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The Global Water Grabbing Syndrome

The Global Water Grabbing Syndrome

by Jampel Dell'Angelo a,b,⁎, Maria Cristina Rulli c, Paolo D'Odorico d

See excepts below:

Abstract

Large-scale acquisitions of agricultural land in developing countries have been rapidly increasing in the last 10 years, contributing to a major agrarian transition from subsistence or small scale farming to large-scale commercial agriculture by agribusiness transnational corporations. Likely driven by recent food crises, new bioenergy policies, and financial speculations, this phenomenon has been often investigated from the economic development, human right, land tenure and food security perspectives, while its hydrologic implications have remained understudied. It has been suggested that a major driver of large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) is the quest for water resources that can be used (locally) to sustain agricultural production in the acquired land. The appropriation of water resources associated with LSLAs has often been termed ‘water grabbing’, though to date a formal definition of such a normative and inherently pejorative term is missing. The intrinsic assumption is that the acquisition of water undergoes the same dynamics of unbalanced power relationships that underlie many LSLAs. Here we invoke hydrological theories of “green” and “blue” water flows to stress the extent to which water appropriations are inherently coupled to land acquisitions and specifically focus on blue water. We then propose a formal definition of blue water grabbing based both on biophysical conditions (water scarcity) and ethical implications (human right to food). Blue water grabs are appropriations of irrigation (i.e., blue) water in regions affected by undernourishment and where agricultural production is constrained by blue water availability. We use this framework to provide a global assessment of the likelihood that LSLAs entail blue water grabbing.

2.1. What is Water Grabbing?

While on the concept of land grabbing there is a broad semantic consensus and it has been formally defined by a coalition of international organizations (ILC Tirana Declaration), the concept of water grabbing is neither used officially in policy fora nor unofficially by international development organizations. As we show in this section, the concept of water grabbing has been used by different authors in peer-reviewed publications to indicate relatively different phenomena. The common denominator among the different definitions is that there is an aspect of injustice and power imbalance which is represented by the word ‘grabbing’. Water grabbing means something different from water appropriation, exploitation, extraction, consumption, or use. It involves the notion of ‘grabber’ and ‘grabbed’, a dynamic of usurpation based on the power imbalance between subjects that lose and subjects that win, unjustly. The definition of water grabbing deals with the ethical question of when it is appropriate to define a particular case of typology of natural resources extraction as ‘grabbing’. It also deals with the biophysical question of how do we quantify or identify the appropriation of a resource, that by its own nature is fluid, renewable and difficult to quantify (Rodríguez-Labajos and Martínez-Alier, 2015).

View webpage here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800916307121

Great Pacific Garbage Patch now three times the size of France

Follow @SmartDissent

I highly recommend following @SmartDissent on Twitter.

Here's a link to their to their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/smartdissent/

Here's the link to their website page on the Environment: http://smartdissent.com/tags/environment

Philippines closes 'cesspool' tourist island of Boracay

View video here:

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/04/04/asia/philippines-duterte-boracay-shutdown-intl/index.html?sr=twCNN040518philippines-duterte-boracay-shutdown-intl1227PMVODtopVideo

Four Tips for Going Zero Waste

I came across this while searching for ideas to share to save the planet and couldn't wait to share it. Hope you'll give it a try.

CAN YOU DO IT?

buy less:

The average American throws out 4.4lbs of trash a day. For every pound of trash we throw away, 7lbs is thrown away on average in the waste upstream. That's almost 30lbs of trash a day.

THAT'S INSANE.

Buying less is the number one thing you can do to produce less trash.
Before buying anything make sure you really truly need it. I always ask myself a series of questions.

• Do you really need it?
• Is it really necessary?
• Can something else make do?
• Do you need to own it?

Zero waste is not just about a trash jar. It's not solely about the landfill. Trash is a physical representation of misallocated resources.

Earth Overshoot Day illustrates this best. Earth Overshoot Day came in the beginning of August last year. It's the day that illustrates how many resources the earth can sustainably produce for the year.
We're using almost two earth's worth of resources. It's completely unsustainable. So, the best thing we can do for the planet is to buy less.

