A Landmark California Plan Puts Floodplains Back in Business

A Landmark California Plan Puts Floodplains Back in Business — Water Deeply

SOMETHING MONUMENTAL HAPPENED on August 25 in California water management that received almost no media attention: It became official policy to reconnect the state’s major rivers with their floodplains.

The action by the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, an obscure panel appointed by the governor, clears the way for the state to embrace projects that allow floods to recharge groundwater. This could include projects like breaching levees, building setback levees and creating flood bypass structures so rivers can inundate historic floodplains for the first time in a century.

In short, it means rivers must no longer be confined within levees as a standard practice.

The result could be not only reduced flood risk, but reviving severely depleted groundwater aquifers, restoring wildlife habitat and improving the capabilities of existing water storage reservoirs.

The state calls these “multibenefit” flood-control projects, said Mike Mierzwa, chief of the office of flood planning at the California Department of Water Resources. They’re a major focus of the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan, a massive policy document the board adopted at its August 25 meeting.
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Silicon Valley Wants to Solve Our Water Problems

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Tackling water security: Who owns the right to groundwater?

Tariq said that to understand water security there is a need to understand water scarcity. He explained, “The global yardstick for water scarcity is that if you have 1,700 cubic metres per person, per year then you are in a very comfortable water regime.”

He added that the moment this amount reduces, you start getting into water stress situations, water shortages and water scarcity.

“Plant the water, as the best place to store water is underground”
“The surplus water available for Pakistan doesn’t last for more than 30 days.” He elaborated that for the rest of the 335 days, Pakistan is in a semi-drought or drought-like condition.

The PWP CEO said that for an arid country like Pakistan there is a need to have 40% surface water storage. However, he deplored that the country has only 7% storage to counter the problem. He added that this is also reducing due to sedimentation, which leaves a big question mark on the country’s water security. More

I'm on the Kill List. This is what it feels like to be hunted by drones

I [Malik Jalal] am in the strange position of knowing that I am on the ‘Kill List’. I know this because I have been told, and I know because I have been targeted for death over and over again. Four times missiles have been fired at me. I am extraordinarily fortunate to be alive.

Friends decline my invitations and I have taken to sleeping outside under the trees, to avoid becoming a magnet of death for my family

I don’t want to end up a “Bugsplat” – the ugly word that is used for what remains of a human being after being blown up by a Hellfire missile fired from a Predator drone. More importantly, I don’t want my family to become victims, or even to live with the droning engines overhead, knowing that at any moment they could be vaporized.

I am in England this week because I decided that if Westerners wanted to kill me without bothering to come to speak with me first, perhaps I should come to speak to them instead. I’ll tell my story so that you can judge for yourselves whether I am the kind of person you want to be murdered.

I am from Waziristan, the border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan. I am one of the leaders of the North Waziristan Peace Committee (NWPC), which is a body of local Maliks (or community leaders) that is devoted to trying to keep the peace in our region. We are sanctioned by the Pakistan government, and our main mission is to try to prevent violence between the local Taliban and the authorities.

In January 2010, I lent my vehicle to my nephew, Salimullah, to drive to Deegan for an oil change and to have one of the tires checked. Rumours had surfaced that drones were targeting particular vehicles, and tracking particular phone signals. The sky was clear and there were drones circling overhead.
https://goo.gl/6NVZ0q

In Peru's deserts melting glaciers are a godsend - until they are gone

Using some of the glacial water to ‘Green’ the Peruvian the desert, as is being done in China and North Africa would be a smart move. See LOESS PLATEAU WATERSHED REHABILITATION PROJECT

Yet climate change now threatens some of these ambitious undertakings, reducing lakes, diminishing aquifers and shrinking glaciers that feed crops. Here in Peru, the government irrigated the desert and turned it into farmland through an $825 million project that, in a few decades, could be under serious threat.

“We’re talking about the disappearance of frozen water towers that have supported vast populations,” said Jeffrey Bury, a professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz who has spent years studying the effects of glacier melt on Peruvian agriculture. “That is the big picture question related to climate change right now.”

