we experience it every day. ... Water pollution is a large set of adverse effects upon water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater caused by human activities. ...

The Earth has a finite supply of fresh water, stored in aquifers, surface waters and the atmosphere. Sometimes oceans are mistaken for available water, but the amount of energy needed to convert saline water to potable water is prohibitive today, explaining why only a very small fraction of the world's water supply derives from desalination^[4]. Adjectives: Terrestrial, Terran, Telluric, Tellurian, Earthly Atmosphere Surface pressure: 101. ... For the village on the Isle of Wight, see Freshwater, Isle of Wight. ... An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, silt, or clay) from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. ... View of Jupiters active atmosphere, including the Great Red Spot. ... Animated map exhibiting the worlds oceanic waters. ... Drinking water This article focuses on water as we experience it every day. ...

There are several principal manifestations of the water crisis.

• Inadequate access to safe drinking water by over 1.1 billion people
• Groundwater overdrafting leading to diminished agricultural yields
• Overuse and pollution of water resources harming biodiversity
• Regional conflicts over scarce water resources sometimes resulting in warfare

Waterborne diseases and the absence of sanitary domestic water is the leading cause of death worldwide and may account for up to 80 percent of human sickness.^[5] Drinking water Mineral Water Drinking water is water that is intended to be ingested by humans. ... Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of geologic formations. ... It has been suggested that Pollutant be merged into this article or section. ... Rainforests are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth Biodiversity is the variation of taxonomic life forms within a given ecosystem, biome or for the entire Earth. ... For other uses of War, see War (disambiguation). ... Waterborne diseases, according to the World Health Organization, are those which generally arise from the contamination of water by feces or urine, infected by pathogenic viruses or bacteria, and which are directly transmitted when unsafe water is drunk or used in the preparation of food. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... A disease is any abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person affected or those in contact with the person. ...

Historically the manifestations of the water crisis have been less pronounced, but 20th century levels of human overpopulation have revealed the limited quantity of fresh water. Drought dramatizes the underlying tenuous balance of safe water supply, but it is the imprudent actions of man that have rendered the human population vulnerable to the devastation of major droughts. Map of countries by population density (See List of countries by population density. ... A drought is a period of time when there is not enough water to support agricultural, urban, human, or environmental water needs. ...

Health impacts of the water crisis

Sewage treatment plant whose effluent is used to create the Wonga Wetlands, Australia.

Not only are there 1.1 billion without adequate drinking water, but the United Nations acknowledges 2.6 billion people are without adequate water for sanitation (e.g. wastewater disposal). The issues are coupled, since, without water for sewage disposal, cross-contamination of drinking water by untreated sewage is the chief adverse outcome of inadequate safe water supply. Consequently disease and significant deaths arise from people using contaminated water supplies; these effects are particularly pronounced for children in underdeveloped countries, where 3900 children per day die of diarrhea alone^[6]. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1067, 470 KB) Wonga Wetlands Sewage Plant File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Sewage treatment Categories: ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1067, 470 KB) Wonga Wetlands Sewage Plant File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Sewage treatment Categories: ... In the context of creating Plutonium at the Hanford Site, effluent refers to the cooling water that is discharged from a nuclear reactor that may or may not be radioactive. ... Drinking water Mineral Water Drinking water is water that is intended to be ingested by humans. ... The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ... E. Coli bacteria under magnification Sanitation is the hygienic disposal or recycling of waste, as well as the policy and practice of protecting health through hygienic measures. ... Sewage treatment is the process that removes the majority of the contaminants from waste-water or sewage and produces both a liquid effluent suitable for disposal to the natural environment and a sludge. ... Safe water is water that will not harm you if you come in contact with it. ... The term disease refers to an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs function. ... A water supply system provides water to the locations that need it. ... Coloured world map indicating Human Development Index (as of 2003). ... Types 5-7 on the Bristol Stool Chart are often associated with diarrhea Diarrhea (in American English) or diarrhoea (in British English) is a condition in which the sufferer has frequent watery, loose bowel movements (from the Greek word διάρροια; literally meaning through-flowing). Acute infectious diarrhea is a common cause...

