Narratives of Scarcity: Understanding the 'Global Resource Grab'
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Coping with Water Scarcity: What Role for Biotechnologies?
ISSN 1729-0554 LAND AND WATER DISCUSSION 7 PAPER LAND AND WATER DISCUSSION PAPER 7 Coping with water scarcity: What role for biotechnologies? As one of its initiatives to mark World Water Day 2007, whose theme was "Coping with water scarcity", FAO organized a moderated e-mail conference entitled "Coping with water scarcity in developing countries: What role for agricultural biotechnologies?". Its main focus was on the use of biotechnologies to increase the efficiency of water use in agriculture, while a secondary focus was on two specific water-related applications of micro-organisms, in wastewater treatment and in inoculation of crops and forest trees with mycorrhizal fungi. This publication brings together the background paper and the summary report from the e-mail conference. Coping with water scarcity: What role for biotechnologies? ISBN 978-92-5-106150-3 ISSN 1729-0554 9 7 8 9 2 5 1 0 6 1 5 0 3 TC/M/I0487E/1/11.08/2000 LAND AND WATER Coping with Water DISCUSSION PAPER Scarcity: What Role for 7 Biotechnologies? By John Ruane FAO Working Group on Biotechnology Rome, Italy Andrea Sonnino FAO Research and Extension Division Rome, Italy Pasquale Steduto FAO Land and Water Division Rome, Italy and Christine Deane Faculty of Law University of Technology, Sydney Australia FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2008 The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. -
Assessing Resource Depletion in LCA: a Review of Methods and Methodological Issues
Assessing resource depletion in LCA: a review of methods and methodological issues Serenella Sala www.jrc.ec.europa.eu Serving society Stimulating innovation Supporting legislation Outline Sustainability and resources Key concepts and perspectives Review on current impact assessment methodologies for Resources 27 November 2012 2 Resources and sustainability -1 One of the father of the definition of “sustainability” was Hans Carl von Carlowitz. The concept was founded in forestry and was strictly resource-based and stayed so for centuries (Carlowitz 1713, Cotta 1828). The concept was developed by foresters because timber had been excessively overused and become a very scarce resource in the process of the industrial revolution and urbanisation. Carlowitz HC (1713)Sylvicultura oeconomica, oder haußwirthliche Nachricht und Naturmäßige Anweisung zur wilden Baum-Zucht 27 November 2012 3 Resources and sustainability _2 Around 1700, the mining industry and livelihood of thousands was threatened in Saxony. It was not that the mines had been exhausted of their ores, the problem was an acute scarcity of timber. The mining industry and smelting of ores had consumed whole forests. In the vicinity of places of mining activity the old growth forests had disappeared completely. Trees had been cut at unsustainable rates for decades without efforts to restore the forests. First, the river systems in the Erzgebirge was engineered, so logs could be transported from ever more distant forest areas, but these measures only postponed the crisis. The prices for timber rose ever more, which led to bankruptcy and closure of parts of the mining industry. 27 November 2012 4 Resources and sustainability _3 • Environmental as well as economic and social dimension • Interplay between socio-economic drivers, environmental and socio economic impacts Should resources be included in LCIA? Scientific debate For sure they should be part of the impact assessment in LCSA…. -
How Do the Extinctions of Other Creatures Affect Humans Directly?