A changing climate has long haunted Peru. One past civilization, the Moche people, built cities in the same deserts, only to collapse more than a millennium ago after the Pacific Ocean warmed, killing fish and causing flash floods, many archaeologists contend.

Now dwindling water is the threat. While more than half of Peru sits in the wet Amazon basin, few of its people ever settled there. Most inhabit the dry northern coast, cut off from most rain by the Andes range. While the region includes the capital, Lima, and 60 percent of Peruvians, it holds only 2 percent of the country’s water supply.

The glaciers are the source of water for much of the coast during Peru’s dry season, which extends from May to September. But the icecap of the Cordillera Blanca, long a supply of water for the Chavimochic irrigation project, has shrunk by 40 percent since 1970 and is retreating at an ever-faster rate. It is currently receding by about 30 feet a year, scientists say. https://goo.gl/Wa1JyK

Cayman Islands Take Note: $100 Incentive Program to Purchase Real-time Water Sensors

City Launched $100 Incentive Program to Purchase Real-time Water Sensors

The City of ​Welland is ​taking a ​smarter ​approach to ​assisting ​consumers with ​water ​conservation ​and leak ​detection. City ​Council ​approved a ​partnership ​with Alert Labs ​to assist ​Welland ​residents with ​the purchase of ​real-time water ​sensors. ​

Alert Labs is ​a unique ​Ontario based ​company ​committed to ​water ​conservation ​through ​technology. ​

WELLAND ​RESIDENTS GET $​100 OFF ​ FLOWIE

The City of ​Welland is ​offering $100 ​incentives for ​residents to ​purchase a ​Flowie water ​sensor. The ​regular price ​of Flowie is $​259, along with ​a $49 annual ​monitoring fee. ​

The first 100 ​Welland ​residents to ​participate in ​the Flowie ​Incentive ​Program can ​purchase Flowie ​for $159 and ​will receive ​one year of ​monitoring for ​free. ​

FLOWIE : WATER LEAK DETECTOR

The Flowie ​water sensor ​straps onto ​residential and ​commercial ​water meters. ​It detects ​water usage and ​sends alerts to ​the customer’​s phone when it ​identifies high ​or unusual ​water ​consumption. ​

The Flowie can ​also detect ​silent water ​leaks, frozen ​pipes, ​temperature ​drops, and high ​humidity. It ​also generates ​detailed water ​usage reports ​and continues ​to work during ​a power outage. ​

FLOODIE : FLOOD SENSOR

For homeowners ​with flooding ​or water damage ​concerns, ​Flowie has an ​optional ​companion ​sensor, Floodie,​ that alerts ​homeowners to ​the presence of ​unwanted water. ​Floodie fits ​easily under a ​hot water tank, ​dishwasher, ​washing machine,​ or beside a ​sump pump to ​help protect ​against water ​damage ​

REAL-TIME WATER USE DATA

“​Residential ​water meters in ​the City of ​Welland are ​currently read ​and billed ​quarterly. As a ​direct ​consequence, ​staff’s ​ability to ​provide up-to-​date consumption ​data lags up to ​three months,​” said ​Erik Nickel, ​Acting General ​Manager of ​Infrastructure ​Services. ​“A ​customer’​s ability to ​receive early ​notification of ​possible water ​leaks is not a ​service the ​city currently ​offers ​customers; ​however, with ​the installation ​of the Flowie, ​customers can ​be alerted of ​leaks ​immediately.​” ​

Residents are ​urged to take ​advantage of ​the Flowie ​Incentive ​Program and ​contact Alert ​Labs directly ​with inquiries ​or to purchase ​the real-time ​water meter ​sensor online ​at ​www.alertlabs.ca/welland .

TH Köln: International Symposium in Cologne Adopts Declaration on Water Security and Climate Change

TH Köln: International Symposium in Cologne Adopts Declaration on Water Security and Climate Change

As a result of their international symposium on water security and climate change at the TH Köln - University of Applied Sciences 200 researchers from around 45 countries have adopted the 'Cologne Declaration on Water Security and Climate Change'. They confirm that a concerted collaboration between science, politics, business, and civil society is required at all levels in order to ensure the water supply worldwide and manage the risks of climate change.

