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Fresh Water Shortage

Introduction

In the world, it seems almost all natural ecosystems under stress, freshwater ecosystems - diverse communities found in lakes, rivers and wetlands - may be the most vulnerable of all. About 34 percent of fish species, mainly from fresh water, are threatened with extinction, according to the latest estimates of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), which monitors threats to biodiversity in the world. Freshwater ecosystems have lost most of its species and habitat than ecosystems on land or in the ocean; in addition, they are probably more at risk of further losses from dams, pollution, overfishing and other threats.

It is simply impossible to overestimate the new crisis of water on the planet today. Water crisis of catastrophic proportions is about to explode. Fresh water is a scarce resource. Number of fresh water through the hydrologic cycle is not increased. Water is everywhere on the planet is an integral part of the global hydrological cycle. Precipitation occurs as evaporation from land and oceans. Soil moisture is used by plants, which return more moisture in the atmosphere, which is then returned to Earth as rain or snow. Barlow and Clarke added: "If we dramatically change our ways, from half to two thirds of humanity will be living with acute shortages of fresh water over the next quarter century.

People share the earth with other creatures that also need water, so that water scarcity is also a crisis for wildlife. Of the 25 biodiversity hot spots designated by Conservation International, 10 are in water short regions. How we treat rivers reflects the way we relate to each other.

The World Is Running out of Fresh water. There are two major signs of stress as the demand for fresh water outstrips supply.Rivers are drying. Many major rivers, including the Colorado, Ganges, Indus, Rio Grande, are dry for most part of the year. Freshwater wetlands declined by about half over the world. In 1972, the Yellow River in China failed to reach the sea for the first time in history. In the same year it fell for 15 days every year since then, it has run out for a longer period of time, until in 1997, it was unable to reach the sea for 226 days. Story is similar with all the rivers of China. China has almost one-quarter of the world's population but only 6 percent of fresh water. In addition, these rivers are replenished by glaciers in the Himalayas, but the glaciers are all disappearing.

Groundwater falls on all continents. Aquifer depletion is a new problem. Groundwaters fall because pumping of groundwater in large parts of China, India, Iran, Mexico, Middle East, North Africa, Saudi Arabia and the United States. India has the highest volume of annual groundwater overdraft of any nation in the world. In most areas, water production is twice the rate of natural recharge, resulting in aquifer groundwater will be reduced by 3 to 10 feet a year. This is a huge shift from the sustainable use of water in ...