4/30/2020 How Do the Extinctions of Other Creatures Affect Humans Directly? How Do the Extinctions of Other Creatures Affect Humans Directly? ••• Updated March 10, 2018 By Milton Kazmeyer While extinction of animal species is part of the natural process of evolution, the expansion of the human species has led to significant increases in the extinction rate. Because humans share ecosystems with endangered species, our quality of life and our survival is linked to them. Habitat destruction, climate change, resource depletion and other factors have increased the extinction rate by a factor of 1,000, putting substantial pressure on thousands of the most vulnerable creatures on the planet. American Bison One example of how the depletion of a species affected humans is what occurred after the American bison nearly vanished in the 19th century. Originally, the bison was a common animal on the central plains, with an estimated population of 15 million, and the Native Americans of the region depended on the animal for food, leather, fur and many https://sciencing.com/extinctions-other-creatures-affect-humans-directly-20692.html 1/11 4/30/2020 How Do the Extinctions of Other Creatures Affect Humans Directly? other goods vital to a nomadic lifestyle. By 1890, however, there were only a few thousand bison left in America. Tribal hunters were able to kill more of the animals with the aid of firearms, and in some cases the United States government encouraged the widespread slaughter of bison herds. The vanishing species forced tribes dependent on the animal to move to new lands in search of food, and eventually those tribes could no longer support themselves and had to deal with the United States government for survival. -
Plight, Plunder, and Political Ecology
1 Plight, Plunder, and Political Ecology CIVIL STRIFE in the developing world represents perhaps the greatest international security challenge of the early twenty-first century.1 Three-quarters of all wars since 1945 have been within countries rather than between them, and the vast majority of these conflicts have oc curred in the world’s poorest nations.2 Wars and other violent conflicts have killed some 40 million people since 1945, and as many people may have died as a result of civil strife since 1980 as were killed in the First World War.3 Although the number of internal wars peaked in the early 1990s and has been declining slowly ever since, they remain a scourge on humanity. Armed conflicts have crippled the prospect for a better life in many developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia, by destroying essential infrastructure, deci mating social trust, encouraging human and capital flight, exacerbat ing food shortages, spreading disease, and diverting precious financial resources toward military spending.4 Compounding matters further, the damaging effects of civil strife rarely remain confined within the afflicted countries. In the past de cade alone tens of millions of refugees have spilled across borders, pro ducing significant socioeconomic and health problems in neighboring areas. Instability has also rippled outward as a consequence of cross- border incursions by rebel groups, trafficking in arms and persons, dis ruptions in trade, and damage done to the reputation of entire regions in the eyes of investors. Globally, war-torn countries have become ha vens and recruiting grounds for international terrorist networks, orga nized crime, and drug traffickers.5 Indeed, the events of September 11, 2001, illustrate how small the world has become and how vulnerable even superpowers are to rising grievances and instabilities in the de veloping world. -
The Water-Energy Nexus: Challenges and Opportunities Overview
U.S. Department of Energy The Water-Energy Nexus: Challenges and Opportunities JUNE 2014 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK Table of Contents Foreword ................................................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................................. iii Executive Summary.............................................................................................................................................. v Chapter 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ................................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 DOE’s Motivation and Role .................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 The DOE Approach ................................................................................................................................... 4 1.4 Opportunities ............................................................................................................................................. 4 References .......................................................................................................................................................... -
Four Billion People Affected by Severe Water Scarcity