"Climate change has a massive influence on how the limited resource drinking water is managed. At the same time, well-designed water management is a key factor in enabling societies to adapt to climate change. Due to this complex system with its many natural and man-made influence factors, we require a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach," explains Prof. Dr. Lars Ribbe, head of the Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics (ITT) at TH Köln.

The Institute and its associated Center for Natural Resources Development (CNRD) organized the conference together with the Food Security Center at University of Hohenheim and the Center for Sustainable Water Management in Developing Countries at Technische Universität Braunschweig. As academic excellence centers for exchange and development all three institutions are supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

(https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/th-koln-international-symposium-in-cologne-adopts-declaration-on-water-security-and-climate-change-649739783.html

A Global Plan of Action of Climate Restoration

A GLOBAL ACTION PLAN OF CLIMATE RESTORATION

A global plan of climate restoration of the “small water cycle” (1) of regional landscapes, with a goal of decreasing floods, drought, natural disasters, and other undesirable climate changes, and increasing the biodiversity and production potential of all continents, through the introduction of various measures of rainwater retention suitable for all areas of human habitation and usage.

PORTUGAL-TAMERA – Bernd Mueller is a permaculture and water specialist, and head of Tamera’s ecology project. The focus of the ecological work of Tamera is on building the Water Retention Landscape as a far-reaching approach to healing the land, and regenerating water supplies, topsoil, pasture and forest, and greater diversity of species. See www.tamera.org.

Please download full article here: https://goo.gl/FMB9z3

1. WHY IS A GLOBAL ACTION PLAN (GAP) NEEDED?

Water management policies worldwide are typically based on the principle of what can be termed the “old water paradigm,” which assumes among many other considerations, that surface waters are the main source and reserve of fresh water supplies. Global legislation and investment therefore tend to be oriented toward protecting, developing, and utilizing surface waters with infrastructure such as large reservoirs for water collection and distribution. Although rainwater is the cyclical source of all fresh- water supplies, it is nonetheless often considered to be waste product to be drained away quickly into streams and rivers.

There is a need to perceive by way of a “new water paradigm,”(1) that in natural ecosystems, water is integrated into small, regional water cycles, which supply vapor to the atmosphere to condense and form rain, the sun being the driving force of the circulation of water in small water cycles. We also need to appreciate the thermoregulatory processes provided by the movement of water between the surface of the earth and the atmosphere, which maintains the proper temperatures for life on earth.

NATURAL FOREST: USA- State of New Hampshire-Forested areas provide excellent shading, infiltration, and transpiration to regulate small water cycles in the landscape.

There needs to be increased attention on the gradual, sometimes almost imperceptible impacts of human activities that have led to the reduction of continental freshwater stocks. There is often a misconception that human activities have no direct effect on water cycles, and that temporal and spatial changes are either part of natural, evolutionary processes, or caused by global climate change. Therefore we tend to underestimate the influence of continental freshwater reserves on global energy and thermoregula- tory processes, as well as the degrading effects of climate change related to excessive drainage of ecosystems. These human impacts can detrimentally affect extensive territories; these include not only traditionally arid landscapes, but also areas of higher rainfall where human infrastructure drains water away from the land, ultimately to accumulate in the oceans.

It is necessary to retain about 100m3 of rainwater for every inhabitant on the planet. This means that, if every person on earth implemented measures to retain 100m3 of rainwater in their area within one year, enough water retention measures would be achieved to retain more than 760 km3 of water, which would in turn replenish the small water cycles in the atmosphere above land. This aforementioned rainwater, returned to the small water cycles, would lead to a decrease in ocean levels by 3 mm. Even if some doubts exist about the global program’s ability to reduce ocean levels, renew the climate or revive the small water cycles, it is nevertheless legitimate to initiate such a program, based on increased water resources such as that evidenced from an experimental program in the nation of Slovakia. Based on the findings of the Slovakian model, it can be expected that, at the global level, the retention of rainwater on land will result in the increased yield of water resources by more than 30 000 m3 per second and there- fore will kickstart the process of decreasing the production of sensible heat into the atmosphere, with an expected yearly reduction by 500 000 TWh. This will effectively lower the risks of natural disasters as well as occurrences of extreme weather events. More

