Year 7 JacPlus 10.8 Lesson

Year 7 Geography: Water Scarcity

JacPlus 10.8

Learning Intention

1. Explain why water access is a human right.

2. Define water scarcity and water stress

3. Outline key reasons for water scarcity and stress occur.

Word Cloud

Write one to two words that expresses what you appreciate about water (e.g. drink, taste, freshness, life)

Water is accepted as a right because it is necessary for humans to live and flourish. Humans "have a right to live".

This is a right protected by international agreements such as the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

However, not everyone has access to safe, affordable water.

Water is crucial for survival, more so than food. "3 days without water, 3 weeks without food."

In 2018, 844 million lacked safe drinking water.

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​The human right to water

Multiple Choice

What is one reason why water is considered more important to survival than food?

• The human body can only survive 3 days without water, while it can survive 3 weeks without food.

• Water is less expensive to obtain than food
• Food provides more essential nutrients than water
• Water is more readily available than food in most environments

Water Scarcity

Water scarcity: When human demand for water is greater than the available supply, we call this "Water Scarcity".

Ideally, each individual needs one cubic metre (1000 litres) of drinking water per year, about 100 cubic metres for other personal needs, and 1000 cubic metres to grow all the food that he or she consumes

Water Scarcity: Causes

1. People often live in places with limited rainfall (e.g. Perth).

2. Most water is used for agriculture and industry in arid regions which means less water for people to use (scarcity).

3. Water is also polluted by agricultural fertilisers, industrial use, and humans (e.g. grey and black water).

Water Scarcity: Effects

• UN estimates predict 5 billion people may face water shortages by 2050 due to climate change. This is the majority of the human race (8 billion at the moment).

• Rural-urban migration occurs as people seek better water access. They are called "water refugees."

• Urban areas also face water inadequacy due to scarcity or pollution.

Multiple Choice

What is "water scarcity"?

• The presence of too much water.

• Plenty of available water to meet our demands.

• The excessive use of water resources.

• The lack of enough water resources to meet the demands of water usage.

Match

Match the following

• Living in a place with limited rain

• Large, full aquifers

• Most water used for agriculture and business

• Plenty of rain

• Water is polluted

Cause of water scarcity

Not a cause of water scarcity

Cause of water scarcity

Not a cause of water scarcity

Cause of water scarcity

• Cause of water scarcity

• Not a cause of water scarcity

• Cause of water scarcity

• Not a cause of water scarcity

• Cause of water scarcity

Study this map to understand global water scarcity.

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Global Water Scarcity

Hotspot

Identify two regions that are in "extremely high" water scarcity stress.

Water Stress

• Water stress: When demand for water surpasses available resources.

• Water stress occurs when there is not enough water available for all our needs.

• A country with less than 1000 cubic metres of renewable fresh water per capita (per person) is under water stress.

Water Scarcity vs Water Stress

Water scarcity is a physical, objective reality that can be measured consistently across regions and over time. It is the physical limits of available water.

“Water stress” refers to the ability, or lack thereof, to meet human and ecological demand for water.

Less water than demand leads to inability to fulfil our needs = stress.

Water Stress

More demand than available water, e.g. due to population growth or increased use or lack of rain.

Water Scarcity

Water Scarcity leads to Stress

Multiple Choice

What is "water scarcity"?

• The presence of too much water.

• Plenty of available water to meet our demands.

• The excessive use of water resources.

• The lack of enough water resources to meet the demands of water usage.

Multiple Choice

Water stress is...

• when the demand for water exceeds the available amount or when poor quality restricts its use
• when the demand for water matches the available amount
• when the demand for water is less than the available amount but poor quality restricts its use
• when the demand for water exceeds the available amount but quality is not affected

As climate change conditions take hold, the UN estimated in 2018 that 5 billion people could suffer water shortages by 2050.

The problem of lack of water is often worse in rural areas, so many people move from the countryside into towns and cities, hoping for a better water supply.

These people are sometimes called water refugees. However, the water in some cities is also inadequate because it is in short supply or is very polluted.

The Future of water

Open Ended

When poor people who lack water move from the country to the city, this makes things worse. Why does it make things worse? Explain in your own words.

Match

Match the following situations to the correct concept:

• More people than available water supplies

• Poorer people cannot afford to buy their daily amount of water

• Not enough money to build enough dams

• Not enough water to drink each day

• Water is polluted by agriculture and business

Water scarcity

Water stress

Water scarcity

Water stress

Water Scarcity

• Water scarcity

• Water stress

• Water scarcity

• Water stress

• Water Scarcity

Poll

Which factor do you think contributes most to water scarcity?

• Population growth and demand

• Climate change and increased evaporation

• Increased agricultural use of water

• Increase in people living in cities (urbanisation)

Poll

What do you think is the most likely scenario if we have 5 billion people with water shortages in 2050?

• Global water wars

• Breakdown of society into the water rich and water poor

• Loss of Life: plants, animals and humans

• Cooperation and research to find creative solutions

Categorize

Options (12)

Australia

Britain

Canada

North Africa

France

Japan

Russia

Saudi Arabia

India

South Africa

Spain

Egypt

Organise these options into the right categories. Click on the image to enlarge it.

Extremely High

High

Moderate to high

Low to Medium

Lesson Goals

Answer these questions in your notepad

1. Explain why water access is a human right.

2. Define water scarcity and give two reasons why it occurs.

3. Define water stress and give two reasons why it occurs.

Write your answers in full in your notepads. You can work with a partner to answer these. Be prepared to share your answers with the class.