1. Water Scarcity
Case Study for IB
Geography
Produced by Alan Parkinson as part of the first Ecolint
Geography Conference 2012, held at the International
School of Geneva

2. Handouts

3. Water Scarcity Definition
There is enough freshwater on the planet for six
billion people but it is distributed unevenly and too
much of it is wasted, polluted and unsustainably
managed.
Affected by:
1.Precipitation
2.Water availability
3.Affordability of water supplies
4.Infrastructure

4. 2 types of scarcity
Physical scarcity
Lack of available water where water resource
development is near or at unsustainable
levels. Levels of consumption approaching
levels of supply.
Economic scarcity
Lack of water, even where water is available,
but not accessible for human, institutional or
financial reasons. Lack of storage and
transport facilities.

5. Case Study
BRAZIL
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6. “Water is a key element of Brazil’s strategy to
promote sustainable growth and a more equitable
and inclusive society. Brazil’s achievements in
poverty reduction and economic development in
the past forty years have been closely linked to the
expansion of water services to more than 100
million people and sanitation services to more than
50 million people.” – The World Bank
Water Challenges for Brazil
1. Water scarcity – prevalent in the predominantly
poor Northeast and large metropolitan areas
2. Water pollution – especially in urban areas, causing
environmental damage and increasing the cost of
water treatment for downstream users
3. Drought and flood events – the frequency and
severity of which is increasing with climate change
4. Unequal access to water and sanitation services –
especially among the urban poor
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7. The amount of rainforest in Brazil suggests that it is
not short of rainfall.
But water scarcity is not necessarily an absence of
water.
And 80% of water in the forests is not linked to the 12%
of the population who live there.
Brazil has a varied hydrological profile. It is one of the
world’s largest countries, and access to water varies
greatly.
It also has 15% of the world’s freshwater, although this
is not equally distributed, and supplies in urban areas
are often polluted.
There is physical water scarcity of potable water.
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8. There is no shortage of water at the Iguacu Falls on the
border with Argentina.
However, there are many large HEP schemes which
have huge water needs to maintain energy production
etc.
The UK and the EU are reliant on Brazilian ‘virtual’
water to produce a great many food products which
cannot be grown in the EU.
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9. There is currently a drought in the state of Bahia.
The semi-arid NE of Brazil is also the poorest part of
the country.
It has 35% of the population, but only 4% of the water.
There are also issues of economic scarcity due to the
lack of infrastructure.
Make sure that you can draw a sketch map to identify
the location of this state.
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10. Inequality in the spontaneous settlements (favelas)
Sao Paulo has 11% of population, but only 1% of the
water.
There are some areas which lack a decent water supply,
although the majority of houses do have one.
Sanitation is a linked issue. Surface water and
groundwater can become contaminated in some urban
areas.
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11. Barriers to Serving the Informal Settlements
(link to the reasons for economic water scarcity)
• Political – transition from dictatorship to democracy
• Institutional – water company not trained/equipped to
work with urban poor
• Legal – water company reluctant to serve those without
legal title to their land
• Technical – high service standards conflict with haphazard
layout of informal settlements (narrow streets, steep
inclines, environmentally sensitive areas)
After Tierney (see reference...)
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12. IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER
Water availability is variable in time and space and therefore its
short and long-term future availability is uncertain. One river basin
may be suffering extended drought while neighbouring river basins
may be experiencing devastating floods.
Equally, a given river basin may experience droughts and floods in
quick succession. Understanding operational and strategic risk
around water is therefore different from understanding natural
resources, such as minerals or forests, which tend to be more static.
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13. Future issue:
2014: World Cup
2016: Olympics
Federal Govt is taking action on ‘ongoing water
shortages’
Energy is linked as it is required to distribute water -
any shortages of energy would impact on water.
The eyes of the world will be turned towards Brazil.
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14. References
http://www.hks.harvard.edu/cchrp/hr2w/study_group/fall_2011_downloads/
Sept27_Slides_Tierney.pdf
http://assets.wwf.org.uk/downloads/water_scarcity_aw.pdf
A useful map here: http://8020vision.com/2010/06/27/water-scarcity-in-the-us/
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