Spiegel: Water Scarcity As Africa's Lakes Shrink
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February 22, 2006, Atlas of African Lakes, Water Scarcity As Africa's Lakes Shrink
The rapid decline of Africa's lakes is illustrated dramatically by satellite images from a United Nations Atlas. Many Africans now face a tough future without access to safe drinking water.
The most important freshwater reserves in Africa could be reduced to inhospitable bogs or even completely dry out within a few decades, according to a dramatic report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). In its "Atlas of African Lakes" the UNEP has published satellite images of Africa's lakes from decades ago alongside pictures of the lakes as they stand today. The images are dramatic: The water levels of many of Africa's lakes have dropped, some drastically, and the supply of clean drinking water to an exploding population is being endangered. The rapid changes that are sweeping Africa's lakes are due to a combination of human activities and climate change.
Africa has an estimated 677 lakes, holding 30,000 cubic kilometers of water, the largest volume on any continent. Close to 90 percent of water in Africa is used in agriculture, of which 40 to 60 percent is lost to seepage and evaporation, according to the UNEP. The level of Lake Victoria, the largest body of water in Africa, is one meter lower than it was 10 years ago, while Lake Chad has been reduced to one tenth of its original size. Meanwhile Lake Songor in Ghana has also seen its size decrease dramatically -- in its case due to intensive salt production and the resultant evaporation. The potential for disaster is evident as an ever-increasing population faces a scramble for this dwindling resource.
To take just one example, Lake Victoria has some 30 million people living around it, and supports one of the poorest regions in the world with a per capita annual income of $250. Compounding the problem, an average of 1,200 people are crammed into each square kilometer surrounding the lake. This population is expected to increase by another 5 million over the next two decades.
"Lakes are the lifeblood of millions and millions of Africans," the UNEP spokesman Nick Nutall told the BBC. He added "There are huge population pressures on all lake systems in Africa, unless there is some way for people there to find alternative ways of living, they will continue to be under pressure."
The UNEP blames the dramatic reduction in the level of Africa's freshwater lakes on a number of causes: droughts caused by climate change, increased need for drinking water due to increased population numbers, evaporation due to the rapid deforestation and desertification, and inappropriate dam construction.
It is not only the water supply that is being affected but also water quality, as invasive species and pollution from sewage and industrial waste affect the supply of clean drinking water. In addition the size of the catch is being affected by the pollution, overfishing and the introduction of certain species such as perch. The annual catch of freshwater fish in Africa is around 1.4 million tons but this has experienced a drop in many places, particularly in the Nile Delta, Lake Chad and Lake Victoria.
Klaus Toepfer, the UNEP's executive director, speaking at the launch of the Atlas, said "I hope that the images will ring a warning around the world that, if we are to overcome poverty, and meet internationally agreed development goals by 2015, the sustainable management of Africa's lakes must be part of the equation. Otherwise we face increasing tensions and instability as arising populations compete for life's most precious of resources."
The eight Millennium Goals, agreed by world leaders in 2000, included the pledge to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by 2015. This target now seems a long way off.
The rapid decline of Africa's lakes is illustrated dramatically by satellite images from a United Nations Atlas. Many Africans now face a tough future without access to safe drinking water.
The most important freshwater reserves in Africa could be reduced to inhospitable bogs or even completely dry out within a few decades, according to a dramatic report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). In its "Atlas of African Lakes" the UNEP has published satellite images of Africa's lakes from decades ago alongside pictures of the lakes as they stand today. The images are dramatic: The water levels of many of Africa's lakes have dropped, some drastically, and the supply of clean drinking water to an exploding population is being endangered. The rapid changes that are sweeping Africa's lakes are due to a combination of human activities and climate change.
Africa has an estimated 677 lakes, holding 30,000 cubic kilometers of water, the largest volume on any continent. Close to 90 percent of water in Africa is used in agriculture, of which 40 to 60 percent is lost to seepage and evaporation, according to the UNEP. The level of Lake Victoria, the largest body of water in Africa, is one meter lower than it was 10 years ago, while Lake Chad has been reduced to one tenth of its original size. Meanwhile Lake Songor in Ghana has also seen its size decrease dramatically -- in its case due to intensive salt production and the resultant evaporation. The potential for disaster is evident as an ever-increasing population faces a scramble for this dwindling resource.
To take just one example, Lake Victoria has some 30 million people living around it, and supports one of the poorest regions in the world with a per capita annual income of $250. Compounding the problem, an average of 1,200 people are crammed into each square kilometer surrounding the lake. This population is expected to increase by another 5 million over the next two decades.
"Lakes are the lifeblood of millions and millions of Africans," the UNEP spokesman Nick Nutall told the BBC. He added "There are huge population pressures on all lake systems in Africa, unless there is some way for people there to find alternative ways of living, they will continue to be under pressure."
The UNEP blames the dramatic reduction in the level of Africa's freshwater lakes on a number of causes: droughts caused by climate change, increased need for drinking water due to increased population numbers, evaporation due to the rapid deforestation and desertification, and inappropriate dam construction.
It is not only the water supply that is being affected but also water quality, as invasive species and pollution from sewage and industrial waste affect the supply of clean drinking water. In addition the size of the catch is being affected by the pollution, overfishing and the introduction of certain species such as perch. The annual catch of freshwater fish in Africa is around 1.4 million tons but this has experienced a drop in many places, particularly in the Nile Delta, Lake Chad and Lake Victoria.
Klaus Toepfer, the UNEP's executive director, speaking at the launch of the Atlas, said "I hope that the images will ring a warning around the world that, if we are to overcome poverty, and meet internationally agreed development goals by 2015, the sustainable management of Africa's lakes must be part of the equation. Otherwise we face increasing tensions and instability as arising populations compete for life's most precious of resources."
The eight Millennium Goals, agreed by world leaders in 2000, included the pledge to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by 2015. This target now seems a long way off.
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