The West African nation of Niger has experienced one of the worst water crisis in the world that has left the population malnourished and in poverty. Location, climate and political instability can be attributed to the water scarcity, which not only leaves the nation lacking water, but in a state of underdevelopment. However, many non-government organisations have supported the nation and its people.
When looking at Niger’s spatial distribution, many of the causes of the nation's water issues can be examined and made obvious. Niger has a geographical disadvantage, being landlocked by the countries Chad, Berkina Faso, Benin, Mali, Libya and Algeria. Eighty per cent of Niger is occupied by the Sahara desert, the largest hot desert in the world, renowned for its hot climate and lack of precipitation. According to statistics, Niger receives an average of 7 inches (17.78 cm) of rainfall a year, most of which comes in the months of July and August. Niger is in close proximity the equator, which leads to extremely sultry temperatures, averaging 29 degrees during the dry season and 40 degrees during the humid season. Compared to the climate of the neighbouring nations of Morocco and Algeria, the climate of Niger is extreme. However, Niger has a huge supply of water far underground, about three billion cubic metres of drinking. These factors of Niger’s spatial distribution, from terrain to climate, contribute to the water scarcity.
Niger’s ecological distribution shows the effect
According to the Millennium Development Goals Report 2012, “783 million people, or 11 per cent of the global population, remain without access to an improved source of drinking water. Such sources include household connections, public standpipes, boreholes, protected dug wells, protected springs and rainwater collections.” (United Nations, 2012) The United Nations Water Conference in 1977 along with a few other conferences, addressed helping approximately “1.3 billion people in developing countries gain access to safe drinking water.” (United Nations, 2012) While there is progress being made, we see that various regions without clean drinking water. Reports show, “In four of nine developing regions, 90 per cent or more of the population now uses an improved drinking water source. In contrast, coverage remains very low in Oceania and sub-Saharan Africa, neither of which is on track to meet the MDG drinking water target by 2015. Over 40 per cent of all people without improved drinking water live in sub-Saharan Africa.” (United Nations, 2012) It is shown that rural areas still lack drinkable water as opposed to urban areas. Consistent improvement has been made to supply populated areas with a reliable source of drinking water. However, research shows, “Coverage with improved drinking water sources for rural populations is still lagging. In 2010, 96 per cent of the urban population used an
The purpose of this paper is to provide a reflection on the field trip to the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago. After a brief Introduction to the Context, the Watercress tool will be used to highlight my observations.
Water, like food, is a necessity for human life that is used for many purposes such as agricultural, industrial, and domestic systems. While water is a common element around the world not all of it is clean and able to be consumed or used by humans. With only a percentage of the world’s water being clean and the use of water increasing, the availability of water around the world has become a common issue in the developing and even the developed world. This may be a smaller problem in areas close to clean water sources compared to areas far from a clean water source but, the availability of water is not strictly based on location, it also depends on the specific political and social needs and issues of the area as well. These all become issues that must be accounted for when deciphering whether water is a basic human right or a commodity and what action must be taken to aid the developing water systems in community’s that lack them.
Two out of every five people living in Sub-Saharan Africa lack safe water. A baby there is 500 times more likely to die from water-related illness than one from the United States. This is a serious ongoing issue that requires the rest of the world to take action. Water spreads diseases easily if the necessary precautions are not taken. Many developing African countries don’t have sewage treatment, or the people don’t have methods to filter and disinfect. Once a person is sick either there is no way to cure them, or medical care is too expensive, so they are left untreated with a high risk of death. Although many believe that the fight for sanitary water in Africa is insurmountable, people in these developing countries can overcome their challenge to access clean water and avoid water-borne diseases through proper sewage treatment facilities, universal water filtration and medical care.
One Catholic Social Teaching that was demonstrated within the movie “Flight”, was The Option for the Poor and the Vulnerable. This Catholic Social Teaching calls for Catholics to care for the less fortunates needs. This was demonstrated in the movie “Flight” when Captain. Whip Whitaker offers his assistance to Nicole a drug addict. Nicole in evicted from her housing unit, and she has no money or way of transportation.
Many populations, the majority being in Africa, face many water-borne diseases mainly due to pollution of water resources. The option then becomes to either drink polluted water or not have anything at all. Continual Human development such as population growth and industrial growth have further drained water resources, causing a shortage of drinking water. As a result, there are many conflicts over ownership of water resources and these lead to injuries or fatalities.(2) As mentioned before, this shows why it is so important to find a solution to the issue of water shortage.