Briefing paper Four billion people affected by severe water scarcity Number of people living in water scarce areas Research published in Science Advances on water scarcity by Prof. Hoekstra and Dr. Mesfin Mekonnen, researchers from University of Twente, reveals that as many as four billion people worldwide live under water scarcity for at least one month of the year. Their research shows that the earlier estimates did not capture the monthly variability of water scarcity and that the number of people affected by severe water scarcity are much higher. For example, the entire population of 37 countries and more than half of the population of 97 countries live under severe water scarcity during at least one month per year (Figure 1). This information is key in addressing Sustainable Development Goal 6.4 which aims to substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity. Blue water scarcity is a result of the cumulative impact of the blue water footprint of agriculture, domestic water supply and industry. In areas where blue water scarcity is greater than 1 – moderate, significant and severe water scarcity – environmental flow requirements are not met, which can lead to degradation of natural ecosystems, loss of valuable ecosystem services and negative impacts on subsistence uses, such as access to drinking and other household water and loss of local fisheries. Figure 1: Percentage of population experiencing severe water scarcity at least one month of a year. Source: Water Footprint Network Data from M.M. Mekonnen & A.Y. Hoekstra, University of Twente Trade risk and water scarcity As nations work toward securing food, water, energy and other essential inputs for people’s well being, livelihoods and the country’s economic development, most countries rely on imports as well as exports of goods and services. -
Life Cycle Assessment and Water Footprint of Hydrogen Production Methods: from Conventional to Emerging Technologies
environments Article Life Cycle Assessment and Water Footprint of Hydrogen Production Methods: From Conventional to Emerging Technologies Andi Mehmeti 1,* ID , Athanasios Angelis-Dimakis 2 ID , George Arampatzis 3 ID , Stephen J. McPhail 4 and Sergio Ulgiati 5 1 Department of Science and Technology, Parthenope University of Naples, 80143 Naples, Italy 2 School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK; [email protected] 3 School of Production Engineering and Management, Technical University of Crete, 731 00 Chania, Greece; [email protected] 4 DTE-PCU-SPCT, ENEA C.R. Casaccia, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Rome, Italy; [email protected] 5 Department of Science and Technology, Parthenope University of Naples, 80134 Naples, Italy; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +39-327-556-3659 Received: 26 December 2017; Accepted: 2 February 2018; Published: 6 February 2018 Abstract: A common sustainability issue, arising in production systems, is the efficient use of resources for providing goods or services. With the increased interest in a hydrogen (H2) economy, the life-cycle environmental performance of H2 production has special significance for assisting in identifying opportunities to improve environmental performance and to guide challenging decisions and select between technology paths. Life cycle impact assessment methods are rapidly evolving to analyze multiple environmental impacts of the production of products or processes. This study marks the first step in developing process-based streamlined life cycle analysis (LCA) of several H2 production pathways combining life cycle impacts at the midpoint (17 problem-oriented) and endpoint (3 damage-oriented) levels using the state-of-the-art impact assessment method ReCiPe 2016. -
Using Game Theory to Develop Sustainability Strategies in an Era
ering & ine M g a n n E a Seifi and Crowther, Ind Eng Manage 2018, 7:1 l g a i e r m t Industrial Engineering & DOI: 10.4172/2169-0316.1000240 s e u n d t n I Management ISSN: 2169-0316 Research Article Open Access Using Game Theory to Develop Sustainability Strategies in an Era of Resource Depletion Shahla Seifi and David Crowther* Faculty of Business and Law, De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester, LE1 9BH, UK *Corresponding author: David Crowther, Faculty of Business and Law, De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester, LE1 9BH, UK, Tel: +44(0)7971629198; Fax: +44(0)1332720660; E-mail: [email protected] Received date: 02 November 2017; Accepted date: 07 March 2018; Published date: 14 March 2018 Copyright: © 2018 Seifi S, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the creative commons attribution license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract Objective: Sustainability is recognized as an important objective in business planning and is of equal relevance to policy makers. It is equally accepted, almost universally, that the resources of the planet are finite and are being over consumed on an annual basis. The prognosis therefore is that resources are being depleted and competition for access to remaining resources must ensue, as countries seek to grow and develop. This will have the effect of increasing the transaction costs of business activity as they find greater difficulty in seeking restricted supply of resources. -
Freshwater Resources
3 Freshwater Resources Coordinating Lead Authors: Blanca E. Jiménez Cisneros (Mexico), Taikan Oki (Japan) Lead Authors: Nigel W. Arnell (UK), Gerardo Benito (Spain), J. Graham Cogley (Canada), Petra Döll (Germany), Tong Jiang (China), Shadrack S. Mwakalila (Tanzania) Contributing Authors: Thomas Fischer (Germany), Dieter Gerten (Germany), Regine Hock (Canada), Shinjiro Kanae (Japan), Xixi Lu (Singapore), Luis José Mata (Venezuela), Claudia Pahl-Wostl (Germany), Kenneth M. Strzepek (USA), Buda Su (China), B. van den Hurk (Netherlands) Review Editor: Zbigniew Kundzewicz (Poland) Volunteer Chapter Scientist: Asako Nishijima (Japan) This chapter should be cited as: Jiménez Cisneros , B.E., T. Oki, N.W. Arnell, G. Benito, J.G. Cogley, P. Döll, T. Jiang, and S.S. Mwakalila, 2014: Freshwater resources. In: Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Field, C.B., V.R. Barros, D.J. Dokken, K.J. Mach, M.D. Mastrandrea, T.E. Bilir, M. Chatterjee, K.L. Ebi, Y.O. Estrada, R.C. Genova, B. Girma, E.S. Kissel, A.N. Levy, S. MacCracken, P.R. Mastrandrea, and L.L. White (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp. 229-269. 229 Table of Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................................ 232 3.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................... -