 

buy well:

However, there are still purchases we need to make. If you don't live completely off grid/are self-sustaining, you'll need to make some purchases.

So when you do purchase something, really think about its full life-cycle. Think about where it came from and where it's going after you're through with it.

Here are a series of questions I like to ask myself when making a new purchase.

• Ask a friend.
• Can you find it second hand?
• Can you find it local?
• Who made it?
• Is it made to last/ can it be repaired?
• What happens when you’re done with it?

Always check the secondhand market first and if you're going to buy something new make sure you're taking everything into consideration.

And, whatever you do don't settle.

If I've learned anything in two years of zero waste living, it's that settling for something your not 100% happy with inevitably means you will be unhappy with it. Then you'll look for something else which is a waste of money and time.

So whatever you buy, you better love it.

 

find contentment:

We live in a world full of constant advertisements. Advertisers tell us in order to be happy or in order to get the girl or boy we have to have this product. This product will make us happy or loved.
One of the most rebellious things you can do is find contentment with what you already have.

Things don't define you. They don't give you worth. Instead of buying things to make you look better or cooler, try spending time bettering yourself. Take a class, learn a new skill, truly focus on self-improvement.

 

strike a balance: 

And, like you've heard on this blog a hundred times before, it's not about perfection it's about making better choices.

Personal sustainability is super important. I've written a whole post about it, you can read it here. It's one of my favorite blog posts I've ever written.

We live in a society where things are meant to be thrown away. We don't live in a perfect world where zero waste is normal.

Instead, we just do the best we can where we are. Things are going to happen that don't 100% align with your values and that's alright.

Each decision you make is a vote for the future you want. So, buying package free goods and purchasing products from responsible companies is a vote for a move to a circular economy, where waste is resumed back into the system like nature.

So get out there, and do the best you can!

Even if it's one change. Even if it's only buying a lonely banana. Every single step in the right direction is just that, a step in the right direction.

What would be some of your tips for someone starting a zero waste life?

Go to this awesome website: https://www.goingzerowaste.com/blog/four-tips-for-starting-a-zero-waste-lifestyle

Boyan Slat - The New Picture of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (2018)

Boyan Slat: How we will rid the oceans of plastic (May 2017)

Great Pacific Garbage Patch now three times the size of France

Plastic Ocean

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Will Your City Run Out Of Water?

The 11 cities most likely to run out of drinking water - like Cape Town

Cape Town is in the unenviable situation of being the first major city in the modern era to face the threat of running out of drinking water. 

However, the plight of the drought-hit South African city is just one extreme example of a problem that experts have long been warning about - water scarcity.

Despite covering about 70% of the Earth's surface, water, especially drinking water, is not as plentiful as one might think. Only 3% of it is fresh.

Over one billion people lack access to water and another 2.7 billion find it scarce for at least one month of the year. A 2014 survey of the world's 500 largest cities estimates that one in four are in a situation of "water stress".

According to UN-endorsed projections, global demand for fresh water will exceed supply by 40% in 2030, thanks to a combination of climate change, human action and population growth.


Is your city or one near you on the list? 

List of cities and full article here: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-42982959

A Warning to the World?

In this New York Magazine article, author Jonah Shepp looks at the water crisis in Cape Town, South Africa:

Cape Town’s Water Crisis Should Be a Warning to the World

Cape Town residents line up to refill water bottles at Newlands Brewery Spring Water Point on

January 30, 2018 in Cape Town, South Africa. Photo: Morgana Wingard/Getty Images

"Cape Town, South Africa, a city of 4 million people, is just weeks away from becoming the world’s first major city to run entirely out of water — but of course, it won’t be the last.

South Africa’s second-largest city after Johannesburg, Cape Town was not an obvious candidate for that dubious distinction. In 2014, its dams were flush with rainwater and its water-conservation strategy was award-winning. Then came the worst drought South Africa had seen in a century, lasting three whole years. Now, the Theewaterskloof Dam, the city’s main reservoir, is at just 13 percent of capacity.

