Monday:
-Continue to work on IDM related to the cost of water in SWA - Complete a problem solution activity - Turn in interactive notebook pages 9, 10, and 11 Tuesday: -6th period Cost of Water Project due (summative) - Continuation of notes on the cost of water - Review Wednesday: -4th period Cost of Water Project due (summative) - SWA Environmental issues continuation - Review of SWA Thursday: -3rd and 5th Cost of Water Project due (summative) - Introduction to Cultural Elements in SWA - Review Friday: -Review - Assessment of SWA geography and environmental issues - Continuation of cultural Elements of SWA
Supporting Question 3
The third supporting question—“ How is being “water stressed” impacting populations?”—asks students to consider the many ways in which being “water stressed” impacts various populations in the region. Students will write 1-2 paragraphs summarizing the impact on human populations, citing specific evidence from the featured sources. In addition to the previous featured sources, the resource for this task will further illuminate the ways in which water access impacts the human experience. The featured source for this question is an article from The Water Project, which highlights issues of desertification on agriculture, and subsequently, health of populations. Supporting Question 3 Featured Source Source A: Alexandra Barton, report, “Water in Crisis – Middle East,” The Water Project, 2016 The Middle East has experienced many environmental concerns lately. Water resources are becoming increasingly scarce, especially for the millions there who already lack access to sanitary water. Some of these countries, including Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, are facing unique problems that require global, immediate attention. Beside their neighboring location , one shared factor of all these countries is their lack of water resources and poor water management. The Middle East has some of the largest oil reserves in the world, which produces most of the area's wealth. Even so, the region's climate and environment make living harsh. The Middle East requires water resources and suitable land for agriculture. Much of the land that is available for producing food is destroyed by increasing desertification. Desertification is a sweeping environmental problem, with vast effects in countries such as Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Iran. Universal causes for a spread of arid environment are unsustainable agriculture practices and overgrazing. Agriculture uses 85 percent of water in this region. It is common to misuse land by heavy irrigation in the Middle East. In the area droughts are more frequent, and contribute to the changing landscape. The overuse of water in agriculture is affecting the countries' already undersized water resources. Jordan, located in the Syrian Desert, and Yemen, on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, both endure severe water scarcity in the Middle East. For example, Jordan'saverage freshwater withdrawal is less than ten percent of Portugal's average, despite being the same size. The cost of water in Jordan increased thirty percent in ten years, due to a quick shortage of groundwater. Yemen has one of the highest worldwide rates of malnutrition; over thirty percent of its population does not meet their food needs . In recent years, Yemen has not been able to produce enough food to sustain its populations. Water scarcity has damaged the standard of living for inhabitants of the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates, located on the Arabian Peninsula, is famous for its luxurious cities filled with lavish resorts, shopping, and attractions. The livelihoods of these extravagant emirates might create the assumption that water scarcity is not a problem for these rich states. In reality, however, the UAE is confronted with a serious depletion of their available water resources. A report from the Emirates Industrial Bank in 2005 said that the UAE had the highest per capita consumption of water in the world. Additionally, for the past thirty years the water table of this region has dropped about one meter per year. At this current rate, the UAE will deplete its natural freshwater resources in about fifty years. Even with a large amount of desalination plants to reduce water deficiency, the UAE needs to adjust its water use habits before its energy consumption doubles in 2020. Desalination plants are an overuse of water resources in the Middle East. Seventy percent of desalination plants in the world are located in this area, found mostly in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain. While the plants produce water needed for the arid region, they can manufacture problems for health and the environment. The seawater used most in desalination plants has high amounts of boron and bromide, and the process can also remove essential minerals like calcium. Also, the concentrated salt is often dumped back into oceans where the increased salinity affects the ocean's environment. The plants harm local wildlife and add pollutants to the region's climate. In addition, desalination is the most energy-costing water resource. The Pacific Institute explains that the high use of energy results in raised energy prices and higher prices on water produced, hurting the consumer. The water produced can be beneficial towards substituting any lack of freshwater, but these areas have tendencies towards overuse of their natural resources. Concerns with the large amount of desalination plants in the Middle East focus on the improper dependency they will cause, instead of encouraging alternate forms of water and energy and conserving freshwater. The Middle East has numerous struggles with its current water resources, and the region needs more than one solution to generate an optimistic environmental position for the future. Facts and Statistics: https://thewaterproject.org/water-scarcity/water_stats Accessed from: https://thewaterproject.org/water-crisis/water-in-crisis-middle-east Supporting Question 2