While these deaths are generally considered preventable, the situation is considerably more complex, since the Earth is beyond its carrying capacity with respect to available fresh water^[7]. Often technology is advanced as a panacea, but the costs of technology presently exclude a number of countries from availing themselves of these solutions. If lesser developed countries acquire more wealth, partial mitigation will occur, but sustainable solutions must involve each region in balancing population to water resource and in managing water resources more optimally. In any case the finite nature of the water resource must be acknowledged if the world is to achieve a better balance. Carrying capacity usually refers to the biological carrying capacity of a population level that can be supported for an organism, given the quantity of food, habitat, water and other life infrastructure present. ... By the mid 20th century humans had achieved a mastery of technology sufficient to leave the surface of the Earth for the first time and explore space. ...

Groundwater overdrafting

Even in many wealthy western countries the drafting of groundwater beyond sustainable yield is endangering maximum agricultural productivity. One of the false assumptions of the Green Revolution is the limitless availability of water to foster crop growth. Most regions of the world are presently faced with choices between extraction of quantities of water desired for short term satisfaction, versus limiting groundwater use to maximize future steady state agricultural yields^[8]. As early as the 1970s the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers identified a number of groundwater basins where overdraft was a significant concern^[9]. For alternative meanings for The West in the United States, see the U.S. West and American West. ... The sustainable yield of natural capital is the ecological yield that can be extracted without reducing the base of capital itself, i. ... The Green Revolution is a term used to describe the transformation of agriculture in many developing nations that led to significant increases in agricultural production between the 1940s and 1960s. ... United States Army Corps of Engineers logo The United States Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, is made up of some 34,600 civilian and 650 military men and women. ...

By the mid 1990s developing countries on the whole were in a state of overdraft^[10]. Some of the biggest deficits accrued in India and China; for example, on the North China Plain, overdrafting reduced the depth to groundwater by 50 meters in a span of 35 years, whilst in India a net overdraft of 56 percent had taken place. The North China Plain (Chinese: 华北平原; Pinyin: Huáběi Píngyuán), also called the Central Plain (Chinese: 中原; Pinyin: Zhōngyuán), is based on the deposits of the Huang He (Yellow River) and is the largest alluvial plain of eastern Asia. ... Overdrafting is the process of extracting groundwater beyond the safe yield or equilibrium yield of the aquifer. ...

Even in advanced countries like the United States, there are numerous regions where striving for maximum agricultural output has placed aquifers in overdraft, producing adverse water quality and questionable sustainable yields. One of the USA’s largest groundwater basins, the Ogallala Aquifer, is in substantial overdraft, compromising the likelihood of sustainable crop yields in America’s heartland^[11]. Smaller, but important watersheds like Sonoma Valley in California have also begun to display overdraft, presently limiting the amount of otherwise arable land that can be farmed.^[12]. The Ogallala aquifer underlies portions of eight states. ... A crop is any plant that is grown in significant quantities to be harvested as food, livestock fodder, or for another economic purpose. ... Waterfall at Sugarloaf Mountain headwaters of Sonoma Creek Sonoma Creek is one of two principal drainages of Southern Sonoma County, California, with headwaters rising in the rugged hills of Sugarloaf Ridge State Park and discharge to San Pablo Bay, the northern arm of San Francisco Bay. ...

Damage to biodiversity

Santa Cruz Long-toed Salamander, an endangered species due to freshwater habitat reduction by man.

