In August 2019, the Water Scarcity Clock was launched at World Water Week, an annual conference where global water issues are discussed in order to facilitate the exchange of views on the global water crisis. The Water Scarcity Clock is a web-based tool which provides real time information on clean water and sanitation from countries around the world.
“Water Scarcity is the lack of sufficient available water resources to meet the demands of water usage within a region”
The clock was developed by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), the World Data Lab, and the German development agency GIZ, with the aim of allowing global policy makers to access real-time information on water stress and scarcity which can then be used to make key decisions on policy to combat the worsening crisis.
Water Scarcity could be caused by a number of different reasons. Physical water scarcity refers to a physical shortage of water, often due to changing climatic conditions. Economic water scarcity refers to a shortage of water as a result of institutional failures. In this case, an area may have an abundance of water but there is a lack of adequate infrastructure supplying the local population.
Water Scarcity is very real. Scientists predict that by 2050, 5 billion people around the world in both LDCs and MDCs could suffer water shortages.
Think like an Economist!
Q1: Why might water scarcity exist to a greater extent in some regions than in others?
Q2: Explain how governments around the world could attempt to deal with the problem of water scarcity.
Q3: Using this article and your knowledge of economics, assess the impact that Water Scarcity is likely to have on different groups of people around the world.