For the second supporting question—“How do countries in the Middle East get water?”—students build on their geographic knowledge of the region to consider the ecological consequences of water collection techniques. The formative performance task has students create a chart that identifies and describes the positive and negative effects of water collection methods. The first featured source for this question is the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization’s country database, which provides country profiles for water management, including withdrawal and replenishment amounts. The second featured source is an article describing various methods of water extraction in the region and their relative costs and benefits. Supporting Question 2 Featured Source Source A: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, database, AQUASTAT Database, 2016 Accessed from: http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/main/index.stm Video Resources: Israel's solutions to water scarcity; Desalination in the ME Fresh Water: A Scarce and Critical Resource Water sustains humans' health, food production, and economic development. But only 3 percent of Earth's water is salt-free, or fresh water. Moreover, nearly 70 percent of fresh water is locked in glaciers and icebergs, and is not available for human use. The fresh water that is available comes from rain or from rivers, lakes, springs, and some groundwater reserves, such as aquifers.1(Water below the water table, contained in solid or fractured rock, is known as groundwater; aquifers are geologic formations that store, transport, and yield groundwater to wells.) Today's wells can reach water buried deep within Earth, so these freshwater supplies can be depleted on a massive scale. Most aquifers can be recharged by the annual water cycle, but water trapped in ancient underground formations cannot be renewed. Rapid population growth has exacerbated the water scarcity MENA faces. While natural factors such as intermittent droughts and limited freshwater reserves can cause scarcity, high population growth imposes additional pressures.2 Experts measure water availability in terms of the amount of annual renewable fresh water per person. A country is considered "water stressed" when its total renewable freshwater resources lie between 1,000 cubic meters and 1,700 cubic meters per person per year. "Water-scarce" countries have an average of less than 1,000 cubic meters of renewable fresh water per person per year. Twelve of the world's 15 water-scarce countries are in MENA […] These thresholds for water scarcity and water stress do not reflect the freshwater resources that may eventually become accessible for human use. Accessibility is determined by a nation's ability to collect and transport water to users and by the quality of the water. Human activities often pollute existing sources of fresh water, making it unusable or expensive to treat and reuse. Once water is available for human use, however, many factors affect how that water is used. Balancing Water Scarcity and Human Demand MENA countries have increasingly been adopting new strategies for balancing their scarce water resources and growing demand for fresh water, although their options may be dictated by a number of different factors. For example, low-income countries, such as Yemen, would not be able to purchase the high-tech equipment available to high-income countries, such as Saudi Arabia. Even for high-income countries, purely technological solutions relieve only some of the demand for water. In the long term, slowing population growth in the region and creating effective policies and programs for improved water management are key to the region's sustainable development. Strategies for Increasing Supply Most governments have traditionally focused on increasing access to fresh water by locating, developing, and managing new sources, despite the high costs often involved. As new natural sources of water become scarcer and more expensive, however, MENA countries are turning to other options, such as desalination and treatment and reuse of wastewater, while continuing to use older methods. Qanats and Rainwater Harvesting Qanats, or chain wells, a traditional method for bringing water to the surface, consist of a series of horizontal tunnels bored into a cliff or mountainous area. These interconnected tunnels are sloped, allowing water to drain out and create an oasis in an otherwise arid area. The largest number of qanats are found in Iran. Rainwater harvesting, another ancient method for collecting water from roofs, cisterns, and other sources, diverts runoff into ponds and reservoirs for agricultural use. In Egypt, Bedouin farmers have rehabilitated degraded agricultural land by storing runoff water in wadis (dry riverbeds that become ponds after heavy rains) and by