Transcript A Drop of Water and Blood Spillage

A Drop of Water
and Blood Spillage
Zulfadhli Nasution
Poster Presentation
Asia – Pacific Forum: Youth Action on Climate Change
Bangkok, 24th January 2010
Background
• The essentiality of water for
human life and all of universe
elements
• Climate change is bringing us
into water scarcity
• If it is combined with the poor
government and rivalries ethnic,
a drop of water can spark the
blood spillage
Researches
• Climate change causes water crisis
among 1,9 billions world people,
particularly in developing countries
• The worst impact is going to be in
Asia and Africa regions.
Approximately 130 millions of
Asian will be trapped in water
scarcity in 2050. In 2080, 180
millions African also will get the
same impact.
(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)
Researches
• 40% of the world’s people live in
river or lake basins that cross over
one or more international borders.
• From the 200 biggest water
systems in the world, 150 of them
are used by two nations, and the
others 50 are shared by between
three and ten countries.
(Max Ajl, Solve Climate News, 2009)
Researches
• Competition over dwindling or
degraded natural resources can
increase the risks of conflict and war.
• Although most conflicts are not
directly related to natural resources,
stresses on natural ecosystem
services can lead to competition
between population groups over, for
example, freshwater supplies or
fertile agricultural land. Combined
with factors such as poor governance
and ethnic rivalries, such competition
can inflame tensions into conflict.
(WHO Report, refers to Sudan post-conflict
environmental assessment. Nairobi, United
Nations Environment Programme, 2007)
Cases
Indonesia:
• Cali Rahman irrigates his rice field with water
from a secondary canal. But during a long dry
season, when the water volume in the main
canal is very low, he runs short. Farmers in the
upstream areas have taken too much water,
leaving very little for the farmers downstream.
As a result, he and his neighbours have to pump
groundwater which, aside from being expensive
because of fuel costs, is increasingly being
contaminated by the intrusion of seawater.
• This water scarcity for rice field irrigation has
triggered panic and water disputes.
(UNDP Indonesia, 2007)
Cases
• Central Asia: Above-average
warming and glacial retreat will
exacerbate the water, agricultural
and distributional problems in a
region which is already
characterized by political and
social tensions, civil war (Tajikistan)
and conflicts over access to water
and energy resources.
(UNEP, 2007)
Cases
• India, Pakistan, Bangladesh: The impacts
of climate change will be especially severe
in this region: glacial retreat in the
Himalayas will jeopardize the water supply
for millions of people, changes to the
annual monsoon will affect agriculture,
and sea-level rise and cyclones will
threaten human settlements around the
populous Bay of Bengal.
• These dynamics will increase the social
crisis potential in a region which is already
characterized by cross-border conflicts
(India/Pakistan), unstable governments
(Bangladesh/Pakistan)
(UNEP, 2007)
Cases
• China: Climate change will
intensify the existing
environmental stress (e.g. air
and water pollution, soil
degradation) due to the increase
in heat waves and droughts,
which will worsen desertification
and water scarcity in some parts
of the country.
(UNEP, 2007)