Transformative water project in the Maldives

Transformative water project in the Maldives takes off with support from UNDP and the Green Climate Fund - Maldives | ReliefWeb

August 18, 2017, Malé - A UNDP-supported project set to transform water security in the outer islands of the Maldives has moved one step closer to implementation this past week, with a meeting of key stakeholders and a special function attended by the Minister of Environment and Energy, Minister of State for Environment and Energy, and UNDP Resident Representative.

Together the events held in the capital Malé mark a critical milestone in the commencement of the project’s implementation, expected to begin early September 2017.

“Climate change is a significant challenge to the development of Maldives, not only in an environmental aspect, but also in economic and social aspects,” said the Minister of Environment and Energy Mr. Thoriq Ibrahim in his opening remarks. “The Maldives project was among the first projects approved by the Green Climate Fund, and this event brings stakeholders together to discuss and exchange information vital for implementation.”

“As a small island developing state, the Maldives has been both a champion and a poster-child for the impacts of climate change,” said UNDP Resident Representative Ms. Shoko Noda. “The Government, and in particular the Ministry of Environment and Energy, has been at the forefront of climate action. Today marks the beginning of a paradigm shift towards climate-resilience, one we envision will be a turning point for the future of water security in the country.” More

Transformative water project in the Maldives

Transformative water project in the Maldives takes off with support from UNDP and the Green Climate Fund - Maldives | ReliefWeb

August 18, 2017, Malé - A UNDP-supported project set to transform water security in the outer islands of the Maldives has moved one step closer to implementation this past week, with a meeting of key stakeholders and a special function attended by the Minister of Environment and Energy, Minister of State for Environment and Energy, and UNDP Resident Representative.

Together the events held in the capital Malé mark a critical milestone in the commencement of the project’s implementation, expected to begin early September 2017.

“Climate change is a significant challenge to the development of Maldives, not only in an environmental aspect, but also in economic and social aspects,” said the Minister of Environment and Energy Mr. Thoriq Ibrahim in his opening remarks. “The Maldives project was among the first projects approved by the Green Climate Fund, and this event brings stakeholders together to discuss and exchange information vital for implementation.”

“As a small island developing state, the Maldives has been both a champion and a poster-child for the impacts of climate change,” said UNDP Resident Representative Ms. Shoko Noda. “The Government, and in particular the Ministry of Environment and Energy, has been at the forefront of climate action. Today marks the beginning of a paradigm shift towards climate-resilience, one we envision will be a turning point for the future of water security in the country.” More

Food, water security by Sikeli Qounadovu

Thursday, July 06, 2017: THE Pacific Community (SPC) believes it has found the solution in the adaptation and mitigation processes for climate change in as far as food and water security is concerned.

The solution was found through an extensive research which started in 1985 and has the ability of maintaining global temperature below 2C.

Crop production and extension co-ordinator for SPC Dr Siosiua Halavatau said the solution was a traditional knowledge which was practised by forefathers.

He said through this process the Pacific should be able to adapt to the effects of climate change such as long droughts.

"Climate change is here but we have adaptation measures to use to adapt to climate change to produce the goods and this has been practised by our ancestors," he said.

"If you try and increase carbon dioxide to the soil by 0.4 per cent in the year, that should be enough to contribute to making sure global warming does not go more than 1.5 or 2 degrees.

"The soil can fix all carbon dioxide released by fossil fuel, so this is a simple thing and we want to promote this."

He said the simple process was increasing the organic carbon in the soil and the introduction of trees back in the system.

Dr Halavatau said increasing soil organic carbon would help "reduce soil erosion, improve water holding capacity of the soil, improve soil fertility and in the process increase food production".

"Most of the soil in the atolls are limited to plant nutrients like potassium, iron, copper and manganese.

"Find plants or leaves that are high in these nutrients and then you make your compost with that, so when you add to your crop you are adding the nutrients to the soil.

