Study 3: Ecodestruction and the Right to Food: The Cases of Water ...

Starving the Future Study 3
II. Responding with Ecodestruction to Nature’s
Blessings: Water and Biodiversity
A. Basics on Water
Looking at the Earth from outer space one could think that the water resources were so plentiful that
they could sustain all life forever. But, almost all of Earth's water is the salty water of the oceans. This
water supports an incredible biodiversity of marine life, but humans and land-dwelling animals cannot
drink it, and we cannot water our crops with it. Humans require fresh, clean water to drink, and can
survive for only about one week without it.
Only a very tiny portion of all the Earth's water is fresh water, and an even smaller amount of the fresh
water is available to us. Most of the fresh water is locked up in frozen glaciers, in humidity, or fossil
water way deep in the Earth. Rivers, lakes and wetlands represent only 0.01% of freshwater supplies
and 1% of the surface of our planet. 4 Although desalination provides the possibility of producing fresh
water from the seas, the amount of energy required in this process for the production and distribution
prevent this technology from offering a large scale solution to the growing scarcity of fresh water.
1. Types of freshwater systems
Freshwater systems include rivers, lakes and wetlands. In addition to this surface water, there are
ground water sources. Those sources can be classified into two different categories: Water that is
independent of the normal runoff cycle (a minor proportion) and water that comes from shallower
aquifers fed by the normal runoff (which also feeds rivers and lake). There is therefore an intimate link
between ground and surface water sources. In fact, it is often difficult to separate the two because they
"feed" each other. In order to better understand this fundamental interdependence, we can describe the
hydrologic cycle:
As rain or snow falls to the earth's surface some water runs off the land to rivers, lakes, streams and
oceans (surface water). Water also can move into those bodies by percolation below ground. Water
entering the soil can infiltrate deeper to reach groundwater which can discharge to surface water or
return to the surface through wells, springs and marshes. Here it becomes surface water again. And,
upon evaporation, it completes the cycle. This movement of water between the earth and the
atmosphere through evaporation, precipitation, infiltration and runoff is continuous.
i. Rivers/Streams and Lakes
Streams and rivers take part in the physical and chemical cycles that shape our planet and allow life to
exist. They provide different habitats for plants and animals, and are a source of food for animals, plants
and human communities. Rivers and lakes are nurseries for salmon and for many insects. Rivers carry
glacial silt and sediments down from the mountains, creating rich agricultural lands by depositing it
downstream on its floodplain and fertilizing the ocean, allowing marine organisms to thrive near the
river's mouth. Even a small mountain stream provides an astonishing number of different habitats for
plants and animals.
ii. Wetlands
Wetlands is the collective term for marshes, swamps, bogs and similar areas. It also includes
floodplains and flooded forests. Wetlands are found in flat vegetated areas, in depressions of the
landscape and between water and dry land along the edges of streams, rivers, lakes and coastlines.
Wetland areas can be found in nearly every country and climatic zone. Inland wetlands receive water
from precipitation, ground water and/or surface water.
FIAN International 103
June 2002