Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink

What water crisis?

A staggering 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered with water (USGS, 2016). So, how is it that less than 50% of the population of rural Africa have access to an improved source of drinking water? (WHO, 2015)

                                         

Arguably the most basic understanding of the water crisis in Africa is that water supply is highly seasonal due to its location along the tropics. The movement of the ITCZ brings with it periods of welcomed monsoon rainfall, but also periods of drought. However, the problem doesn’t stop there. Even during times of rainfall, the hot climate can cause water stress. During its monsoon months, Tanzania actually receives more rainfall on average than the UK. For example, in their respective wettest months, Tanzania receives an average of 179.1mm in March, compared to 128.9mm in December in the UK (World Bank, 2017). However, high evapotranspiration means that this water remains locked in the water cycle and is not accessible for human use. Just because we are surrounded by something, it does not mean we can benefit from it.

However, the water crisis in Africa is both a natural and a human-made phenomenon (UNDESA, 2013). Whilst it is true that natural phenomena such as global warming and climate change have intensified physical water scarcity, economic scarcity is caused mainly by a populations inability to utilize adequate sources of water, usually due to political unrest and insufficient finances. Furthermore, in their paper, Islam and Susskind (2013) predict that the water crises that Africa faces in the future will not be due neither a shortage of water nor a lack of certainty about water supplies. Instead, the crises will stem from rapid population growth with little investment in new infrastructure to meet the growing demand, and an uneven distribution of the water resources. Similarly, Naik (2016) refers to the economic water scarcity that exists in Africa, as opposed to a physical scarcity of water. Again, this agrees with the idea that the water crisis in Africa is down to poor management.

What food crisis?

With all the heavily-processed, factory-produced food we consume today, it is easy to forget how much water is required to produce the food we eat. For example, it takes approximately 1750 litres of water to produce one hamburger, if the whole chain of production is considered (USGS, 2016). The seasonal rainfall experienced across Africa leads to river flow also being seasonal. Therefore, there is a seasonal water supply for both drinking and agriculture. This is a huge problem as agriculture requires consistency in water supply in order for crop yields to be successful. What’s more, the long periods of drought in between the wet seasons contributes to soil infertility due to decreased enzyme activity (Sardans and Penuelas, 2004). Thus, when the wet season finally arrives the soil may be too infertile to grow crops. Also, the wet season can be as short as one month in some cases, and so only fast-growing crops such as mushrooms will be successful. As a result, hunger across Africa is rife. In Kenya alone, 4 million people are in desperate need of food aid (World Vision, 2017), and over 17 million Africans living in the Lake Chad basin are starving (UNOCHA, 2017).

To summarise, the water crisis in Africa is complex- it is not as simple as just a physical scarcity of water. The coupling of physical constraints to the supply of water across Africa such as the arid climate, with social, political and economic factors, is what makes finding a solution to the crisis so difficult. A less complex crisis to understand is the one of food. Without water, farmers cannot grow food... Or can they? My next blogpost will be looking at the viability of genetically modified foods in order to combat the food crisis in regions of absolute water scarcity.