Suggest 10 ways to solve global water crises
Answers
Explanation:
1. Educate to change consumption and lifestyles
2. Invent new water conservation technologies
3. Recycle wastewater
4. Improve irrigation and agricultural practices
5. Appropriately price water
6. Develop energy efficient desalination plants
7. Improve water catchment and harvesting
8. Look to community-based governance and partnerships
9. Develop and enact better policies and regulations
10. Holistically manage ecosystems
11. Improve distribution infrastructure
12. Shrink corporate water footprints
13. Build international frameworks and institutional cooperation
14. Address pollution
15. Public common resources/equitable access
hope it helps
Answer:
- Educate to change consumption and lifestyles
In the end, changing the face of this crisis involves education to motivate new behaviors. Coping with the coming era of water scarcity will require major overhaul of all forms of consumption, from individual use to the supply chains of major corporations, like GE. Some regions led by India, Australia and the Southwest U.S., are already facing the freshwater crisis. The most critical task is making sure the problem is much better understood worldwide.
- Invent new water conservation technologies
In areas where aquifers are drying up and rainwater is increasingly unpredictable, innovation is needed. But as we attempt to cope with freshwater scarcity and develop conservation technologies, energy consumption is an important consideration.
- Recycle wastewater
In March, World Water Day panelists urged a new mindset for wastewater treatment. Some countries, like Singapore, are trying to recycle to cut water imports and become more self-sufficient. The rich East Asian republic is a leader in developing advanced technology that cleanses wastewater for other uses, including drinking.
- Improve irrigation and agricultural practices
Some 70 percent of the world’s freshwater is used for agriculture. Improving irrigation can help close supply and demand gaps. In certain cases profligate irrigation practices meant for an earlier era has weakened the ability of farmers to provide food and fiber to a growing world. Examples include the Murray-Darling basin in Australia, Central Asia’s Aral Sea, and the American Southwest. Although new technology has become an appealing solution, global water experts like Peter Gleick note that in some cases, such as the agricultural systems in California, success stories can happen by improving what’s already in place.
- Appropriately price water
Water pricing and rights go hand in hand, with consumers questioning the benefit of higher prices. According to experts from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an international economic forum of 31 of the world’s richest countries, raising prices will help lower waste and pollution. But Circle of Blue’s May investigation into water pricing systems in major U.S. cities, show current utility pricing systems are obsolete, send the wrong signals, and need reform.
- Develop energy efficient desalination plants
To date, desalination has been an energy-intensive solution to water scarcity. Typically the Middle East has capitalized on its large energy reserves to build desalination plants. But Saudi Arabia could be fostering a new kind of desalination with its recent announcement to use solar-powered plants.Britain has taken a different approach with small-scale facilities for agriculture. But these innovations bring to light another needed resource—the capital for technological experimentation.
- Improve water catchment and harvesting
Water catchment systems are essential for areas with no other reliable water sources. Pakistan and India—two countries that contend with some of the worst effects of climate change—are overhauling rainwater harvesting systems. These efforts provide independent control of water resources.
- Look to community-based governance and partnerships
Community organizations elevate the experiences of those whose voices merit more influence. In April, for instance, indigenous groups met at the alternative climate change conference in Bolivia, a gathering meant to foster international partnerships among underrepresented groups. Ensuring more effective governance at the grassroots-level gives communities stature, and can lead to effective policy changes on a national scale.
- Develop and enact better policies and regulations
As water scarcity complicates food security and pollution, governments need to redefine their role. The U.S. government is considering expanding the Clean Water Act to ensure more protections. In Russia, meanwhile, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has approved waste discharges in Lake Baikal, one of the world’s largest bodies of freshwater. Regardless of what path elected leaders take–the Circle of Blue/GlobeScan WaterViews survey indicates they are considering multiple approaches–the survey also found that most people say it is up to the government to ensure communities have access to clean water.
- Holistically manage ecosystems
Simply put, holistic management applies to a practical, common-sense approach to overseeing natural resources that takes into account economic, cultural, and ecological goals. In essence, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and each facet is related to and influences the others. Good examples of holistic management are communities that operate sewage treatment plants while pursuing partnerships with clean energy producers to use wastewater to fertilize algae and other biofuel crops. The crops, in turn, soak up nutrients and purify wastewater, significantly reducing pumping and treatment costs.