constructing earthen dikes.5 Sequential Water Use Sequential water use involves capturing and treating water that has been used in one sector so that it can be directed to other uses. Domestic use requires the cleanest water, so the ideal order is for water to be used in the household first, then in industry, then in agriculture.6 Urban wastewater, often referred to as "brown water," can be treated and channeled from towns and cities onto nearby farms, increasing crop yields and decreasing the need for chemical fertilizers. For example, most of Israel's sewage is purified and used to irrigate farm land.7 Wastewater from Tunis is used to irrigate citrus and olive orchards near the city, as well as golf courses, hotel gardens, and certain crops.8 Desalination Extracting salt from seawater is extremely expensive. Desalination provides a clean and reliable source of water, but it uses large quantities of heat and has some negative environmental consequences. Sixty percent of the world's desalination capacity lies in the oil-rich Gulf states; 30 percent of the world's total is in Saudi Arabia, which has facilities on the coasts of both the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Since the 1950s, Kuwait has been the pioneer in developing desalination to supply fresh water for domestic use. Trading Water There are a number of ways to transport water from one region to another, including shipping it by boat, transporting it via pipeline, towing it in large water bags (Medusa bags), and carrying it overland in vehicles. Importing water could help MENA governments meet the increased demand, reducing the potential incentive for people to migrate. But the ecological impacts of major water transfer schemes can be significant: Pumping water from one basin to another area may seriously affect local ecosystems and hydrology.9 Strategies for Managing Demand Successful policies and programs for managing water supplies might involve strategies for promoting more desirable patterns and levels of water use. Options include reallocating water away from agriculture, increasing irrigation efficiency, instituting voluntary conservation measures, involving communities in water management plans, and finding more effective distribution mechanisms. Water Reallocation For most MENA countries, reallocating water away from agriculture and toward the domestic and industrial sectors may be a critical, although controversial, way to adjust to water scarcity. Such policies can satisfy the needs of growing urban populations, but they can also threaten food security and the livelihood of farmers. Moreover, such shifts may be politically sensitive, especially where local tribes control water resources, and may raise legal issues. Less Water-Intensive Crops A number of MENA countries rely heavily on their own production of cereals, which have a low return per unit of land and water. Switching to less water-dependent crops, selling them in the international market, and importing cereals could help conserve water. But while the strategy may make economic sense, countries often feel that it is strategically important and a matter of national pride to produce their own cereals. Efficient Technologies Better technologies may help reduce long-term costs and improve efficiency. Studies have shown, for example, that drip irrigation cuts water use by between 30 percent and 70 percent and increases crop yields by between 20 percent and 90 percent, compared with traditional irrigation. Drip systems deliver water directly to plants' roots, through a network of perforated plastic tubing installed on or below the soil surface.10Another successful technique, fertigation, involves applying fertilizer to irrigation water through the use of computer-controlled drip techniques. It economizes on water and fertilizer use, and limits soil salinization and groundwater pollution.11 Israeli farmers, who use highly efficient drip-irrigation techniques, have more than doubled their food production in the last 20 years without increasing their use of water.12 Distribution Efficiencies Other measures for improving distribution, such as repairing leaking distribution systems and sewer pipes, expanding central sewage systems, metering water connections, and rationing and restricting water use, can also play important roles. For example, Jordan's construction codes mandate that buildings be constructed in accordance with water conservation specifications.13 Public Education and Community Involvement Involving communities in adopting new strategies can increase acceptance of new water systems. Communities can be taught to maintain and operate water systems, and can help determine what type of system best suits local conditions. In Tunisia, for example, there are nearly 2,500 water associations that are managing drinking and irrigation water systems.14 Water conservation measures that rely on the community are often more effective when they provide income for the community. In Jordan, for example, the Business and Professional Women's Organization trains poor women to demonstrate and sell water conservation devices, such as shut-off nozzles for hoses, aerators for faucets, and waterless soap. Conservation Countries are adopting a variety of ways to encourage voluntary conservation, including plans integrating religious messages with conservation practices. In 1998, for example, the Gulf states asked local religious leaders to devote their Friday speeches