Resource issues with a focus on water: the global pattern of water supply and demand, the causes and consequences of water insecurity, and strategies for the sustainable management of water at different scales.

What this dot point is asking

This is part of Eduqas GCSE Geography A (C111) Theme 6, Development and Resource Issues, a core theme in Component 2. Eduqas expects you to know the global pattern of water supply and demand, the causes and consequences of water insecurity, and the strategies for the sustainable management of water at different scales.

The global pattern of water supply and demand

Water is unevenly distributed and used.

• Supply depends on climate and geography: wet regions (the tropics, temperate zones) have plenty; arid regions (the Sahara, the Middle East) have little.
• The problem is a mismatch: water is often not where the people and demand are, so areas with growing populations may have too little.
• A country has water surplus when supply exceeds demand and water deficit (stress) when demand exceeds supply.

Why demand is rising

Global water demand is climbing.

• A growing world population needs more water for drinking, sanitation and food.
• Rising living standards mean more water-intensive lifestyles (showers, appliances, gardens).
• Industry uses large amounts of water.
• Agriculture, especially irrigation, uses about 70 percent of the world's fresh water, and expands to feed more people.
• Urbanisation concentrates demand in cities.

Water insecurity and its consequences

The consequences of water insecurity are severe.

• Disease: dirty water spreads cholera, diarrhoea and other illnesses, especially among children.
• Food shortages: without water for irrigation, crops fail and famine can follow.
• Limits on development: time spent fetching water (often by women and children) cuts education and work, and industry cannot grow.
• Conflict: countries and groups may fight over shared rivers and aquifers.

Managing water sustainably

Water can be managed by increasing supply or reducing demand.

• Increasing supply (large-scale): dams and reservoirs store water and generate power but flood land and displace people; water transfers move water from surplus to deficit areas at high cost; desalination turns seawater into fresh water (the Gulf states) but is expensive and energy-hungry.
• Reducing demand and conserving (small-scale, sustainable): efficient appliances, fixing leaks, drip irrigation (which delivers water straight to roots), rainwater harvesting and grey-water recycling all cut waste cheaply.

Eduqas rewards judging that conservation and small-scale, low-impact schemes are usually more sustainable than large, costly engineering, while recognising that growing populations may still need new supply.

Try this

Q1. Define water insecurity. [2 marks]

• Cue. When a country or region lacks a reliable supply of enough safe, clean water to meet its needs.

Q2. Explain one sustainable way to manage water demand. [4 marks]

• Cue. Drip irrigation delivers water straight to plant roots, greatly reducing the water wasted compared with spraying whole fields, cutting demand cheaply.