International Conference on Water Security for Future Generations

The International Conference on Water Security for Future Generations will be held at theNortheast Institute of Geography and Agricultural Ecology (NEIGAE), Chinese Academy ofSciences in Changchun, Jilin Province, P.R. China, from 26 - 31 July 2004. Expansion in agricultural activity throughout the world in order to sustain an ever-increasingpopulation, together with the more frequent droughts caused by climate variability, has resulted inmajor water shortages, which is the essence of main concern to all Governments and individuals.     

Analysis of Water Resources Carrying Capacity of the “Belt and Road” Initiative Countries based on Virtual Water Theory

Most countries along the route of the “Belt and Road” initiative are faced with a shortage of water resources. However, successful implementation of the initiative depends on water availability to support economic and social development. We designed a water resources carrying capacity evaluation index system, assigned grades and weights to each evaluation index and calculated a water resources carrying index for the 65 countries along the route. We used virtual water theory to analyze China’s net virtual water import from key bulk agricultural products through international trade. For more than half of the countries along the route, their water resources will be unable to support the economic development that will be necessary for fulfilling the goals of the Initiative. As a country with insufficient water resources carrying capacity, China is a net virtual water importer in the virtual water trade. This virtual water trade can improve China’s water resources support capacity, and ensure China’s water and food security for the future.     

Water status in winter wheat grown under salt stress

1 IntroductionSalinization is one of the major problems in arid and semi-arid regions in relation to land use and in particular to agricultural production[1]. Excessive salinity leads to toxicity in crops and reduction of the availability of water to crops, by reducing the osmotic potential of the soil solution[2]. Movement of soil water induces solute transport, and solutes are transferred towards the ground surface by the upward soil-water movement caused by evaporation, resulting in an accu…     

Water resources optimization and eco-environmental protection in Qaidam Basin

During the development of Qaidam Basin, which is an arid area in Northwest China, rational water resources utilization and optimization are primal prerequisites, and the main restrictive factors include the following facts: scarcy water resources are non-substitutional and uneven distributed in time and space. Based on the essential principle of sustainable development, this paper adopts Multiple Targets Decision by the Closest Value Model, and succeeds in getting the best plan, which can o…     

Asynchronism-synchronism of regional precipitation in South-to-North Water Transfer planned areas

1 IntroductionThe geographical feature of China is quite complex with an obvious spatial heterogeneity. At the sense of spatial distribution of precipitation, under the impacts of the relative position of land to ocean and the monsoon climate, the amount of precipitation tends to decrease from south to north and from southeast to northwest. According to the hydrological regionalization, the North China Plain, one of the social and economic centers of China[1,2], is a region short of water re…     

Water level changes in Polish lakes during 1976–2010

The paper presents the analysis of tendencies in water level changes in 32 lakes in Poland during 1976–2010. Series of monthly, seasonal, and annual precipitation and air temperature for 9 meteorological stations were also studied. The trend analysis for all of the studied series of water levels in lakes showed high spatial and temporal variability. Series of annual water levels in the case of 6 lakes showed statistically significant increasing tendencies, and in 7 lakes, significant decreasing trends. Series of annual amplitudes in the majority of lakes (22) showed a decreasing trend, but they were statistically significant only in three cases. The tendencies for air temperature fluctuations are more statistically significant than precipitation. The key role in determining water level changes is played by local factors, particularly including human economic activity, obscuring the effect of natural factors on water level changes. The paper describes cases of changes in water levels in lakes under anthropopressure related to among others: agricultural irrigations, hydropower infrastructure, water transfers, navigation, or mining.     

Water environmental planning for new zone of economic-technological development in China

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Water scarce or water abundant? The case of Can Tho,Vietnam

Demand for water resources has increased globally along with concerns over its protection, usage and potential scarcity. The location of abundant water sources do not always coincide with where large quantities of people reside. As such, many regions live with the threat of water shortages. Interpretations of water scarcity from international, national and regional scales of analysis are projected onto water availability at the local scale due to large, and often intimidating, global facts. This article looks at the periurban area of Can Tho, Vietnam, to argue that the discourse around water scarcity creates the impression of a water crisis. A local scale analysis reflects that residents of Can Tho have the knowledge to use local water resources in many different ways, thus ensuring their personal water security. The assessment of water scarcity at the national and international scale does not translate to Can Tho’s current situation.     

