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1. Definition
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Name
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WATER
SCARCITY
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Brief
definition
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The
indicator measures change in the difference between
the water availability pro capita and the water consumption
pro capita during the past 10 years.
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Unit of measure
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Cubic metres per year
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2.
Position within the logical framework DPSIR
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Type
of Indicator
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Pressure
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3.
Target and political pertinence
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Objective
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The
indicator provides a measure of change in water scarcity,
depending both on increased consumption and/or decrease
in the supply.
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Importance
with respect to desertification
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It
is important to monitor how the change in water scarcity
is crucial in the arid and semi-arid regions, where
the water cycle is discontinuous. As a result, maybe
for much of the year, in the desertification sensitive
areas there can be a deficit between the locally available
water and the consumption needs. This deficit is growing
as consumption increases, while available resources
do not increase.
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International
Conventions and agreements
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A
part the UNCCD, Article 130 of the Treaty on the European
Union (Maastricht, 1992) calls for prudent and rational
utilisation of natural resources. UN GEMS/Water introduces
a Global Environment Monitoring System for water.
UN EMINWA calls for an environmentally-sound management
of inland waters. Action plan Mar del Plata (1977)
calls for sustainable use of water resources (UN Water
Conference). The Declaration of New Delhi calls for
provision of drinking water for all. IAP/WASAD gives
the FAO International Action Plan for Water use in
relation with Sustainable Agricultural Development.
Agenda
21 in many of its chapters, in particular Chapter
12 and 18, calls for policies and actions to improve
the management and use of water resources.
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Secondary
objectives of the indicator
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This
indicator represents a fundamental indicator to help
regional and national decision- makers promote more
sustainable water resource management and use.
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4.
Methodological description and basic definitions
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Definitions
and basic concepts
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Scarcity,
by definition implies diminishing resources and/or
a pressure on the supply of available resources from
an increasing demand.
Not
all the water resources are accessible and exploitable,
due to economic, technical and environmental constraints.
Therefore, to define the water availability per capita
the available water supply is calculated as the volume
of water available for public water supply from surface
and groundwater sources, expressed in cubic metres
per year per capita.
The
water consumption per capita is the total demand for
drinking water, process water, irrigation water and
cooling water by all economic sectors, expressed in
cubic metres per year per capita.
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Benchmarks
Indication of the values/ranges of value
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With
regard to water availability, the WHO (World Health
Organisation) use the level of 1,000-2,000 cubic meters
per person and per year to designate danger of water-stress.
When the figures drop below 1,000 cubic meters per
person per year nations are considered to experience
water scarcity, which means that lack of water becomes
a severe constraint on food production, economic development,
and protection of natural systems. Today, 26 countries,
supporting 232 million people, belong to this group.
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Methods
of measurement
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This
indicator is computed by calculating the difference
between the water availability per capita and water
consumption per capita for each year during the past
10 years.
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Limits
of the indicator
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Due
to the large variety of forms of renewable water resources
and their uses, data collection is difficult. Comparability
of national data is limited due to the lack of standardized
methodologies.
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Linkages with other
indicators
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The indicator is linked
with other indicators relating to water and economy such as
Water consumption by sector,
Value added by sector.
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5.
Evaluation of data needs and availability
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Data
required to calculate the indicator
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Water
available supply per capita and water consumption
per capita during the last 10 years.
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Data
sources
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National
data and estimates on renewable resources are available
from national statistical offices and country publications
for many countries. At local level the data can be
obtained from Basin Authorities.
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Availability of data
from national and international sources
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See
section: Limits of the indicator.
Apart from national statistical agencies, the
data at national level are also available from Eurostat,
FAO and OECD.
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6.
Institutions that have participated in developing the indicator
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Main
institutions responsible
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Other contributing organizations
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Universities of Basilicata,
Lisbon, Murcia, Athens.
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7.
Additional information
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Bibliography
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www.ec.gc.ca/scip-pidd/english/indicatorInfo.cfm?
Indicatorname=20: Sustainable Community Indicators:
Index and Indicators.
www.sustainable-cities.org
http://cwhweb.mcmaster.ca/cwsoe/documents/APP2.htm
: List of measures and Indicators used in Municipal
SoERs.
www.oecd.org/env/efficiency;
Indicator sheets/ Interaction between consumption
and the environment; ENV/EPOCSE(98)2/FINAL.
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Other
references
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http://www.nwl.ac.uk/research/WPI.
www.sustainableliving.org/appen-d.htm
: Indicators o sustainable development 1996 - Background
Paper.
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Contacts
Name and address
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University
of Basilicata
Prof Giovanni Quaranta
email: quaranta@unibas.it
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