"For high islands I was proposing using cover crop. This cover crop is amazing. It will fix nitrogen from the air and give it to the crop.

"For soil like here in Fiji there is a problem called phosphorus fixation, this mucuna (cover crop) can fix this. It also improves the organic matter in the soil and it will also help improve the soil health and improve the yield of the crop.

"Peach cowpea which grows a lot in atolls is high in iron, so if you add this to the compost it will add iron, for potassium if you bring your fire ash or the wood ash and you add it to the compost it will strengthen the potassium of the soil."

Dr Halavatau said these natural processes were researched and practised in eight countries in the Pacific and had proven to be a success with the most successful story being the revival of the dalo industry in Taveuni.

The European Union head of infrastructure and natural resources Jesús Lavina believes it is about time that traditional knowledge are also incorporated as world leaders look for adaptation and mitigation measures because of climate change. More

Sustainable development of water security a must

The Nile at Cairo

CAIRO - July 07, 2017: Suhail Bin Mohammed Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy, highlighted the UAE’s support for Arab cooperation on the sustainable development of water security.

He made this statement while chairing the 9th session of the Arab Ministerial Council for Water, at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States in Cairo.

He stated that the Ministry of Energy has produced a draft water strategy for 2036, in cooperation with relevant UAE authorities, to guarantee the provision of sufficient quantities of water, according to international standards, during both regular periods and emergency shortages that affect the country.

He stressed that this strategy will cover the country’s entire water supply chain, with an emphasis on the strategic production of water resources, storage, transport networks and the supply network linking the nation’s various emirates.

The council discussed a range of important issues and reviewed the implementation of a strategic executive plan for water security in the Arab region, as well as ways of cooperating to address the challenges and future requirements of sustainable development.

It also discussed the implementation of its sustainable development plan for 2030, regarding water, and addressed ways of cooperating on a regional initiative to link the energy, water and food sectors. More

The Vanishing Nile: A Great River Faces a Multitude of Threats

The Nile River is under assault on two fronts – a massive dam under construction upstream in Ethiopia and rising sea levels leading to saltwater intrusion downstream. These dual threats now jeopardize the future of a river that is the lifeblood for millions

Though politicians and the press tend to downplay the idea, environmental degradation is often an underlying cause of international crises — from the deforestation, erosion, and reduced agricultural production that set the stage for the Rwandan genocide of the 1990s to the prolonged drought that pushed rural populations into the cities at the start of the current Syrian civil war. Egypt could become the latest example, its 95 million people the likely victims of a slow motion catastrophe brought on by grand-scale environmental mismanagement.

It’s happening now in the Nile River delta, a low-lying region fanning out from Cairo roughly a hundred miles to the sea. About 45 or 50 million people live in the delta, which represents just 2.5 percent of Egypt’s land area. The rest live in the Nile River valley itself, a ribbon of green winding through hundreds of miles of desert sand, representing another 1 percent of the nation’s total land area. Though the delta and the river together were long the source of Egypt’s wealth and greatness, they now face relentless assault from both land and sea.

The latest threat is a massive dam scheduled to be completed this year on the headwaters of the Blue Nile, which supplies 59 percent of Egypt’s water. Ethiopia’s national government has largely self-financed the $5 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), with the promise that it will generate 6,000 megawatts of power. That’s a big deal for Ethiopians, three-quarters of whom now lack access to electricity. The sale of excess electricity to other countries in the region could also bring in $1 billion a year in badly needed foreign exchange revenue.

http://e360.yale.edu/features/vanishing-nile-a-great-river-faces-a-multitude-of-threats-egypt-dam

Egypt's water security is red line: Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson

Ahmed Abu Zeid

The Egyptian Foreign Affairs Ministry official spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid asserted on Thursday that Egypt’s water security is non-negotiable, saying that it is considered a red line that no one can approach.

Abu Zeid’s statements came synchronously with the visit of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to Uganda, after receiving an invitation from his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni to attend the summit of the Nile Basin countries.