to the theme of Islam and water conservation for World Water Day. The Israeli Water Commission has estimated that implementing voluntary conservation measures could reduce the country's domestic use by 55 million cubic meters a year.15 Many conservation messages have also been incorporated into school curricula throughout the region. Economic Considerations MENA governments have traditionally subsidized the cost of providing safe water to citizens, but they are increasingly looking for ways to pass part of the cost on to consumers. Possible strategies include imposing water tariffs; charging for extracting water; pricing water at cost; offering conservation subsidies; and charging more during certain times of the day or seasons of the year.16 International research shows that households, who receive most of the benefit from piped water, are willing to pay 3 percent to 5 percent of their income for access to clean water.17 Water-use restrictions, pricing policies, wastewater quality requirements, and impact fees can motivate industrial and commercial users to reduce their water use. In one Jordanian steel mill, for example, daily water demand fell from 450 cubic meters to 20 cubic meters when cooling water was recycled.18 Such incentives can help discourage industrial water pollution and agricultural inefficiencies, but they may be difficult to implement and enforce.19 Additional Strategies Some strategies can relieve water scarcity in the short term. Other strategies address more systemic issues that help achieve long-term goals. These longer-term strategies include implementing legal and institutional reforms, increasing regional cooperation (see Box 1), and slowing population growth. Instituting Legal and Institutional Reforms Complicated systems of water rights, land rights, social and civic institutions, and legal regimes can sometimes undermine water management; reform could improve how water resources are regulated.20 Such changes may involve legal and institutional reforms, reorganizing the public and private sectors, and nongovernmental organizations' participation.21 Jordan, for example, placed all responsibility for resources planning and monitoring under the control of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation.22 Previously, several agencies had overseen water use, leading to short-term planning, sporadic enforcement of water resources laws, and limited surveillance of water pollution. Slowing Population Growth The 1994 United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) provided an opportunity for countries to examine their population challenges and discuss possible solutions for achieving socially equitable, sustainable development for each country. The ICPD Programme of Action focuses on human development, providing a framework for slowing population growth and improving people's lives. It calls for a wide range of investments to improve health, education, and rights –particularly for women and girls—and to provide reproductive health information and services to help people achieve their desired family size. Map Link: www.wri.org/applications/maps/aqueduct-atlas/#x=66.01&y=18.29&s=ws!20!28!c&t=waterrisk&w=def&g=0&i=BWS-16!WSV-4!SV-2!HFO-4!DRO-4!STOR-8!GW-8!WRI-4!ECOS-2!MC-4!WCG-8!ECOV-2!&tr=ind-1!prj-1&l=3&b=terrain&m=group Please remember you have a summative assessment over SW Asia political and physical maps on Friday! Study a little every day! Monday: - IDM on The Cost of Water. We will use iPads to analyze maps of the Middle East and the amount of water in each area. -We will then complete a graphic organizer. - History of the eclipse video Tuesday: - Continue IDM on The Cost of Water – Read and analyze articles - Complete graphic organizer Wednesday: -Continue IDM on The Cost of Water – Read and analyze articles - Complete graphic organizer Thursday: -Continue IDM on The Cost of Water – Read and analyze articles - Complete graphic organizer Friday – Summative project on the IDM! Supporting Question 1
The first supporting question—“Who has access to water in the Middle East?”—helps one to understand the geographic and demographic factors impacting access to water in the region. The formative performance task has students create a map that shows geographic features, population density, and water sources, so as to show the relationship between the three. The featured source for this question is an interactive atlas that provides some of the necessary information for students to create their own maps. Supporting Question 1 Featured Source Source A: World Resources Institute, database, Aqueduct: Water Risk Atlas, 2015 Use the link below to create a map showing the following: Water sources (draw/label- see map key for specifics); population density (shade); Population density Then: Use the link below to research and answer the questions on the back of the map. Accessed from: http://www.wri.org/our-work/project/aqueduct ________________________________________________________ 1. Super Easy Map Game- owl-and-mouse.com/mappuzzle/asia-puzzle.html 2. Easy SWA Map Game- www.sheppardsoftware.com/middle-east_GL_Click.html 3. Moderately Easy SWA Map Game- www.sheppardsoftware.com/middle-east_G0_Click.html 4. Several Games- www.sheppardsoftware.com/Middle-east_Geography.htm 5. Yet Another Map Game www.ilike2learn.com/ilike2learn/MidEast.html |
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December 2017
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