Vegetation and wildlife are fundamentally dependent upon adequate freshwater resources. Marshes, bogs and riparian zones are more obviously dependent upon sustainable water supply, but forests and other upland ecosystems are equally at risk of significant productivity changes as water availability is diminished. In the case of wetlands, considerable acreage has been simply taken from wildlife use to feed and house the expanding human population. But other areas have suffered reduced productivity from gradual diminishing of freshwater inflow, as upstream sources are diverted for human use. In seven states of the U.S. over 80 percent of all historic wetlands were filled^[13] by the 1980s, when Congress acted to create a “no net loss” of wetlands. Image File history File links Croceum. ... Image File history File links Croceum. ... Trinomial name Ambystoma macrodactylum croceum Russell & Anderson, 1956 The Santa Cruz Long-toed Salamander is an endangered subspecies of the Long-toed Salamander, which is found only close to a few isolated ponds in Santa Cruz County and Monterey County, California. ... The Siberian Tiger, a subspecies of tiger. ... Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants, and is, by far, the most abundant biotic element of the biosphere. ... Image:FRANKIE COBB.jpg Various species of deer are commonly seen wildlife across the Americas and Eurasia. ... Freshwater marsh in Florida In geography, a marsh is a type of wetland, featuring grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, cat tails, and other herbaceous plants (possibly with low-growing woody plants) in a context of shallow water. ... Lütt-Witt Moor, a bog in Henstedt-Ulzburg in northern Germany. ... A well maintained Riparian strip on a tributary to Lake Erie. ... A subtropical wetland in Florida, USA, with an endangered American Crocodile. ...

In Europe extensive loss of wetlands has also occurred with resulting loss of biodiversity. For example many bogs in Scotland have been drained or developed through human population expansion. One example is the Portlethen Moss in Aberdeenshire, that has been over half lost, and a number of species which inhabited this moss are no longer present such as the Great Crested Newt. World map showing the location of Europe. ... Motto (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity Cha togar mfhearg gun dioladh (Scottish Gaelic)1 Wha daur meddle wi me?(Scots)1 Anthem (Multiple unofficial anthems) Scotlands location in Europe Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official languages English, Gaelic, Scots Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II... True heather, a common plant on the Portlethen Moss The Portlethen Moss is an acidic bog nature reserve in the coastal Grampian region in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... Binomial name Triturus cristatus (Laurenti, 1768) The Great Crested Newt or Northern Crested Newt, Triturus cristatus, is a newt in the family Salamandridae. ...

On Madagascar’s central highland plateau, a massive transformation occurred that eliminated virtually all the heavily forested vegetation in the period 1970 to 2000. The slash and burn agriculture eliminated about ten percent of the total country’s native biomass and converted it to a barren wasteland. These effects were from overpopulation and the necessity to feed poor indigenous peoples, but the adverse effects included widspread gully erosion that in turn produced heavily silted rivers that “run red” decades after the deforestation. This environmental generated effect removed a large amount of fresh water from usable water for people, but also destroyed much of the riverine ecosystems of several large west-flowing rivers; several fish species have been driven to the edge of extinction and some coral reef formations in the Indian Ocean are effectively lost. Assarting in Finland in 1892 Slash and burn (a specific practice that may be part of shifting cultivation or swidden-fallow agriculture) is an agricultural procedure widely used in forested areas. ... Map of countries by population density (See List of countries by population density. ... Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forest land use such as arable land, pasture, urban use, logged area or wasteland. ... A giant grouper at the Georgia Aquarium Fish are aquatic vertebrates that are typically cold-blooded; covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. ... Some of the biodiversity of a coral reef. ...

Regional conflicts

There are approximately 260 different river systems worldwide, where conflicts exist crossing national boundaries. While Helsinki Rules help to interpret intrinsic water rights among countries, there are some conflicts so bitter or so related to basic survival that strife and even warfare are inevitable. In many cases water use disputes are merely an added dimension to underlying border tensions founded on other bases.