He further added through his twitter account that Egypt faced harsh negotiations to turn the summit into a success, stressing the importance of the summit in launching a serious dialogue on the topics of the Nile water that would hopefully bring the views of the Nile Basin countries closer together.

The negotiations that are currently taking place in Uganda between Nile basin countries are aiming to decrease the negative impact of the Ethiopian Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam ‘GERD’ on the water security of countries such as Egypt and Sudan.

(http://www.egyptindependent.com/egypts-water-security-red-line-foreign-affairs-ministry-spokesperson/

Rivers and streams in parts of UK'under threat of drying up', says WWF

A report by the World Wide Fund for Nature warns over half of chalk streams and a quarter of rivers are under threat if action isn't taken.

At the River Chess in Buckinghamshire there's no water flowing.

The riverbed is dry, with cracked mud and weeds where the stream once ran.

Chairman of the River Chess Association Paul Jennings said: "This would be knee-depth crystal clear water that's come out of the chalk aquifer, with lovely fronds of weed. You have ducks and swans and all sorts of livestock in here plus fish. But we don't have that now."

It's been dried up since October, and it's not uncommon here.

"Over the last six years we've had four drying events, where there's been absolutely no water at all in this section," Mr Jennings said.

The problem is, when rivers dry up, the wildlife leaves. The River Chess is home to kingfishers, rare water voles and several species of fish.

The WWF warns 550 bodies of water in England and Wales are at risk of drying out.

Its report says over-abstraction and poor management are to blame.

Put simply, consumers and agriculture are taking out too much water from our rivers. More

Water Security and U.S. Foreign Policy in India, Pakistan, and the Philippines

In 2012, the U.S. National Intelligence Council judged that within the next 10 years, water problems would be a major contributor to instability in “many” countries that are of interest to the United States. South and Southeast Asia, with its many transboundary river basins, large populations, and geopolitical flashpoints, is one among a number of hotspots where such instability could occur.

To help policymakers understand the implications of water problems for national security, World Wildlife Fund-U.S. is working with global experts to produce a book highlighting water conflicts and U.S. strategic interests. Four experts spoke at the Wilson Center on May 9 about the dynamics at play in India, Pakistan, and the Philippines.

The World Economic Forum’s 2016 risk survey ranked water crisis as the top risk globally in the next decade. Among experts, there is growing concern about water issues and state fragility. “When government fails to provide basic water services, when they fail to protect the people against drought and flood, fail to preserve water resources captured by the elites, there is a potential loss of legitimacy and an opportunity for other parties to exploit those failures and deepen the instabilities,” said Claudia Sadoff, the World Bank’s global lead for water security and integrated resource management.

It is essential and urgent to “design and prioritize water programs that will lead to stability, development, and prosperity,” she said.

(https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2017/06/water-security-u-s-foreign-policy-india-pakistan-philippines/

The Monk, the Engineer and the Artificial Glacier

This is an updated version of the short film 'The Monk, The Engineer and The Artificial Glacier'.

It has upadates about the work on the pilot project carried out in Jan- Feb 201 5, appended to the original film.
Through the Ice Stupa Artificial Glacier Project, Ladakh attempts to solve its water crisis caused by melting glaciers/climate change.

To support this project go to www.icestupa.org
Category Nonprofits & Activism
License Standard YouTube License

The Relentless March of Drought – That ‘Horseman of the Apocalypse’

ROME, Jun 7 2017 (IPS) - By 2025 –that’s in less than 8 years from today– 1.8 billion people will experience absolute water scarcity, and two thirds of the world will be living under water-stressed conditions. Now it is feared that advancing drought and deserts, growing water scarcity and decreasing food security may provoke a huge ‘tsunami” of climate refugees and migrants.
No wonder then that a major United Nations Convention calls drought ‘one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.’ See what the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) says in this regard.

By 2050, the demand for water is expected to increase by 50 per cent. As populations increase, especially in dry-land areas, more and more people are becoming dependent on fresh water supplies in land that are becoming degraded, the Bonn-based Convention secretariat warns.