Water regime of the Argun’ river and Lake Hulun Nur under anthropogenic impact

In arid regions of Central Asia, cyclicity in the humidification behavior of a region shows long-term trends of changes in the water levels of closed lakes. Thus, the last 10 years saw a decrease in the water level by several meters on one of the region’s largest lakes — Hulun Nur (PRC). For water level stabilization on the PRC’s territory, a package of measures is undertaken for a partial Hailar river flow transfer (in the upper reaches of the Argun’ river) to Lake Hulun Nur. It is obvious that the lake’s water level regime will experience substantial changes. This paper discusses a variety of consequences of the river flow transfer and different water management modes, and forecasts the lake’s possible level regime, the Argun’ river discharge and the ecological consequences of measures of this kind for the Russian part of the drainage basin.     

A condition for the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water in Prydz Bay， Antarctica

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How to Earn the Status of Honest Broker? Scientists’ Roles Facilitating the Political Water Supply Decision-Making Process

“Honest broker” refers to scientists facilitating complex political decisions from a neutral position, aiming to expand the scope of choice available instead of advocating a certain policy. This article reflects on the experiences of three scientists acting as honest brokers while carrying out a multicriteria evaluation to help politicians choose the water supply option for the city of Oulu, Finland. The process was considered successful and many politicians said that they have never before been that well informed when making a decision. The case primarily shows that besides the common knowledge brokerage roles targeting knowledge exchange, the honest brokerage approach relates more to managing social relationships and balancing political games and rapidly evolving discussions. Trustful relationships increased the perceived credibility of the brokers and ensured two-way communication. On the other hand, the brokers faced ethical dilemmas and difficulties of staying impartial while finding out confidential information related to political strategies.     

Esophageal cancer spatial and correlation analyses：Water pollution,mortality rates,and safe buffer distances in China

Esophageal cancer exhibits one of the highest incidence and mortality rates in China. Malignant tumors caused by esophageal cancer, and the relationship to environmental factors has been the focus of many public health studies. This study applied spatial analysis to ascertain the relationship between water pollution and esophageal cancer mortality rates nationwide. We employed two datasets, including a national investigation of esophageal cancer rates and distribution, and national water quality grades in China's primary rivers and lakes. Esophageal cancer data were grouped based on different water quality grades, which included a scaled buffer distance from rivers and lakes. Non-parametric correlation analyses were performed to examine the presence or absence of the following correlations: (i) esophageal cancer mortality and buffer distance from rivers and lakes; and (ii) esophageal cancer mortality and water quality grade values. The present study revealed a significant positive correlation between widespread water pollution and esophageal cancer mortality nationwide; and a significant negative correlation between esophageal cancer mortality, and buffer distance from rivers and lakes.     

A land-use-based modelling chain to assess the impacts of Natural Water Retention Measures on Europe’s Green Infrastructure

This article details the process of integrating models to answer a specific policy-driven question: ‘What could be the impact of proposed Natural Water Retention Measures (NWRMs) on Europe’s Green Infrastructure (GI)?’ It describes the new Land Use Modelling Platform (LUMP), now enabling a high spatial scale (100-m) and large coverage (pan-European), whereby several sector-specific models contribute to assessing the impact of regional-level policy on a given spatial topic of concern. The configuration (land claims and land allocations modules) and calibration (accessibility and biophysical suitability) of the LUMP are explained. Four NWRM scenarios (riparian areas, afforestation, grassland and baseline scenario) are configured to run the simulations. For the reference: year 2006, the spatial representation of GI is based on land-use features of a refined version of the CORINE Land Cover (CLC), and resumed as connected components made of nodes and links.

Mathematical morphological image processing and network graph theory model, available from the free software package GUIDOS (the Joint Research Center of the European Commission), enabled the measurement of the GI connectivity and identified most critical links. Results show that the competition for land claimed by different economic sectors, combined with policy-driven rule-sets for the implementation of different NWRMs, yields very different results for the 2030 land-use projections, and subsequently for the morphology of GI. Three indicators associated with the morphology of GI are computed in order to assess the model outputs for 2030. The indicators are computed to answer the following questions: (1) How is the quantity of GI affected by each of the NWRM, and what proportion of that GI is most valuable? (2) What is the location of the most critical nodes and connectors of GI, and what land-use conversions occur under these? (3) Are the average components getting larger or smaller?

Whereas the grassland measure results in the largest net increase of GI, the afforestation measure results in the overall largest number of hectares of key nodes and links within the network. Land conversions occur under the critical GI nodes and links, with a large increase in agricultural areas, especially for the riparian measure under critical nodes and the grassland measure under critical links. Also predominant is the swapping of land from pasture to forest under critical links with the afforestation measure. The riparian measure most increases the average size of GI components, and all three measures contribute to bridging two large components which were divided in the 2006 land-use map, thus increasing the size of the largest component by more than 50%.     

