Food and Water

What causes poor food supply?

• Draught- no water to grow food
• Civil war- destroys land, young people are fighting no one to farm
• over farming - takes all the minerals out of the soil Desertification - the spread of Desert like condistions into neighbouring semi-arid regions of bush, greenland and woodland Causes of Desertification Natural processes
• Climate change, since 1960 rainfall totals have been below the long term average for 8 in every 10 years
• Loss of vegetations -As rainfall declines there is a reduction in natural vegetation, leaves land open to erosiom and loss of top soil Human activity
• Overgrazing- animals have stripped vegetation away
• Over cultivation- The land is over used becomes less fertile
• Deforestation - trees removed for firewood leaves land open to erosion

Drought happens mainly between the tropics, 30 % of the earths surface suffers from drought for example the Sehel Overgrazing --> less vegetation --> more soil exposed --> water evapourates quicker --> soil eroision

Malnutrition - from some form of diet deficency, normally because of lack of food intake Starvation - Inadequate daily Kcal over a period of time Farmine - Large shortage of food Kwashionkon - is caused by a lack of protein leads to swollen hands and legs and bloated stomach, tiredness lack of growth Marasmus - serve lack of food, Diarrhoea, low immunity Blindness - Lack of vitamin A effects 250,000 children, prevented by eating fruit and veg Anaemia- Lack of iron, very tired, less productive

GM seeds

Disadvantages

• GM seeds cost more
• need more water
• Needs more machinery and chemicals
• 64% of Indian farmers do not wanted to be reliant on biotechnology

Sustainable farming in Thailand

Chaing Thaidee, lives in eastern Thailand, Surin. Area dry, infertile, no trees little rain- only enough to grow one rick crop a year

Chiang brought 1ha of land and over many years dug a pond buy hand. He lined it with animal manure and lime, after a few years it sealed and kept water all year round

he now has 12 ponds covering half the land. He grows many tress, shurbs and herbs around the ponds. the fruit he grows is enough for his family and some left over to sell. he also sells seedling to other farmers

In the ponds he breeds fish which he eats and sells. He buys chickens fattern them for a month and sells them on for a profit. They wander around freely providing fertiliser and eating termits. He also raises pigs and harvest mushrooms

Managment of the river Ganga, India

• 70% of Indians water is polluted
• 80% of health problems come from water borne diseases Sources of pollution-Urban waste- 30% of the people in the river Ganga area are connected to a sewerage system, the otehr 70% goes into the river

Industrial waste-Waste water from tanneries, chemical works, textile mills and agricultural processing plants is released into the river Agricultural chemicals-pesticides and insecticides run-off the riverside farms into the river Religious practices-Hindus purify themselves by bathing in the river at Varanasi Cremation happen by the river banks every day, some bodies are thrown into the river uncremated Action plan

• launched in 1986 aims to improve the quality of the river
• installing sewage treatment plants in the largest riverside settlement
• Providing low ocst sanitation facilities and bathing areas
• building electric-powered crematoria
• putting flesh-eating turtles into the river to clean up any bodies
• educating people on sewage and household waste
• water quality has improved in many towns
• increased number of people are connected to sewage plants
• Local schools and villages are taking part in activties to reduce river pollution

Water Aid - Hitosa

Hitosa is in ethiopia (north-east Africa). it has a population of 200,000, most rely on agriculture Most settlements are not near water supplies so the women must spend many hours getting water

Failed schemes - 1960 a tanker brought water to sell this was expensive 1970 a pipeline was set up but it ffell into disrepair

New scheme-1996, 60,000 people have been provided with water by a gravity supply system

Water runs from 2 springs to 122 distribution point Government came up with the design, Wateraid provided money, local people provided the labour The simple is simple and managed by the local people. their is a small charge to cover the cost of running and repair

the scheme had been extended to 70,000 in 2008

Elephant pump, Malawi, Africa provided by water aid: it uses cheap basic materials; costs $500, local people know how to fix it; serves 5 villages 1,000 people; water borne dieased gone; girls can go to school instead of carring water

Sustainable technology motor powered clay wheel in india trasformed potters lives, solar powered cooker in Gujurat, India expensive to buy free to run, camels are cheaper to run then cars

farmer collects dung of his cattle --> transported to a biogas complex --> dung & water is added, small diesel engine stirs it inot a slurry --> added in a chamber anaerobic reaction takes place--> produces gas and fertiliser--> farmer gets fertiliser which is better than just dung

example SKCV boys village, in Vijayawada, India the gas provides fuel for the kitchen to cook 3 meals a day for 150 boys plus staff, the fertiliser is used on the boys allotments

Advantages

• Provides fresh water for industry and drinking water in the city
• Farmers use water for irrigation, grow cheaper food for people in the city to buy
• Irrigation allows a larger harvest and even more land to be cultivated
• Farmers can grow crops all year round due to irrigation, providing more jobs iwth a better pay and leading to a better lifestyle

Disadvantages

• Grazing land for nomads has been taken over for cultivation of crops
• Difficult for nomans to get their cattle to the river
• The Kafin Zaki dam will prevent water from reaching the wetlands the land will dry out
• destroy rick feeding grounds for 100's of species od migrating birds

Brazil

The North- amazonia tropical rainforest, remote inhospital, physical geograph makes area hard to develope, Gov. finanal aid to develope argiuculture and mining

The Centre West- Brasillia, capital, Commercal and industrial area, rest of the land is farming, remoto poor communications

The south- resent industrial development, coast area urbanised

The South East - Industrial heartland of Brazil, Rio de Janera Sao Paulo Belo Horizonte industrial triangle, Large cities and ports provides jobs

The North East - Sertao, rural to urban mirgration, dry zone, regular drought, mainly arguicultal, very poor