“The world’s drought-prone and water scarce regions are often the main sources of refugees.” Monique Barbut.
Water scarcity is one of the greatest challenges of the twenty-first century, it underlines, adding that drought and water scarcity are considered to be the most far-reaching of all natural disasters, causing short and long-term economic and ecological losses as well as significant secondary and tertiary impacts.

To mitigate these impacts, drought preparedness that responds to human needs, while preserving environmental quality and ecosystems, requires involvement of all stakeholders including water users and water providers to achieve solutions for drought, explains UNCCD. More

Tunisian South: 5,000 trillion liters of fresh water under the ground!

In the Sahara, two superimposed layers of fresh water exist:

• The aquifer of the albien.
• The sheet of the intercalary continental.

The albian aquifer, the world's largest freshwater reserve, spans an area between Algeria, Tunisia and Libya and contains between 30,000 - 50,000 Billion Liters of water.

The territorial distribution of the aquifer is as follows:

• Algeria: 70%.
• Libya: 20%.
• Tunisia: 10%.

More than three decades ago, this huge reservoir of groundwater allowed the human and agricultural development of the southern regions of Tunisia, Algeria and part of Libya.

Thousands of water points and wells are being exploited in these three Maghreb countries.

In the year 2000, annual withdrawals were estimated as follows :

• Algeria: 1,500 Billion liters.
• Tunisia: 0.550 Billion liters.
• Libya: 0.450 Billion liters.

In view of development programs, these quantities are bound to rise with the risk of a wild exploitation which could drastically reduce these reserves.

To this end, in April 2005, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya decided to set up a mechanism for the concerted management of their deepwater resources in the framework of a Sahel and Sahara Observatory project (OSS).

OSS is an international organization created in 1992 to combat desertification, with headquarters in Tunis since 2000, chaired alternately by Tunisia, Algeria and Libya.

Thus, an agreement was reached between Tunisia, Libya and Algeria for the equitable and reasonable management of this water table, the follow-up of which was entrusted to the OSS.
http://bit.ly/2mZN6p2

City of burning lakes: experts fear Bangalore will be uninhabitable by 2025

On the evening of Thursday 16 February, residents in the south-east part of Bangalore noticed huge plumes of smoke rising into the sky. The smoke was coming from the middle of Bellandur Lake – the biggest lake in the city at a little over 890 acres. They realised the seemingly impossible had happened: the lake had caught fire. Even fire fighters wondered how a blaze in water could be put out.

The fire in the lake burned for 12 hours and left behind a sinister black patch in the centre, according to some eye-witness accounts.

This is the new story of Bangalore – state capital, India’s Silicon Valley, and once upon a time, the “city of lakes”. The reasons why these lakes are able to catch fire begin to explain why scientists at the influential Indian Institute of Science believe Bangalore will be “unliveable” in a few years’ time.

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/mar/01/burning-lakes-experts-fear-bangalore-uninhabitable-2025

What California’s Dam Crisis Says About the Changing Climate

What California’s Dam Crisis Says About the Changing Climate - The New York Times

STANFORD, Calif. — After five years of record-setting drought, much of California is being pummeled by an extremely wet winter. The disaster unfolding at Oroville, where precipitation is more than double the average, is the latest reminder that the United States needs a climate-smart upgrade of our water management systems.

In the West, much of our water infrastructure is old. Oroville Dam, north of Sacramento, was completed in 1968, nearly a half a century ago. Other major components of our water system are generations older, and maintenance has not been a priority. The damage to Oroville Dam, where the primary spillway developed a giant gash and the emergency spillway threatened to erode, illustrates the hazard of relying on aging infrastructure to protect us from extreme weather. http://nyti.ms/2lLbg6D

Alpacas trump sheep in bid for Andean water security

Alpacas trump sheep in bid for Andean water security

TEPIC, Mexico, Feb 8 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - High on Ecuador's Andean plains, the Comuna Espejo co-operative is counting on a recent delivery of 20 woolly alpacas to keep its moist grasslands in better shape than the sheep that normally graze there - and in turn help secure water supplies to the nearby capital city of Quito.

“Little by little, we're going to see the impact the alpacas have, but they're easier to manage than sheep and the degradation is less,” said Henry Carrera, vice president of Comuna Espejo, now home to 18 female and two male alpacas.