Water marginalization at the urban fringe: environmental justice and urban political ecology across the North–South divide

This article reconsiders the epistemic and geographic boundaries that have long separated scholarship on urban water poverty and politics in the Global North and South. We stage an encounter between the seemingly dissimilar cases of Tooleville outside of the city of Exeter in California’s Central Valley and Bommanahalli outside of Bangalore, India, to illuminate the geography of water marginalization at the fringes of urban areas, and to deepen cross-fertilization between two geographic literatures: environmental justice (EJ) and urban political ecology (UPE). We argue that there is scope for transnational learning in three arenas in particular: (1) water access, (2) state practice, and (3) political agency. In so doing, we aim to advance a genuinely post-colonial approach to theory and practice in the pressing arena of urban water politics.     

Urban Pulse—The Struggle for Water,Life, and Dignity In South African Cities: The Case of Johannesburg

The struggle for water is a key feature of life in Johannesburg, as it is in all South African cities. This article describes a court action that was brought against the City of Johannesburg by the people of one neighborhood, Phiri, in an effort to secure an adequate supply of water. It is shown how the people of Phiri argued for the removal of discriminatory technology in the form of prepayment meters and for an increase in the quantity of water. Furthermore, it will show how race, class, and geography are articulated in the post-apartheid city.     

Household Water Insecurity in the Global North: A Study of Rural and Periurban Settlements on the Texas–Mexico Border

This article examines household-level characteristics that predict water insecurity in low-income rural and periurban communities on the Texas–Mexico border. We employ two logistic regression models (binary and ordered) to identify household characteristics that are more likely to result in water insecurity. Our analyses yielded unexpected findings: Whereas socioeconomic factors are weak predictors, immigration status of household members is a significant variable that contributes to household water insecurity. Policymakers need to pay more attention to marginalized communities as “universal” water access still leaves populations without adequate, reliable, and affordable water in the Global North.     

Water levels in Lake Ontario 4230–2000 years B.P.: evidence from Grenadier Pond,Toronto, Canada

Lake Ontario water levels have been rising for the past 11 500 years due to differential isostatic rebound of the St. Lawrence outlet. Small scale fluctuations in water level superimposed on this general trend have received little study, with the exception of the Nipissing Flood.The transgression of a Grenadier Pond was studied from cores along a transect from the bar that separates the pond from Lake Ontario to the marsh on the north shore. Radiocarbon dates of the transition from swamp peat to pond marl in five cores provide estimates of the rate of water level rise since 4230 years B.P. These estimates are supported by changes in sediment type and in abundance of pollen and seeds of aquatic plants. There were three short intervals of accelerated water level rise in Grenadier Pond, around 4200, 3000, and 2000 years B.P., when water levels rose up to 2 m instantaneously, within the resolution of radiocarbon dating. Sedimentological and paleobotanical data suggest that Grenadier Pond was an open embayment of Lake Ontario until 1970–1850 years B.P., when it was isolated by the bar, and therefore sediments deposited prior to this time reflect water levels in Lake Ontario.Short term departure of up to 2 m from the average rate of water level rise over the past 4000 years, as observed in the record at Grenadier Pond, is of the same range as historically observed departures from the mean lake stage of Lake Ontario. This implies that a threshold discharge exists above which broadening of the outflow channel occurs to accommodate further increase in discharge with little rise in lake level. The intervals of accelerated water level rise in Lake Ontario broadly coincide with periods of cool, wet climate, suggesting that increased moisture may have caused the short term fluctuations in water level.This is the second of a series of papers to be published by this journal that was presented in the paleolimnology sessions organized by R. B. Davis and H. Löffler for the XIIth Congress of the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA), which took place in Ottawa, Canada in August 1987. Drs. Davis and Löffler are serving as guest editors of this series.     

Mid and late holocene diatoms from ‘Water Supply Lake’, Baffin Island,N.W.T., Canada

Diatom analyses from a 40 cm sediment core from Water Supply Lake, northeastern Baffin Island, reveal 67 taxa of primarily benthic forms, strongly dominated by small Fragilaria spp. No major stratigraphic changes are noted in the diatom floral record, which encompasses the last 7000 years. In the uppermost 2 cm, there are increases in: a) F. virescens var. subsalina, b) the ratio of symmetric: asymmetric valves of F. construens, and c) species richness. These are interpreted as reflecting anthropogenic modifications of the lake (chlorination and deepening) associated with its use as a source of water for the community of Pond Inlet since 1979.