The Tigris-Euphrates River System is one example where differing national interests and withdrawal rights have been in conflict. The countries of Iran, Iraq and Syria each present valid claims of certain water use, but the total demands on the riverine system surpass the physical constraints of water availability.^[14] As early as 1974 Iraq massed troops on the Syrian border and threatened to destroy Syria’s al-Thawra dam on the Euphrates.^[15] The Tigris (Old Persian: Tigr, Syriac Aramaic: Deqlath, Arabic: دجلة, Dijla, Turkish: Dicle; biblical Hiddekil) is the eastern member of the pair of great rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of Anatolia through Iraq. ... The Euphrates (the traditional Greek name for the river, which is in Old Persian Ufrat, Aramaic Prâth/Frot, in Arabic الفرات, in Turkish Fırat and in ancient Assyrian language Pu-rat-tu) is the westernmost of the two great rivers that define...

In 1992 Hungary and Czechoslovakia took a dispute over Danube River water diversions and dam construction to the International Court of Justice. This case represents a minority of disputes where logic and jurisprudence may be the path of dispute resolution. Other conflicts involving North and South Korea, Israel and Palestine, Egypt and Ethiopia, may prove more difficult tests of negotiation. Length 2,888 km Elevation of the source 1,078 m Average discharge 30 km before Passau: 580 m³/s Vienna: 1,900 m³/s Budapest: 2,350 m³/s just before Delta: 6,500 m³/s Area watershed 817,000 km² Origin Black Forest (Schwarzwald-Baar, Baden- Württemberg... The International Court of Justice (known colloquially as the World Court or ICJ; French: ) is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. ... North Korea, officially the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK; Korean: Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk; Hangul: 조선민주주의인민공화국; Hanja: 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國), is a country in eastern Asia... The Holy Land or Palestine Showing not only the Old Kingdoms of Judea and Israel but also the 12 Tribes Distinctly, and Confirming Even the Diversity of the Locations of their Ancient Positions and Doing So as the Holy Scriptures Indicate, a geographic map from the studio of Tobiae Conradi...

Overview of regions suffering crisis impacts

There are many other countries of the world that are severely impacted with regard to human health and inadequate drinking water. The following is a partial list of some of the countries with significant populations (numerical population of affected population listed) whose only consumption is of contaminated water[1]: Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin: wise man or knowing man) in the family Hominidae (the great apes). ...

• Sudan 12.3 million
• Iran 5.6 million
• Venezuela 5.0 million
• Syria 3.8 million
• Zimbabwe 2.7 million
• Tunisia 2.1 million
• Cuba 1.2 million

Outlook

Wind and solar power such as this installation in a village in northwest Madagascar can make a difference in safe water supply.

Year 2025 forecasts state that two thirds of the world population will be without safe drinking water and basic sanitation services. Construction of wastewater treatment plants and reduction of groundwater overdrafting appear to be obvious solutions to the worldwide problem; however, a deeper look reveals more fundamental issues in play. Wastewater treatment is highly capital intensive, restricting access to this technology in some regions; furthermore the rapid increase in population of many countries makes this a race that is difficult to win. As if those factors are not daunting enough, one must consider the enormous costs and skill sets involved to maintain wastewater treatment plants even if they are successfully developed. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 × 2112 pixel, file size: 507 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) i took this photo in western Madagascar in spring 2006 and release all rights. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2816 × 2112 pixel, file size: 507 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) i took this photo in western Madagascar in spring 2006 and release all rights. ... Masouleh village, Gilan Province, Iran. ... Sewage treatment is the process that removes the majority of the contaminants from waste-water or sewage and produces both a liquid effluent suitable for disposal to the natural environment and a sludge. ... Capital intensity is the term in economics for the amount of fixed or real capital present in relation to other factors of production, especially labor. ...

Reduction in groundwater overdrafting is usually politically very unpopular and has major economic impacts to farmers; moreover, this strategy will necessarily reduce crop output, which is something the world can ill afford, given the population level at present. For other uses, see Farmer (disambiguation). ...

