The Atlas of Water. Maggie Black
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Maggie Black has written on international issues, including for UNICEF, WaterAid and the Global Water Partnership. Her books include: Water: A Matter of Life and Health (with Rupert Talbot), Water Life Force, The No-Nonsense Guide to Water and The Last Taboo: Opening the Door on the Global Sanitation Crisis (with Ben Fawcett), Earthscan 2008.
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“Unique and uniquely beautiful. . . . A single map here tells us more about the world today than a dozen abstracts or scholarly tomes.” — Los Angeles Times “A striking new approach to cartography. . . . No one wishing to keep a grip on the reality of the world should be without these books.” — International Herald Tribune
the atlas of WATER Mapping the World’s Most Critical Resource Third Edition Maggie Black
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. University of California Press Oakland, California Copyright © Myriad Editions Limited 2016 All rights reserved The moral rights of the authors have been asserted Library of Congress Control Number: 2016935699 ISBN: 978-0-520-29203-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN (ebk): 978-0-520-96560-7 Produced for University of California Press by Myriad Editions Brighton, UK www.myriadeditions.com Edited and coordinated by Jannet King Design, maps and graphics by Isabelle Lewis This ebook edition has been created using CircularFLO from Circular Software This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Introduction 9 Acknowledgements 15 Glossary 16 Useful Conversions 17 Part 1 A Finite Resource 18 1 Global Water 20 The volume of water in the world never changes, but only 2.5% is fresh, and more than two-thirds of this is unavailable for human use. 2 Water’s Unequal Distribution 22 The amount of water that falls as rain, filling lakes, rivers, streams and aquifers, remains constant. At present we are still using less than a third. 3 Water Shortage 24 The spectre of water shortage is less a global phenomenon than one threatening particular regions and localities. 4 Rising Demand 26 Around 4,000 cubic kilometres of fresh water are withdrawn every year – equivalent to roughly 1,700 litres per person per day. 5 Dwindling Supply 28 About a fifth of water used comes from aquifers. Some are replenished, but many are non-renewable and are being irreversibly mined. 6 Competition and Conflict 30 As populations grow, and more water is extracted per person, there is increasing competition and conflict over the exploitation of river waters and aquifers. 7 Environmental Security 32 Aquatic ecosystems make a vital contribution to environmental security. Part 2 Water and Climate Change 34 8 Ice and Snow Melt 36 Climate change is likely to affect river flow in many complex ways. 9 Storms and Floods 38 Life-threatening and destructive floods are becoming more frequent and affecting an increasing number of people. 10 Droughts 40 The world’s drylands will become drier as a result of climate change. 11 River Basin Stresses 42 Seasonal changes in river flow and temperature of fresh water affect water quality.
Contents
Part 3 Water for Living 44 12 Water for Drinking 46 Everyone has access to a source of drinking water but in an increasingly crowded world most natural sources are contaminated. 13 Water for Food 48 All food production depends on water, so water stress leads to stress on the global and family food basket. 14 Water for Sanitation 50 Many lower-cost sanitation systems in the developing world use no water or very little. 15 Water in the City 52 The increasing number of people living in towns and cities is exerting huge pressure on municipal infrastructure and services.