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Macro‐scale water scarcity requires micro‐scale approaches

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  • Malin Falkenmark
  • Jan Lundqvist
  • Carl Widstrand

Abstract

This paper shows that water scarcity is a complex problem when it affects countries with a semi‐arid climate, ie countries for which there are fluctuations between a dry season and a season when rain occurs. The paper discusses the general vulnerability of the semi‐arid zone in terms of four different types of water scarcity, the effects of which are being superimposed on each other: two are natural (type A, arid climate, type B, intermittent drought years) and two are man‐induced (type C, desiccation of the landscape driven by land degradation, and type D, population‐driven water stress). When fuelled by a rapid population increase, a risk spiral develops, manifesting itself in social and economic collapse during intermittent drought years. The paper concludes that many countries in Africa are heading for severe water scarcity ‐in fact two‐thirds of the African population will live in severely water‐stressed countries within a few decades. This severe water stress will largely be the result of unfettered population growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Malin Falkenmark & Jan Lundqvist & Carl Widstrand, 1989. "Macro‐scale water scarcity requires micro‐scale approaches," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 13(4), pages 258-267, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:natres:v:13:y:1989:i:4:p:258-267
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1477-8947.1989.tb00348.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    2. Jon Moris, 1987. "Irrigation as a Privileged Solution in African Development," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 5(2), pages 99-123, June.
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    Cited by:

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    3. Badir S. Alsaeed & Dexter V. L. Hunt & Soroosh Sharifi, 2022. "Sustainable Water Resources Management Assessment Frameworks (SWRM-AF) for Arid and Semi-Arid Regions: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-31, November.
    4. Badir S. Alsaeed & Dexter V. L. Hunt & Soroosh Sharifi, 2024. "A Sustainable Water Resources Management Assessment Framework (SWRM-AF) for Arid and Semi-Arid Regions—Part 1: Developing the Conceptual Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-43, March.
    5. Simon Meißner, 2021. "The Impact of Metal Mining on Global Water Stress and Regional Carrying Capacities—A GIS-Based Water Impact Assessment," Resources, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-34, November.
    6. Yun Ding & Shiqi Zhang & Ruifan Xu & Yuan Gao & Hao Ding & Pengfei Sun & Wenxin Liu, 2023. "The Coupling Coordination Measurement, Spatio-Temporal Differentiation and Driving Mechanism of Urban and Rural Water Poverty in Northwest China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-23, January.
    7. Hassan Tolba Aboelnga & Lars Ribbe & Franz-Bernd Frechen & Jamal Saghir, 2019. "Urban Water Security: Definition and Assessment Framework," Resources, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-19, November.
    8. Zheng Wang & Yue Huang & Tie Liu & Chanjuan Zan & Yunan Ling & Chenyu Guo, 2022. "Analysis of the Water Demand-Supply Gap and Scarcity Index in Lower Amu Darya River Basin, Central Asia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-18, January.
    9. Nouri, Milad & Homaee, Mehdi & Pereira, Luis S. & Bybordi, Mohammad, 2023. "Water management dilemma in the agricultural sector of Iran: A review focusing on water governance," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    10. Cai, Beiming & Jiang, Ling & Liu, Yu & Wang, Feng & Zhang, Wei & Yan, Xu & Ge, Zhenzi, 2023. "Regional trends and socioeconomic drivers of energy-related water use in China from 2007 to 2017," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).

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