It is time to fully address the issue of the impending world water crisis by assisting the areas currently experiencing the crisis. Sub-Saharan Africa is the region most in need of international assistance, and a region in which we are already supplying aid. However, our current policies are not getting the
Thanks to the United Nations general assembly recognizing the need for clean water in Resolution 64/292, the states and international organizations have been called on to provide funding and resources to help developing countries provide safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water to all. This is a step in the right direction, seeing as women and children in some countries have to walk more than 30 minutes to collect water- if there is any water to collect at all.
Water is the main source of life on the Earth. It is vital for normal existence and functioning of organisms. Earth is sometimes called “water planet.” But, in fact, the number of freshwater is limited. “Only about 2 percent of the planet's water is fresh.” (How much water is there on Earth?) This water is not enough even to meet daily needs of mankind. According to World Health Organization, “a lack of water to meet daily needs is a reality today for one in three people around the world.” (2009) In the Middle East the situation is especially hard. This region is thought to be one of the droughtiest places in the world, most of it’s territory is deserted. Freshwater accounts to 1 percent of the world’s supplies, while the population comes
There are a variety of causes held responsible for the water crisis in Africa. These causes have been taken from African’s control and desperately need to be solved. Climate change is one of the countless reasons that there is a high demand for water in Africa. An article entitled “Africa’s Water Crisis Deepens” written for the 2006 News Scientist, states that Drought, famine and spreading deserts have plagued Africa for the past 30 years. With the expansion of desertification, the process in which land becomes increasingly dry with little to no water resources, areas of land have dried out and are useless to humans due to the lack of rainfall on the African continent over the past several years.
Everyone is manipulated by bureaucratic censorship. Ever since access to new types of media and unregulated usage of the internet became a common press outlet, governments have been working to suppress the amount of information a citizen can find. In China alone, there are about 2 million people working to censor and monitor online activity. Citizens can adopt a bias based off the government’s propaganda promoting untrue or ‘sketchy’ information. The lack of information, or specific pieces of information, can tarnish the trust between a society and its residents. Finally, the citizen cannot think for himself, instead he is told what to think. Censorship weakens society by ruining relationships between man and government, omitting key
Many people know that water is essential for human-being and it is not only valuable for health and life, but water is also important for industry and agriculture. Furthermore, use of water has a spiritual, cultural and recreational dimension. However, water resources are not infinite. Wide and inefficient use of water resources can lead to irreversible consequences, such as water shortage. This essay will firstly discuss the problem of water shortage on examples of developed and developing countries and include the diversification of the same issue in the different parts of the world. It will also identify causes and effects of this environmental problem on society and other spheres of life. Moreover, in this essay I am going to propose
The purpose of this research paper is to discuss the water crisis in the region of Africa and how water can cause many other problems such as inadequate sanitation, poverty and diseases for the population. People living in third world countries are suffering from the water crisis that has become a major problem for the United Nations, World Health Organization, United Nations Children’s Fund, Millennium Development Goals and many of the other organizations. For some of these organizations have been successful in providing a bit more water through the years it’s still a working process. Water is essential for life, it’s not just for the body’s physical need; yet millions of people do not have access to clean water. The lack of accessible of fresh water contributes too many diseases such as HIV, AIDS, waterborne diseases, causing the death of millions of women and children annually in the region. This is making it harder for the communities to develop a safer home for their families and to improve the conditions of the country. This research paper will examine the problems, solutions and causes. How it all comes together, to contribute to this water crisis and to weather there is a solutions set by the United Nations, studies that have been conducted and other organizations, which can maybe work for the years to come. In addition, the same water problems are going to be discussed with regard to Africa for statics, examples and quotes done by the organizations in the past and
It is an essential resource for sustaining life as well as central to agriculture and rural development, and is intrinsically linked to global challenges of food insecurity and poverty, climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as degradation and depletion of natural resources that affect the livelihoods of millions of people across the world. According to the World Bank, (2010) report, water is a scarce resource with multiple interwoven uses that range from drinking water, energy, irrigation, manufacturing things, transport of people and goods among others. The report further states that, more than one-sixth of the Worlds’ population does not have access to safe drinking water, with 80% living in rural areas thus access to water cannot not be guaranteed globally.
Manzoor, K. P. (2011). The global water crisis: Issues and solutions. IUP Journal of Infrastructure, 9(2), 34-43.