Climate change is obviously a factor in Cape Town’s water crisis, as South Africa faces a hotter and drier future, but it’s not the only one. Politics and misgovernment have played a role as well."



Read full article here: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/02/cape-towns-water-crisis-should-be-a-warning-to-the-world.html

Tracking Drought in the US

Here's a great resource you can use to track drought in the US:

Website available here: https://www.drought.gov/drought/

The Earth is Sad

If you're on Twitter, be sure to follow Eco-friendly Tips at: @joyfullyECO

Here are some photos from recent Eco-friendly posts:

Human Rights to Water and Sanitation

A child from the Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan raised a flag to represent 

Goal 6,  Safe Water and Sanitation. Photo: UNICEF Jordan/badran

Plastic Bags & Sea Turtles

A great post from @Twitter:

Via CTO1 Wm "Chip" Nagel‏ @CTO1ChipNagel

Water Independence with Zero Mass Water

SOURCE: a Hydropanel that makes drinking water from sunlight and air

 

Water Independence

No pipe input. No electrical input. No infrastructure. Independence means peace of mind. SOURCE is abundance in drinking water: up to a case of bottled water generated per day from a pair of panels.

Truly Renewable Water

SOURCE taps into the unlimited supply of water vapor in the air, using sunlight to power a renewable supply of drinking water. Without the waste of bottled or filtered water, SOURCE is water you can feel good about drinking. A single SOURCE array offsets the equivalent of over 70,000 plastic bottles over ten years and wastes zero water.


Read more here and sign up for updates and special offers: https://www.zeromasswater.com/

Cape Town Water Crisis

Cape Town water crisis: WWF helps you understand the basics

By Christina Pitt

Cape Town – With only 39% of Capetonians having adhered to water restrictions in the month of January, making the water crisis even more urgent, the WWF has released an information pack detailing what residents can expect should the city's taps run dry.

The document builds on many of the main points raised at a recent press briefing on the water crisis held by Cape Town Mayor Patricia De Lille.

When is Day Zero likely to happen?

Both the City of Cape Town and WWF have calculated Day Zero to be about three months away on April 21.

This date is calculated based on how much water is in the big six dams that feed Cape Town and the Western Cape Water Supply System, and how much water is being used by the city's residents, agriculture and how much dam water is lost to evaporation.

"As of 15 January, the dams were 28% full and if we continue using water at the current rate we will run out of water on 21 April," says WWF.

De Lille explained at the press briefing on Thursday that Day Zero could only be avoided if every single resident saves water. As things stand, Capetonians have mostly ignored the water restrictions.

"During the past week only 39% of Cape Town's residents used less than 87 litres of water per person per day – compared to 54% during the first week of January. I want to thank those residents who are saving," said De Lille.

Cape Town's average daily collective consumption remained too high, De Lille said. From an average of 578 million litres per day, Cape Town was now using 618 million litres per day, she said.

"For each day that Cape Town uses more than 500 million litres, the city moves closer to Day Zero," De Lille said.

What is likely to happen on Day Zero? 

"On Day Zero, the city will move into full-scale Emergency Stage 3. This means that water to households and businesses will be cut off. There will not be enough water in the system to maintain normal services and the taps (and toilets) will run dry," stated WWF.

Schools and businesses may not be able to operate if there is no water supply.

According to WWF, only hospitals and clinics, stand-pipes in informal settlements and the 200 points of distribution where people can collect their allocated 25 litres per person will still receive water.

De Lille said that water supply to the Cape Town CBD and informal settlements would not be cut off on Day Zero.

At the briefing, De Lille said the city would be moving to Level 6B water restrictions from February 1, with a new target of 50 litres of water per person per day.

"The new daily collective consumption target is now 450 million litres per day," De Lille said.

"This will be in place for 150 days, after which the City will reassess."

Read full article here: https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/cape-town-water-crisis-wwf-helps-you-understand-the-basics-20180119

Saltwater Brewery "Edible Six Pack Rings"

United Nations Year in Review 2017