Water security case study cards

• Anatolia region; become the breadbasket of the Middle East by 2015
• Geopolitical issue: Syria and Iraq; damming Euphrates and Tigris Rivers; By international law Turkey has agreed to control water supplies to an international level to Syria (but not to Iraq)
• Syria and Iraq worried that Turkey will withold supplies for political reasons
• Only 16% of water in Turkey is available for use 
• GAP aims to provide irrigation for 1.7 million hectares of land; supporting 9% of Turkey's population
• Help the SE Anatolian region by 400% and Turkey's economy as a whole to grow by 12%
• 34,000 residents will be forced to relocate 
• Flooding of Hasankeyf; an ancient town 
• Austrian, Swiss and German companies formed a consortium to build the Ilisu Dam. 
• Ilisu Dam most controversial; biggest part of GAP and highlights difficulties involved in securing the water for Middle East; several foreign gvts pulled out and engineering companies pulled out after the potential negative impacts became clear

• North not rich in water water supplies
• South is rich
• $62 billion; 2003
• Project to re-distribute water 
• Will take 50 years to complete 
• 3 canals will connect four rivers (1300km) ; re-distribute 44.8 billion m3/ year
• 60% funded by central gvt; rest funded by local governments 
• Risks:
• Fish supplies depletion
• Resettlement of displaced communities 
• Worsening water supplies 
• Yangtze River polluted; excess pesticides & fertilisers (eutrophication)

TOP PRIORITIES:

1) Water conservation, 2) Improved irrigation, 3) Pollution treatment, 4) Environmental protection

• Much of California is arid 
• Growing population
• 65% of water is lost through evaportation and transpitation 
• Seasonal shortages; 50% of rain falls between November and March 
• Spatial imbalance; 75% of rainfall falls in the North but 75% of population lives in the South 
• To provide this; wetlands have been drained, natural habitats altered, depleted fish stocks; all to secure water supplies 
• Colorado River Basin; Provides 60% of California's supplies, 1922 Colorado Compact. Water flows and pop changed. California use 20% more water than they were allocated
• Bay Delta; 60 low lying islands. Pop 1/2 mollion. Poorly maintianed levees, salty water has submerged some of the islands and reduce water quality
• CALFED bay Delta Program aims to: reduce conflicts by developing a sustainable long term solution to water management and environmental problems; management of water conflict. 

• Salton Sea is now threatened: 

- agricultural sump; now threatened: 

• Increasing evaporation rates
• Tourists have stopped visiting the area.

• Four main sources: 
• Mountain aquifers, underground aquifers, golan heights, smaller sources
• Consumes 500 billion litres more than it recieves naturally 
• Population is growing with an annual growth rate of 1.5% 
• Droughts are increasingly common and are lasting longer
• It is often in dispute with its neighbours 
• Golan Heights; Syria want it to be returned; Israel would lost 25% of its water supply 
• Palestines; salinised aquifers; threatening Israel's water supplies
• Spatial imbalance; economic water scarcity 
• Shifting economy to high tech technology 

• Demand mngmt
• 1) Managing limited supplies
• Recycling sewage water/ agricultural consumption 
• Better water treatment plans and stringent conservation techniques 
• 2) Acquiring new supplies 
• Importing 50 million m3 of water per year by ship from Turkey
• Piping seawater from the Red Sea and Med 
• 3) Expanding virtual water supplies
• Importing water rich foods saves vast amounts of water 

• Agua del Tunari took over Cochamba's water system in1999
• Company then immediately raised water prices to pay for a major dam project & ensure a 16% profit margin 
• Poor had to choose between paying for water and feeding families
• Riots for four days; 170 injuries, one death 
• Bolivian government cancelled Agua del Tunair's contract

Shows the problems with privatisation of water supplies. 

• Five fold increase in water extraction since the 1920s 
• MDB; food bowl that feeds million of Australian's
• Agriculture reallocates much of the water. As a result: 
• - Natural floodplains no longer flood 
• - Red gum trees are dying out 
• - 50-80% of native wetland birds and fish species extinct 
• Stakeholders: Industrial users, aquaculture, env. groups, gvmts 
• MDB  experiencing env. degradation; tech fixes have allowed growth in agricultural sector, but have been at the expense of the environment 
• Integrated management system necessary'; the Murray Darling Plan. Shows a willingness to change

Trends in water demand and supply make the future insecure.