At more realistic levels, developing countries can strive to achieve primary wastewater treatment or secure septic systems, and carefully analyse wastewater outfall design to miminise impacts to drinking water and to ecosystems. Developed countries can not only share technology better, including cost-effective wastewater and water treatement systems but also in hydrological transport modeling. At the individual level, people in developed countries can look inward and reduce overconsumption, which further strains worldwide water consumption. Both developed and developing countries can increase protection of ecosytems, especially wetlands and riparian zones. These measures will not only conserve biota, but also render more effective the natural water cycle flushing and transport that make water systems more healthy for humans. On-site septic disposal systems are common in rural areas where public sewage treatment systems do not exist. ... River in Madagascar relatively free of sediment load An hydrological transport model is a mathematical model used to simulate river or stream flow and calculate water quality parameters. ... Biota can refer to several things: The plant and animal life of a region; see biota (ecology) A municipality in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain; see Biota (municipality) A superdomain in taxonomy; see Biota (taxonomy) Biota Holdings, the Australian biotech company This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists... The movement of water around, over, and through the Earth is called the water cycle. ...

Desalination

As new technological innovations continue to drive down the cost of desalination, more countries than ever are building desalination plants to solve their water crises [2], [3]. Shevchenko BN350 desalination unit situated on the shore of the Caspian Sea. ... Shevchenko BN350 desalination unit situated on the shore of the Caspian Sea. ...

• Israel desalinizes water for a cost of 53 cents per cubic meter [4].
• Singapore desalinizes water for 49 cents per cubic meter [5].
• China and India, the world's two most populous countries, are turning to desalination to provide for their water needs [6], [7].
• In 2007 Pakistan announced plans to use desalination [8].
• Australia uses desalination [9].
• In 2007 Bermuda singed a contract to purchase a desalination plant [10].
• Desalination allows Dubai to have year round indoor skiing in the middle of the desert [11].
• In the United States, California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida use desalination [12], [13], [14].

Nuclear power is one way to provide the energy for desalination [15], [16], [17], [18]. Coordinates: Emirate Dubai Government  - Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Area [1]  - Metro 4,114 km² (1,588. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Official language(s) English Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area  Ranked 6th  - Total 113,998 sq mi (295,254 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ... Official language(s) No Official Language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ... A nuclear power station. ...

See also

• Intestinal parasite
• Malnutrition
• Overpopulation
• Water pollution
• 1998 Klang Valley water crisis
• China water crisis

Intestinal parasites are parasites that populate the gastro-intestinal tract. ... Percentage of population affected by malnutrition by country, according to United Nations statistics. ... Map of countries by population density (See List of countries by population density. ... Water pollution is a large set of adverse effects upon water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater caused by human activities. ... The 1998 Klang Valley water crisis occurred in Malaysia in February 1998 when the three reservoir dams in Klang Valley, Klang Gates Dam, Batu Dam and Semenyih Dam suffered a substantial drop in water level following the El Niño phenomenon. ... The China water crisis threatens the stability and prosperity not only in Peoples Republic of China but globally too, according to experts. ...

References

Species Oryza glaberrima Oryza sativa Brown basmati rice Terrace of paddy fields in Yunnan Province, southern China. ... Species T. aestivum T. boeoticum T. compactum T. dicoccoides T. dicoccon T. durum T. monococcum T. spelta T. sphaerococcum T. timopheevii References:   ITIS 42236 2002-09-22 For the indie rock group see: Wheat (band). ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Oxfordshire (abbreviated Oxon, from the Latinised form Oxonia) is a county in the South East of England, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 967 AD  Area  -  Total 130,395 km²  50,346 sq mi  Population  -  2006 estimate... Statistics Population: 25,000 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SU865045 Administration District: Chichester Shire county: West Sussex Region: South East England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: West Sussex Historic county: Sussex Services Police force: Sussex Police Fire and rescue: West Sussex Ambulance: South East Coast...

External links

• BBC News World Water Crisis Maps
• World Water Council: Water Crisis
• United Nations Highlights World Water Crisis