Linking Environment and Conflict Prevention the Role of the United Nations
FULL REPORT LINKING ENVIRONMENT AND CONFLICT PREVENTION THE ROLE OF THE UNITED NATIONS CSS peace ETH Zurich © CSS and swisspeace 2008 Center for Security Studies (CSS) ETH Zurich Seilergraben 45-49 - SEI CH – 8092 Zürich Tel.: +41-44-632 40 25 Fax: +41-44-632 19 41 [email protected] www.css.ethz.ch swisspeace Sonnenbergstrasse 17 P.O. Box CH - 3000 Bern 7 Tel.: +41-31-330 12 12 Fax: +41-31-330 12 13 [email protected] www.swisspeace.ch A report by Simon A. Mason, Adrian Muller Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zürich Albrecht Schnabel, Rina Alluri, Christian Schmid swisspeace, Bern Supervised by Andreas Wenger (CSS), Victor Mauer (CSS), and Laurent Goetschel (swisspeace) This is the full report, which can be accessed at <www.css.ethz.ch> and <www.swisspeace.ch> as well as in the “CSS Environment and Conflict Transformation” Series (www.isn.ethz.ch > “Publishing House” > “Publication Series”). An 18-page summary of this full report can be accessed at the same websites. Cover photo Paul Klee, Rosenwind 1922,39 Ölfarbe auf Grundierung auf Papier auf Karton 38,2 x 41,8 cm Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Schenkung Livia Klee Contents Foreword..................................................................................................................................... 4 Acronyms and Abbreviations ....................................................................................................... 5 List of Figures and Tables........................................................................................................... -
Water Theft in Rural Contexts Abstract
Water theft in rural contexts Rob White Distinguished Professor of Criminology School of Social Sciences University of Tasmania AUSTRALIA Contact author – Rob White: [email protected]; +61 3 6226 2877 Abstract Water theft is a phenomenon that is set to grow in the light of climate change, chronic drought, freshwater scarcity, and conflicts over natural resources. Drawing upon recent developments pertaining to poor regulation and the stealing of water from the Murray- Darling river system in Australia, this paper explores the cultural and political economic dimensions of water theft in the context of rurality and criminality. Framed within the overarching perspective of green criminology, the article examines water theft through the lens of rural folk crime as well as failures of regulation and environmental law enforcement. It raises issues relating to the social construction of victims of water theft, human (such as Indigenous people) and non-human (such as ecosystems). This article argues that the geographical location of water theft is integral to the dynamics of the harms committed, and the response of both governments and residents to the crime. Key words: water theft; green criminology; rural folk crime; Murray-Darling river; environmental regulation © 2019 White. This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/) Water theft in rural contexts – White Introduction In July 2017, an Australian Broadcasting Corporation Four Corners investigation revealed a series of improper conducts pertaining to the Murray-Darling Basin, the largest fresh-water system in Australia (ABC, 2017). Four Corners is a long-running investigative current affairs television program produced by the national public broadcaster (the ABC). -
Evaluating the Economic Impact of Water Scarcity in a Changing World
ARTICLE https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22194-0 OPEN Evaluating the economic impact of water scarcity in a changing world ✉ Flannery Dolan 1 , Jonathan Lamontagne 1, Robert Link2, Mohamad Hejazi3,4, Patrick Reed 5 & Jae Edmonds 3 Water scarcity is dynamic and complex, emerging from the combined influences of climate change, basin-level water resources, and managed systems’ adaptive capacities. Beyond 1234567890():,; geophysical stressors and responses, it is critical to also consider how multi-sector, multi- scale economic teleconnections mitigate or exacerbate water shortages. Here, we contribute a global-to-basin-scale exploratory analysis of potential water scarcity impacts by linking a global human-Earth system model, a global hydrologic model, and a metric for the loss of economic surplus due to resource shortages. We find that, dependent on scenario assumptions, major hydrologic basins can experience strongly positive or strongly negative economic impacts due to global trade dynamics and market adaptations to regional scarcity. In many cases, market adaptation profoundly magnifies economic uncertainty relative to hydrologic uncertainty. Our analysis finds that impactful scenarios are often combinations of standard scenarios, showcasing that planners cannot presume drivers of uncertainty in complex adaptive systems. 1 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA. 2 Department of Medicine, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA, USA. 3 Joint Global Change Research Institute,