Besides selling wool, and eventually meat from the camelids, Comuna Espejo hopes to attract tourists with the alpaca project, which forms part of the Quito Water Fund’s plans to conserve the watersheds around the city some 30 km (19 miles) away.

Quito’s fund, the first to be set up under the auspices of U.S.-based environmental group The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in 2000, has provided a model for nearly 60 cities around the world to boost water security from the source to the sink.

The funds combine scientific expertise with public and private-sector investment from water authorities, banks and large water users such as bottlers and brewers.

Now TNC has 20 funds active in Latin America. It plans to double these by 2020 in the region where 80 percent of the population lives in cities, putting huge pressure on water supplies.

“Being able to protect the water sources for the cities is very important for the population, to reduce risks for water quality and quantity,” said Silvia Benitez, TNC’s Quito-based fresh water manager for Latin America.

(http://www.reuters.com/article/latam-water-environment-investment-idUSL5N1FT2HP

High and Dry: Climate Change, Water, and the Economy

High and Dry: Climate Change, Water, and the Economy

A new World Bank reports finds that water scarcity, exacerbated by climate change, could hinder economic growth, spur migration, and spark conflict. However, most countries can neutralize the adverse impacts of water scarcity by taking action to allocate and use water resources more efficiently.

Key Findings

• Water scarcity, exacerbated by climate change, could cost some regions up to 6% of their GDP, spur migration, and spark conflict.

• The combined effects of growing populations, rising incomes, and expanding cities will see demand for water rising exponentially, while supply becomes more erratic and uncertain.

• Unless action is taken soon, water will become scarce in regions where it is currently abundant - such as Central Africa and East Asia - and scarcity will greatly worsen in regions where water is already in short supply - such as the Middle East and the Sahel in Africa. These regions could see their growth rates decline by as much as 6% of GDP by 2050 due to water-related impacts on agriculture, health, and incomes.

• Water insecurity could multiply the risk of conflict. Food price spikes caused by droughts can inflame latent conflicts and drive migration. Where economic growth is impacted by rainfall, episodes of droughts and floods have generated waves of migration and spikes in violence within countries.

• The negative impacts of climate change on water could be neutralized with better policy decisions, with some regions standing to improve their growth rates by up to 6% with better water resource management.

• Improved water stewardship pays high economic dividends. When governments respond to water shortages by boosting efficiency and allocating even 25% of water to more highly-valued uses, such as more efficient agricultural practices, losses decline dramatically and for some regions may even vanish.
In the world’s extremely dry regions, more far-reaching policies are needed to avoid inefficient water use.

• Stronger policies and reforms are needed to cope with deepening climate stresses.

• Policies and investments that can help lead countries to more water secure and climate-resilient economies include:
• Better planning for water resource allocation
• Adoption of incentives to increase water efficiency, and Investments in infrastructure for more secure water supplies and availability.

(http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/water/publication/high-and-dry-climate-change-water-and-the-economy?CID=CCG_TT_climatechange_EN_EXT

Improving Water Security Through Nature-Based Solutions

The Nature Conservancy

Improving Water Security Through Nature-Based Solutions
Global report explores the environmental, economic and community benefits of source water protection

Arlington, VA | January 12, 2017
As demand continues to increase for clean and reliable water around the world, protecting the land surrounding our water sources is vital. The Nature Conservancy released a new study today, developed in partnership with the Natural Capital Project, Forest Trends, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Latin American Water Funds Partnership, which analyzes the source watersheds of more than 4,000 large cities around the world. “Beyond the Source: The environmental, economic and community benefits of source water protection,” illustrates how nature-based solutions, such as reforestation and improved agricultural practices, can be implemented at a scale to make a visible difference in sustainable development and improving the lives of billions of people.

Source watersheds collect, store and filter water, and when managed well, provide a number of additional benefits to people and nature. The study finds that four out of five cities analyzed can meaningfully reduce sediment and nutrient pollution through implementing forest protection, reforestation and using cover crops as an agricultural practice to improve water quality. More